soraksan mountain

Story of my life...never enough time, but always good intentions. Here are some pictures from my adventure last weekend. Adam, Duskim, and I traveled to the Northeast coast of Korea to get away for the weekend. We saw the ocean, otherwise known as "The East Sea" and got to see a bit of Soraksan Mountain. This was my first experience in "nature" here in Korea. I've heard Soraksan is one of the most beautiful mountains in Korea, and although I have nothing to compare it too yet, I was definitely impressed by its beauty!! We stayed in the city of Sokcho (I'm not sure how that is spelled). Our hotel was interesting because it did not have any beds. Just mats, pillows, and blankets. Here is a picture of the luxury!

Here is a view of part of Soraksan National Park. So maybe I was wrong in saying I went to Soraksan Mountain...it was more like Soraksan Mountains! The trees and flowers are all starting to bloom, it was very refreshing!
This picture is amazing for two reasons. The first one being how adorable this little boy is! The second reason is that there are absolutely no other people in the picture! That NEVER happens in Korea, there are people everywhere!! (Don't be worried, his parents were near bye) Even at a national park, there are people everywhere! They are either dressed in hardcore hiking gear, with packs, sticks, etc... Or, they are dressed to kill, in high heels and skirts.
Another thing I noticed is that people love to eat!!! I'm surprised everyone here is so thin because everywhere you look there are food stands. You can get pancakes, sausage on a stick, dried squid and octopus, doughnuts, ice cream, or like the picture above, corn dogs covered in chocolate, cinnamon, or french fries! And yes, I did try one with chocolate, and yes, it was disgusting!!


The next three pictures will show the progression of our short hike up the mountain. We took a cable car most of the way up, but here is the part we actually climbed. One thing that was interesting was the fact that there are no guard rails like you would find in a national park in the States. There are a few signs here or there that say climb at your own risk, but other than that you are free to go where you want. There were a few times I was a little nervous because we were so close to the edge!
There was a temple at the bottom of the mountain and also a big Buddha statue. You could see it from the top of the mountain!
Since Sokcho is a coastal city, it is known for its fresh seafood! We walked down a street with stall after stall of live fish and sea creatures. Basically, you stop at a stand of your choice and point to the fish you want to eat. The person at the stand will catch the fish out of their tank and throw it in a bucket. Some stands kill the fish right in front of you before you sit down to eat. Luckily for us, we all got spared this image at the place we chose. This picture shows one of the fish we chose for dinner.
Here is our dinner after it was taken out of the tank and prepared for us. We had a dinner of sashimi, kimchi, squid, seaweed soup, rice, and many other small side dishes. For those who don't know, sashimi and sushi are two different meals. Sushi is in a roll of rice, it does not even have to be raw fish. Sashimi is plain raw fish. It is mostly eaten plain, dipped in sauce, or in a lettuce wrap with a big clove of garlic! The sashimi wasn't bad, I think it may be more of an acquired taste, but as of now I am a bigger fan of sushi!
Here is another big fish stand. Amongst all these bins of fish were tables so people could eat their chosen meal.
I was lucky enough to witness the death of somebody else's meal! Notice all the blood on the knife! After dinner Adam and I got our first experience in a Norebang, which is karaoke, Korean style! Karaoke is a popular activity to do with your friends or co-workers. Instead of singing in front of a whole bar or audience like we do in the states, people at norebangs rent out small rooms by the hour and you get to pick out songs and sing to your friends. I wasn't to thrilled with the idea at first, but I think it grows on you.
So that was my weekend in a nutshell, or should I say seashell? There are other things I could share about last weekend, but they seem to lose their appeal a week after they have happened! Sorry if this blog seems choppy, but I have been writing this on and off at school during my breaks, just to get it done! If anything fun happens to me this weekend I promise I will try to write about it by Monday! Have a good weekend everyone!