Sokcho and Seoraksan National Park

For the Buddha's Birthday and Children's Day long weekend (May 3-6), Team JMS decided we were in need of a vacation. Like a vacation together. We originally tried to plan a trip to Japan, but in February all the planes and ferries were sold out. Yes, in FEBRUARY. Koreans don't get many long weekends and in fact, this is the longest holiday they have in 2014. FOUR DAYS. That's it. So everyone books their vacations early.

As an alternative, we decided to stick around and tour a place we've both wanted to go, the seaside town of Sokcho and the nearby national park, Seoraksan. Seorak is probably the most famous mountain to hike in Korea after Hallasan (see Jeju post).

We had four days, two spent hiking in the park and two spent in Sokcho or on the beach. The weather was incredible. The most perfect spring weather one could ask for. A friend of mine recommended a pension with an ocean view that she'd stayed at before so we booked it and what a view it was! So nice to wake up to the sunrise blasting in the window. It was a very relaxing and refreshing trip.

Day 1 - Walking on the Beach

Saturday was spent walking along the beach, relaxing, and eating food. We even stopped by the heart tree on the pier for some photo ops.

View from our balcony

Day 2 - Hiking up to Geumganggul Cave (Biseondae course)

Our first day in the national park was super busy. We went in the late morning and it was packed. I'm talking circus or amusement park packed. We managed to get through the crowds and hike past Biseondae rock and up to Geumganggul Cave. Lots of stairs were involved in getting to the small cave in the rock face, but it was a very nice view.

Excited to be in Seoraksan National Park!

 A beautiful stream                                  The cave! Yes, it's on the side of a mountain face.

Inside the cave, looking out.

Day 3 - Tandem Biking Around Sokcho

On Monday, we rented a tandem bicycle and rode around town. It was nice to have the freedom to create our own itinerary. Armed with a local map of tourist attractions and things to do, we headed out to the Jungang Market for our first experience of a real Korean market. JM even got his first 'ajumma elbow'. We had to pick up a box of Sokcho's most famous fried chicken, called Dakgangjeong, for which we waited in line about 40 minutes! It was crazy popular.

Making chicken

Insane line up waiting for chicken.

Finally! It arrived.

Next, we headed out to Yeongnangho Lake, a quiet lagoon just north of town with a lovely path around it. We stopped at an archery experience and learned how to shoot a bow and arrow, then stopped at Bombawi, a rock that apparently looks like a crouching tiger. Here we ate our fried chicken for lunch with a beautiful view of the mountains and lake.

Our view for lunch. Notice the mountains!

 

 Shadow play!

After eating, we headed back to Sokcho and passed the Seokbong Ceramic Museum. Even though it was closing soon, they let us come in and see all the beautiful art.

Finally, we returned our bike and grabbed some local tofu soup, sundubu, for dinner. All in all it was a fantastic day.

Day 4 - Our last day was also our departure day, so we had to be efficient with our time. Waking up to the most beautiful sunrise, team JMS headed out to Seoraksan park early (like 6:30am early). We wanted to get a head start on the Ulsanbawi trail. This is one of the most famous hiking trails and it was sure to get busy. That early in the morning, however, we only saw a few other people. It was really nice to have moments in the nature alone. The weather was chilly and windy, so the waygooks in shorts looked a little out of place, but we managed. The view from the top was worth it. You felt like you were on top of the world! In true Korean fashion, we had 4G at the top and decided to Skype some family members.

Heundeulbawi - the oddly placed rock that no one can push over.

Our first real view of Ulsanbawi - yup, we went all the way to the top!

 

View from the top. It was a beautiful day - you could see all the way to the ocean!

After returning to our pension, we showered and hit the beach for an hour before our bus ride home. Sokcho was a beautiful town that we highly recommend. It was probably the most perfect weekend we've ever had in Korea.

Team JMS

The Inexplicable World of Korea #11 - False Advertising

It is very common in Korea to buy a product because it looks good in an advertisement or on the packaging, only to be thoroughly disappointed when you open it. I'm pretty sure there are laws against this in Canada, but not in Korea! You can promise just about anything, and then give something else and no one seems to complain. It's pretty annoying. We were looking forward to walnuts and flax seeds on these cookies. At least they taste good!!

A Georgian Breakfast.

While Jennika was away in India, I mostly kept busy with work. On the weekends, I socialized with my coworkers. For the Korean new year, Katelynn Bell, an English teacher at Bugil, invited a few of us over for brunch. There was hash-browns, bacon, omelettes, and a full spread of other tasty goodies. It is hard to get a nice western breakfast in Korea. After lunch, we continued to socialize and Katelynn shared some home made ice cream which was the bomb. Shortly after cleaning out the ice cream Robyn Horn found a 1000 piece puzzle. We whittled away at it all day. I've never completed a 1000 piece puzzle in one day. As the hours passed, we saw the end get closer and closer until 6pm was upon us. I saw the end in sight. I still haven't finished a 1000 piece puzzle in one day, my hunger took over and I left for some Indian cuisine at Mount Fishtail, but Robyn, Christopher Decou, and Katelynn polished it off.

So close to the end!

Summer in Canada (4 weeks in a nutshell!)

Hi Everyone!

My summer vacation started on July 19th. I flew home to Toronto to spend a week with my family before continuing on to the Maritimes.

Korean Cultural Center in the Incheon airport. You can paint a traditional fan!

I did this while waiting for my flight to Toronto

On Saturday, July 20th the whole Soles clan went tree top trekking for mine and Andrew's (my brother) birthdays. It was fun, and quite a lot more dangerous than the trekking/ziplining  I'd done in Gatineau and Costa Rica. There were no brakes!! They just expected you to barrel toward a padded tree at full speed, grab the green rope, and pull yourself up onto the platform. Well, it happened a few times that the rope was missed, after body slamming into a tree. Seriously Mom, I wish I had that on video.

On Sunday, the lovely Maryse came to visit me! It was so nice to see her and even nicer that she drove all that way. After having lunch with my Grandad on Tuesday, I made my way to the city to have dinner with Sandhya. She always treats me so well! We had delicious Mexican food and Cold Stone for dessert. I was ecstatic to be back in the land of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

The rest of the week was spent enjoying my grandfather's company. Being 90 means time is extra precious. Knowing that he cannot travel far, I really just came home to see him. Getting on a plane used to be exciting because it meant you were going on vacation, but now when I get on a plane back to my life 10,000km away, it's more emotional. Saying good bye is always the hardest part.

I flew to Moncton, New Brunswick and met up with JM late Thursday night. JM's friend Kris was getting married on Saturday, and while we were supposed to have Friday as a day off for touring, torrential downpours kept us indoors. But it was ok! We hadn't watched any English TV in a really long time. So catching a few reality shows about the Canadian Border Services and home design was kind of relaxing.

JM's beautifully wrapped gift

Barn wedding!

For our 2 year anniversary, JM had booked us a romantic getaway at Kindred Spirits, a cute B&B in the Cavendish region of Prince Edward Island. Our package included chocolates and sparkling juice in our room, a single fluffy robe, national park and Green Gables passes, a picnic basket for two, homemade breakfast, and more. We thoroughly enjoyed driving around PEI and exploring the north shore, with the sand dunes, the ocean, and the eroded red sandstone. We even walked through a red fox pack!

Enjoying Green Gables!

 

 Going for a walk on Lovers Lane (from the Green Gables books!)

The Green Gables house

 Our prime picnic location .. a private locals only beach (ie: not on the map!) on the north shore!

Our picnic! Baguette, meat, cheese, apples, pecan tarts, and Raspberry Cordials!

 

Cool rock formations. Clearly seeing the layers!

 

Panoramic of the view

 

The sun finally came out! The sand colour was so much more beautiful.

 

 Some interesting architecture in North Rustico, PEI. The right one is called the Mother In Law's Door.

 The one on the left has a toilet in the back. The one on the right looks like a trailer drove into the house.

Our B&B - Kindred Spirits

 

The next weekend we scooted up to Ingonish in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Friends of mine from McGill, Mal and Ben, were on an Eastern Canada bike trip. They were passing through Cape Breton the first few days of August so we met up with them and camped for two nights at Broad Cove Provincial Park. This was my first time in the Highlands National Park and it was beautiful! I had no idea that it was so mountainous. Together we hiked the Franey trail, swam in the brook at Broad Cove and then made a great camp dinner of sloppy joes. The next morning, JM and I got up at 5am to watch the sunrise and we saw some seals in the water. After camping, JM and I drove the rest of the way around the Cabot Trail, stopping to hike a few trails along the way. We saw a waterfall, a bog, and even a MOOSE! It was an amazing weekend.

Sunrise over the ocean from Broad Cove campground

View from top of South mountain

 

 

The next few weeks were spent between Cape Breton and Halifax. JM's niece was born August 5th, which he was really happy to be in the country for. We spent lots of time with friends and I even got to tour the department I'm interested in at Dalhousie University. I packed up and said good bye to Canada on August 16th, only to come back to Korea and have a few more holidays before starting my NEW JOB! All in all it was a great summer!

Jennika