
After being welcomed with a fried chicken dinner and soju, we went to the local corner shop, feeling very weird that we were drinking beer in public. A tiny old man carrying a rickshaw eyed our cans, and we realised he was a rubbish collector. I said 'kamsahamnida' for taking away our rubbish. One thing that can really take you back to a place you've visited is it's smell, and for me, the cities of Korea smelled dominantly of rubbish. Whenever I walk by a full bag of rubbish, it takes me back to the streets of Suwon. Below is the view from outside our apartment.
The next day, Sung-Yun came by to take us to Hwaseong, the original capital of the Korean Kingdom. I was still suffering from much Jet-Lag and exhaustion, but I wanted to see as much as I could. We went to an archery range, and the famous fortress, which was destroyed by the Japanese and then recreated. We took a dragon carriage to the mountain where we could see an overview of Gyeonggi-do region. In Hwaseong Haenggung - the old residence of the King (which was free admission for Sang-Yun but incurred a charge for us non-Koreans), I made a wish and tied it to the 600 year old wish-tree. To be honest, my wish was nothing noble and great. I was sick of being single, and I wanted a girlfriend. When I got back to New Zealand, I made an awesome girlfriend, whom I am still with now, 8 months later, who happens to be Korean. Maybe the wish-tree does work, after all. My advice is that if you visit the tree, try to make your wish something small.