Boryeong Mud Festival, Part 4

Though our final day at Mud Fest began at 4 am with snoring so loud that it reverberated beneath the thin pads we were sleeping on, the sun was out and it wasn't raining (something that is rare during Korean summers), so we couldn't have been happier. We decided to spend our day on the beach, renting tubes and an umbrella to sit under.

Tor and Joe promptly turned into 8 year old boys, giddy and excited that they were going to get to play in the ocean. Fortunately, Becky and I had managed to force some sunscreen on them at breakfast because once we arrived on the beach they grabbed a tube and made a break for the ocean. Joe even told me later, after I forced him to let me put more sunscreen on him, "I can't eat lunch right now. I don't want to waste a minute of the time I can spend playing in the ocean." I watched Tor quickly spray some sunscreen on himself to appease Becky, only to see him immediately run back into the water without letting it soak in.While the boys were splashing about and riding the waves, the girls decided to grab some lunch. We enjoyed one my favorite Korean foods- bi-bim-naengmyeon which consists of cold noodles, vegetables, and red pepper paste all mixed together. We were all completely relaxed, enjoying the day, and when the question came up about what time we had to head to the bus, none of us were too alarmed when no one knew the answer. Becky had a copy of the itinerary from online that said the bus departed at 4 pm so the decision was made to head to the bus at 3:30.

Yujung, Becky and I tried to stay out of the sun. 

 The rest of the group spent most of the time in the ocean. In fact, Tor was probably already in the ocean at this point because he isn't in any of the pictures.

Around 1:45 pm Tor and Joe's appetites got the best of them. Joe made a huge production of asking me for lunch money (he likes people to feel sorry for him and blame me for being on a budget) and then the boys were off in search of lunch. Before they left they double checked what time the bus was leaving and reassured us that they would be back in plenty of time. For some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that the bus was leaving before 4 pm, but I was trying really hard to play it cool. Anyone who knows me well knows that this is extremely difficult for me, but after 5 months of yoga I have made some progress. My anxiety continued to increase as I watched a group I recognized from our bus pack up their stuff around 2 pm. I looked at the girls and asked, "Weren't they on our bus?" Someone responded that they were probably just going to get lunch. No need to worry.

By 2:30 pm I couldn't take it anymore. I turned to Becky and asked, "Do you want to go with me to where the buses are parked to double check what time we leave?" My asking Becky was strategic. There is a definite reason that Tor has nicknamed us the "nerd twins." We both worry and plan way more than the average person, resulting in merciless teasing and torture from our spoiled and carefree husbands. Becky immediately agreed that it would be good to double check and Leana and Yujung smiled at us and asked us to let them know if the buses were leaving before 4 pm. You could tell they thought we are being paranoid, but they were polite and didn't try to stop us.

It turns out, I was right to be worried. Once we arrived where the buses were parked we leisurely began searching for empty seats. Our pace increased as we realized that almost every available seat was filled. If the bus wasn't leaving for over an hour, what was everyone doing on the buses? I turned to a nearby passenger and asked nonchalantly,
"What time do the buses leave any way?" She smiled and said, "They leave at 3 o'clock." I was immediately propelled into action. With Becky still searching for empty seats I immediately tried to call Tor (Joe doesn't have a phone- we share) but no one answered. I then tried to call Leana and no one answered. As Becky made her way off the bus, reporting that she had found a few seats close together I told her, "Becky, the buses leave at 3 pm." I am pretty sure she responded with an expletive. "I'm going to the beach. Can you try to hold the buses for a few minutes?" I was off before I heard her respond.

I ran as fast as I could in flip flops and my bathing suit, but it was hot and my food hadn't completely digested, making for a fairly uncomfortable run. As I approached our umbrella and towels I saw only Leana and Yujung. They sprung into action once I told them that the bus was leaving in 5 minutes and I took off in search of Joe and Tor. I ran all along the stretch of restaurants that lined the top of the beach but they were nowhere to be found. By this point I was hot, worried, and very angry, but I couldn't figure out who to be angry at and and that just made me even angrier. I tried calling Tor's phone repeatedly but no one answered, so I made the decision to return to the buses.


When I made it back to the parking lot I found Becky looking stressed and dejected. She reported that the buses were going to leave any minute now, so we made the decision to remove all of our belongings from the bus and take an Express Bus home (however, we had no idea where the bus station was so this was quite problematic). Becky tried calling Tor's phone again only to hear it ringing from within her own bag. Once we had all of our bags off the bus we began the walk back towards the beach at a very slow pace. Becky had two full sized bags and I had our large bag, a back pack, and my purse. We hadn't made it very far when Leana came running to tell us that the buses would wait a little bit longer. Once again, I was off and running for the beach.

By the time I made it to the beach my entire body was shaking, but I was elated to find a very confused looking Joe and Tor. Later Tor told me that they were going to write BUS in the sand and then head to the parking lot. I was jealous- why didn't I think of writing bus? I made eye contact with Tor and said, "We've got to go now." Tor started running immediately while it took Joe a little longer to catch on. Once Tor caught up to me I filled him in, breathing so hard I could barely speak. Joe piped in from behind asking, "Why are we running?" I turned around and snapped, "So we don't miss the bus." Joe shrugged and didn't seem concerned.

We arrived at the parking lot to find an anxious Becky surrounded by our bags. "Why did you take our bags off the bus?" Joe asked in an annoyed tone. I gave him a death glare and snapped back, "The buses were supposed to leave at 3 pm. We thought we were going to have to take an Express Bus." I grabbed our bags and started making my way to the bus realizing half way to the bus that Joe wasn't carrying anything. I heaved our bag towards him saying, "Here. You carry it. I'm tired." Once again Joe was cool as a cucumber as he grabbed the bag from me and advised me to relax. Oh the irony.

Even though we sat behind a group of obnoxious and annoying girls on the bus ride home, once I relaxed and was able to breathe normally again, I was relieved that we didn't have to find another way home. Not to mention, they showed The Blind Side on the way home, so I was able to tune out most of their stories about how drunk and wasted they were all weekend. Blah blah blah, like I haven't heard all of that before.