Island Hopping in Ganghwa-do (Day Two)

(We signed this slate at the temple we visited on the Sunday. Maybe that's a little cheesy, but it was with good intentions, and, well, you just never know. Looks very bland between Korean and Chinese writing of course!)

Sunday. Where was I? Oh yes, the latest "Love Motel". This place was the absolute dog's bollocks. Pulling into Oepo-Ri in the dark did not make finding accomodation difficult, as the town consists of about 3 roads, and a garish neon firework sign announced the proximity of the Spark Motel. For 35,000W (about £18) we had the best room ever. Extremely modern and comfortable, this room incorporated a huge flat screen TV, DVD player, central control panel for all lights and heating, air conditioning (actually required to combat the heating which we couldn't get off), a plush bathroom, a toilet with a control panel for vibration, heat and spray (nice!), a fridge with OJ inside, tea/coffee, and a variety of toiletries. Also, downstairs was a fair selection of DVD's which were free to borrow. All of this, and for 5000W more, we also could have had a PC and internet. Genius.

I expected a yeogwan this far into the sticks to be a cockroach infested hole. The only things to remind you that this was primarily a haven for cheating spouses, was the complementary "love-making" goody-bag, and a sizeable percentage of the DVD's being porn. Also, the owner seemed a fine, friendly man on the exterior, but his thick glasses, sweatiness and unkempt eccentric hair betrayed the fact that he revelled being on the periphary of sordidness and sleaze. He probably had peep-holes everywhere and committed unspeakable acts of self-love with red pepper paste.

In the morning, a look out the window rewarded us with a nice sunrise over the sea and mountains. We bid our potential pervert friend a fond farewell, and promised to use his hotel again in the unlikely event we should pass through Oepo-ri in the future. I've never been on a ferry before! So the 15 minute ferry ride across to the important temple Bomun-sa [Treasure-Gate Temple] on Seokmo-do [Stone Mother Island] (just west of Ganghwa-do Island) was fairly exciting. This temple is one of Korea's 8 special shrines for the Bodhisattva of Compassion, due to a large carving of him on the “Eyebrow Cliff” above it. But enough of that, you got your Buddhist lesson for the month in the last post....





The ferry docked at Seokpo-ri, which is literally a one street town consisting of a procession of raw fish restaurants. A short and bumpy bus ride later, we arrived at the small village beneath Bomun-sa, which was also, fairly predictably, abundant with anything and everything that could be plucked from the surrounding waters.


Of all the fishwives noisily selling their squirmy wares, the lady below was our firm favourite. I sampled some of her twigim (deep fried seafood, like japanese tempura, crap really), and we had some banter with her in Korean. We told her we knew how to speak only a little Korean (yomankum - this much (a small amount)), and with unbridled delight she gripped the tip of her finger and told us the amount of English she knew was also "Yooooooooooomankuuuuum!", in a jolly, insane screech. She was brilliant, and worthy of a photo. Look at my hair by the way! A bloody afro by my standards.


A few stalls had bucketloads of live crabs fresh from the sea. I'd been wanting to try crab properly for a while, but was kind of hoping more for the cooked variety. Certainly not the alive and nipping kind. Undeterred, I let the crab man rip a pincer off and tried not to wince too openly as I coaxed the gelatinous mush from it's shell. Didn't taste too bad, but I wasn't hungrily wolfing it down like the Koreans.



Below is the rather small and unassuming front gate to Bomun-sa. Everyone who hiked up was munching on some form of free sea creature, I suppose in an effort to secure their custom after they made their descent. The climb to the temple was extremely steep and strenuous, and I firmly believe I indeed attained enlightenment to the tune of about half a stone. Here's some pictures.

(A poor substitute for Star Wars or Action Force figures when you're that age. I'd even settle for M.A.S.K. Buddhas have no movable limbs let alone interchangeable weapons.)

At Bomun-sa, their is a natural grotto which was formed when a huge rock fell from the mountain high above. We were very lucky to arrive just in time for a large prayer, and spent several minutes inside this dimly lit cave, caught up in this interesting and intimate occasion. I've put on a picture as well as the video, in case these youtube links mess up. It's a weird dilemma witnessing these moments, as we are very curious about the Korean culture, but don't want to step over the mark and appear like visitors at some spiritual zoo. Nobody seems to care about the camera, but I still feel a little uncomfortable sometimes, like a religious voyeur.

The other attraction here, was the carving at the top of the mountain. But for once, we couldn't be arsed, as it was fairly busy (quite surprising given the relative remoteness of the temple, but indicative of it's importance), and was a boring climb up stone steps. I love my mountains, but I prefer not to do crowds or boring steps.






At around 2pm, we began our journey back into Seoul. I really enjoyed our visit to Ganghwa-do, it definitely had it's own vibe to it. And, with it being quite rural, was a hotbed for weird and wacky characters. Waiting for the bus home, we even saw the blind leading the blind, literally. I was torn between sympathy for the sightless and the joy of seeing a live proverb. Is that a proverb? Or just an expression? Either way, it seems typical of Ganghwa-do, and I mean that in the best possible way. I forgot to check, but it wouldn't surprise me if the water went down the drain the wrong way, and the backwards talking midget from Twin Peaks was town mayor.

Back in Seoul, we pulled up alongside some soldiers, who did their best to give a "cool" pose. Did you know that basically all Koreans are required to serve in the army after school? I can't remember the exact details, as the only time we've spoken to Koreans about it is when guttered. But it's a very harsh law anyway. I now feel very sorry for all the flamboyantly coiffured young guys walking down the street in their pink shirts and grey cardigans with matching "man-bags". They're doomed surely.

Island Hopping in Ganghwa-do (Day One)

I usually prefer to lead a blog entry with an exciting picture, but the best way to take this weekend is chronologically, so here goes. The first photo of Ganghwa Town main street is a bit of a game for you. Can you spot anything odd about it? The answer is at the bottom.

Last weekend, we continued our initiative to spend every second weekend doing something worthwhile, instead of just getting smashed. Don't get me wrong, getting smashed is also extremely worthwhile, just in a different way. This time, we decided to explore the relatively nearby islands of Ganghwa-do, an area rich in historical background and cultural significance. The main island of Ganghwa-do, is 305 square kilometers, and scattered throughout it's many mountains are numerous temples of great antiquity, several forts dating back to the last dynasty, and a pick n' mix of various other tombs, fortifications and prehistoric remains.

This was the first time we used Sinchon bus terminal in Seoul, and it was a delight to find it was merely a metal cabin, much like those things builders drink tea in, and decorate with musty Page 3 clippings. Of course, the machine refused to take any note that wasn't crisp and fresh off the print, so the gaggle of onlookers probably trumped it up to us being silly foreigners. Apparently, some Korean men believe themselves to be higher evolved than caucasians due to the lack of hair on their arms and hands! I'm sure to refute this claim by questioning a possible lack of testosterone would cause endless fun with some Korean men.

About an hour later we arrived in Ganghwa Town. The island is comprised of two extremes, vast areas of flat farmland separated by fairly high mountains. It also has a distinctly rural ambience, and was probably the first glimpses we've had of proper country living in Korea. The first thing that became clear, and this is not meant to sound nasty, obnoxious, or ignorant, is that there were a great deal more "special" people living out here. As you may have spotted in the picture above! It wasn't quite like a scene from Tod Browning's classic "Freaks", but it was certainly on a par with the likes of Carnoustie or Newbigging. An initial feeling of trepidation took hold, but we soon found out that the people of this fair island were some of the friendliest yet, and an Asian remake of "Deliverance" was not in the works.

Our first stop on our 2 day adventure, was an old cannon emplacement called Gapgot Dondae. This fortress segment is apparently extremely important, but unfortunately that doesn't always equate to extremely interesting. The one chucklesome moment is hearing how the French tried to steal a large bell during an abortive occupation attempt on the town, only to find it too heavy and ditch it as they ran to their ships. The pansies. Below are some cannons. BANG!

(From a hilltop at Gapgot Dondae, you can see the pastoral land of Ganghwa-do. We were very lucky with the wether yet again. Bloody cold though.)

After the disappointment of the first place, we set our sights on a tour down the East coast. Being lazy, we grabbed a taxi, and after getting the obligatory first question out of the way (Miguk saram? ....Anio, Sukoteulaendeu//American people? ....Nah Scottish), the chirpy driver proceeded to shower us with ginseng sweets and a useful map of the island. The next stop was another gun emplacement, called Gwangseongbo. It was constructed in 1656 and was the command centre for the other fortifications patrolling the coastline. All of these saw bloody action in 1866 against the French, then again 5 years later against the American Navy. Damn meddling Americans. The front gate was guarded by the most lethal of all military guards, the Korean Grandmother, of which there were two fine specimens.

(Instead of yet another picture of an admittedly impressive Korean gate, I thought the underside was much more interesting. Even if it did mean looking a fool by lying on my back to get it.)

(Daddy cannon, Mommy cannon, and Baby cannon. Aww. Can't imagine that end one doing much, you could probably catch it and throw the bastard back!)

(Of great interest to you all, is that, much like the rest of the world, it is Autumn now in Korea. And it is still definitively required to do at least one "Kimchi Pose" a week.)

(A congregation of around 25 ajoshis and not a soju bottle in sight. Has to be some sort of record. It's clear the guy seated bottom left at the very least necked some on the bus.)

(It was genuinely interesting to see the Korean country life. Most farmers seem to be really old, and I can't believe they're still toiling away like that. Some of them can't stand up straight and walk around at right angles. An angle not seen since "The Northy Bow"!)

After Gwangseongbo, we jumped on a bus headed for the tiny village of Onsu-ri, in the South of the island. Our destination was Samnangseong (Samnang Fortress), and in particular, the most famous temple on Ganghwa-do, Jeondeung-sa, which lies within the fortess. Upon exiting the bus, we were greeted with the now familiar steep ascent to the compound. The reason most temples are situated high on mountain slopes, is so the approach symbolizes an ascent from the mundane to the spiritual, a rise to a higher consciousness. Also, it is most commonly a very winding road, a reminder that the path to spirituality is neither straight nor easy. Many temples will require you to pass over a river or stream, a symbolic purification from the taint of the outside world. When I'd learned this, I cast my mind back to previous temple visits, and all of this was true. I may yet return a Buddhist monk. I've already got the haircut.

(This candle was in the window of a small restaurant close to the Fortress gate.)

(As always, a walk towards a temple is punctuated by many curious statues and structures)

(I'm not sure what the significance was to pushing this contraption, but the kid in the Dundee Utd shellsuit was absolutely loving it!)

According to legend, Samnang-seong was constructed in a single day by the 3 sons of Dan'gun. I really should know who Dan'gun is by now, but I refuse to cop out and go plagiarise Wikipedia. I think he is thought of as the creator of all Koreans, and that his father was a tiger, and his mother a bear. Which is cool. Although not confirmed, this could be the oldest fortress in South Korea, as Dan'gun's official birth date is 2333 B.C It has also featured prominently over the centuries in numerous important historical landmarks, but you don't want a history lesson, you just want some pictures, so I'll shut up.....

(A monk entering Yaksa-jeon, a hall dedicated to the Buddha of Medicine)

(The symbol of the fish is common in Buddhism, as it syboloizes many good things such as health and regeneration. I finally relented and bought myself one of these bells, at the temple we visited the following day.)

It was another interesting and spectacular temple, and while I can see why some people may feel that once you see one temple, you've seen them all, I don't personally subscribe to that notion. I think they all have their own individual charm, and will continue to check them out. The undoubted highlight of the day came with a spot of dusk archery at the foot of the mountain. Hey, archery is hard! I never knew that! Here is a video showing me in all my Robin Hood glory, missing the target by a mile. Watch the pint-size granny scoff at my incompetence, flippantly fire herself a bullseye, and signal her disappointment in my skills! Christ she's only been practicing for about 90 years the cheeky beggar.

(Possibly what the "Ents" might look like had Lord of the Rings been an LSD road movie)

(Back at the plush Ganghwa-do bus terminal, I marvelled at the seating area!)

In preparation for a ferry journey to a neighbouring island on Day 2, we caught a bus to the tiny little fishing village of Oepo-ri (Way-poe-ree), on the West coast of the island. We chose the nearest yeogwan (love motels...remember?), which turned out to be absolutely fantastic, better than about 80% of hotels I've stayed in, and for £10 each a night. Ridiculously brilliant. Which is where I will start off in Part Two. Unless we get shot visiting the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) on Saturday. Bye!

(Oh the guy in the top photo either has inwardly pointing sideways feet, or just no bloody feet. The poor sole!)

Seorak-san National Park

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'm going to let the camera do most of the talking in this post. With a few captions of course. Last weekend we went to Seorak-san National Park, probably the most famous mountain area in Korea. We got up early on Saturday and after a 6 hour combination of buses and subways, eventually arrived in Sokcho on the East coast just as the sun was setting. We wanted to get there with enough time to do some exploring, as we felt Sokcho could be a contender for our second year teaching. It's a small place, population around 90,000, and primarily a fishing port, but it is bountiful in beaches and mountains. Our first stop was Sokcho beach, and it passed with flying colours.

We managed to get on the right bus for Seorak-dong (the park tourist village), but going in completely the wrong direction. Stupid us, we boarded the bus pointing towards some massive mountains with the beach at our back, when it should've been the other way round. After sitting there oblivious for around twenty minutes, we began to realise the bus driver was actually shouting at us, probably telling us we're a pair of twats. After that, a nice taxi driver took us to our destination, and shockingly turned the meter off while he took us to three different motels in order to find a room. What a guy. Then, the motel owner treated us to some free rice and homemade kimchi. Good start. After all the travelling, and a couple of beers, we were genuinely knackered at 9pm. This was a good thing, as my intrepid plan was to get up at 5:30am to start our adventure.

We started so early because....

a) We would have to be finished and on the bus back to Seoul by 5pm to ensure getting the last subway to Ilsan...
b) Seeing the sunrise at a smart temple would be quite a sight....
c) We really wanted to avoid the crowds.

I thought that there would still be a fair crowd of identically clothed Korean hikers up at this time, but we actually basically had our outgoing walk all to ourselves. And thank god, because when we finished at 3pm the place was a bloody circus. I've not been up at that time since having a paper-round, it's feckin cold like. When we got to the front gate it was still very dark, but as you see in the picture above, the camera makes out that it's not. Strange.

The first stop, after me loading up on kimbab, was the temple Shinheung-sa. Just outside the temple is a huge bronze Buddha. It's not quite as big as the one at Beopju-sa (to be fair, that one is standing), but due to it's bulkiness and features, I found this one to be even more impressive. I can't remember how tall it is, but you can see a little lady lighting incence sticks to give you some idea of scale. By now the sun had started to peak into the valley, and it was all very serene.

(Here's a Korean lesson for you folks at home. One of the first words you're likely to require when coming here. It says Hwa Jang Shil. Hwajangshil. So if you meet a Korean you can now impress them with being able to ask where the pisher is)

(Shinheung-sa is not the most exciting temple, but is clearly surrounded by the most picturesque setting I've seen so far.)

From the temple, a relatively easy 50 minute walk brought us to Biseon-dae, a large flat rock area with numerous pools of icy clear water. The area is quite reknowned, and many visitors have carved their names into the rock, some dating from hundreds of years ago.





(Like many mountain areas in Korea, Seorak-san is famous for it's wild mushrooms, and a popular dish in nearby restaurants is Sanchae Bibimbap, utilising the fresh produce of the mountain.)

I think the reason it wasn't as busy as I'd feared, is that we'd missed the height of the popular Autumn colours by a mere week. That said, there was still a fair amount of reds, oranges and yellows. Better than dull green all the way. The trail from Biseon-dae soon enters Cheonbul-dong valley, and gets considerably harder. It was never very steep, this was a valley trail rather than a trail to any peaks, but for the whole duration we were carefully navigating rocks. I don't think there was one moment where there was a nice clear path! Cheonbul-dong valley is flanked by endless spires and pinnacles, and it is said that these took on the form of buddhas to meditating monks. I bet they would if they ate all those mountain mushrooms. We carried on up this valley and reached....The Steps of Doom!

(Look a bit dangerous and rickety? They were.)

I know it must be hard building a stairway up a particularly steep mountainside, but somebody should of had a spirit level on the go. One step actually gave way considerably, and with my heart in my throat, I noticed it was being wedged up betreen the rock face by a big stick. Very safe! All part of the fun of course. It was about this time, finally, that the sun started to make an appearance into this deep valley. Hurrah!

(Roughly from the top of The Steps of Doom. If you look closely you can still see the moon on the left. It paid to hold off and check weather online, until a day as perfect as this came along.)

(A little bit farther on, and I found some odd tiny urinals in a hut. Seriously, these things were tiny, you have to aim really well. Michael J. Fox would have no chance)

After around two and a half hours from Biseon-dae, we reached our destination, Yangpokpo (Yang waterfall), and had lunch. One of my favourite snacks here is chamchi (tuna) kimbab, but due to a shortage of them, I was forced to remember how bland regular kimbabs are. Kimbab, in case I've not covered this, is rice, ham, egg, radish, some brown root, some green leaf, and tuna if you're lucky, all rolled up in seaweed laver. To the untrained eye, it might resemble some kind of sushi. Anyway, they're fantastically cheap as well. While we ate, we had the pleasure of watching a Korean couple take turns climbing up the rock face of the waterfall, just to get their obligatory posing pics on camera. Honestly, as soon as a camera is out here, you see all manner of cheesey poses.

(This is probably my favourite photo of the trip. A short walk from Yangpokpo was a smaller waterfall. The Yin to it's Yang. This really had the feel of an oriental painting. It also reminded me of Karate Kid 2, when Daniel abseiled down a deep gorge to collect a bansai tree for Mr. Miyagi. Only to be bothered by some bullies. I wonder how time has treated Karate Kid 2. Perhaps unfairly lambasted at the time, I think it's ripe for reassessment!)

(At one point during the return journey, my hands were freezing, and the Korean man who was earlier climbing up waterfalls to impress his lady, came to my rescue with some bizarre pad thing. He took it out it's packet, and slapped it on my belly. Somehow this was supposed to warm my hands up. When he first beckoned me over, and rummaged in his bag, I presumed he was going to loan me some gloves, but then I remembered this was Korea, and that would be seen as far too simple a solution. But, yet again, another example of the Korean friendliness. I wore my stomach pad with pride, and shoved my hands in my pockets.)

Inevitably, with the sun now shining brightly the pictures on the way back were much nicer, so I'll just post a selection now.









As we approached the main gate, a fairly respectable 8 hours since our departure, we found ourselves walking alongside a cute old grandmother, who ably demonstrated the two extremes of Korean people. She smiled sweetly, and began to sing a traditional song as we walked through the trees. As she was walking a little bit slow, we eventually bade her farewell and quickened our step, remarking on how peaceful her impromptu song had been. Then, from behind, in thunderous rapture...."Hooooooaaaaaaauuurrrrrrccccchhchchchchchhhchtttttttt!", the mother of all Korean snort-n-spits. The illusion was shattered, but in a way we mostly find comical rather than repulsive.

In conclusion, it was fantastic fun, and Seorak-san is extremely beautiful and mysterious. We plan to go back before we leave Korea, and stay the night in one of the mountain huts. This will probably involve getting wrecked on soju all night, judging by the smell of every single hiker we passed on their early morning descent. Turns out the bus was fully booked, and we had to wait 2 hours, which let us check the beach out under blue skies. Not bad at all. Sokcho, like Gangneung further down the coast, joins Jeju island on the list of second year potential places with beaches and mountains in abundance.



One final memory of Sokcho, is this poor little lad wobbling around the bus station on a bike with stabilizers. The only problem was, the stabilizers were clearly meant for a bike half the size of his, so only one of them could touch the ground at any given time. He rode tilted to the left for a bit, then flopped over onto his right. Genius.