Day trip to Daechung Lake

Last Sunday, on a bitterly cold day, we decided to go for a 'Sunday drive'. The car would be warm and we needed to escape our apartment for a while.
We used Gloria our GPS and found a lake to visit.
We didn't really know where we were going...
but it turned into a delightful day of discovery.

Love this sign!

Our first view of the lake- so pretty with the snow.

Does it look cold?   We found a fortress and so climbed the hill to take a look.

But first- a snow angel.

Not a good option in the Korean winter... but a nice view from the loo nevertheless.

There is something pretty amazing about a natural spring that is freezing as it comes to the surface.

This fortress was moved to it's current position when they excavated for the lake.
Nice view hey!

This may have been the coldest place that our children chose to play in.
Again- nice view though.

These carvings ward off the evil spirits.

Inside these simple homes, the kitchen area contained these massive cast iron ovens. The heat from these would heat the floor of the bedrooms which were on the other side of this wall. The floors are raised so hot water can be piped underneath the floors to insulate the water and to heat the floor.

Near the fortress was an art gallery which has some interesting and impressive sculptures.

It was a fun day of unexpected finds.

Happy New Year

We have arrived back from our Summer holiday to Thailand- felling warm and rejuvenated.
We had a great holiday staying at Khao Lak which is one hour North of Phuket on the Andaman Sea.This was the view from out of our plane window the day we left Korea- lots of snow and had to de-ice on the tarmac before leaving.

This was the view when we got to our resort...
spot the difference?

The kids could not get enough of the pool and waterslide.

Then there was the amazing day we went snorkelling.
The Similan Islands are amazing- such powdery white snow and blue water- great visibility through the water. It took us an hour to get out to the island on a speedboat. We stopped at 3 different places for snorkelling and lunch.

The food was fantastic- as it always is in Thailand and we enjoyed New Year's Eve together very much.

We rode motorbikes

and got completely drenched when the skies opened... but it was fun to see some of Thailand on a bike.

This was a family foot and leg massage... Molly could not stop giggling the whole time.
You have got to love a $9 massage!