Travel Diary: Saving the Best for Last.

The weather was unpredictable that night in Gyeongju. As soon as we left Anapji, the rain ceased and practically stayed that way the whole night. I wish we could have stayed longer and took more pictures.

Morning came, and we were up early, eager to make the most out of our last day on the road. Chris didn't tell me where we're going, and I was sleepy so I wasn't paying much attention to the road. Then his face lit up and he blurted "look to the left!", it was then I saw this vast flower field exploding with the cutest shade of yellow and orange.

The flower field didn't come nearly as cute when you're standing right in front of it, than seeing it from afar. The first thing I noticed was the smell. There's a minty-grassy smell coming from the leaves, and a sweet subtle potpourri smell from the flowers percolating in the air. I felt like Mary Poppins standing in the middle of all those beautiful flowers.

A friend of Chris recommended we visit Hwang Nam Bbang Bakeshop and try their famous Gyeongju bread. So we bought a box for 12,000 won. It was good, and it reminded me a lot of "Hopia" (a bean filled pastry I used to eat when I was young).

On our way to Pohang, we passed by a random isolated beach. Chris wanted to get some air, so we parked somewhere and walked along the shore. There are a lot of better beaches in Pohang, but we wanted a quiet and serene place like this.

Then we came to Homigot Beach ~ one of the easternmost point of the Korean peninsula with land jutting out into the East Sea. Thousands of people travel here during the Annual Sunrise Festival to witness the year's first sunrise. We came during the afternoon when the heat is almost unbearable. I can't stop myself from pitying this unresponsive horse who looked like he's on the verge of having a heat stroke.



Another important thing about Homigot are the sculptures called "The Hand of Harmony", the left hand stands on the land, while the right stands on the water.


This sculpture is best appreciated during sunrise when the hand looks like it's holding the sun.


We used the sea-road driving course that goes all the way to Yeongduk. It was a long drive and we were three hours late for lunch. I can't really complain as we saw a lot of scenic viewpoints and amazing spots worthy to be in postcards along the way.

Yeongduk isn't famous for sight-seeing, but people come here to get a taste of the most delicious crab in all of Korea.



It's definitely worth the long drive and all the excruciating hunger pangs. Every mouthful of their insanely delicious King Crab is pure ecstasy.



There's an ajumma that cuts it all up so you could easily eat it. Right after we finished all the four crabs, she served this. I know the picture doesn't look appetizing but let me tell you, the taste will blow you away!



Just before we said goodbye to Yeongduk, Chris took a picture of me while standing at the sea wall. The clear skies turned gray and it was all cloudy and dark again.



With the sky as dark as that, the rain couldn't be far behind so we decided to hit the road again. This time, we were headed to Cheongseong, a small, quiet county that takes pride on it's pristine river, cute hills and mountains perpetually covered in fog, bountiful apple farms, lakes, and other things we weren't able to discover.



Everywhere I look, there were apple trees thick with the sweet-smelling fruit. While walking, Chris had to stop me from picking one. I don't know, the apples looked so inviting... And sometimes, my craving gets in the way of my thinking.. I threw a fit when he didn't let me pick one, it's harvest time anyway and nobody would recognize that one's missing from thousands of apples there. Like a true gentleman, he offered to buy me a bucket of apples from the farmers selling it on the street. But I wanted the real thing, I wanted to get it from the tree with my bare hands. Well, what can I say.. I'm ludicrously high maintenance...



We walked towards the entrance of the lake park, and the view along the way is anything but the ordinary.



Blame it on the weather, there were only a handful of people at that time. Chris and I had one of our most romantic walks in this place.



We were losing the sun fast, so we hiked as fast as we could till we reached the lake. Kings and other royals from ancient dynasties spent time here, and I'm sure they gasped the way we did at the first sight of this lake.



Here's Chris walking towards a more secluded spot of the lake. The dark area there seemed like a cave, but nobody could go there without a boat.




And as always, I had to get my picture taken before we leave the place.



On the way down, Chris was busy 'hunting' for creatures and insects and he caught one strange looking frog.

From Cheongseong, we went directly to Andong to visit Hahoe Village. Along the way, the rain poured so it was hell traversing the mountain road going there. We reached the place at half past 8 in the evening. Since it was raining, we just drove around the village. It was dark and most people there were already asleep, except for this one halmmoni (grandmother) who stopped us to offer minbak (a place to stay). It was late and there wasn't much to see so we decided to go home. Chris was dead tired from driving that we had to stop at some resting place. We accidentally fell asleep there for a good two hours.

Both of us could barely walk when we reached home, but we couldn't stop talking about how wonderful the trip had been.

Travel Diary: Then came the rain.

The 3rd night was spent eating chips and drinking wine at the balcony of the motel. The view there at night was pretty great and it looked a little something like this.




We didn't close the balcony door before we slept, I thought the breeze would help put me to sleep. I woke up the next day with the sound of the waves turbulently crashing through the shore. It was so strong I barely heard the sound of the alarm clock. When I went to the balcony, all I saw was this one giant haze and rain. We knew we were in the middle of the storm, and it got both of us worried. The huge downpour didn't come as a surprise, it was all over the news even before we departed. But being right in the middle of it was still terrifying, and we almost considered 'sleeping it off' in the motel. But we already made plans of visiting Roh Mu Hyun's hometown in Bong-ha, and I know how important it is to Chris so I rescinded the idea of sleeping till the storm wears off.


Bong-ha is about 2 hours away from where we slept in Namhae, but that's in a good weather. With the fog and the rain, it was longer. We had to stop at a resting place to get coffee and snacks. I took some pictures while we're there.

I guess you can call us lucky cause as soon as we arrived at Bong-ha, the rain halted to barely a drizzle. The first thing I saw right after we arrived was this huge portrait of the ex-president who died last May 23rd. I know how much Chris loved the ex-president, and I saw how sad he became right after he saw it.

As the skies momentarily clear, as if giving us one last chance to mourn and pay our respects properly, the parking lot started to fill. I didn't mind that I was the only foreigner then, and the only one carrying this.

The air turned eerie and tensed with people whose emotions were being poured at the sight of his tomb. It was a sad, sad day for everyone including me. There was never a man more worthy to be called a President than him, and it's just so sad that everything turned out the way it did.

Chris went to climb Bong-ha san, the mountain where Roh Mu Hyun allegedly committed suicide. I stayed behind, it was too much for me to handle. I waited for him under a Persimmon tree while he climbed to the very same spot where Roh Mu Hyun allegedly jumped to his death. I know that it's inappropriate to post this picture, I just want to give everyone a feel how it's like to be up there. It was scary, the rocks were slippery and dangerous with no barrier for safety, but according to Chris, he never felt closer to the President than when he was up there.

After the emotion-filled morning, we ended our visit to Bong-ha with a trip to this small restaurant. Before Roh Mu Hyun's death, the restaurant's main market were farmers and cattle raisers, so it's something none of the urban-dwellers could expect. Small, dusty, with narrow tables covered in tacky table cloth, and unsteady wooden chairs that squeaks as you move, but it's filled with warm people. We ordered Sokogi Gukbap. After we finished it, we saw a picture of the former President together with farmers eating the same thing we did. We heard he visited the restaurant a lot..

We drove to Gyeongju, a very famous tourist destination located in the north of Gyeongsang province. This city is known for being the capital of Silla Dynasty, the longest sustained dynasty in Asian History that ruled for almost a thousand years.

One of the most significant landmark in Gyeongju is Bulguksa, a Buddhist temple which is a masterpiece of Silla's golden age of Buddhist art. Chris paid in full while I got 1,000 won discount on my ticket. The receptionist thought I was a student (12-18 age bracket) and was asked to pay only 2,000 won. I bought a popsicle with the change. Wearing braces at this age sometimes has it's charm.

There's a beautiful lake inside, and you guys should see how the tree with vertically draped leaves sashays as the wind blows. It's fascinating, but in an eerie kind of way.

This is Seokgatap, a 13 century old stone Pagoda.

This is the largest temple there, and it houses one of the two gilt-bronze statues of Buddha.

Here's Chris posing for a picture before we left the temple.

About 4 kilometers away from Bulguksa, there is a place called Seokguram Grotto. It contains a monumental statue of Buddha carved out of stone inside a cave. It's located on top of a mountain, and the place was entirely covered in fog.

This is the start of the 20 minute climb to go to the top where the famous statue of Buddha is located. We weren't able to take pictures after this, the fog was so thick we could barely see a thing.

Just before the day completely turned into nightfall, we visited Anapji. It's a man-made pond which was part of the palace complex of Silla Dynasty. Of all the beautiful places in Gyeongju, this one takes the cake.

I'd give this place my highest commendation. And if these pictures aren't enough to make you visit the place, I don't know what would.

It was just after twilight then, and sky was perfect, and the whole place was illuminated with a hundred different spotlight. In my 28 years of existence, I've never seen a place more beautiful and enchanting at night than this one.

This is one breathtakingly beautiful view of the pond at night. Trees were lit and splendidly reflected in the water. There were spotlights everywhere that made it all the more magical. It's a place we could only see in our dreams.

Then came the rain again, only this time it was stronger, meaner, and more tenacious than ever. We wanted to stay longer, and wait till the skies become clear again, but the rain just kept getting stronger by the minute so we didn't have a choice but to cut our trip short.

We were more than impressed with Gyeongju that we vowed to see more of what it has to offer the next day.

Travel Diary: Of Cloudy Skies and Gloomy Monday Morning.

Out of desperation, we chose this one shabby inn by the river to spend the night. I was strained from the climb we did that day, and all I wanted was to lay in a bed and get a decent shut-eye. I wasn't up for adventure driving around at night to look for a more decent place which is probably impossible to find in that area. The parking lot was empty, and that was the first sign that I won't be getting the rest I needed. At the reception area on the 2nd floor, a dog barked at me. Just how often do you get that? The room didn't look so bad, the TV is ancient but is still in good working condition, the sheets smelled clean and nice, they even got a hairdryer which is basically the only thing I need in the morning. I was tired but I can't seem to force myself to sleep. At half past four in the morning, I was still awake fanning myself as the air conditioner wasn't working properly. I woke up the next day with a throbbing headache from lack of sleep, and no amount of coffee or tea could cure it. It didn't help that the skies were all dark and hazy, it kinda added to my cheerless mood. The room didn't have a decent ventilation, except for a very small window which is about the size of a person's head. I felt suffocated so I had to drag Chris out of the place before the clock turned 8.


Our 3rd day started with a visit to the river. It's beautiful and the air is fresh, but the heavy rains the night before tinged the water with a light cappuccino color.

We walked a little further down to the side of the river, I thought it would be fun if we could dip our toes in it. The water wasn't as muddy when you're near, and it looked pretty safe for a dip.

There was a bridge there that cars use to cross the river. Standing there gave us a good view of the river and the mountains surrounding it.

We had lunch at a restaurant nearby. It was just a simple and very traditional dish that you could only get at a riverside restaurant.

Cheolla is one beautiful province. I like the traditional side of it. I love their food and their warm friendly people. Our journey there ended when we crossed this road that serves as a boundary between Cheollanamdo and Gyeongsangnamdo. See how beautiful the road is? Most of the roads there look like this. The side adorned with beautiful pink and purple flowers.

We were officially in Gyeongsangnamdo shortly after, and the first county we visited was Hadong. The most important tourist destination there is this small village where they sell medicinal roots, teas and other concoctions. The place is really rural, and I even saw a guy wearing hanbok while toiling the field.

A few hours later, we arrived in Namhae. It's a group of small and big islands, some are still uninhabited to this day.

The view here is spectacular, it's just that the clouds were dark and it's hazy everywhere, so the picture didn't turn out to be as good as I wanted it to be. But then again, it's the skill that matters right? And sadly, I don't have any.

Namhae is a popular tourist destination in Gyeongsang province, and they make sure the roads are all post-card pretty with colorful flowers.

We went to Sangju Beach after taking the picture above. There are couple dozen of beaches in the area, and Sangju was the most popular one judging by how many people were there on a cloudy Monday afternoon. Sadly, I left the camera inside the car before we headed to the beach to swim.

The next stop was this place called "German Village". Koreans who migrated to Germany decided to help the village by creating 25 German-style houses. It became a popular tourist destination from then on. Some of the houses are empty, but most of them are occupied. I saw a barbecue grill at one of the porch there, and some were drying clothes in their backyard. It's amazing how people could live here. Imagine your house being photographed, ogled, and scrutinized every single day. That must be tough!

We then went to Boriam temple, the most prominent Buddhist temple in Namhae. It's auspicious location on top of Mount Geumsan with jagged rocks surrounding it is a view to die for. The Joseon Dynasty King meditated here when all of his 7 sons are plotting wicked things against each other to be the next king.

When we left the temple it was already dark and we decided to spend the night in Namhae. We found a place to sleep near this bridge.

Motels lit with a hundred neon lights at night always catches my eye.

Where we stayed the night before was anything but comfortable, and I'm just thankful that the next place was nothing like the other.

It boasts amazing view of the sea, a cute little balcony, and 1:1 parking. But all those things didn't make up for the lack of space. See how the flat screen is mounted on the wall, above the comfy couch. This is just wrong.

My taste buds were up for something exotic that night, and we almost pulled over to a whale restaurant. But I still have my principles you know.. And not eating endangered animals is one of them. Besides, whales are so rare it might cost us an arm and a leg. We settled for something much, much smaller. This dish is called A-gu-jim or steamed Black mouth Angler and bean sprouts. It's a rare dish and a bit on the pricey end. But it's good. I really like it's chewy texture.

We had a good meal, and the room was nice, cold, and comfortable. I slept like I haven't slept for days..

Travel Diary: Kicking it up a notch.

Day 2 started with a very early lunch. A few spoonfuls of Ju-oh Tang made my stomach queasy the previous night, and demanded food as soon as I woke up the next morning. I wanted to eat something familiar, something filling and good that'll 'fuel' me to kick it up a notch, and go see more exciting/happening places. As fortunate as it sounds, Cheolla is known for massive servings of food, heaping bowl of rice, and 'too-many-to-count' banchan on the side. Scrimping is unheard of here. See how far your 10,000 won (US $8) could go in this place!

Our first stop that day is a stream in Mt. Jiri National Park. Unlike the previous one that resembles the color of 'cafe latte' , this stream is clean, and I have a very good feeling that it's also 'drinkable' to some extent. I really like the sound of the water here. When it hits the rocks, it creates a melodious squishy sound that could easily put babies to sleep. The place is so dreamy and cozy, God knows how much I wanted to laze around in a tent near here, eat a nice chilled watermelon while dredging fond memories of my childhood with Chris.

The weather was more than what I could hope for that day. And whenever the weather is nice, expect a herd of thrill seeking adults with rowdy kids in tow.

If there's a stream, most probably there's a waterfall nearby. While we were on our way traversing the zigzag mountain road to Nogodan, we saw a random sign that leads to Guryeong Waterfall. Chris was intrigued so we followed it.

It was hard to find, there was no distinct landmark except for a small wooden plank that says "this way to the waterfall", and a board with a map of the trail. As soon as we entered the forest, the wind blew strongly, and the gush of wind reverberated to the leaves and branches of the trees. The sound it created was wits-scrambling and a bit scary like that of sound effects used in horror movies. But a few more of that, it became really pleasant and calming.

The map says it's only a 300 meter hike, I thought it was a piece of cake. When we started the descent (trail starts off on top of a mountain), and saw people on their way up, with faces beat and sweaty, gasping hard for air, and constantly murmuring "ehyu" (sigh) and "himduro" (difficult), I braced myself. When we reached the bottom, my legs were painful like it was mauled by a hundred intoxicated fraternity boys.

There's a hanging bridge there which is fun to cross, but you have to be careful when you do, it bounces a lot and one could easily fall over.

The waterfall is nothing grand, but here in Korea, it's one of the biggest already.




My legs were actually so tired, but our next destination still requires a lot of hiking. They call it Nogodan, one of the peak of Mt. Jiri at 1,507 meters. What makes it worth the climb is the view while going to the top. The trail is covered in mist that moves magically when the wind blows. Being in that place can only be described as 'fairy-tale-like', and walking there felt like I was one mystical graceful being, and not a sweaty, lousy human, with arms akimbo, gasping hard for air.

At the top, the cloud was at my fingertips.

After the two consecutive hike, my leg muscles were abused, and I didn't want anything more than to walk on a flat surface. Chris said we're done with the mountains that day, and we'll be at some place flat. We followed the river course that started at the foot of the mountain till we reached Gokseong. There's a train village there that attracts tourists both local and foreigners. Chris was excited to tell me that he saw many Filipinas there. I saw some too, and I tried to smile at them, but I didn't get any response. Rather they threw us a scrutinizing look. They must have been wondering why Chris is so white compared to the local men.

This is a statue that is believed to bring luck.

There's an old train car which they converted into a diner/cafe.

And the main attraction in the area is this old steam locomotive train. It's still in running condition. It was used while filming the movie "Taegukki", with Jang Dong Gun and Won Bin.

We stayed till the skies turned into an orange hue.

I was tired from all the climbing, and I didn't have the energy to move to another place, so we tried to find a place there to sleep. After we found one and settled our things, we went out again and looked for a place to eat. We didn't know it was so hard to find a restaurant there. In a place as rural as Gokseong, people sleep as soon as the lamp posts on the streets are turned on at night. There were no stores open, no restaurants, so we had to go further and further. Then we saw a very small restaurant with a very faint light. The ajumma was cleaning up, getting ready to close, Chris immediately approached her and 'begged' for food. The Sik-dang (resto) is so small it only has three tables. There were also mosquitoes and moths everywhere that I had to prop my knees up on the chair so I wont get bitten. When the food arrived, Chris and I couldn't talk. We were so hungry that there's no room for conversation. The dish is a traditional soup made from shells they caught in the river. It wasn't really delicious but we ate everything, I mean every single thing, to the last grain/morsel of food..

Both of us were happy that we found a place to eat, it's almost impossible to find a restaurant that's open beyond 8 pm there. With a magical stroke of luck, while we were on the way to the pension, we saw an open store. It was so small like nothing I've seen before. Some of the things were slightly covered in dust, and a box of cookie that we chose was already expired. We only bought beer, and beer doesn't come in cans in this area, just bottles.