Lotus Theme Park Visit

Mark off another one from the Siheung Life Goals list: I've now been to the Siheung City Lotus Theme Park.  By this, I believe the developers meant a park in which the general theme is lotus plants.  There was nothing remotely theme park-like about it aside from some large cartoony mascot statues you could pose by, but that doesn't mean it was a disappointment at all.

I learned that the first week of August was a kickoff for a Lotus festival in this park, so I talked my friend Sam into going to the park with me before she moved away.  She had been near the area recently with some teachers from her school and figured we could find our way there together.  We got on the 63-1 bus (3200 also works) in front of her apartment and headed south, getting off at the Donga Apartments.  It took just a minute to get oriented, but there were signs pointing us in the right direction nearby.

Less than a mile walk later, we arrived at the lotus park.  There is an agricultural visitors' center there, where you can buy locally painted ceramics, buy lotus-related food, lounge on some comfortable couches and read a (Korean) book from their lending library, or enjoy something tasty at their indoor cafe.  It was small, but seemed to have been renovated recently (the restrooms were SO well maintained!).

Because we went during one of the hottest days of summer, there weren't a lot of crowds around.  We only passed by a few other people, which is too bad considering there was a small local festival happening.  Some people were demonstrating traditional crafts (like basket weaving and fan painting), some people were giving a hands-on giant beetle experience in which you could hold the beetles or larva, and some people were selling more lotus-related food.  They were excited to see a couple of foreigners, but we had a little trouble understanding them, so we didn't stay around the booths long.  There was also a lotus-themed art display with paintings and prints made by local artists lined up on easels along the rows of lotus fields (pictures to come later).

The lotus plants themselves were just starting to hit their peak, so there maybe weren't as many blooms as if we had waited another week or two.  But the park boasts over a dozen varieties, and I heard that it's more than 8 sq. km in all, so a fairly decent size for walking, biking, or jogging in the fresh, open spaces along the lotus fields.  Since they're giant water lilies, the fields are actually wide, shallow pools of water with the lush plants growing out of them.  Leaves are the size of a medium or large pizza back home.  The lotus pools are also home to many varieties of frogs, several of which we saw as we wandered taking pictures.

Several rest structures dot the landscape, offering a place to sit and get out of the sun on a hot day, or just to sit and read or reflect in more moderate weather.  There's a specific name for these traditional rest structures, but I have long forgotten it.

Down one row, something caught my eye along the ground.  It was a 10,000 won bill (almost $10) just sitting fallen among the leaves.  With that exciting discovery, I was able to buy us both some lotus ice cream, which was soft-serve and delicious.  Someone had a "super pop" machine that pops out something like instant crispy rice cakes.  These were, naturally, made partially from dried lotus root.  One lady offered us a lotus fan and a free rice cake sample for free.  It was pretty good, and we felt like we should probably buy a whole bag of rice cakes--less than $2!

It was much too hot to stay outdoors there for long, but it was a wonderful little trip.  I've known about the park since my first week in Siheung when my school's former VP drove me to the park in the dead of winter as part of my tour of the city.  I'd meant to come back, but somehow, daring an unknown bus route was too intimidating on my own.  I need to explore more--this place was easy to find and worth the effort.