TRIPPIN' (east coast)

--finally done - this is gonna be very intensive post :)
first week was busy, i needed some vacaciones and - voilá - just mon/tue/wed of second week was free since korea celebrate chuseok (alias thanksgiving), so on sunday early morning i headed for seoul express bus terminal and bought first ticket to get to the east coast. first possible was on 11 :(...but i tried to get on board of earlier transit and it worked out - last free seat for me / somebody missed his ride
bus drivers here are road pirates!! changing lines from left to right to overtake other cars - but in 3 hrs we stopped in final destination all alive - city of gangneung

although sept 7, it was sunny summer day for me. suddenly i felt a little lost, everything in korean, locals unable to speak at least mediocre english. travelling seemed pretty hard at that moment.....so i took first random citybus i saw and after stressing 30 mins of ride through strangeness i smelled humid, salty air.

all day here i tried to get along with help of korean picture map

very illustrative

first poi could not been overlooked :D

it is a botel on land tens meters above sea level!

no photoshop here

it is cool.

i already can see that koreans like art and statues and sculptures, there will be more

"Everybody hands up!!"

i headed further north along the coastline then
it surprised me that even at this distance from north korea - approx 120km - continuous wired fence is maintained, with numerous bunkers and sandbags

"fire in the hole!!"

i present to you the korean dream beach xD

consequently i found myself in unification park which should symbolize peaceful bond between both koreas (see map above, you can find the miniatures)

retired (second world, vietnam and korean war) u.s. destroyer as gift for koreans 

captured north korean submarine after unsuccessful spying on military facilities at this location 

on the trip i missed many temples, after visiting the first one i expected myself to feel somehow "blessed" but it did not happen...one young man told me that after american postwar influence they are - generally - aiming for western lifestyle, neglecting traditions and primary religion.

maybe next time let's try nepal e.g.

it took me till evening to get back to city centre where i had accommodation reserved via airbnb.com, nevertheless i met a new friends on my long way to good night's sleep. say hello to trcktrck and mehmeh

what are you looking for, ya little devils?

 and also this characteristic scenery tells you why my ass burns everytime after doing no. 2

--trpday2--
sun woke me up after breakfast time in low budget hostel next day - i packed my humble belongings and ran out to catch a bus to get to the beach (this time it all seemed better!!), nice older couple showed me the right direction and it worked

almost florida :-p

i simply enjoyed warm sunshine while stepping in sand splashed by waves repeatedly - i just only wished i could have been there with my Lovely partner together---------

wow these little babies measure up to 2 meters :-O

yea just almost florida, it cannot be everything all shiny and beautiful

it was hot and clear sky so one would expect crowded resorts but opposite is rather true....no good diving here concerning aesthetical aspect - just sand, a few shells, patches of seagrass, no eye candies....

i continued my near-to-fantasy walk along sea having notorious wired fence on my left hand when suddenly whistle sound stopped me, i looked up and there was soldier standing in front of military base with his arms crossed in letter x telling me to keep out - or die :D......so i had to return all the way back along the fence :/...well, why to be surprised, no locals were there anyway, right..

there and back again

i am not interested in walking the road on feet which was my primary option, the bus would not come so i hitchhiked and in two minutes smiling driver is waving at me to get in the car

--note: what i consider positive is korean loyalty, i only saw very low figure of non-domestic cars (VW, BMW, Toyota...) but the rest - let's say 95% - is Hyundai, KIA, Daewoo/Chevrolet, Samsung motors cars, it seems they are proud of their own brands --noteends

so this korean family (parents and 14yrs old boy) gave me a ride, they were cool, coming back home from chuseok however at that moment just wondering around since highways were jammed - thus they planned the way back for night time...i introduced them my plans of visiting naksansa temple.
they would joined me, and what is more, they agreed with idea of shared lunch beforehand

traditional korean sitting on ground

naksansa is large complex situated on hill peacefully overseeing east see

chill gazebo

goddess of mercy

ding dong it is lunch time ;)

i obtained contact card from family to visit their chicken restaurant in seoul, i am thankful to them for feeding, driving and accompanying me. i will visit! before we said hello i gave them menthol mints antiperle and they presented me with ginseng extract pills in return. bye

from there i took bus to sokcho where i checked fish market, it is very lively place, i shot a quick videoclip - you can see a woman trying to break off the head of a flatfish unsuccessfully and it then flap itself again :/ (YT - 0:16)

rather soon i fall asleep in marine guesthouse for i expected myself to wake up at 5:30 to experience sunrise above sea

--trpday3--

i was a little disappointed by clouds covering the east..there were maybe 10 people waiting with cameras for the moment at 6:00..it was not as i had imagined, but still looked nice :)

there is hope coming on every new day

in this province (gangwon) there will be held winter olympics 2018 

due to the corrosion i say: they waited long enough :D

that day i called hiking day! welcome to seoraksan national park

far over the misty mountains cold - in dwarven 설악산국립공원 

be patient

thirsty? mountain water cooled refreshment

and i aimed for ulsanbawi rock - from sea to 873 m

"all your base are belong to us!"

final 1 km was very steep, a lot of senior people made it to the top though - kudos to them

i chilled there for a while feeling peaceful

there is so much more to climb but time dotation was too humble

(fake alert!) not each temple is 1000 yrs old

just after hiking a was about to relax on the sokcho beach - even it was not perfectly sunny, water was o.k. with many "beach tourists" visiting this place keeping their clothes on...

weeeee

i just loved resisting the waves along with numerous asian kids...i think that chinese(?) people especially enjoyed this activity also, mama: "hahahahaha - aaaaaaaaaaahh" :D (YT - 0:16)

being hungry after water fighting i ate super spicy 제육덮밥 and took "death race" bus to city of chuncheon...my bed reservation was canceled but i found refugee in jimjillbang - for 7.000w you enter floor with steam, dry and salt sauna, hot tubs, cooling pool and  to top it off, you are offered a thin mat and place to sleep, on hard wooden floor

--it was very liberating to spend relax&hygiene evening with dozens of naked men and to rest with them snoring around you in one large communal room. no photos from here :D

--trpday4--

bumpy bridge

on the way to the intercity bus terminal another alternative style statue(?) was placed

spank me, spank me i am dirty, dirty boy

i went by bus to less civilized place

there i felt tired of walking so i rented a bike to get to nearby waterfall (i got vlog with cz commentary to come!!!)

gugok falls

the same day i visited nami island, it was crowded there, i was interested in zip-line (zip-wire) however i was not excited after riding it, not so fast enough ;)

http://tong.visitkorea.or.kr/

truthfully that moment time it was just the right amount of new impressions and experiences for the first trip so i took taxi to train station and returned back to seoul by train.

i believe that you enjoyed this 4-day photo journal, may it introduce korea a little to you and stay tuned for next one :)

--more to come