MUD FEST

last weekend was the kick-off of the boryeong MUD FEST, which has been an annual festival since '98. the mud, which is used in cosmetics because of its proclaimed rich mineral content, is dug up in boryeong and then carted to daecheon beach (on the east sea) for the festival. this festival attracts more than a million tourists each year ... many, many which are foreigners.
so this is what happens at mudfest, according to my experience: you paint your entire body with mud (or to be more efficient, you use the mud hose), then you participate in the mud fun! there's a mud slide, mud bouncy castles, mud wrestling rings, a mud prison (where people sling buckets of mud at the voluntary prisoners), etc. plus there is a big stage, which provides all-day / nite entertainment.
i went w/ a group of about 50 people, and we had a blast playing in the mud when we first arrived. we went back to our accomodation for a rooftop bbq, but that's when the rain began. and it proceeded to rain for the remainder of the weekend. we still ventured out into the drizzle at night for the "celebrity performance" on the big stage, which was pretty lame & then the rain started to pick up again. as we were walking back, the fireworks display started. i must say, the fireworks were AWESOME. we just stopped where we were and ran around like crazy kids and danced in awe of the fireworks to the music provided from the sound system that filled the air.
back at the crash pad, the party was just getting started. most everybody was so drunk, but a small group of us staked our claim on the room w/ the ocean view and had our own little festival. i'll just call it spoonfest. mucho blankets, pillows, massages, cuddle puddles & spooning. good times.
the next day, the weather was just horrible. we did our best to entertain ourselves inside by playing cards, filling the room w/ soap bubbles, more massaging, more cuddle puddles, games of chess ... and we were about to play marbles when we decided to up and leave early. so onto the noraebang bus we went ... and we were back home before dinner time. a hot shower never felt so good.