Quick off of our Hospital visit for immigration (vile of my blood and a cup of my urine, to go please), we were off to the Bamboo Forest’s outside of Gwanju.

There are always the things which you expect and plan. But the things that always stick with me are those which I didn’t expect when I headed out.

Exhibit A

The bamboo forests outside of Gwanju were definitely one of these gems I didn’t even know existed (partially due to the fact we weren’t given much of an itinerary until we had arrived). Walking around the grounds for over an hour, it was definitely a good “first taste” of the country without doing something too “touristy” like drunken karaoke (which we responsibly held off on until at least that evening).

Our group got separated and splintered off in search of the promise of bamboo ice cream (which suspiciously tasted exactly like green tea ice cream), leaving a friend and I too wander.

Exhibit B

Leaving the grounds, we noticed buildings to the right with pagoda roof tops and traditional architecture of this part of the world. There weren’t any signs, or even markings, but with our curiosity peaked, we wandered in. Walking up a set of stone steps, we walked into a beautiful courtyard, not even 20 feet off of the main road, hidden amongst trees and other buildings.

After getting lost for a while, and truly realizing the country I was in, we were back on the bus and taken to see a Pansori show, capping off a touristy, but extremely culturally filled day.