Korea Holiday 2013 - Day Five

Up early to checkout so as we could enter the park - not raining anymore. About time too. We'd extended our stay because of the rain and due to the fact that it was supposed to be reasonable whether. Our initial plans had just been a staging day between Sokcho and Gyeongju so we really didn't have to be anywhere else, luckily. Parking at the entrance to the park was W5,000. It was going to be another 45 minutes until the cable car to the Gwongeumseong Fortress was open so we had a look at Sinheungsa (temple) and a short walk along the river. Ulsanbawi looked imposing in the background. By the time we bought tickets for the cable car we had to wait another 25 minutes or so for our car - popular ride today as it had been washed out for the previous two days.

Seated bronze Buddha statue (The Great Unification Buddha Tongil Daebul) - this thing is enormous

River in front of Sinheungsa

One of the guards at the entrance to Sinheungsa

Sinheungsa

More of Sinheungsa

Inside the temple at Sinheungsa

Cable car to Gwongeumseong Fortress

Entrance to Seoraksan National Park

Painting on side of building at Sinheungsa

Some smart chap built this on the river's edge

I'm sure this would be a raging torrent at the height of the wet season

Heading up on the cable car

Ulsanbawi in the background, massive Buddha in the foreground

You had one job

Reckon we took a shot like this 15 years ago

I climbed to the top of Gwongeumseong Fortress. Scary as heck but there were plenty of grandmas coming down who had done it and there was some ranger guy standing up top doing curls and things with a dumbbell. So I really had no excuse not to do it. Wonderful view from the top. And it was a bit crowded on the summit due to having been closed for a couple of days. You used all five legs coming down - legs, arms and bum.

Gwongeumseong Fortress

Leaves starting to change colour for autumn

How on earth the trees grow amongst the granite I don't know

There was a lunch offer at the Kensington Stars Hotel of steak, soup and coffee/juice for W14,000 in the Abbey Road Bistro. A la carte. Magnificent view from the terrace/balcony atop this hotel.

View from the car park of the Kensington Stars Hotel

Beatles memorabilia everywhere

Steak for lunch, exquisitely done

Panorama of surrounding mountains from the terrace atop the hotel

Plan after lunch was for some hiking in the Osaek region. There was a distinct lack of parking at Heullimgol for Yeosim Pokpo Falls and the climb to Seobugjoneung. Wonderful watching the clouds coming up the mountains as we ascended in the car. I couldn't enjoy it that much as the road was very windy. Short walk at the Heullimgol Park Ranger Post before we managed to get parking for Yeosim Pokpo (Falls). Even though it was a beginners course, and we did some stretching beforehand, it was hard work. Well, for we two oldies in the group. The young fella steamed on ahead of us and left us for dead. He wasn't waiting for us at the waterfall and we carried on. There was another waterfall ahead and a summit beforehand. Caught up with a group of school kids hiking and asked them if they'd seen him. He'd headed up to the summit, as you would expect a boy to do, and we found him on the way down. He'd beaten us by some 10 minutes or so, little bugger. By the time we summitted it was completely engulfed by cloud. But the scenery in the hiking trail was magnificent and well worth the pain in my legs that was evident and to come.

Roads are getting a bit windy - check out the GPS warnings

Around Heullimgol Park Ranger Post

Almost the right time of year - just a couple of weeks early for the best colours to be evident

Yeosim Pokpo

Clouds rushing up the valley

Wonderful granite peaks

OK, getting a bit arty now

From the summit of Seobugjoneung - completely clouded over

Descending Seobugjoneung

Bit trickier coming down, eh boy?

Not sure I would want to be standing here during the rainy season

Left at 4pm. Only 339 kms, 5 hrs and 25 mins of driving, until our hotel in Gyeongju. The IC expressway was only W4,400 for about 100 kms of driving. We stopped at Donghae where you can even buy Pierre Cardin clothing at the shops in the rest stop. Weird. Not a fabulous meal but serviceable. Only W17,000 to feed three. Lots of naval ships about and I could see eight.

Soon it was night time driving on dimly lit highway and town streets with a fair bit of traffic. Not all that enjoyable. Decided to drive like others and sat 10-20 km/h over the speed limit on the open road until the GPS warned me of an upcoming speed camera. With two stops it took us five and a half hours to reach the hotel but that was still one hour quicker than the GPS expected us to do it in, if you include the stops.

My sister-in-law and niece had reached the hotel just before us. We went out for a meal at 10:30pm, well, actually for coffee and a snack. Ate at Hollys Coffe - I had soup in a huge bread roll which was nice. Finished at five to 11, just as they were closing. Decided not to let sister-in-law drive my rental car again after that short journey.

Korean Holiday 2013 - Day Four

Raining, still. At least they've changed the song in the lobby. Two days straight of "Happiest Girl in the USA" would be grounds for justifiable homicide. First stop was Hwaamsa (Hwaam Temple). Nice little temple with Rice Rock overlooking it. Legend has it that when the crops failed the rock produced some rice for the people. Obviously didn't have mental asylums back then to lock people up. Lovely river and waterfalls around the temple and great rock decorations. Some soldiers came to pray.

Rain pouring off the roof

Temple and pagoda

Rice Rock covered by cloud

Rice Rock in the background

Fabulous decoration

Inside the temple at Hwaam

Now there is an enlightening-style table setting

River in the area

Rice Rock makes an appearance

The Boy likes to build the rock pagodas for good luck

I'm pretty sure the guy on the right is the boss

Rice Rock finally reveals itself

Gazebo holding the bell

 

  

 

Back into town to the harbour area, after driving around Yeongnangho Lake, to try ozinga (cuttlefish) tempura and 10 small prawns with a free sweet potato slice. The meal was delicious and cooked very quickly, customer numbers were low, and we were treated nicely. The Boy had a mild reaction to the food so I wonder if there was some form of nut in the cooking oil or filling. Had almost run out of cash, only just had enough for lunch, and there was an ATM available but it wouldn't take my overseas card. Spent some time searching for a bank and the only one in the area didn't do foreign exchange.

An unusual ATM

The shop where we had cuttlefish, prawns and sweet potato tempura

Halmoni (grandma) hard a work

Prawn tempura

Cuttlefish - spicy but decidedly delicious

Spent ages driving around town looking for a decent parking spot but all the areas near the bank required downtown were filled. The car park that we decided to use actually photographed your licence plates from four different angles as you entered and there was no need to obtain a parking ticket. Spent some time in the fish market. You can buy almost anything and it is very fresh. Had some dumplings and pajeon (pancake). The missus bought some sashimi mix and I wanted to get some dried squid - it had something sharp and ripped the skin off the roof of my missus' mouth. Not sure what it was.

Seafood is a staple in this region

Fresh seafood

Dumplings and pancakes being cooked

Entrance to the car park where they photograph the vehicle

Drove to Daepong, missed the turn, backtracked how the GPS told me (wrong way down a one way street) and we found a coffee house to park in. I had a lovely cocoa for W6,000, same cost as the coffee (bit rich for $6) but they did offer a free refill for the coffee, the music was relaxing and we were seated in a rather strange building with it raining outside. Not a bad way to while away the afternoon. Headed ack into town for North Korean-style mandoo.

This guy can take up two lanes if he really wants to - I'm not going to argue

The Coffee House

Upstairs

The Boy had McDonalds for dinner

Can't get your artery-clogging McDonalds fast enough - there's McDelivery for that

Nice artwork near E-Mart

The drive back to the hotel at night time was beautiful as they have the street light poles in multicoloured lights. The missus and I went for a walk later through the lights and to the entrance of Seoraksan National Park.