Team JMS: Hiking

Thursday, May 8, 2014

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

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Rishikesh and the Himalayan Yog Ashram

My fourth week in India was spent in a lovely ashram at the base of the Himalayas in Rishikesh. It was a much needed holiday full of meditation, yoga, and self reflection. The ashram has a strict schedule which guests are encouraged to follow in order to maximize their stay. My daily routine was something like this:

5:00: Wake up
5:30-7:00: Meditation
7:15-8:45: Yoga
9:00: Breakfast
10:00-12:00: Treatments (massage, ayurveda, etc.)
13:00: Lunch
14:00-16:00 Free Time
16:00-17:30: Yoga Therapy
18:00-19:00: Meditation
19:30: Dinner
21:00: Lights out (but I was usually reading until 10-11pm)

Yes, I got up at 5am every day for meditation. It was hard, but I never missed a single one! The ashram was run by a local Indian man and his partner, a Dutch lady. The ashram itself was located amongst rice fields and a short walk from a decent mountainous hike and the village center. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the Himalayan Yog Ashram.

Train to Rishikesh. Although this was first class, it was still sketchy.
Especially when a mouse ran past my feet.

The view from the top floor of the ashram

The view from Himalayan Yog Ashram

Monkeys in Rishikesh

My first and last days at the ashram were Sundays, which are 'free' days where the regular schedule doesn't apply. On my first day I decided to head into town and make my way down to the holy Ganges River. This river is absolutely stunning. It is naturally a sea green - but it's a river! Flowing with ice water from the Himalayas, and white sand that makes it look so pure, it's easy to see why Indians decided this was a holy river. That first Sunday I found myself just staring at its beauty, when a young boy came up to me. He wanted to sell me overpriced flowers, but I wasn't in the mood for being harassed. I was thinking of how grand this place was, and how much my grandfather would have loved it. My trip was, after all, supposed to be about grieving his death and trying to find peace with it. The boy sat with me in silence for a long time. Eventually we started talking, about how old he was, going to school, why he was selling flowers, etc. I decided that I wanted to make a prayer for my Grandad and watch the flowers go down stream. The boy showed me what to do and how to do it. After I paid him, he started walking with me, but I told him that I needed to be alone, and he respected my wishes. I followed the flowers as far as I could go before the river took them away from me. I just kept thinking of releasing my Grandad's spirit and letting him be free.

Bye bye Grandad

It is said that dipping three times in the Ganga will cleanse you of your sins, so on my last day I went in for the 'holy dip'. It was freezing! A group of rafters came by right as I was getting in, so I quickly tried to splash myself, knowing that they would do it for me. The river makes your skin feel so soft.

On the Thursday of my trip I did not have any treatments at 10am, so I decided to pack a lunch and go for a hike to a local waterfall that I had heard was a nice trek. The path was easy to follow and I was surprised to find not just one, but many waterfalls along the way. At a private watering hole, I stopped for pictures, lunch, and some meditation, only to be startled by some other hikers who thought I had heard them coming (I was deep in thought). I climbed with them until the main waterfall, and then continued on a bit further on my own. Some street dogs had followed them for the 5km hike and they continued following me when I left the group. I actually took comfort in their company and they walked with me all the way back into town. It was my most favourite day spent in the mountains.