1. Camping!

20^C
Overcast, still, and muggy. Feel’s hotter than twenty.

It’s safe to say that last weekend was the second best weekend I’ve had in Korea. I went camping for the first time in my life! I’ve been before but that was with school where we’d go out to the bush, light a bon fire and tell stories of who kissed who during the night. But I mean roughing it, like we did this weekend.. it was quite refreshing!

Since this was the first time camping in Korea, we really didn’t know what to expect so we ended up going to a camping ground 10 minutes away from my house. It’s in a beautiful valley with a river of fresh mountain water running through it. We got there at around 11am and started unpacking. There was so much stuff to carry, we had: one eski for the cold foods, one for the cold drinks, one bag for the dry foods, one full of sleeping bags and my tripod, and another full of utensils, one tent with air-mattresses, two backpacks full of clothes, the night lantern with gas included, a blanket from my place, and the BBQ with coals and grilling stuff. That was all the stuff we had, but we had to go back for the BBQ and blanket later on.

Once we got unpacked and set up the tent (which apparently needs to be staked taut), we tested it out and made sure that we’d fit in there with some of our other stuff that we didn’t want the animals getting to (‘cos you know Korea is full of huge bears and tigers that love to forage through food packs). After that we decided that we should go and explore the riverbed and wore away the afternoon sleepiness by taking an invigorating dip in the icy cold water. We felt quite hungry after splashing around and though that we’d go and have some duck at a place down-river. The teachers once went out to a restaurant where the specialty is duck and you eat it on Korean style tables right by the river, it was a stunning place, though alas, it was closed. So we went to good ole 맛 동산 (Mak-dongsan which the restaurant opposite to my apartment) and had some duck there. The dish, as Taji would tell you, was magnificent!

Belly filled and ever-so slightly tipsy, we returned to our camp just as the full moon was rising above the mountain peaks. It was such a beautiful sight that I almost regret not taking some pictures of it. The whole valley was draped in the moons’ light as though someone had shone a giant torch at us. We were the only ones in the valley that night and while listening to the river splashing to our right, the rustling of leaves on our left, and the numerous insects chirping here and there, we could only stand in awe, forgetting where we were and why.

The next morning we woke at 7am and had a bite to eat on one of the giant rocks by the river. We went for a morning swim where the water was even colder than the previous afternoon and then we sat in the sun doing nothing much but working on out tans. A fisherman walked by and told us that the valley is famous throughout our province for fly-fishing, we had a nice little chat and he was on his way. It was only then that we realised that the poor guy mustn't have been catching anything down-stream because of us. See, we were bathing in the river with soap and shampoo.. I'm sure he was wondering why such a famous place has no fish! Made hungry again by the swim, we lit the BBQ and grilled some chicken and potatoes for lunch. By this time it was getting a little hot so after lunch we ‘tested’ the tent one last time and fell asleep. We woke just before 4pm and started packing up. Arriving home from one of the most relaxing and care-free weekends in Korea, just before 5pm.

To be honest, I didn’t think I’d like camping very much; I thought I’d need my creature-comforts like a hot shower and a toilet. Nonetheless I thoroughly enjoyed camping in the Korean mountains, I found that there is something liberating about it.

Here are the pictures:

This thing was HUGE! It was about the size of my thumb!!

Cassie's fire..


My gas lamp!

Saturday afternoon..

Sunday Morning..

We had to cross this flimsy little bridge to get to and from the camping grounds.

Getting to Seoul: 20,000won

Hotel for the night: 40,000won

Aqua Reflexology at a boutique: 80,000won

Walking in a river down the road: Priceless!

I made some of Baldy's Banana Cake, which turned out quite well.. and some greek style lamb which I made in my new Earthernware pot. It was so good I think I'll make it a K-series!