The Kangwondo Trip. (part 2)

I woke up the next day around 8 am, Chris tried waking me up much earlier than that, we were supposed to watch the sunrise. But since I was restless the night before, it was difficult to wake up early.. After securing breakfast in Family mart, we were on the road again.

Our first stop for the day was 경 포 대 ("Gyeong-po Dae"). It's the most famous beach in Kangwondo area, and I didn't wanna miss the opportunity to see it. The sand here was better and the water was clearer than the previous beach we visited. Waves were a bit strong too, so I could only imagine that it might be dangerous for the kids come summer time. There was a cool brisk of wind coming from the waves. It smelled briny, like that of seaweed. Eventhough it's winter, it felt more like late spring then. I was almost convinced I could let my feet touch the waves...





Seoraksan wasn't that far from the area, so it conveniently became our next destination. The parking area was full, so we had to look for another place to park. There were too many tourists at that time, and like us, they were also taking advantage of the warm springlike weather. The place where we parked was 20 minutes away from Seoraksan.. but the long walk didn't really matter cause the view was unbelievable. We stopped a few times and took some pictures...






Chris wanted to try and hike in the nearby area while waiting for the cable car ride. Hiking was definitely outside my range of abilities.. I kicked enough tantrum as I can manage, till he listened to my plea and rescinded.


After Seoraksan, we went to a different sea. This view greeted me... It's actually breathtaking when you see it personally... Pictures can't give justice as to how beautiful it really looks. I loved every minute spent here. But the wind picked up and got stronger that it felt difficult not to run for heater... ^^








Our next destination was my favorite among all of the places in Kangwondo. It's my first time to visit Samyang Ranch.. yes, it's a ranch and a beautiful tourist spot too. Countless dramas and movies were shot here. Samyang is also the same company that makes Ramyeon and Milk (although it's not really that popular). Their dairy products came from the cows they raised here. Unfortunately, I didn't see any cows. But I saw some ostrich, lambs, and a goat. I had fun feeding them with grass (I didn't know ostrich eats grass too^^)... It wasn't cold in Samyang, the weather was perfect.. the sky was clear, and it was warm and sunny. The snow was hardened a bit, so my shoes sloshed noisily as I walked around..





And finally... I was able to fulfill a childhood fantasy. And that is to lie down on the snow. Samyang Ranch was the perfect place to do it since there's infinite snow. I did look at the surroundings first before I lay down.. I don't want people to think I'm crazy or something. It felt really nice being able to do something you wanted to do ever since you were a kid. After that, Samyang easily climbed to the top 10 of my favorite spots on earth. Since it's located on a very high place, the view was astonishing. I didn't wanna go anywhere else, so I forced Chris to stay there for as long as possible.



At night, we drove to 주 문 진 ("Jumunjin"), another famous harbor for great seafood. We bought exactly the same sashimi again... We couldn't get enough of those. Chris knew how much I love Shrimp tempura so he bought 20 large pieces to go with our sashimi. As usual, we asked them to pack it.. We prefer eating it at another place.. Chris kept his promise the night before that we'll spend the night in a good place. I was traumatized by the dirty sheets from the condominium at that time. The name of the place is Pine Hill Hotel.. located in a strangely posh downtown district. I thought Kangwondo is a rural place, but seeing that place changed my mind a bit. The room was good, very spacious indeed. And the smell of clean and fresh new sheets, pillow cases, robes, and towels greeted me by the door. The couch was wide and inviting, the tiny little fridge was full, and the LG Canvas plasma screen was huge. I could just imagine how it'll feel like using that for XBOX. There was a whirlpool too, biggest among I've seen. I guess it could comfortably accomodate 3-4 people at the same time, and I had it all to myself. That night I slept comfortably and woke up well rested for our last day in the province...