The Lotus Lantern Festival

There have been a lot of activities and festivals cancelled or postponed in light of the Sewol Ferry tragedy. Rightfully so, the country has been mourning and all citizens have banned together showing love and support for those affected.  Unlike us on the western side of the world, who tend to respond to disaster with the ideals of coming back stronger, harder and better, over here the healing process is found in quiet contemplation and solitude.

With that said the Buddhist celebration of the Lotus Lantern Festival in Seoul went on as scheduled, with the addition of many memorial attributes to the parade and festivities.  Look for the yellow ribbons in the pictures, those are in memory of the victims.

We had such a fabulous time! Great dinner at a little Beer and Chicken Hof. Then, as with every where we go, we ended up meeting some very friendly gentlemen at the parade.  We traded booze and snacks and enjoyed the floats and music together!  Only the one man spoke very broken english but we got along just fine.  Since this night, I've taken quite the liking to a Korean rice wine called Makgeoli, which is on average about 1,500 won a bottle... or $1.50.

Once the parade ended we followed it down the street where we met a cool couple who are in Korea with the American military.  Obama had actually flown out of their base that same day, which is random and cool.  They invited us to tag along to meet their Korean friend Yoogin...which led us to our first nori bang experience.  A nori bang is basically a place you can go and rent a room to do private karaoke. You can order food or drinks if you want...or you can just belt out a few songs solo if thats what you're into.   These things are wildly popular in Korea and we knew it was only a matter of time.

Next weekend is a long weekend. Monday is children's day and Tuesday is Buddha's birthday... so stay tuned for some 4 day weekend adventures.  We're meeting up with Scott Knox!