Three weeks ago, Liz, Ashleigh (two other foreigners here), and I travelled to Seoraksan National Park. It's a spectacular mountain area with dramatic granite spires. We had to leave Friday night in order to make it on time for the tour Saturday morning, which involved a 4 hour bus ride leaving here at 11pm. We attempted to sleep at the bus terminal, which is to say we really didn't sleep. We then had another 4 hour bus ride to Seoraksan, and a 4 hour hike to the top of the mountain (how everything kept turning out to be 4 hours, I can't explain). Saturday night, we visited the fancy bath house, which was fantastic (and much more comfortable than my last experience). Sunday, we had an easier, milder hike to a waterfall. After 2 more 4 hour bus rides, we made it home. It was a great time, and the sky looked cool, so I got good pictures. 
This past weekend was Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving). I had a 4 day weekend, so I took Ashleigh and Ranell to the west side of the country for some exploring. On the first day, we saw a giant Buddha in a town called Cheonan. Then, we took a bus from there to Daejeon, where we spent the night. That day, we took another bus to a mountain called Daedunsan to climb a mountain. That climb involved a suspension bridge just like the one at Wolchulsan, plus a giant ladder-staircase that gave me vertigo. We took a bus that night to Jeonju, where we spent the night in the best love motel I've ever seen: 2 computers, giant tv, 2-person jetted tub, personal sauna, massage chair, and heated toilet seats.
The next morning we took another bus to a town called Jinan, and from there a bus to a mountain called Maisan (horse ears mountain), to see the weirdest mountains and weirdest temple in Korea. The temple is called Tapsa, and it's surrounded by hundreds of stone "pagodas," basically piles of rocks that manage to stand even though they're not adhesed together in any way. After 2 more bus rides back to Daejeon, Ashleigh and Ranell had to go back, and I enjoyed my extra day off the next day at Beopjusa. I wrote about this place last year (see blog), it has a really giant Buddha.
I'm pretty exhausted after all these bus rides and hikes, but it was worth it. I had a great time. Sorry I glossed over the details, but I figure a blunt recap is better than none at all..
This past weekend was Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving). I had a 4 day weekend, so I took Ashleigh and Ranell to the west side of the country for some exploring. On the first day, we saw a giant Buddha in a town called Cheonan. Then, we took a bus from there to Daejeon, where we spent the night. That day, we took another bus to a mountain called Daedunsan to climb a mountain. That climb involved a suspension bridge just like the one at Wolchulsan, plus a giant ladder-staircase that gave me vertigo. We took a bus that night to Jeonju, where we spent the night in the best love motel I've ever seen: 2 computers, giant tv, 2-person jetted tub, personal sauna, massage chair, and heated toilet seats.
The next morning we took another bus to a town called Jinan, and from there a bus to a mountain called Maisan (horse ears mountain), to see the weirdest mountains and weirdest temple in Korea. The temple is called Tapsa, and it's surrounded by hundreds of stone "pagodas," basically piles of rocks that manage to stand even though they're not adhesed together in any way. After 2 more bus rides back to Daejeon, Ashleigh and Ranell had to go back, and I enjoyed my extra day off the next day at Beopjusa. I wrote about this place last year (see blog), it has a really giant Buddha.I'm pretty exhausted after all these bus rides and hikes, but it was worth it. I had a great time. Sorry I glossed over the details, but I figure a blunt recap is better than none at all..
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