Boryeong Mud Festival-Clark's Special Kind of Hell

Last year we moved to South Korea at the end of June.  The Boryeong Mud Festival is at the end of July so during our time at the Dragon Hill Lodge (in Seoul) and Humphrey's Lodging I kept seeing advertisements for it.  I  REALLY wanted to go the more I gathered information.  The problem was we had only been in the country for less then a month, navigating the roads was challenging to say the least, and we only owned 3 towels.  I really didn't want to go buy new towels knowing that our stuff would be here soon, so we didn't go last year, but I made Clint promise that no matter what we were going in 2013!

So this year I was determined to go.  And of course the week before the mud festival was slightly disastrous ending with me throwing my back out and hardly being able to walk/sit/get comfortable.  Friday night we all slept horribly.  Clark woke up at midnight just after I had FINALLY found a comfortable spot where I wasn't in pain and had drifted off to sleep.  Then he woke up again at 2 yelling at Clint for not filing up his sippy cup enough, but he sure wasn't going to let me help him fill said sippy cup.  I was only allowed to take the lid off, which is utterly difficult when you are half asleep.  So we both got water spilled on us in an attempt to fill the cup and Clark fighting my help, got him back to bed and we all got up at 6:30am.  I wanted to get there by 10am before all the participants were too drunk and crazy for my liking.

Have I mentioned our GPS literally is retarded.  Like as in the definition of the word!  We were suppose to get on the 15 from the 40 and the GPS told me to stay to the left, so I did.  Yeah, that was a 90 minute mistake! We used to see people missing their exists, stop, back up and go on their way.  We always thought, WOW, THAT'S SO DANGEROUS!  But now we TOTALLY GET IT!  Koreans know that if they don't back up the freeeway and get onto their exist it will cost them HOURS of travel time! After my mistake it was 8 kilometers down a road that was cement walls both directions, then after the toll booth the curbs were too high for us to drive over with out doing some serious damage on our hooptie.

So after 3 hours instead of an hour and half, we finally made it to the Mud Festival!

So excited!

The plaza that had the mud festival. 

Anna and Anthony standing in line for a good 30 minutes to go down one slide. 

SAND!

Technically the Army forbids soldiers from swimming in any natural body of water here.  With just cause.  This is the Yellow Sea, you know the one that is between South Korea and China.  Remember that story of China dumping waste, aka dead pigs. If not here is the article.  

Anna headed into the water.  I would have gone down the slides but knew I would have been in a world of pain if I had hit wrong and tweaked my back further. 

Muddy Koreans. 

Me and Anna in the mud pool. 

Anthony doesn't like to prove his love for Anna out in public. 

She doesn't give up!

Part of the reason Clint was so happy with hanging with Clark is because it wasn't as crowded at the mud festival area. 

Clark not wanting to look at the camera. 

Family picture!

This is one of my favorite street foods here.  Its a hotdog in the middle with a VERY tick batter that they roll in sugar and put ketchup and mustard on.  DELICIOUS!

In case you were wondering where the Self Massage Zone was.  Love the expression of the lady and guy in the front. 

This is one of the VERY FEW areas that South Korea did a GREAT job!  3 women's bathrooms and only one men's!  It's about time!  No line for the girls FINALLY!

 I'm sure you are all looking at these pictures and wondering why I would put Clark's Special Kind of Hell in the title.  This would be why:

All because I painted some mud on his arm!

Who would think that a little BOY who loves to play in dirt would TOTALLY FREAK OUT when I put mud on him!

I took him into the pool to apply mud and at first it wasn't too bad.

Until I put it on his face and he started to cry again!

He was much happier after he went down to the beach with Clint and played in the icky sticky sand!  As much as I love living in California,  I HATE sand!

Overall I am happy we went, but it was a typical Korean adventure.  Looks like a once in a life time experience that you will be sorry you missed but really wasn't super awesome.  I am happy we went though!  I did have fun besides Clark freaking out and my back REALLY hurting and having to wedge myself into our 3rd row and laying down on the way home.