Borneo Travel Guide: Kuching

Farmboy and I headed to Borneo for 12 days in July last year. We had a great time, and would definitely recommend it. We had a few ups and downs, mainly due to the environmental damage , it was terribly sad to see so much deforestation. I probably wouldn't have noticed it if I was traveling with anyone else, but Farmboy was an environmental consultant is his former life and so was more aware than me (I thought there was a lot of green but what I thought was natural vegetation was 9 times out of 10 palm oil plantations). We also knew very little about Borneo (apart from the fact that it is one of the last places where you can see Orangutan in their natural habitat), and actually ended up deciding to go there because it had the cheapest flights and seemed like a very unique holiday destination. 

We spent the first part of our holiday in Kuching (2 days), moving onto Bantang Ai lake (3 days), then Kota Kinabalu (2 days) and then onto Semporna (1 day) & Mabul Island (4 days). As there is so much to say about our trip I am going to breaking up these posts into different parts. In this part I will be talking about Kuching. In part two I will be talking about Bantang Ai Lake; Part 3 I will be talking about Kota Kinabalu and finally in Part 4 I will write about Semporna & the scuba diving we did on Mabul Island.

You may be thinking of heading to Borneo soon (or sometime in the future) so to help you plan your trip, I have put together this travel guide, as well as some tips from our stay. Please keep in mind that my husband and I may travel very differently to you, and have different likes and preferences for things. I prefer the more luxurious path, while Farmboy would stay in a hammock for the entire trip if it was up to him. So we plan accordingly, and of course, try to stick to the budget.

Borneo is the name given to the biggest island in Asia (it's really big!) and is actually made up of 3 countries; Malaysia, Brunei & Indonesia. Malaysia & Brunei are far more geared to tourism (this has its perks but at the same time means that places are very touristy) whereas the Indonesian side is a lot more rural and natural. As we only had 2 weeks for our holiday we decided on Malaysian Borneo. If you are looking for a more authentic Bornean experience and you have more time, look into traveling around Indonesia Borneo. Also bear in mind the different visa requirements for Borneo & Malaysia before you travel.

Kuching

We flew from Incheon into Kuching (with an overnight layover in Kuala Lumpur). If you do have more than a 4 hour layover at night in Kuala Lumpur, I highly recommend booking into the new capsule hotel in Kuala Lumpur Airport (click here). It was fully booked when we arrived and we spent a very uncomfortable 6 hours sleeping under a cold concrete bench, hanging onto our belongings for dear life. The hotels in and around the airport are expensive and get booked up fast. You can book per hour at the capsule hotel and looked like a really fun experience.

Getting a taxi at the Airport

We arrived in Kuching at 8am and got a taxi to our guesthouse in Kuching. Most of the taxis in at the airports in Malaysian Borneo are regulated. You stand in a link and tell the teller where you are going and they then issue you a taxi voucher. You then give this voucher to the taxi driver and off you go. No dealing with cash or bargaining or being taken advantage of. It was such a different experience to Bali, Vietnam, Cambodia & the Philippines.

Accomodation

We spent 1 night in Kuching at Travellers Homestay in the Chinese Quarter of Kuching. It was a wonderful place, clean and so beautifully decorated and the host, Mai, was just wonderful. Such a warm and welcoming lady and we loved our stay at her guesthouse.

*W20 000 a night for a double room with aircon

The guesthouse is above the family run restaurant, and she is in the process of opening up a cooking centre to offer cooking courses to guests. The food was great and I highly recommend staying there if you're in Kuching.

Things to do in Kuching

We spent the day wondering around Kuching. Kuching is known as the City Of Cats. We walked from Travellers Homestay into the centre of town and spent some time wondering along the harbor. That night there was a food festival in town which was fun to wonder around. 

Semenggoh Nature Reserve

Our main reason for visiting Kuching was to see the Orangutan at the Semenggoh Nature Reserve. The Nature Reserve is home to the Orangutan rehabilitation centre, where you have a high chance of seeing Orangutan. The orangutans there are semi-wild which means that they live in a large area of trees around the reserve and feed themselves. Food is put out twice daily by the staff at the nature reserve to supplement that feeding. This means that during fruiting seasons when food is plentiful within the trees, the orangutans may have no need to (and don’t) visit the platforms. There are two feeding times a day (09h00 and 15h00) but best to get there early. The Oragutan are incredibly shy animals, and it's not guaranteed that they will come out at feeding time. We unfortunately were around a very noisy group of tourists who just wouldn't keep quiet. As the Oragutan are very shy, I'm sure the noise put them off. We had terrible luck and didn't see any oragutan, but travellers we met along our trip had seen the King, Reggie and a number of females with babies. We were really sad to miss them.

The Semenggoh Nature Reserve is easy to get to from Kuching by local bus.

From Kuching town centre, you want the number K6 or 6 from bus station number 2 which is near the mosque. Mai, our host at Traveller Homestay dropped us at the bus station. The bus leaves Kuching at: 7h20am, 9h50am, 1pm & 3pm. Returning from Semenggoh Nature Reserve at 8.20am, 11.15am, 2.05pm & 4.05pm (correct in August 2015). 

Tickets are RM3 per person each way, and the bus ride is about 45 minutes (but up to 1 hour). The bus adrops you right in front of the ticket office.

If you don't mind forking out some money for a taxi, it's about RM30 per way per taxi.

Entrance is RM10 per non-Malaysian adult for a single entry ticket. There are toilets just behind the office here. From there you walk about 20 minutes to get to the feeding area. It’s a nice walk with lots of trees, plants and animal calls to keep you entertained but it is just along the main road so be careful of the cars and tour buses which wizz pass you.

Once you’ve reached the actaul entrance to the Rehabilitation Area there are more toilets, a shop selling drinks and this is where you will congregate to hear a briefing. This is a safety briefings you need to listen to as they tell you what to do and what not to do to in terms of behaviour to ensure you’re respecting the environment of the animals but also to make sure you’re not seen as confrontational or a threat by the orangutans.

After a very disappointing few hours, we walked back to the entrance to the park where we were picked up by our hotel (Hilton Bantang Ai) in their shuttle to make the 4 hour journey to Bantang Ai. Even though we didn't see Oragutans it was still a nice way to spend the morning, and walking through the lush jungle of the National park was fun. 

Look our for Part 2 of our trip where I will be talking about Bantang Ai Lake and our stay at the Hilton.

DIY Hanging Photo Display using Square prints from Sticky9 & a GIVEAWAY!!!

Welcome to the next instalment in my #DIYDaysInKorea series. These posts are about making beautiful things for your home, whether that home is in South Korea, South Africa, or any where else in the world. This post follows on from the Gold Animal Fridge Magnets and these jars are what I used to store the Fig jam I blogged about last year.

If you are based here in Korea and would like to join one of my DIY days (click here to see what went on at the previous get togethers we've had) you can pop on over to the Facebook group for more information.  It's a wonderful place to meet new friends and spend an afternoon.

I hope you enjoy this series and that you leave feeling inspired.

x

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DIY Hanging Photo Display Using Square Prints from Sticky9

I recently ordered a pack of square prints from Stick9 made up from my Instagram photographs (Stick9 offers a whole bunch of products that are made up from your Instagram photographs...if you use my code FRIEND2JNT you'll get 15% off your first order!) and had been brainstorming uses for them for weeks. When the world map we had stuck up above our TV fell down one day, I decided that their square prints would fill the space perfectly. 

Farmboy and I live in South Korea in an apartment rented out to us by the Education Office, so we are unable to go about knocking new holes or nails into the walls. I made use of the existing nails (hence the very non-conforming shape that ensued this DIY) when I strung up my photographs.

This DIY is super easy, quick and completely customizeable! You can hang your photographs in any shape or form you wish! The options are endless and only limited by the number of nails you have available!

You Will Need

• plain wooden pegs (I bought these at my local CNA stationery store here in Korea for W500 for a pack of 5)
• newspaper/kitchen towel
• gold spray paint (I bought this at my local DC mart, you can also find spray paint at Daiso but their colour options are limited)
• string/wool (I had planned to use wool, but soon realised it wouldn't show up very well against my white wall)

Step 1

Order your Sticky9 prints by clicking here. Free delivery worldwide! My prints arrived in South Korea about 10 days after I placed my order.

Step 2

Cover your workspace with kitchen towel or newspaper to protect your floor. You can see clearly that I missed this step in my last DIY by the evidence in the below photograph...oops!

Step 3

Fold over the paper towel before you place your pegs to allow for even coating. Spray your wooden pegs with the gold spray paint, ensuring you keep an even distance with your spray paint to make sure the paint dries evenly. 

Step 4

Get hanging! There really is no exact science behind this, and as you can see, it doesn't really matter if you ignore all the rules of shapes and symmetry and go wild. 

Step 5

Snap a pic of your hanging photo's & and share them with me on the CityGirlSearching Facebook page so I can see them!

And now for the fun part! I have teamed up with Sticky9 and have 2 sets of square prints to giveaway to two lucky winners! All you have to do to enter follow the steps in the widget below.

The two winners will be chosen on Friday 27th November and will be notified via my Facebook page (click here).

Good Luck!

CityGirlSearching & Sticky9 Giveaway!

Current Favourite South African Youtubers

I recently added the title 'Vlogger' (video-blogger) or rather 'Youtuber' to my belt (click here to watch my videos!). As I am South African, I wanted to take some time today and share with you some creative South Africans who have their own youtube channels. Youtube is dominated by American voices, and so I am very happy to share these ladies with you. They make me proud to be South African!

I am always on the lookout for new Youtubers to follow and support, so if you also have a Youtube channel please leave me a link to your channel in the comments below so I can say hello.

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MY CURRENT FAVOURITE SOUTH AFRICAN YOUTUBERS

In no particular order, here they are. Simply click on the image below to be redirected to their blogs and youtube channels. 

Cape Town based beauty & lifestyle Blogger LeChelle Taylor. You can find her blog over here: Taylor Made

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Pretoria based beauty blogger Luzanne. You can find her blog here: Pink Peonies

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Cape Town based beauty and lifestyle blogger Chereen Styrdom. You can find her blog here: For the Beauty Of It.

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Johannesburg based beauty blogger Chantelle Bester. You can find her blog here: Not Another Poppie

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Pretoria based beauty blogger Chicara. You can find her blog here Lipgloss Kisses

Am I missing out on any other awesome South African vloggers and bloggers? Please let me know in the comments below if you have a youtube channel, or if you know someone who does that deserves a mention. I am always looking for more Bloggers & Youtubers to connect with!

Baekyangsa temple in Naejangsan National Park, South Korea

Naejangsan National Park is known throughout Korea as one of the best places to see the Autumn foliage. As with all National Parks, it's huge! Even after living in Korea for over 3 years I only just found out that there are in fact two separate temples which are on different sides of the park, each falling in a different province. Naejangsan Temple is in Jeollobokdo (click here for a full post on how to get there) and then Baekyangsa Temple (featured in this post) is actually in Jeollonamdo and closer to Gwangju. 

Both temples are beautiful and offer spectacular scenery, but Baekyangsa was my favourite. They are pretty far from each other and unless you have your own car, it would be very hard to get to both in one day. Naejangsan Temple is quite a far walk from the parking lot where the bus from Jeongeup drops you off, but there are lots of food stalls and beautiful leaves to keep you occupied as you make your way up to the temple. The temple at Baekyangsa was a much shorter walk from the parking lot, and had a lot more diverse scenery, and was my favourite place to photograph.

If driving, I have posted the address below. We started at the Naejangsan temple parking lots and then drove the 35km to Baekyangsa temple. The roads weren't very well marked and the sign posts were very erratic. It ended up taking over 1.5 hours to make the 35km journey. You might have better luck by bus going from Gwangju, however as I haven't made the journey by bus I can't offer too much info on it. When in doubt, call the English Helpline (1330 from any cellphone) here in Korea, those guys and girls work magic and will help direct you where you need to go with bus times and other useful info.

There was ample free parking near the entrance to the National Park (W3 000 per person). From there the walk to the temple was beautiful, with lots of views of the mountains and streams.

Address:

26 Yaksu-ri, Bukha-myeon, Jangseong-gun, Jeollanam-do

Just a note

Dogs are not permitted in the national Park (although we did see a few little fluffy heads poking our of handbags and backpacks). #ShadowtheJindo is too big to hide in a bag and so had to stay at home for this trip. National Parks don't allow dogs, but Provincial Parks like Seounusa and Gaemsa Temple near Gochang are pet friendly as long as your dog is lead. 

Innisfree Eco Safety Perfect Sunblock 50+ PA++ {Review}

Even though it's technically winter here in South Korea, whether you wear sunscreen (or suncream for my South African readers and sunblock for my American readers) should not be dependant on the season or weather. It should be worn every day regardless of how much sun you actually see in the sky.

For my own skin, I suffer from pigmentation (click here to read about my new wonder product from Innisfree) and one of the main causes of skin pigmentation is sun exposure. Having grown up in a country that has plenty of year round sunshine (South Africa) I was exposed to A LOT of sun growing up, and even though my parents were very cautions and made ma layer up with cream and hats when outside, I still spent a lot of my teenage years baking myself outside to achieve the perfect tan. Now that I am older and wiser (and the first few wrinkle...ahem, I mean 'laugh' lines are appearing) I have been making sure to wear a face suncream every day, without fail, and have incorporated it into my beauty regime. It's something that is just not worth missing out on. 

The Skin Cancer Foundation has the following to say about sunscreen:

Sunscreens are products combining several ingredients that help prevent the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation from reaching the skin. Two types of ultraviolet radiation, UVA and UVB, damage the skin, age it prematurely, and increase your risk of skin cancer.

UVB is the chief culprit behind sunburn, while UVA rays, which penetrate the skin more deeply, are associated with wrinkling, leathering, sagging, and other light-induced effects of aging (photo-aging). They also exacerbate the carcinogenic effects of UVB rays, and increasingly are being seen as a cause of skin cancer on their own. Sunscreens vary in their ability to protect against UVA and UVB.

What about SPF?

Most sunscreens with an SPF of 15 or higher do an excellent job of protecting against UVB. SPF — or Sun Protection Factor — is a measure of a sunscreen's ability to prevent UVB from damaging the skin. Here's how it works: If it takes 20 minutes for your unprotected skin to start turning red, using an SPF 15 sunscreen theoretically prevents reddening 15 times longer — about five hours.

Another way to look at it is in terms of percentages: SPF 15 filters out approximately 93 percent of all incoming UVB rays. SPF 30 keeps out 97 percent and SPF 50 keeps out 98 percent. They may seem like negligible differences, but if you are light-sensitive, or have a history of skin cancer, those extra percentages will make a difference. And as you can see, no sunscreen can block all UV rays.

Thankfully, these days, suncreams are no longer these thick lotions that turn you a ghostly shade of pale, and there are so many skin care lines that are producing suncreams with various properties. I have always been a BIG fan of the FaceShop's range of suncreams (like their Oil Cut range which is great for oilier skin and provides a matte finish) and ha been alternating between that and their Natural Sun Eco Power Long Lasting Suncream. That was until I tried the Eco Safety Perfect Sunblock from Innisfree. 

As you can see this particular suncream has an SPF factor of 50+ and is PA+++. 

So what does PA+++ mean? PA is a Japanese/Korean rating system that shows how much protection you are getting from UVA rays. You will see either PA+, PA++, or PA+++ on the label, with more + signs meaning a higher level of UVA protection.  

The Eco Safety Perfect Sunblock from Innisfree combines all of my needs in a suncream. It's mattifying, non-greasy and acts as a primer for my skin, allowing my makeup to glide on top effortlessly. It sinks into my skin instantly so no waiting around for that typical suncream shine to go away. 

The Innisfree Eco Safety Perfect Sunblock SPF 50+ PA+++ is made with organic sunflower oil and organic green tea grown on Jeju island in Korea. It’s also made with their famous “5 free” formula. According to Innisfree, their products are free of parabens, artificial dyes, ethanol, animal ingredients, and mineral oil. 

I have normal to combination skin (although it is drier in Winter times and oilier in the summer) and right now this suncream is perfect for my skin type. If you have oilier skin, Innisfree does offer a formula called Eco Safety No Sebum Sunblock which absorbs sebum and provides more of a matte finish. I find currently, this formula offers the perfect makeup base for my skin and I love how soft and smooth my skin is after using it. 

The cream is a thick, white formulation which I didn't find left a white cast on my skin at all. I have an olive skin tone (which is much darker than most Koreans) and yet I didn't find that my skin had a white cast at all after application. You can see my hand in the before and after photographs below. 

I will most definitely be repurchasing this suncream when mine runs out and have been most impressed with the formula as well as what a great makeup base it is.

And incase you're still wondering whether you should be wearing suncream, maybe this video will convince you...

Are there any sun care products that you current love? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

Caleb Bear Honsbein - Newborn Photography in South Korea

World, meet little Caleb Bear Honsbein. Caleb is the happy baby boy of one of my special friends here in South Korea. Caleb's mom went to the same University as both Farmboy and myself and we've spent many happy weekends together (including for her Winnie the Pooh baby shower). It has been so wonderful being able to celebrate the arrival of her little boy.

Here are some photographs from Caleb's newborn shoot which we did at their house in Yeosu. Granny was visiting and I was able to also capture a few special moments between her and Caleb too.

If you're looking for a photographer to capture some special moments, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me. You can see more of my work by hovering over the Photography menu bar above.

Enjoy!

x

Bridal Inspired Fairytale Styled Photo Shoot in Buan, South Korea

A few weeks ago a group of really awesome creatives arrived at my house in Buan, South Korea to work on a bridal inspired photo shoot to showcase a beautiful set of wedding stationery made by Bohemian Mint.  

This is the second styled photo shoot I have done with Marketa (the talented lady behind Bohemian Mint). Our first shoot was a wild flower, bohemian bridal inspired shoot (click here to see the photographs) with a very light and feminine feel. That shoot was so much fun and has even been featured on a number of wedding websites. After it's success we have felt inspired to continue creating more. These styled shoots are also a lot of fun and working with likeminded creatives to create something beautiful is what I love doing.

Marketa and I 'met' over Instagram, and with the help of a group of local creatives here in South Korea, we were able to bring to life our next idea of utilising the changing seasons into another bridal inspired theme. We created a Pinterest board and Marketa used all of our ideas to create the beautiful wedding stationery set pictured below. Before the stationery arrived I worked on finding a model, stylist and makeup artist who would all share our same vision.

Once the stationery had arrived from the USA, the idea behind the shoot changed slightly and Sam (our stylist) and I started leaning towards something a little more fairytale like. What we ended up with was a loose Red Riding Hood fairytale theme with a twist. After lots of brainstorming with Farmboy, he gave us the idea of incorporating a few apocalyptic shots to make use of the stunning Autumn harvest setting surrounding my town here in Korea . After a late night of creating flower crowns and persimmon baskets (persimmons are in season right now here in Korea) Sam and I created a story board for a shoot. I'd love to hear from you in the comments below if you are able to follow the story we created through my photographs!

The shoot would not have been possible without the following incredibly talented ladies. Thank you to all of you for all your help, for all your talents and for being so easy to work with:

• Model: Stephanie Hedger from Hedgers Abroad 
• Stylist: Sam Gross from There She Goes Again
• Makeup Artist: Aimee Klass from Aimee Klass Makeup
• Stationery Designer: Marketa Forstova-Horton from Bohemian Mint
• Photographer: Roxy Hutton (me!) from CityGirlSearching

And now the end result of our Fairytale Bridal Inspired Styled Photoshoot.

Enjoy!

x

Thank you again to each and every one of these ladies:

• Model: Stephanie Hedger from Hedgers Abroad 
• Stylist: Sam Gross from There She Goes Again
• Makeup Artist: Aimee Klass from Aimee Klass Makeup
• Stationery Designer: Marketa Forstova-Horton from Bohemian Mint
• Photographer: Roxy Hutton (me!) from CityGirlSearching

Autumn in Korea - Naejangsan National Park in Jeongeup

Farmboy and I had a very exciting time last weekend as my mom arrived from South Africa to spend the next 2 weeks with us. She has been wanting to experience a Korean Autumn since we arrived here back in 2013 and so we took her to Naejangsan National Park just outside of Jeongeup so she could experience the vibrant colours for herself.

Naejangsan is one of the most popular places in all of Korea to see the Autumn (or Fall) foliage and it's easy to see why. The hillsides and pathways are covered in a multitude of red, orange and yellow leaves. We headed there on a Friday afternoon in the hopes of missing some of the crowds, but only got lucky because of the freezing cold weather and icy wind. By the time we had arrived most of the people were on their way home, racing back to their cars and tour buses to escape the wind. This was very convenient for us as we had the mountainside just about to ourselves, and were able to quickly take these photographs before it got dark.

Naejangsan is easy enough to get to by public transport. You can catch a local city bus from the Jeongeup bus station. The bus leaves from right outside the CU Convenience store (not from the usual bus platform inside the bus terminal) which is right next door to the bus terminal. If you get lost just pop into the CU and ask for the bus to Naejangsan.

The bus ride is about 40 minutes long and you'll get dropped at the parking lots at the base of the park. From there it's about a 25 minute walk to the entrance to the National Park. There is a small (W3 000) entrance fee...make sure to bring cash as they don't accept cards. From the National Park entrance you slowly make your up through the leaves and trees to Naejagsan Temple, it's about a 1.5km walk.  Along the way there are a few stalls to buy souvenirs and other trinkets, as well as a cable car  closer to the temple which you can take all the way up the mountain side. 

Once you get to the temple and make your way back down to the visitors centre, you can catch a shuttle bus back down to the entrance (W1000 per person) or you can walk the 1.5km back down. 

Here are a few photographs of some of the interesting people we saw along the way. The walk up (and down if you don't take the shuttle) can take a looonnnggg time if you enjoy taking photographs, so make sure to bring along some water and snacks to keep you going. 

Address:

Naejang-dong, Jeongeup-si, Jeollabuk-do
전북 정읍시 내장동 , 전남 장성군 북하면 백양로

Gwangju Dog Park 'Pet Theme Park' {광주애견테마파크}

Socialsing a dog in Korea can be really hard. Unless you have friends nearby who own dogs, the chances of your dog being able to play with other dogs is slim. There are dog cafes in the bigger cities that allow you to bring your dogs to them (like this one in Gunsan) but cafes and parks that have outdoor space for big dogs to romp and play are few and far between. I was so happy to hear about the 'Pet Theme Park' dog cafe in Gwangju which features a swimming pool, air conditioned indoor area and a really big fenced off outside area. 

The Dog cafe is located about 20 km west of the centre of Gwangju, so isn't in the city itself so it might be harder to get to without your own car. But if you have a friend with a car or your dog is small enough to take in a carrier on a bus & taxi, the trip is definitely worth it!

There is even a big swimming pool for the dogs when it's really hot. When I was there, the pool area was closed off for what looked like a private lesson for a very sweet looking spaniel. I think the pool is open to all when it's really hot.

Here's a quick video I made of Shadow having a grand old time with his new Corgi friend (as well as two Huskies). It also gives you a bit of an idea of what the inside of the cafe looks like. There are snacks and drinks available to purchase, as well as coffee and tea to order.

The whole cafe is set up in such a nice way, with lots of scented candles and soaps which really make it smell wonderful, rather than 'doggy' as most dog cafes can't help bit smell like disinfectant and wet dog. The cafe also offers a 'dog hotel' service and the accept dogs of all sizes to stay. I think the prices for overnight stays are around W30 000. For the use of the cafe it was W7 000 per dog (at least for my dog it may be less for smaller dogs) and W7 000 per person. It's a little pricier than other dog cafes, but it was worth it for the huge amount of space they have for your dog to run around safely. 

Here is their (Korean) website: Gwangju Dog

Here is their Facebook Page: Pet Theme Park

Address: 300-1, Daesan-dong, Gwangju

Tel: 062-941-5880

Christmas Gift Ideas: Goodies from my Stationery Store

There are only 8 weekend left until Christmas, an I don't know about you but I am definitely not ready. I am especially not ready to even start thinking about gifts but luckily, I own a stationery store! Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas?! Now I just need to find some manly bits of stationery for Farmboy (maybe something that ties in with his love for fishing?? Hmmm....).

To make your life easier I wanted to share some of the lovely pieces I have for sale. I offer worldwide shipping (there are some issues with shipping to SA but drop me a message if you'd like to order anything and I'll let you know about the bet way to get your your pretty goodies).

I accept payment by PayPal (you don't have to have a PayPal account) which means you can pay by credit card from anywhere in the world...yippe! Each order that leaves my store is beautifully packaged, making even the opening of the gift a lovely experience. Shipping generally takes 2 - 3 weeks for international orders so make sure to get your orders in soon.

Happy Shopping everyone!

The Hunger Games English Camp - Lesson Ideas for Teaching English in Korea

If you're an English Teacher here in Korea you will have (hopefully) heard or know about the English camps you are required to teach your students during the winter & summer holidays. According to your school schedule and hoe many schools you teach at you may have 1 or 2 camps (or even more) camps. We are all supposed to teach 20 hours of camp during the vacation (you may have more/less) but 20 hour is the standard. I usually break this up into 1 week of camp with 4 hours a day. My classes have always been in the morning. 

In my first year at my current middle school I developed a Hunger Games English camp (thanks to this  wonderful thread and the original creator 'Marbar' on Waygook!). I have successfully done this camp 3 times now with different students. They all LOVE it! I teach at an all girls school, but the lessons would suit mixed students too. I have taught this to First & Second Grade Middle School students, and then have just slightly adapted the lessons for the higher/lower level grades.

The camp is based on the first book, with lessons and fun activities surrounding a poster they will complete by the end if the camp, leading up to the final day where the students present their poster and watch the full screening of the first Hunger Games movie.

I want to share these lessons with you in the hopes that they might help you in your camp planning. I will post a Google download link to the camp below where you will be able to download the plan, lessons I created (and be able to edit them to suit your school) as well as the workbook I created for the students to fill in as we went along (I basically just inserted the powerpoint slides and made blanks for them to write down notes etc). Here is a link to download the plan, the printables, the ice breaker for the first day, the actual power point slides and the workbook:

I don't break my schedule up into hours/lessons (although this is how the plan works) but I rather teach until I can see the students need a break and then stop to give them some time to relax. I have found on some days we only stop for a short bathroom break as the students get really into the lessons and have a lot of fun. You will have to judge the timing based on how your students respond.

I always start off my camp with an ice breaker activity, and then divide my students up into their teams. I did this following the reaping ceremony in the Hunger Games whereby my students reach into a hat and pull out their team. They stay in that team for the entire camp and the activities are based upon that team. I also use their team names to keep score of points for prizes/snacks throughout the camp. (pictured aboveO. 

I wanted my students to produce a poster by the end of the camp, and so on the first day I had my students divide their poster page into 5 sections (4 sections and a centre circle for their team name/logo). I have the section 'Homework' on the camp plan above (that is more for admin purposes as some schools will want to see you at least plan to give the students homework) but I have never given them actual homework to do. There has always been time in the lessons to finish all the work.

Here are the finished posters:

One of the activities my students loved the most was designing the costumes for the Opening Cemerony. I went to my nearest Daiso and bought a whole bunch of random supplies (bubble wrap, tinsel, gloves, ribbon, string, cleaning cloths and sponges etc) an then gave the students free reign to do what they liked. This is what they came up with:

I hope you found this camp idea useful. If you use this idea or have any other great ideas for English camp themes I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

Happy camp planning!

Low Carb Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Banana Cranberry Cookies {Recipe}

Another thing I have really missed while following the Banting eating plan (Banting is a form of Low Carb, High Fat lifestyle which you can find out more about by clicking here) is cookies. So many of the low card cookie variations are bland, leaving me feeling unsatisfied and still craving a soft cookie! These on the other hand have been a wonderful new addition to the sweet dessert section of my recipe collection. I have had success with two batches of these cookies, and I have enjoyed not just the softer, more crumbly version but also the more crunchy/a little burnt version which resulted when I forgot about them in my oven over night. 

If you've never baked anything Banting/Low Carb before, you need to keep in mind that you aren't baking traditional sweet treats. As you're not using regular wheat flour and processed sugar, what you make isn't going to taste like what you are used to. I've gotten used to the taste of Banting baked goods and have been just happy to be able to eat treats while still maintaining my figure. I just wanted to mention that as some people get all antsy about Banting baked good because they don't taste like the real thing. Of course they don't silly, but they also have none of the carbs that regular baked goods have and they still taste great and will satisfy your cravings! What's not to like?!

Chocolate isn't exactly Banting approved unless you are using dark chocolate (the darker the better so anything over 70% cocoa is best). I only had the Kirkland brand of chocolate chips which I bought from Costco and these are only 51% cocoa. But it's what I had on hand, so depending on how strict you want to be try and find very dark chocolate or omit completely. Again, with cranberries, these aren't actually on the 'allowed' eating list (which you can find here) but blueberries, cherries & strawberries are in small amounts. As I only had cranberries on hand, that's what went into these cookies. So please do feel free to adjust these cookies, adding/taking away any extra yummy things you like. I can imagine these would be really good with chopped up almonds & cherries!

Coconut flour is an incredible dense flour to work with and is very absorbent! Much more than you would think just by looking at it. Because of this, start slowly when adding the coconut flour and judge by your mixture how much you need to add in. I substituted a few things as I didn't have cream of tarter on hand and I think they still came out just fine. I substituted baking powder for both the tarter & baking soda (see measurements below).

Ingredients (makes about 20 cookies)

• 2 fresh ripe large banana, (400 grams)
• 2 large egg
• 4 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil, (slightly warmed for easier mixing. Room temperature)
• 5-6 tbsp coconut flour
• 2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cream of tartar (this is what the original recipe called for but as I didn't have these on hand I substituted 1 tsp Baking Powder for the tarter & baking soda) 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup cranberries

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking pan with greaseproof paper or make sure to grease your pan well.
• Using a mixer, combine the banana and the egg. Slowly add the coconut oil (coconut oil must not be hot or it will cook the egg. You just need to the warm the coconut oil slightly warmed enough to mix in smoothly). Add the coconut flour, vanilla, cream of tartar, baking soda (or baking powder) and sea salt. Mix until smooth. Lastly add the chocolate chips & any other things you want to add.
• Using a spoon, drop 1 your desired size balls of batter onto the baking tray leaving space between each cookie. Use the back of the spoon or your fingers to smooth the cookies to a flat cookie shape. The cookies will not naturally flatten, you must do this yourself unless you want to eat balls of cookies
• Bake for 20 - 40 minutes depending on the heat of your oven. I have a very small convection oven which heats up incredible fast and is very hard to gauge the temperature with the temperature controller. I set the timer for 20 minutes and then keep checking on them to make sure they don't burn. Leave in longer for more of a crispier cookie, or take out before they go brown for a softer, more crumbly cookie.

Do you have any low carb cookie recipes that you love to make? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below as I'm always on the look out for new cookie recipes!

Innisfree Whitening Pore Synergy Serum {Review}

Innisfree established itself in Korea in 2007 as the first natural beauty brand to set up shop in Korea and it markets itself as an authority on eco-friendly skincare. Their products feature extracts of pure ingredients from Jeju Island and are packaged in eco-friendly materials, making me, and a lot of other women, huge fans of this skincare brand. 

I have been using the Innisfree Whitening Pore Synergy Serum for a while now and I'm really excited to share my thoughts on it with you.

One of my biggest skin concerns is pigmentation. When I was younger I had pretty bad skin (lots of pimples and my skin was always inflamed from my constant touching and picking) and I tried a host of lotions and potions, eventually resorting to Ruaccutane which sorted my skin out after the second round of use. Since then I have been lucky to have pretty clear skin.

But, I do suffer from pigmentation, which I'm sure is a direct result of the contraceptive pill. I don't view my pigmentation as a dehabilitating thing, I know it's more of a vanity issue than anything else, but I am always interested in products that are specifically catering for this skin issues. I wear a factor 50+ sunscreen everyday, and wear a hat most of the time that I am outdoors to combat any further damage to my skin. It's the summer months when I am outdoors more and the sun is stronger, that my skin really suffers. I know there are more permanent options out there, like laser and peels but they scare me a bit and as I am pretty sure my skin is due to The Pill I am planning on waiting until after I have children before venturing into the realms of laser.

This serum claims to offer the combined goodness of an ampoule & an essence (if you're not sure what the difference is between the two click here) for an intensive whitening treatment. It claims to diminish dark spots and brighten uneven skin-tone.

On that note, here is a before and after of 4 weeks of use of this serum. All these photographs are unedited and I am not wearing any makeup in either of them. Although the lighting is a bit different, the results are quite drastic. These shots were all taken on my iPhone in the early morning after a light walk with my dog. I really hadn't noticed an actual difference in my skin tone until I put these photographs next to each other. Although the pigmentation is still noticeable on the right, my skin tone is much more even and looks a lot smoother and now after seeing these photographs together I think I am going to go and purchase ALL the other products in this range! 

I use this serum both day and night under either my  Innisfree Whitening Pore Cream (review to come soon) or my Innisfree Eco Science Cream (when I need more moisture) both of which I use at night. I wear this serum under my Nivea Q10 Day Cream for day time use. 

The serum comes in a pump dispenser with 50ml of product. The pump is great for measuring out the right amount of product without unnecessary wastage. I always seem to apply too much product to my skin and end up wiping my hands on my towel and wasting too much. The fact that this serum also comes in a pump means it is far more hygienic than sticking your fingers in a tub. 

I really wasn't expecting much from this product and have been quite shocked at the before and after photographs. The serum isn't cheap though and will set you back W28 000 at your local Innisfree store. You might want to wait until Innisfree has their monthly sales where most of their products are on sale for 30% - 50% off. This serum should last anywhere from 2 - 3 months with daily use (both morning and night) as you only need one pump of product per application. 

Have you used any of the Whitening Pore range from Innisfree? Did you notice any results? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

Nami Island Zipline and the Autumn Leaves

Nami Island is a teeny tiny 'island' situated in the middle of the Han River just outside of Seoul. It's quite a way from Seoul itself, so keep that it mind if you are hoping to just pop by while you're next in Seoul. You need to get to Gapyoung Station (about a 1.5hour subway ride from central Seoul).

Nami Island became a popular tourist destination after the wildly successful Korean drama, Winter Sonata. In the movie, the famous 'Kiss Scene' can be re-created (complete with little snowmen replicas) but be prepared to queue up for your photo opportunity. Even though it seemed quite silly to replicate something from a movie we had never heard of or watched, it was fun and definitely a part of the Nami Island experience.

We had a long weekend and make the long trek up to Seoul from our town after school, Buan, arriving in Seoul at 11pm and taking the last subway as far as it would go before the lines were closed. We got as far as PyeongnaeHapyeong at midnight and found a motel and restaurant open all night to grab dinner before crashing in our motel. Our aim was to to get to Gapyeong Station (the subway station right the Island) the night before so that we could get to Nami Island early the next morning and catch the first ferry/first zipline. We only ended up getting to the Gapyeoung Wharf at 09h00 and realised that there are a few motels/pensions you could stay at to be right at the ferry terminal to catch the first ferry. Nami Island is ALWAYS busy, so week days would be far quieter but most of us aren't able to get there on a week day. If you get there early it will be MUCH better than later in the day. By the time we were heading home, thousands of people were only just arriving and the queues for everything were so long. Also, we caught a taxi from Gapyeong station to the ferry terminal (W7 000) but there really is no need. It's only about 1.5km's and will only take you about 25 - 30 minutes to walk.

The first ferry runs at 07h30 and goes every 20 - 30 minutes. The Zipline opens at 09h00 and they take about 8 people up at a time so the waiting time is long. We arrived at 09h30 and had to wait until 11am before we could go across. It wasn't a bad wait, as there is a cute coffee shop to grab a drink and people watch. The Zipline itself was a lot of fun. A little scary for me, but nothing crazy, and lasted about 90 seconds. There are two courses (the family course & the adventure course). The family course lands right on the Nami island and the adventure course lands on a smaller island next to Nami, and then you take a small boat across to to Nami. The adventure course was W38 000pp and included entrance to the island and the ferry back to the mainland.

ZipLine Info

Fare: 38,000 won
Operating hours: April-October 09h00 ~ 19h00 / November-March 09h00 ~ 18h00
* 8,000 won discount with SK Telecom T-membership
* Operation may be discontinued in the case of snow, rain, or strong winds
* For inquires: +82-31-582-8092

Dogs up to 5kg's are allowed on the island, you can see all the rules in the photo above.

Nami Island declared its cultural 'independence' in 2006 and re-named itself the Naminara Republic (Namisun).
The Naminara Republic is an imaginary country, but it has invented its own passport, currency, stamp and telephone card.  A 'passport' issued from Naminara is required to enter the Namisum. We didn't need this passport as we got onto the island via the zip line and we were rather happy to avoid the huge lines at 'immigration'. If you bring your passport with you to prove you are a 'foreigner' to Korea you get a small discount on admission. Normal entrance to the island is W10 000 pp but with the foreinger discount it is W8 000.

Korea, (and Nami Island is no exception) sure know how to do cute. Here are some photographs from the coffee shop at the ferry terminal. Snowball couple EVERYTHING.

We had hoped to see more Autumn/Fall colours on Nami, but we were obviously a little too early. The leaves usually peak at the end of October/beginning of November, but bear in mind that is when the rest of Korea will be wanting to see the colours too. Be prepared for the crowds and go as early as possible. Even with a lot of green, Nami was beautiful. There is a wonderful, relaxed feeling on the island. Everyone was smiling and there was a lot of laughter. I would definitely recommend going there, and from what I could tell online, it's beautiful in every season so even if you miss the Autumn leaves, you can can go anytime of the year. The recommended months to visit are May, July - August & October.  

Everything is more expensive on Nami, this isn't a surprise (our pizza costs us W28 000!!!!) so I'd suggest packing a picnic lunch and a blanket and finding a spot under the trees to enjoy your lunch/breakfast. There are also a number of places to stay on the island (cute cottages and a hotel of sorts) in case you are able to book ahead and want to spend longer on the island. We were there from 11h30 and by 3pm we were definitely ready to head home. Nami isn't big, you can wall around the entire island in an hour or so. There are also bycicles, tandems and other things to rent and we saw lots of families enjoying themselves.

How to get to Nami Island

By Subway:

• Get off at GAPYEONG station (on the Gyeongchun Line) & walk/taxi to Gapyeoung Wharf (the ferry terminal). It's a 30 minute walk or a W7 000 taxi).
• If walking, head out the station and turn left. Then follow the cars!

By ITX Train:

• Yongsan → Gapyeong Station (about 60 min.)
• Cheongyangni → Gapyeong Station (about 42 min.)
• Chuncheon → Gapyeong Station (about 20 min.)
• Bear in mind the train doesn't go very often so make sure to look at the train schedule (or book online here). 

By Shuttle Bus:

• Insa-dong: 09h30 (Nearby the West Gate of Tapgol Park)
• Namdaemun: 09h30 (Sungnyemun Square Bus Stop in front of Namdaemun Market)
• Price: Adult W15 000(round-trip) / W7 500(one-way) 

More info on the shuttle bus can be found here >>> Nami Shuttle Bus

Let me know if you make it to Nami Island and what you thought of it! I love hearing from you.

Where to see the Autumn/Fall Leaves in Korea 2015

Typically, mid-October into early November is the peak time to see the leaves turning here in Korea. But this year, the leaves have begun to change earlier than expected. 

Just as wonderful as the spring blossoms (click here) the Autumn/Fall foliage is breathtaking. For us South Africans, we just don't get sights like this back home. The trees turn of course, but it's just nothing like the sea of red and yellow that greets you here in Korea.

The four most popular mountains (and therefore the busiest!) places to see the Autumn colours are Naejangsan (내장산) just outside of the town of Jeongeup, Jirisan (지리산) which is close to Namwon, Seoraksan (석악산) in Gangwon Province and Gwanaksan (관악산) which is closer to Seoul. 

We made it to Naejangsan (pictured below) in 2013 and and last year I took some photographs at Seonunsan, just outside Gochang (pictured at the bottom of this post).

As with many outdoor activities here in Korea, be prepared for the crowds! We were stuck on a bus for 2 hours making our way to Naejangsan, due to the hoards of people and cars, and eventually jumped off the bus and decided to walk the 5km road from the base of the mountain to the actual main viewing. It was a logistical nightmare. But, as long as you know it's going to be chaos and you are prepared for that, you will be rewarded with stunning sights. Seoununsan is much quieter, and offers just as much beauty as Naejangsan.

Here is a map of the expected Autumn/Fall foliage here in Korea:

Naejangsan (Jeongeup, Jeollobokdo)

Seonunsan, Gochang Jeollobokdo

Do you have any recommendations of places to see the foliage here in Korea? Any secret spots you've been to? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

Forest Fairy Styled Shoot in Buan, South Korea

Last month I got together with Rachel from KIT Makeup to work on one more styled shoot before she left Korea to go back to the UK. Rachel did the beautiful bridal makeup for the Wild Flower Boho Bridal Inspired shoot I did a few months ago, and so I was very happy to work with her again. 

For this shoot, the initial idea was for a forest fairy using an inspiration board of cream, white and blues. Then our ideas changed when our gorgeous model (Rhea) mentioned that she had a black, lacy slip that she wouldn't mind wearing for the shoot and we decided to go for a darker, almost nymph like fairy. We then used the forest nearby my house as inspiration for our makeup palette and I am so happy with how it all turned out. I was very nervous about the light in the forest as I knew there would be a lot of shade and dappled light and I don't like using flash. The light ended up being much easier to work with than I had expected. We chose two slightly different looks and had so much fun playing with the ivy. After a near disaster (whereby I formatted my memory card without checking to see if I had backed up the RAW photographs first...blog post to come soon on the amazing recovery software I found!) here are the results of our collaboration.

If you're here in Korea and would like to book me for you own styled or themed shoot, please do get in touch! You can email me using the contact form above or using citygirlsearching(at)gmail(dot)com. 

In the mean time, here are the photographs of our Forest Fairy shoot.

Enjoy!

x

All photographs taken with my Nikon D700 and 50mm 1.4.

Edited gently in Lightroom.

Everyday Makeup Look Tutorial With Light Smokey Eye & Bright Lip (Video Tutorial)

I've been on my video game lately, having published two Youtube videos in one week! I'm feeling very inspired to continue making videos, so If there is anything in particular you'd like to see (beauty, lifestyle, life in Korea, more of my rescue pup!) let me know in the comments below. Also, I would so appreciate it if you could take a moment to subscribe to my channel by clicking here...thank you!

Today's post is an everyday makeup tutorial with a very light smokey eye and a bright lip thrown into the mix. This is my everyday makeup look that I wear to work here in Korea and it really doesn't take long to apply. I won't always wear face & eye primer, it depends on whether I remember to apply it and I don't wear eye liner everyday but since I found these 101 Play Eyeliners from Etude House, I wear eye liner more often. They are just so easy to use and are super long lasting.

Enjoy! x

I absolutely love the Innisfree Colour Glow lipstick featured at the end of the video (click here for a full review), it has such an amazing creamy texture and glides onto your lips so effortlessly. You don't need to fuss with putting it on, it just goes on where it's supposed to. I do wish it lasted longer, but that's the problem with creamier lipsticks. I don't mind reapplying it throughout the day though, its easy enough that you don't even need a mirror!

Here are full reviews of the products mentioned in the video. Just click on each image to see the full review.

Remember to leave me a comment below if there is something particular you want to see in my next video, I love hearing from you!

Camping & Fishing in Korea, Gyeongbok Province & Andong Folk Village

Farmboy and I camp a lot here in Korea. One of the main reasons for all of our camping is because of our pup Shadow. Another reason is that once you invest in your camping gear you no longer have to pay anything for accommodation (apart from campsite fees if you camp in actual camping grounds).

Having a car here in Korea has always been a big life changer, as we would never be able to get to the places we have explored without a car (and, being a CityGirl, camping for me should still involve some level of comfort and there is just no way I would be able to carry a blow up mattress and pump in a backpack loaded with everything else). If you'd like to read more about owning a dog in Korea then click here. I've written lots of helpful posts that you might find useful if you have a dog. Also, click here to see all our other posts on camping.

We went camping over the Chuseok holidays (we had a 4 day weekend this year with Monday & Tuesday being public holidays) up near Yeongju (Gyeonbok Province) and so this left us enough time to make the 6 hour journey up North from our town. Something to bear in mind over Chuseok, most Koreans head South to their family home towns meaning there are fewer cars heading North at the start of the holiday. We were warned about the traffic and had no problems as we were going against the traffic in both directions. We left at 3am on the Saturday and although out lane was completely clear, the traffic was almost to a standstill in the opposite direction...at 3am! So keep that in mind when planning your trip. We also tried as best we could to avoid the IC (main highways) and stuck to the smaller roads.

Farmboy has really been into his fishing lately (both bass and fly fishing) and so we were headed up North in search of trout. Much to his disappointment, there weren't too many bites, even though we were in an area that is well known for trout. He still had a great time fishing, and the areas surrounding the streams and rivers were beautiful, so that made up for it. For this trip, Farmboy had heard that the streams around Bonghwa are great places to fish for trout and so we went onto google maps and searched for Bonghwa, and then zoomed in on the map in search of legitimate camp sites. If you zoom in close enough on an area in Maps on your iPhone you'll see the little brown tent symbol which shows campsites in the area. Then we simply drove along the road in search of the best place for us to itch our tent.

After our very early start, we arrived at 8am at one of the most beautiful valleys I have ever seen here in Korea.  We followed a small country road (following this address: 산129 Daehyeon-ri, Seokpo-myeon Bonghwa-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do). The area is known as Kosun Creek (고선계곡) and is filled with camping sites, MinBaks and Pensions (Korean Guesthouses). The first camping site we came across looked abandoned, and across from it another site only had one caravan. We headed over to chat to the only camper we could see and find out more about that particular campsite. He was incredibly friendly, spoke wonderful English and proceeded to tell us about much better spots to fish and set up camp further up stream. He also shared his breakfast with us. He had a rather impressive camp set up, which he told us was just for him when he needed a break from his family. He told us he has a much bigger caravan back home for when his wife and kids join him...sounds like a good life to me!

We don't like camping in specified camping grounds, and we also know that we would probably be turned away when people catch sight of Shadow, and so we usually just drive to a quiet spot to set up camp. We have yet to be kicked off a spot or to run into any problems just setting up camp. We also always make a fire and have yet to have any issues. If you do this, just make sure to clean up after yourselves. Toilets are the only downside to this kind of camping...bushes are your only option. We either burn the used toilet paper or keep it in a packet to throw away at home/along the way. We also like to camp near water so we can at least have some version of a bird bath if we are camping for more than one night.

For our camping trips we eat the following:

• Breakfast: coffee/tea and digestive biscuits
• Lunch: Bolognese mince/tuna wraps with salad
• Snacks: store bought popcorn/crackers/Gim or seaweed packs 
• Dinner: samgyupsal/pre-cooked sausages/vienna sausages, sweet potatoes fire 
• Dessert: s'mores (& wine/soju!)

The only downside to this style of camping is you don'c actually know where you are going to be sleeping that night. This means you need to factor in time (while it's still light) to find and set up camp. We don't usually stay at the same spot 2 nights in a row as there is so much to see and explore here in Korea, and so we end up driving around (often times getting frustrated) in search of the perfect spot. We found the one below after about an hour and at the end of a very tiny country road that wasn't even on our gps. It was below a train line (a little bit nerve wracking) but the train was still far enough above us to not cause us any worry. It only ended up going a few times during the night.

As we had made it all the way to Gyonbok, we headed to Andong for the Mask Festival. I hadn't realised that there are two parts to the festival (the Folk Village and the Mask Festival) and that they are really far from each other. The Mask Festival is in Andong itself, whereas the folk village was about 30km out of town. There are shuttles that go between the two, but bear in mind that you probably need a car to get to the Folk village. We also had no idea if they would allow dogs in, but they seemed to have no problem with Shadow. 

Are there any great camping spots you can recommend? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below. There are still a few more good weekends left before it gets to cold to camp. 

Jinju Lantern Festival

The Jinju Lantern Festival kicked off this past weekend (October 3rd) and goes on until next weekend (October 11th). Next Friday is also a public holiday (it's Hangul Day!) making it a long weekend for everyone here in Korea. Here are photographs from the festival last year. We drove there from our town (Buan) and had underestimated the traffic that comes with festivals here in Korea. Sometimes, especially when it comes to festivals here in Korea, it can end up being easier to just take a bus instead of driving. We had no choice but to drive as we had just rescued Shadow and had planned on camping for the night, therefore needing lots of space for all our camping gear.

We had already planned to go to the festival before we found Shadow, and so our poor little pup had to just put up with the fireworks and hustle and bustle of people. There were so many people at the festival, but it was still a good experience. We ended up caping on a spot of green that we could see on our iPhone map, which turned out to be the plush, very well cared for, front lawn of a Public Library! We woke up as soon as we heard the first library visitors and packed up as fast as we could, and hurried on down to the water front to have breakfast.

You can 'technically camp' anywhere in Korea (we have camped on abandoned tennis courts, closed roads, river streams, near train lines and in a golf course parking lot!) as long as you clean up after yourself. I wouldn't say it's actually legal to camp on library laws or golf courses where we have camped, but we usually leave before anyone can find us, and make sure to leave the place spotless so no one would know we were even there. Click here to see more posts on camping in Korea.

Address:

The festival is all along the Namgang River:

626, Namgang-ro, Jinju-si, Gyeongsangnam-do
경상남도 진주시 남강로 626 (본성동)

By bus: Take an intercity bus to Jinju Intercity Bus Terminal.
Exit the terminal towards the river.
Turn right, and walk for 5min to arrive at the festival site.