Breaking the ice (Main)

Today Hyeyoung and I celebrate the 800th day of our journey together and I think it's only perfect that I publish this entry...

Before I began, I must say that having been in Korea during summer, autumn and winter, autumn has to be the most beautiful season to be in Korea. (Actually, this is possibly true true for many countries but as many of you would know, my focus now is on 한국!) 
The recent trip happened in late November so my dear friends who'd like to visit Korea in the coming year, definitely do it in autumn, when the chill is comforting and the sight of leaves in very hue of red, orange and yellow is oh-so enchanting...   
 

These were shot at 북촌한옥마을 (Bukchon Hanok Village) which is an area that's just a short 10 minutes walk from (Anguk Station). The extremely hilly area however, takes about an hour or two to fully explore (on foot), and possibly more if you're going to sip a cuppa at one of the many charming cafes in the area.

For the adventurous few who are thinking of venturing out of Seoul, why not catch a free shuttle bus from 수원 (Suwon), where the very famous  sits, to visit 한국 민속촌 (Korean Folk Village)? (In fact, while you're in 수원, you should totally visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site, 화성 (Hwaseong Fortress). For now, here are some shots of 민속촌, one of my favorite touristy sites in Korea...

I'm no pro photographer so this only goes to show how gorgeous Korea is in the fall. 

Anyway, I'd digressed. So here's the crux of this (groundbreaking) trip:

I MET HYEYOUNG'S PARENTS, FINALLY! :)

 

Hyeyoung's parents were kind enough to invite us and so Qing and I visited Hyeyoung's home on our fifth day there to have 소갈비 (Sol Galbi) but more on this later. 

Besides meeting her parents and stepping ground onto where Hyeyoung grew up, what is also exciting for me is that this marks my first visit to a 배 (Pear) orchard. 

I mean seriously, who would have thought that pears grow on trees with branches that reaches skywards? (At this juncture, Hyeyoung would always shake her and and say, "You city boy...") But it's true! When she spoke about her orchard, I'd always thought that it'd be a tree similar to orange and apple trees. 

Here's crates of pears in the cold room, waiting to for their turn to be sold to loving owners. The best season to taste their best pears was during 추석 (Chuseok), when the pears are nicely packed and sold for some ₩120,000 (approximately SGD$100) a box as gift sets. i.e. Think of the nicely packed Muscat Grapes and Honeydews at 伊勢丹 (Isetan).

So unfortunately, we did not had a chance to taste their top grade pears. But we still get to try what is literally, the fruits of her parents' labor (and yes, the pear was very juicy and sweet but it's beyond the taste). It's the mere fact that I had the opportunity to eat something that they had so painstakingly harvest that blew my mind. You have no idea how thankful to God I am.

Another highlight of her house are her dogs, three of them to be precise. (The one above is just one of the trio.) Like Hyeyoung, they are very loving. But what really struck me what how free they ran in the open orchard. I have never seen dogs run so heartily in my life. Even the dogs at Botanical Gardens were mostly leashed.

So before dinner could start, I already have so much emotions welling up inside me. Imagine a nice cosy house, with a backyard of fresh produce (did I mention her parents grew their own cabbage for next year's kimchi making?), loving dogs running free in the orchard, friends and family who'd provide other fresh produce. Wah this is truly life man...

The menu for that evening was just pure bliss - almost everything was either home-grown/raised/made. Her dad had got not just the best grade and cut, he'd also got the freshest beef as his friend had just killed his cow the day before. I had eaten 馬刺し (Basashi) during my stint in Japan (and I love it to bits) but this was way fresher! Unfortunately I was too busy eating and I'd forgotten to take shots of it, but I'm sure it's not too difficult to imagine how fresh and marble-ly it is. There were also potatoes and sweet potatoes from her granny's backyard farm, wine from their friend's vineyard, 된장 (Doenjang) in the 된장 찌개 (Doenjang Jjigae) from either her granny or her aunt. 

It was exactly how I'd imagined a meal at her home would be - Fresh ingredients! Oh, did I mention there were also mandarin oranges from their friend's orchard in 제주도(Jeju island)? How I wish to eat like this everyday...

As one can possibly guess, it was a pleasant dinner. There was some conversation going on (albeit a disjunct-ed one) amidst the yummy food and her dad's gorgeous cooking, not to mention the variety of alcohol we had on the table that night (Soju+Beer+Wine+Chinese Wine+Whisky). We spoke about my sister (how a wee bit prettier she is than Hyeyoung hahaha!), how "wonderful" Hyeyoung is, how I can come over to lend them some manpower, how proud he is of Hyeyoung... Considering that even I had a translator (aka Hyeyoung), it was a progressive dinner as I tried to speak as much Korean as I could. We drank a lot but what really humbled me was how Hyeyoung's dad actually fed Qing and I with his spoon. (Most of the time in that order since she's more attractive.) I'm not sure if this is something common but I can feel the warmth and it's a comforting feeling.

Well thinking back, I'm confident to say that at the very least, the ice was broken. So Hyeyoung, thanks. Thanks for inviting us over and making this happen. It's one small step for Ernest and one giant leap for us.

Now, the next challenge is to keep the relationship "warm". :)