Byron Korea trip - April 18 - April 24th

Before I get to Byron's trip to Korea, I found these pictures along with his Korean pictures that I had to include. This one is of Byron & Tanner going to Boondocks for Tanner's 11th birthday. They always have such a fun time when they go there together riding the slick track.

The next one is of Byron's office on his birthday. One of his co-workers decorated his office while he was there that morning. Julie had arrived at work early to beat Byron. Instead, she found Byron there already and told him that she was going to decorate his office since he wouldn't let them take him out to lunch. So she just quickly decorated while Byron sat there working on things. I was so proud of her for doing that - Byron never lets anybody at work know about his birthday and I have been tempted to send him balloons one time. So I had to laugh after hearing about what Julie did. Byron was even kind enough to take a picture of it so I could see her masterpiece.

Back in April Byron had a trip planned with work to Thailand. He was very excited to go there since he had never been before. Thailand, however, has had a lot of riots and things going on that are pretty scary for tourists. His trip was changed to South Korea last minute. Byron has been to South Korea before and really enjoys visiting this country. He loves going there because they are a relaxed Asian culture where Japan is more rigid.

This is the formal royal palace with the guards.

This is a traditional Korean restaurant. Before they entered they had to take off their shoes and left them outside of the restaurant. They also sat on the floor to eat. Down below notice how many bowls are on the table. They just kept on coming course after course after course of stuff you would not want to eat. Byron, however, loves trying new things and doesn't get turned off when something weird is put before him.

Some of the many dishes offered.

Notice all of the tentacles from the squid.

This is a massive shrimp that was dry and tasted like paste - not very good.

Byron was able to watch some guys make what is called "Traditional Court Cake." It is made out of honey that is pulled and pulled. The 3 men below were really funny and were excited that Byron was taking their picture. They were the men making this cake and said "Oh Obama" to Byron when they realized he was from the United States. Byron said it was pretty fascinating to watch. The men were singing a funny song while they were busy making it by pulling like you would see somebody making taffy.

Byron brought back some of this cake for us to try. He had it put into the freezer before we tried it so it was frozen. I actually enjoyed it. It tasted like very dry cotton candy that pretty much dissolved in my mouth and then had a nutty center. Most of my kids hated the texture of it in their mouth and couldn't stand eating it. The box of cakes had the following description on it. This is called "A Traditional Court Cake" It is made of ripened honey and malt which was once presented to the king and valuable guests. It is brewed with the artisan spirit to make 16,000 strands suggesting the prayer for longevity, health, good fortune, and wish-fullfillment. It is not very sweet, not sticky to the teeth, but enjoyable with various tastes according to garnishes. It can taste better frozen.

Byron is always so good at bringing different foods home for us to try. We feel like we get the Korean culture without going there:).