Before coming to Korea I read about all the festivals that take place, and there are a lot of festvals! It seems as though Koreans are always looking for a reason to celebrate something, no matter how insignificant or strange it may be.
One of the festivals I really wanted to partake in was the Mud festival. The Boryeong Mud Festival has been taking place for the past 12 years at the Dacheon Beach of Boryeong, Chungcheongnam province. The mud is considered rich in minerals and used to manufacture cosmetics.
As July approached, I thought about attending the festival, but decided against it. Luckily, my friend Casey, convinced me to go. It ended up being a last minute decision and unfortunately, because of this, we ended up paying quite a lot for accommodation.
We arrived in Boryeong early Saturday morning, and in the pouring rain we tried to find our way to a motel. Luckily one of the organizers at the info center helped us out, and we were soon on our way to our very over-priced pension house (which is a self-catering room).
After settling in and changing into our costumes, we headed down towards the festivities and found the quickest way to get dirty... a spontaneous mud fight. It wasn't the 'good' mud, but hey, it was fun.
One of the festivals I really wanted to partake in was the Mud festival. The Boryeong Mud Festival has been taking place for the past 12 years at the Dacheon Beach of Boryeong, Chungcheongnam province. The mud is considered rich in minerals and used to manufacture cosmetics.
As July approached, I thought about attending the festival, but decided against it. Luckily, my friend Casey, convinced me to go. It ended up being a last minute decision and unfortunately, because of this, we ended up paying quite a lot for accommodation.
We arrived in Boryeong early Saturday morning, and in the pouring rain we tried to find our way to a motel. Luckily one of the organizers at the info center helped us out, and we were soon on our way to our very over-priced pension house (which is a self-catering room).
After settling in and changing into our costumes, we headed down towards the festivities and found the quickest way to get dirty... a spontaneous mud fight. It wasn't the 'good' mud, but hey, it was fun.
There were many mud games and activities and my favourite was the mud pit. This was basically a blow-up swimming pool with a thin layer of slippery mud in it. Casey and I went in with caution. We stood around the edge just watching the wrestling and waiting for our turn to slide into the middle. " How do we go about this?" we thought, "just slide in?" Well, we didn't have to think about it too long, before we knew it we were being thrown in...literally thrown in! Once lying flat on the muddy floor, our attempts to get up failed. Everybody participated to kicking us with mud and sight now became an issue. We finally managed to crawl to the edge and carefully stood up. "Wow, that was awesome! Let's do it again!"
I decided it would be fun to push somebody in, but unfortunately I failed..and paid for trying. The guy who I thought was short and weak quickly lifted me onto his shoulder and slammed me, WWF style, onto the ground. I've never felt pain like that before. Scrambling to get up, the guy decided to help me up, apologized and then proceeded to lift me up again, and (what felt like in slow-mo) slam me down. This time, after anticipating the pain, it was so much worse.
Absolutely great fun! Even though my spine won't be the same again, I don't regret it one bit.
I decided it would be fun to push somebody in, but unfortunately I failed..and paid for trying. The guy who I thought was short and weak quickly lifted me onto his shoulder and slammed me, WWF style, onto the ground. I've never felt pain like that before. Scrambling to get up, the guy decided to help me up, apologized and then proceeded to lift me up again, and (what felt like in slow-mo) slam me down. This time, after anticipating the pain, it was so much worse.
Absolutely great fun! Even though my spine won't be the same again, I don't regret it one bit.
Block your eyes, mouth & nose!
Mud Prison
Sunday approached with a headache after a rough night out and we thought the best cure would be to grab a cup of coffee and catch the first bus home...
But then we saw the beautiful day and decided to recover by lying on the beach. It was a great idea, and amazing to soak up the sun (despite the sunburn to follow).
But then we saw the beautiful day and decided to recover by lying on the beach. It was a great idea, and amazing to soak up the sun (despite the sunburn to follow).
I highly recommend going to this festival! Definitely one of the greatest times I've had yet.
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