I finally found a plane ticket for Thailand and believe you me, I was pretty excited!
During the process of booking it, I went on a weather website to brag about how hot and sunny it would be… and I discovered that coming week in Phuket was going to be heavily raining with thunderstorms.
So no Thailand.
Instead, I took a 5 hours bus ride to the East Coast – where there exists yet another paradise.
I quickly found a hotel, which was 40 000 won/night (quite reasonable for holiday season), 2 mins walk from the bus station, 5 mins walk from the beach and 15 mins bus ride from the most beautiful mountain I have ever seen.
The guy at the reception is totally adorable and the rooms are pretty ok.
As for the beach… man oh man! I was really happy to see the ocean, to taste it, to feel it, to smell it.
Ironically, Sokcho is an easy gate to South Korea for the Communist North so you can see barbed wire and military points along the beach.
It is quite impressive because from afar, it seems like soldiers are pointing a gun at you. Up-close, they're just dummies.
I tried to imagine what it must have been like, posted in those awfully small wooden boxes, waiting, being cold, feeling lonely, a gun to keep you company. Watching in case someone might try to cross the border. I find it pretty inhuman... they were like dogs.
On the beach I found interesting stuff – notably a tv and a small bench.
As any piece of land in Korea, the beach was crowded with Korean families. They seemed happy. They always do.
Older people are very energetic; they handle everything! Kids are playful and cheerful. Fathers seem bored while watching their kids and wife having fun together. Couples are romantic – Koreans are the most romantic people I have ever seen.
I spent time there walking, exploring, reading, even grading some exams!
As for the mountain, a picture is worth a thousand words so see for yourself.
And you find a lot of Buddhist stuff – temples, statues, etc.
Seoraksan is HUGE and beautiful. There are hotels nearby but they are incredibly expensive. If you want, you can spend the night in the mountain at a shelter (about 5-10 000 won).
Admission fee is 3 400 won and you will get harassed by people for the first hour – trying to sell you food and useless things.
And for the first hour or so, you basically line up in the path. There are so many people there!
After the first hour, I thought most people would fall behind. Well, the big families did, but certainly not the rest of them.
I was soooooo impressed! I hiked for about 6 hours straight and kept meeting people – but not just young people; OLD PEOPLE too! The roads were stiff and difficult, those people are so stubborn!!
I never reached the top because apparently it takes 10 hours, but I did enjoy beautiful views. It kinda bumped me out because for me the reward when you hike is the final view the summit. So it seemed a little pointless. But anyway. An old man offered me a cucumber (yes!) and it made me smile.The point is that on my way down (I came back before sunset wouhou!) I met several people and I have no idea how they got there. 5 hours walk from the ticket booth, old men and women, painfully walking. Kids seemed exhausted.
But also energetic ajumas and ajashis, excited families, teenagers in love… I was stunned!
Moreover, and this is actually quite interesting, their outfit could feed an entire social study.
Older people are dressed quite sportive. They have the style haha Mainly North Face – the shoes, the pants, the dryfit t-shirt, the hat, the stick, the backpack, sunglasses, everything.
Oh and the GLOVES!! Oh the gloves! They are white, sometimes with shades of green or pink, and soooo popular here! Everybody uses them – for moving stuff, driving a car or bus, picking up trash, hiking, carrying something, anything really!
As for younger people, they so don’t dress up for climbing! They wear Converse and jeans. No backpack, no walk stick, nothing. Not even water. And they’re so fast!
What I’ve seen in Seoraksan totally shows that Koreans are in really good shape – and the reason for that is because they exercise quite a lot! Even in Seoul, if you go hiking during the week-end, mountains are packed.
I guess they’re healthy because they eat healthy too (so many vegetables with every meal – especially kimchi, which some people say they don’t feel the same if they haven’t had with a meal!!), and they live healthy (exercise a lot instead of being a couch potato).
Every time you go out in the streets, they are filled with people. Koreans prefer staying outside rather than inside. And since they work so hard and such long hours, they cherish every moment they can spend with their family.
I had to come back on Saturday because I was told there would be traffic jam on Sunday. Wrong. I spent 6 hours in the damn bus, stuck in traffic, it was awful! Then another hour on the subway… I already miss Sokcho.
The mountain felt like you could just lay there, it looked like a big comfy bed!
There were nice waterfalls. And the colors, although it was early in the season, were breathtaking. On my way down I actually thought they had changed while I was climbing. That’s how fast seasons change ;)
