Wild Korea

This is a description of a trip I did at the beginning of May in 2005:

On Monday I got a bus to Chungju (no, that’s not the same as Cheongju where I went last week, even though it’s in the same province of Chungcheong buk-do.) And from there got a bus to the Songye Valley. I got off at Deokju village and found a minbak, the Weolsong Garden – had a big Korean-style room (sleep on the floor with a huge choice of bedding available.) Twenty bucks a night. I showed them where I had written that I am allergic to wheat, so they made me for dinner: acorn jelly, a very tasty large potato pancake, a large bowl of rice with some vegies – I think it was like bokkum-bap (Korean fried rice) with a broth added. The ajumah tentatively gave me some kimchi and when I ate the spicy cabbage she gave me some more. She wrote down that she would provide dinner, breakfast and a packed lunch, plus the accomodation for 40,000 won (US$40). Sounded good to me.

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As the autumn days shortened and the leaves thinned on the trees I accelerated my travel schedule to visit as many places as possible before winter set in. At the end of October an overnighter to Hwayang was one of these trips. I wasn’t sure public transport went there when I started, but in Goesan I found I could do it with just one more change of buses. After arrival I started walking up the valley and took lots more photos than I can put here. Here’s what’s of interest everywhere in the park – the autumn leaves; the stream; and the hills:

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In October I just stopped by overnight on my way elsewhere - hadn't been here before but autumn sounded like a good time to visit. From Wonju took a local bus to Guryeongsa on the north side of ... [Continue reading this entry]