Saturday, April 21, 2007

Chiak Mountain Spring Picnic


We took a trip to Chiak Mountain yesterday with the entire school staff, enough people to fill a coach. The mountain is designated a Korean national park. The trees in the area were deciduous, and many were only bearing buds. Therefore, the view wasn't spectacular at all, but the ascent was physically challenging. Before the hike, we departed the bus and had a group "warm-up" exercise led by Miah, Lindsay, and Michelle. It was a stretching and aerobic workout, it was a funny way to start the hike. We all got warmed up, and had some laughs in the process. I set out with Ben, Lindsay, Michelle...and Lindsay and I reached the top of Chiak first, followed 15 minutes later by Ben and Michelle, then Aaron, Sean, and the rest of our fellow participants. The decent was quick, Mi and I hiked together and reached the restaurant just outside the national park entrance. We didn't know if the place was actually open, or it was ready to serve all us hikers. To our surprise, inside everyone was drinking Makkali Soju (fermented rice wine) and eating Kimchi. We joined the Korean staff, shuttle bus drivers, hall monitors, friends and a few parents for the appetizers. Then we ate delicious Acorn Tofu, served with red pepper sauce and leafy greens. We also had more Tofu and finally Bi-Bim-Bop and large bowls of rice and red pepper paste served on the side. It was delicious. After dinner, we played a Korean version of "foot volleyball" on a dirt sports lot, setup nearby the restaurant. It was a tough game to play, I took the first two hits off my chin (sorry Erin!!!) and couldn't serve inbounds. It was fun though, and we headed for the bus after losing two matches to the Korean pros. We sang kareoke or Noribon on the way home, and songs were in Korean and English, it was hilarious! I'm exhausted today, I have a cold and didn't go to church. Well, it was a busy weekend, but it was nice to have a trip somewhere without our own expenses. Hope all is well back home, miss everyone, wish I could return (my wish everyday) but I have to save enough to make this teaching worth all the effort. Cheerios and milk ~^^++

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About the Korean-World Author

Brian Perich was an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) lecturer for a decade, father, and adventure cyclist based in South Korea.

Previously, Brian has led Canoe adventures in Quetico Provincial Park, Atikokan, Ontario, Canada (1993/1999); led Grand American camping adventures (2000); lived at Paramahansa Yogananda's SRF Ashram for 5 months (see the film "AWAKE"), formerly worked in titanium welding at Agilent Technologies, formerly worked in Winery industry in Marin County with Kendall Jackson in California; Surfing and Meditation continued for several years in California, British Columbia, South Korea, Yoga training in California 1999-2000.

Between 1994-1998 - Brian completed his own adventures with motorcycles. His motorcycling marathons took him across the United States and central/western Canada, while traveling solo over an astounding 24,000km in 60 days! Brian endured 900 mile/1300km average days in the motorcycle saddle and apparently loved every minute of those adventures.

Today, he has given up motorcycle adventures altogether, but finds an outlet for his enthusiasm in outdoor recreation while bicycle touring and micro-blogging about those experiences on his mountain bikes.

While employed as an English teacher in South Korea, Brian has became an advocate for bicycle touring on his mountain bikes. The Korean-World blog originated from those small adventures in Korea, now expanded to cover his recent trek down the TransMongolian highway to the Gobi Desert, cycling 900km east through the Khentii grasslands and in 2012 crossing Mongolia in 45 days, 2500 kilometers 1553 miles. HimalayasX expedition Brian previously cycled across western China, the Taklamakan Desert, the northern Himalayas of East Turkestan Xinjiang/Uyghur Autonomous Region, the corrugated back roads and mountains of Kham Tibet. Brian successfully completed his 2011 mountain bike expedition with 3200 kilometers / 1988 miles unsupported, on/off road MTB adventure cycling.
Brian has completed his second mountain bike journey, MongoliaX expedition - Crossing Mongolia 2012, an unsupported mountain bike MTB expedition across 2500km of Outer Mongolia from Ulanbaatar to Altai Taven-Bogd National Park bordering China, Russia and Mongolia.


In 2013, as a sequel to a trilogy of cycle tours, Brian enjoyed a more leisure bicycle tour onboard his Koga-Miyata World Traveller seeing the northern tier of the United States and western Canada covering 3400 kilometers / 2000 miles in 30 days. This North American cycle tour was called Totherocktour. Enjoying the adventure of bicycle travel and every great conversation started while traveling on the road - has refueled his inspirations to cycle around the Earth. In 2013, while he cycled solo from the Great Lake State of Michigan, United States to Banff National Park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. He weaved through local communities and reconnected with friends, family and community after spending almost a decade in Asia.


Brian is now supporting several non-profit foundations through expeditions: IDEAS Foundation of Canada IDEAS is the acronym for Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society which supports the IBD community, those suffering from IBD-inflammatory bowel disease, also known as Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis.


The second non-profit foundation is ETE.ORG - Education Through Expeditions, UK which supports educational outreach programs inside schools around the world. ETE connects explorers with students in the classroom, through an interactive online program in development (Beta).


Brian is researching support for a 18000 kilometer bicycle expedition across the Americas: North, Central and South America - ONE -Arctic to Argentina
Please contact him if you are interested in helping out.

Twitter: Cycleagain
Location: Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea or southern Ontario, Canada.

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Brian's friends have also been...Cycling in Korea!

Brian's friends have also been...Cycling in Korea!

Cycling in Korea, Warning: always wear a helmet! (I gave mine to my friend)

Cycling in Korea, Warning: always wear a helmet! (I gave mine to my friend)

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