연암공원 Suwon Park

During a recent bike ride around Suwon we most likely broke many rules, despite the fact we were making our best effort to go by them. So I'm going to begin this recommendation by stating, I don't know if we were supposed to be riding our bikes here.  We had avoided going a few places that specifically said no bikes, but the trails we used to access this park didn't have signs that we noticed. We aren't saying they weren't there, we just didn't notice them.

Even though we are unsure if bike are allowed, we are sure dogs are allowed as long as they are on a leash and you pick up after them. BE SURE of those two things.  We saw quite a few owners out walking their little ankle biters so grab your fur baby and head outside.

One of the big reasons this park is perfect for you and your dog in the summer is that it is HEAVILY shaded. We were able to avoid direct sun throughout nearly the entire trek. A fact we greatly appreciated after stupidly not bringing water with us. A mistake we hope to never make again, but most likely will endlessly. There are also many napping areas along the way, so you will have plenty of chances to take a rest that are also out of the sun.

This particular park is great because it wanders along a ridge all the way to the lake park that we love. That means you can go jump in water features at the end of your long walk (or bike ride as was our case). That's a lovely end to any outdoor excursion. 

The pin that we dropped marks the beginning of the series of parks and green spaces that run all the way to the water. There are many different entrances and exits along the way.

CLICK HERE for a map and additional info on MollaKorea

ADDRESS: 경기도 수원시 팔달구 우만동 238

Suwon Lake

Whenever I can be near water or in water I am. It's always been a big part of my life. In order to get more of it, this last weekend we decided to go checkout one of Suwon's lakes in the middle of the city. We rented old bikes from the near the palace and road them through the city, along the river, through a park, and down to the waters edge. It was quite the adventure and took about an hour since it was our first trip and we were exploring. I will go into more detail about how to do this entire trip later this week.

Suwon's 원천호수 (lake) has been developed into a stunning park area surrounded by the tall mountainous buildings of a busy vibrant city. Due to our limited time, and our love of getting wet, we chose to visit the section of park that's covered in water features that you and your children are welcome to play in. An entire hillside and boardwalk of flowing, pooling and shooting water that will delight your inner and/or real child.

This is an excellent choice for a picnic and lots of Korean families take advantage of it so you won't be alone. There might also be live music, event tents, and more happening throughout the summer. This isn't where you go away to get away from it all, this is where you go to join in the fun of the city and the culture.

The park is much bigger than what you see in these pictures. There is a long trail system the snakes along the edge of the lake, so if exorcise is what you want, this is also a great place to get it. As an added bonus, dogs are allowed the park as long as they are leashed and you pick up after them. So grab your friends, your fur babies, or your real babies and go forth to enjoy the summer fun.

CLICK HERE for the map and address in MollaKorea.com

Artspace NOON BOM

Envy is the best word I can think of to describe my feelings right now. This gallery, arts space, gallery labyrinth is every kind of thing I love and it's too far from my house to go every week. I'm filled with jealousy for the Suwon folks who have this on their doorstep.  

When you go here be SURE to tour every single inch of it. There seemed to always be one more corner to go around, one more beautiful thing to discover. There is no way for my photos to do it justice. Honestly, the coffee and drinks are secondary to the sheer beauty and inspiration of the entire setup. Go here and spend your money. Support this space. Take your journals, your sketchbooks, your stories and go create. 

This space was made for dreamers so go grab some coffee and dream all the dreams. I'll be in Pyeongtaek counting the days until I can go back.

CLICK HERE for address and contact details on MollaKorea.com.

Futball in Suwon

While at work my friend messaged me to see if I wanted to watch a soccer game in Suwon. Since I've never had the privilege of watching a live soccer game in a stadium I was all for it.  After work I jumped on the subway from Songtan to Suwon.

Once in Suwon, since I hadn't had dinner, I thought it would be a good idea to swing by the food court and grab a few snacks.  Being the end of the day, I was delighted to find that the food had all been put on supper sale so I filled my large handbag with rice balls and three kinds of mandu.  After that I grabbed a taxi to the World Cup Stadium.  (About 9,000\ and 1hr 20min).  

I easily arrived by the 7:30pm start time and opened my handbag for a snack, at which point I realized that buying copious amounts of kimchi mandu and caviar filled rice balls might not have been the best idea.  I was nearly knocked off my feet by the intensity of the smell.  Now, I would have felt less foolish if this had been the first time I had made this mistake, but no, this is a lesson I refuse to learn.

Once inside the stadium our tickets allowed us to basically sit where we wanted, a benefit of the VIP entrance am guessing, but I don't really know since I had never been before. The stadium doesn't have a roof, so when the weather became a bit drizzly we raced inside for the complimentary rain poncho which came in an attractive XXXXXL.

As it turned out, despite the less than attractive smell that clawed it's way out of my handbag, I was supper happy I had purchased mandu in bulk since there weren't a lot of options for snacks at the stadium.  There was a small snack bar but the selection was minimal.  Thankfully they had drinks and chopsticks. The two things required to make my purse dumplings into something that seemed slightly less weird. 

Generally I'm not a fan of the stadium experience, but I found soccer in Suwon quite relaxing and fun. The truly excited fans were on each end of the stadium so the noise was enjoyable and not over whelming.  A friend of mine who loves soccer said that seeing a game at this stadium is actually on his bucket list because the US Men's Team did something really amazing here. I know nothing of this, but maybe somebody reading this does and will find it interesting.

Blue Wings Korean Schedule is here: http://fussball.wettpoint.com/en/matchschedules/200365-schedule.html