Sokcho: The Hiker and the Old Man and the lack of a sea

I set 2 alarms and woke up before either of them.  I was ready to climb the Mountain.  I was just starting my breakfast when Yoda walked in with a look that was more negative than positive.  He was sick--with fever.  So I have to climb the mountain on my own, which means I can't do anything stupid or not pay attention to the Korean signs in hopes that the other person is.  No problem, right. 
I got my bus ticket but had no idea what gate number to go to.  All in Korean and I didn't see the name of my destination anywhere (because its not a main stop).  So I asked someone and they pointed me to gate 6.  I stood there for a while and nothing.  Then it was past the time the bus was supposed to leave at, so I went and asked someone else--they said gate 1 and that the bus already left.  Nice.  The next bus was in 30 minutes though, so I could just wait.   I met a guy, named Choi there who was waiting for a bus to Seoul .  He was trying to be real helpful but couldn't exactly explain how to tell from my ticket which gate number my bus would be at.  We exchanged phone numbers though--in case I ran into problems--which was super nice.  10 Minutes later a bus drive comes up to me and says "Osaek".  I follow him and I get on a bus, more confused than a parrot in zero gravity.  Choi began texting me quite frequently to make sure I was "OK".  I told him there were other hikers on the bus so I figured it was all right--and if not, I was just going to follow them anyway and hike where they are, because they were really decked out like hiking knights.

Turns out all was good.  The bus dropped me off at Osaek and I followed the signs (and hikers) to the trailhead.  There was a ranger at the trailhead who's job was to warn travelers of the dangers ahead.  It was all "listen all ye who enter", but in Korean.  The trail was only 5km in length, but it gained 1300 meters in elevation.  There were no flat parts--everything was steep.  I met an older gentleman on the trail who said he hikes this 5 times a year.  He was 73.  Paint me impressed.  I hiked with him for about an hour.   He shared food, wisdom, and stories of his adventures.  He was the Korean Odysseus.

I made the summit of the trail in about  2 hours and 45 minutes, which was pretty good (the guide books say 4 hours), but I was beat.  It was really cool up there.  Beautiful views--I think it was worth the exhaustion--yea, probably.

   It took me about the same time to get down the mountain as it did to get up--that's how tired I was.   I made a slow motion bee-line for the closest restaurant once I got down and asked for Bi Bim Bop.  I was promptly seated, but began to immediately wonder if I should have asked for 2 Bi Bim Bops.

 After getting back to Sokcho I checked in on the ailing Yoda.  It seems the force was not very strong within him this day.   I found Olive in the lobby of the Hostel so we went out for coffee.  Again--crappy coffee.  I've never thought I would be craving Starbucks so much.   I got hungry again and Olive suggested this chicken place that is kinda trendy, or popular, or something.  It was in market area of town.  Upon initial inspection it didn't look exactly sanitary--most of the equipment was outside in front of the shop, including pallets of vacuum packed chickens, but nothing smelled  wrong.  Although I am not exactly known for my olfactory prowess.  Regardless, we ordered one (i think they only have one option for food).  It was just like the dry fried Chicken from San Tung in San Francisco.  The fact that is wasn't seafood was enough for me to want it though.

Sokcho: I'm a tourist and I know it

I got up not as sore as I thought i'd be.  My impeccable sense of deduction is sure that this is due to the large amounts of Kim-Chi that I have consumed.  It must have healing powers;  the extreme stench must serve to contain them.   I found Yoda, Matthew, and Loraine at the breakfast room. (or the toast, jam, and instant coffee lounge).  Yoda and I decided we wanted to try and climb Mt. Daechebong, the 3rd highest peak in Korea (1750 meters).   There is a way to get there from close to Sokcho but it could take upwards of 12 hours, so we decided to investigate a shorter route from the nearby town, Osaek (also renowned for their hot springs).   Matthew and Loraine left for a quick trek back to the park to do the cable cars and then catch a bus back to Seoul, so we said our goodbyes.  I will definitely look them up when I get to Hong Kong.  Yoda and I went to the bus terminal to ask the lady in the information booth/prison cell (seriously there was no door to it.  I think she has to climb through the window) about getting a bus to Osaek.  So her English was great but her enthusiasm was south of the border, but helpful nontheless.  There are plenty of buses to Osaek, so Yoda and I decided to chill in Sokcho for this day and catch a bus early the next for the supreme hike.
I left Yoda and went around Sokcho myself.  I first walk towards the docks.  I found what looked to be a row of pet shops:  little shops with a bunch of full fish tanks at their front.  But then I realized these fish were all for consumption.  It looked like you pick your fish and pay by the gram (various tanks were marked with various prices).   After you pick your fish and pay they take the basket into the back, across a hallway to another room--a room with very good drainage.     This is the where they gut, fillet, make edible your fish.  The final product looked great.  The in between was a bit much.  Even so, I would imagine it would be far more difficult to watch a mammal get slaughtered and then have to eat it, raw or not.

I walked up to a small shrine and a lighthouse after this.  Not that interesting.  I was more interested in trying to get a peak of North Korea, but I really couldn't tell.  The only glimpse I got of North Korea was the scuba diver that was pretending to be fishing for clams that was so obviously a North Korean spy.

I spent the rest of my afternoon at this posh coffeeshop with terrible coffee.  The lady who owns it was really nice though.  She brought me lots of snacks and attempted to help me practice my Korean.   I think the problem with the phrasebooks is that they follow proper grammar and sentence structure, but really all people need is the key words and such.  The less the better.  Lonely Planet -3 pts.
I changed to the Hostel that denied me 2 nights ago.  After checking in I found Yoda and we headed down for dinner, where we found Olive from Bebop House in the lobby (she had emailed me saying she was coming so I wasn't surprised).  The three of us went in search of a Cornucopia of Neptune for dinner.  It was a fairly difficult meal.  A few things were still moving when they served them.  I at least tried everything once.  I did not try many things more than once.  If I had been wearing my Galactus helmet I would have fared better, but I didn't want to scare anyone what with how close to the border we are.

One our way back we found the Korean equivalent of Dennis the Menace in Canine form.  He was hiding in the bushes until someone walked by, then he want behind them and humped the crap out of their legs.

Sokcho: Day of stairs

Yesterday I hung out at the House Hostel in the morning to meet up with Matthew and Loraine and while in the lobby I met an awesome guy from Finland.  I can't remember how to spell his name, but it sounds like Jared without the J, but he also was ok with us calling him Yoda (how can you really turn down such an invitation).  Anyway, since he was planning to go hiking in Seoraksan park I asked him to come along with me and the Hong Kong couple (who was not yet up due to a evening skirmish with mosquitos).

The park was cool.  I was most impressed by the various food stands that were on the trail.  It seemed like there were some as far as 2 miles down the trail.  We took this trail that was supposed to be about 2 hours and has a lot of red metal staircases.  Stairs did they have.  It was kinda like ascending Vernal falls in Yosemite, but the stairs were steeper, narrower, and greater in number.  I was really impressed at all the older folks who were hiking--I hope I am that spry when I am old.
Get ready for a lot of pictures (more blog below!)

Yoda and I ended up separating from the Hong Kong couple and made it to the top in about 2 hours.  We descended the mountain and stopped off at some of the trail vendors for some mekjul (beer-a valuable word to know).  These places were the bars John Muir probably saw in his dreams. 

After getting back to Sokcho, Yoda and I scoured out a place to eat near the docks.  We walked in and after a few confusing exchanges of language, we mimed eating and they sat us at a table a brought out a ton of fish and cooked it in front of us, all for about 20 bucks in total. 

Sokcho: A waterslide of confusion

I got up early and left Seoul today.  It was a bit sad to leave Bebop House, where I had been staying for the last week, but I know I can always come back when I return to Seoul. I said my goodbyes and hauled my crap to the subway station to catch a bus.

The bus was cheap, like 14,000 Won (about 13 bucks) and took about 3 hours to get to Sokcho.  I ended up making friends with a couple from Hong Kong who were sitting in front of me.  I found out they didn't speak Korean when the bus stopped at a rest stop.  The driver announced something in Korean (probably how long the bus would be there)--they turned around with as a confused look as me.  Then we discovered we were going to the same hostel.  Such a relief to find other people with the same destination as yourself.

We made it to the hostel and announced to the guy at the desk our reservations.  This is were it got a little scary--he didn't have my reservation, and the hostel was full! Apparently the phone call I made never happened, or he didn't understand me.  From now on I'm booking all my hostels over the internet.  The Hong Kong couple was really nice and offered their room--super nice. Luckily the hostel owner felt bad and helped me find a motel across the street.  It was a fine motel and close to the hostel, so I could easily come back over to see my new friends.

After checking in I met back up with the Hong Kong couple, Matthew and Lorraine, and went to this place called "Waterpedia", which was basically a hot spring water park.  This place had it all: a thrill ride called Maelstrom, hot spring pools, dry saunas, indoor pools, outdoor pools,  giant plastic seashell enclosed personal jacuzzis (wierd), and a food court.

After the water park we came back and went to an all you can eat bbq at your table place.  There was a British girl there (probably a local English teacher) who was able to give us some directions.  It was basically a meat cooler buffet.  They bring hot coals to your table and give you sheets of foil to use on top of the grate.  We were pretty bad at first (kept ripping the foil), so one of the ladies who worked there had to come do it for us.  Her sigh sounded like a clam shell squeaking through a megaphone.  I impressed the table next to us with my wasabi and hot pepper eating skills.  I think the piece of octopus sushi they gave me (that was wrapped in plastic as if it were a piece of candy) was payment for their entertainment.