Korea 203

The blue trail

it is sorta recreational trail, not much adventure really. tall trees, calm stream runs through valley, maple leaves on rocky routes, crystal clear pond... i guess i'll just let the photos do the talking:

silhouette of maple leaf and hue of maple colours

jade green pond, although the signboard said otherwise (it says the water is supposed to look BLUE). and me posing.

the walkway...

a look at the valley

A maple leaf trapped between rocks at the bottom of the clear pond.

Since it only took us a little less than 45 minutes to complete this trail, we still have some time for the red trail.

The red trail


now, this is how maple leaves turn red.

the bleeding tree. no photoshop here, it was THIS red!

maple leaves that we missed... if only we arrived 2 or 3 days earlier we would be able to catch up with the full red! but i guess nothing is going to be perfect, so i was contented to pose near this tree:

the low angle view of the tree trunk...

colourful patches of colours resembling the pattern of army uniform appear on the trunk... a very close look.

the veiny me posing before leaving this place...

we decided to leave this haven for all the hustle and bustle of city... we didn't complete the red trail due to time constrain. on the way out, we saw this banner:
cute cartoon characters eh... since the information booth has already opened, i jokingly asked the lady there whether the bears really appear. she answered almost impulsively "yes, they sometimes come out for food!" me and sis looky at each other, held our breath for a while... bloody hell, if only i know Korean to be able to read the signboards, we should have been more cautious!! hahahaha.... luckily we didn't become FOOD for the bears... :P then again, judging from the drawing on the banner, the bears look super-friendly to me.... maybe they are vegetarians??? yeah right. haha.

on our way back to the homestay, we came across this tree:
we have seen these trees all over the hills, people's gardens, roadsides along our bus journey here... we figured it should be persimmon, but we were not sure cause some of the fruits were so big and in heart shape.... mmmm.... but this tree here the fruits look like persimmon no doubt... and we were even more sure when we saw the shop kidna hanged these fruit to wind-dry them... later they would process them into biscuit form for sale... tried this round shape one, very sweet and juicy... but the heart/love shape one is big, but not so sweet and a bit hard and dry... hehe.


we went up to our room to pack our bags, at the same time the ajumma helped us call taxi to go to nogodan, another peak in the Jirisan national park. when the taxi arrived, we realized it's just a normal jeep, maybe belongs to the relative of this ajumma.... but nevermind lah, as long as we got the transport to leave this small town. we paid another Won25,000 (RM100) just to hop on this 30 minutes ride to the other hiking spot.... damn... so expensive!!!

it was a very bumpy trip, me and my sis felt almost wanna throw out already... when we arrived, we were so happy to just ran out from the jeep for some fresh air!!!........

(to be continued)

Korea 202

After having breakfast, we walked out, the cold breeze was tolerable after a hot bowl of soup and some spicy kimchi. so me and my sister started to look for any signboard that's useful to us.

but of coz, the scenery along the road was so nice, we couldn't stop snapping photos. until we finally saw another signboard at the end of the street, we stopped...

It is of no use to us again, coz there's no english words again except that bloody Jirisan National Park... hell, of coz we know it's Jirisan!! but anyway, at least, we kinda knew where our exact spot was by then... see the close-up:


Then after a few more steps, we arrived at the tourist info booth but maybe because it's still too early (it must be only 6.30am or so)... but from there, we finally saw the entrance to the national park... so protocol, photo must be taken!

And finally this time we saw more English words... haha, and finally get to know the story of this Baemsagol Valley... i'll just let the pictures tell the stories...

and then we got to see this signboard which highlights the 2 routes that we can take and the time needed...

both trails need about 1 hour to complete, but we decided to take the blue trail first because we have very limited time and the blue trail will bring us back to the entrance but the red trail will bring us to the other point, and we probably will need another 1 hour back from there...

so off we go, we walked along the blue trail.... crossed the bridge, and walked towards the camping site...

If you see it from the other side, maple trees of different colors appear before your eyes... it's really great just to be there and the feeling was indescribable... so, again, a photo has to be taken!!

I was a happy boy with all these purple, red, yellow, orange, green maple leaves surrounding me... it felt magical!!
of course it wasn't as "bloody" red as i expected them to be, but the splash of so many colours amazed me a lot! i think it's better than a monotonous full of red. :)

Korea 201

26th October 2006

WOKE UP, for a moment i forgot i was already in Korea... next thing i noticed was my 2 legs were numb... and my whole body was so cold, freezing cold... i tried to touch my legs, they were as cold as ice i can hardly feel the warmth of the blood at all... then i suddenly realized, gosh i AM in Korea, and i remembered very well the night before the room was as hot as an oven!! must be the bloody ajumma and ajoshi switched off the heater already, so damn cold.

checked the clock, it's 4.30am... damn, still a long time to dawn... i quickly took out my long john and put them on, took another blanket and covered myself... still too cold... i took out 2 sets of socks and put them on too... now i felt my bladers were full too... couldn't help i have to make that trip... i quickly put on my jeans (i still have the long john on)... i walked out and felt myself has become so clumsy... i entered the not-so-clean toilet, couldn't help... quickly squat down, GOSH my butt could feel the cold air... but it has to be done...

*here skip 2 paragraphs of details* haha

after about 15 minutes finally i got all my business done coz the day before i have never "done" it, i probably fell sick for that, that's why i have to get it all out... ok, too much details i guess, haha! then i tried to flush... it's a very old-school flush system... once... flaaaaa.... didn't really work... i stood there and wait for another 3 minutes for it to refill... then flushed again.... flaaaaa.... didn't work too... another 3 minutes... flaaaaa.... still not working... i got fed up, so i went to the bathroom next door, took the pile and filled it up with water and manually flushed the **** down... hahaha... finally...

when i got back to the room, it must be about 5.15am already... my sister was sitting up looking at me... i thought she must have felt too cold too... hahaha... i went in our bathroom to check... damn, no hot water too... i quickly washed my face with the icy tap water, changed into my winter clothing, haha, and cursed the bloody ajumma... hahaha... i should not curse... i didn't , i just exaggerating...

after just a short while, the sun come out and it's all shiny and everything, i looked out the window, mmm... there's actually river and brigde just opposite our homestay and it's actually quite pretty... i could see a few maple trees from the room already... me and my sis decided that no point we stayed in the room. it's so cold, we might as well just walk out and look around and perhaps find some breakfast to eat.

so around 6am, we walked down the stair and to the street... here in the photos, the red arrow is pointing to the room we were staying. and this street is the only street in this small town, or so we thought...



and this is the river that i talked about... pretty or not??


then i saw this big signboard which illustrates the whole Jirisan...

when i took a closer look, it is not really helpful at all because... you guess it right again! - NO ENGLISH... sigh... the only 5 English words are "information of Chiri National Park". Don't worry, we were not in the wrong park, Chiri and Jiri are the same... unlike Cheongju and Jeonju they are different!!! so damn confusing!! sometimes "ch" can replace "j", sometimes it can't!!! gosh... hahaha! so since it's not really of any use to us, we walked down the street hoping to find breakfast... i got too hungry and decided we just go back to the ajumma's place for breakfast...

when we walked in the restaurant, the ajumma was still sleeping on the heated floor... reminded me of how i was waken up by the coldness... damn... the ajoshi was smoking with another ajoshi, either a friend or a guest and he quickly woke up the ajumma... we walked up the wooden floor... awwww... so warm... (bloody hell)... we sat down, the ajumma just did her eating gesture, we nodded... and she didn't even bother to ask us what we want to eat and walked straight into the kitchen... haha, i guess she has figured out that we couldn't communicate anyway, so she just made her own decision of what we should eat. hahaha...

and tada, you can all see the picture above... that's our breakfast... the truth is the beansprout soup was super nice because it's hot!! just nice for my empty cold stomach!! but the kimchi... hahaha, again they were too hot for me! i didn't finish all, i don't really eat breakfast... somemore it's 6am so early... and Malaysia time was only 5am!

we took our time to eat, coz it's really cold outside... after we have finished, we paid, if i'm not wrong, won10000 or RM40... and then, we started our first travel itinerary - Baemsagol Valley, Jirisan Park...

just a teaser, so that you stay tune... this is one of the picture we snapped there...

from now on, there will be a lot of photos... so many that you will beg me to stop... hahaha... so, stay tune!!! coming soon...

Korea 102

25th October 2006 late afternoon

Ok, i woke up around 3.10pm, the bus was still on the road. i was getting a bit sick of the scenery outside, and thinking to myself why the hell i'm here? then, the bus slowly approaching a ... temple... err... yeah it looks like a temple to me... oh no, it's actually a toll!! goodness...

i checked my watch again, mmm... 3.15pm... we might just make it to the 3.30pm bus to Baemsagol. i was so hopeful. but very fast, the bus caught up in the traffic, stopped by a few places, i kept on looking around if those were the places i supposed to stop... but i supposed i shall only leave the bus when it TOTALLY stop... so i still waited... 3.20pm... 3.25... 3.28... up til this point, i know my chance has gone. buses in korea are very punctual one.

true enough, we reached Jeonju bus terminal 3.35pm, ran straight to the counter and was informed that 3.30pm already left. the counter lady was very helpful... mmm... too helpful that she suggested us instead of waiting for the 5.05pm last direct bus to Baemsagol, we could consider taking a bus to Inwol (引月) and there will have more buses going to Baemsagol... okay, i GUESSED that's what she meant!!! i don't think i will understand any of them fully with 1% English 50% Korean & 49% body language...

At this stage, me and my sister exchanged eye contact, and we just purchased the tickets to Inwol without thinking. i think we both were really tired and whatever will be will be lah... you said so we trust you... hahaha... and by the way, i like the name of the city very much, very poetic! well, is it even a CITY?? we shall find out soon... haha...

3.50pm, we were on the bus again!! and i don't think i've ever changed so many buses before in my life. worse still, in a foreign country to an unknown destination... the bus went into more rural area now, the roads became narrower, the sceneries became browner, houses became smaller and simpler... passengers got on the bus would talk and joke with the bus driver. at this point of time, we knew, we were going into some village area.


the bus stopped for a few more times, then it reached a small station around 5.10pm. everyone on the bus left. the bus driver stepped out from his seat, talked to us in Korean, which of course i don't understand a single word except "Baemsagol, Baemsagol". he signalled us to follow him with his hand, but we were not sure whether we shall go down or wait, moreover we have big heavy bags with us, we were not sure whether to leave the bags and follow him down or what? we slowly lifted our bags, the driver got impatient, walked up the bus and talked to us louder this time, so we were pretty sure we WERE supposed to follow him. we quickly moved our butts and followed his lead to yet ANOTHER bus... sigh... i asked the driver don't we need to buy tickets, he just shaked his head and pushed us up the bus... gosh... i felt so insecure.

we walked up the other bus, i asked the other driver how much... he didn't seem to understand me, he just pointed to the seats and hurried us in. apparently he has to leave already. before we could even sit down, the bus has started to leave the small small station, which we suspected is not Imwol... where were we?? i felt so damn lost...

here are a couple of photos my sister took on that journey...


Pretty they are, but i was not in the mood to appreciate them that time. i was too busy feeling insecure, as you all can see, it was getting dark and the place was getting more and more "ulu" now... and we were not sure whether we got on THE correct bus or not...

more students came up the bus, making noise, shouting to each other... the bus stopped by the side of the road, the driver shouted at the few kids at the back, those kids walked down and waved goodbye to the driver and some of their friends still on the bus... few aunties hopped on the bus... and it was completely dark outside just few minutes shy of 6pm... we went deeper and deeper in...

until about 6.10pm i think, the bus stopped by a gate/entrance, which suddenly i felt relief coz i was pretty sure it was the entrance for the Jirisan National Park. an uncle came up the bus, walked to us and uttered more Korean words, but by tearing 2 tickets in front of us, I think i know what to do. i checked the price stated on the ticket and gave him Won3200 (RM12.8) for 2 tickets. the bus continued into the darkness again... after 10 more minutes or shorter i was not sure anymore, we stopped at I-don't-know-where-the-hell street and we walked to the front of the bus (only left 2 of us), and the driver said "3 thousand won"... i knew we were there already. to double check i asked "here is Baemsagol", the driver answered "yeah yeah".

we walked down the bus, freeziing cold and dark street, just 1 row of shops and NO ONE is around... it's like a DEAD town... we were so so so so so lost... then out of the sudden, an aunty walked out from the 1st restaurant and started talking to us in Korean... &@%$^*!%#$*^@!#!*%... which we waved our hands and said "we are not Koreans"... the aunty then mimed a sleeping gesture by putting her hands to her canted head and said "min-bak? min-bak?" thanks to my sister who watched Korean dramas faithfully she understand min-bak means "homestay"... too tired to think, and desperately need a rest and a place to put down our bags that were getting HEAVIER, we agreed to go upstair with her.


we walked up the stair, walked passed a dimly lit and wet (dirty) corridor, and reached a room. the ajumma (aunty) opened the door. my sister said okay, i guess she was just to tired to think anymore. we asked for the price, ajumma said "yee-man-wu-qian-won"... which i thought it means 15000 won (RM60) which is quite cheap for a room with TV and attached bathroom... but looking at her finger, she pointed 2 fingers up, only i realized in Korean, "yee" means "two"... so it is actually won25000 (RM100)... well i was tired too, so i took out the money and paid her. she smiled at us and left...

wait a minute, isn't she supposed to give us a key or something?? then only later i found out that no key will be given and it's actually SAFE to leave the room unlocked.

so here you go, my accomodation for the first night in Korea. it's called a "ondol". lay maitress on the heated floor, and you can go to sleep already. not bad an experience.

after putting down the bags and tidy tidy a bit, we decided to go down take a look at the street and perhaps ask some information about hiking Jirisan. we walked to the nearest convenient shop, which we came to realize owned by the same ajumma renting us the room... so using our not so useful English, and her not so useful Korean, i think we got a faint idea of what we should do tomorrow morning. and suddenly we felt hungry and decided to go look for dinner. and we ended up having our first dinner in the restaurant owned by the ajumma too... hahahaha.... ok ok we were hopelessly tired and lost all our adventurous spirit. hahahah... but the dinner was actually pretty good.


We had bimbap (which means mixed rice with vegetables in soya paste or something) and kimchi tofu soup or something... okay, you guess correctly, we didn't even know what we ordered because again, communication breakdown. so we just simply point point here and point poin there, have our fingers crossed and hope for the best. wuahahaha.

so, not bad hor by the look of it... the turth is, only the bimbap is nice... the rest are either too salty or too hot. YES, you heard me right, too hot!! i don't mean the temperature, i mean the "spicy-ness"... we MALAYSIAN kalah lah if compare the hotness of the food there! the kimchi soup and most of the kimchi side dishes were so hot that we couldn't finished them. then the ajumma and her husband and family were having their dinner too on the next table. we took a peek of the uncle (ajoshi) eating whole green chili with red chilli paste just like that!!! pengsan terus... when the ajoshi noticed us looking at him, he offered us those green chillies, which we quickly rejected... then he offered us "shou-ju" (rice liquor), which we also quickly rejected... wa lao wei, these people really enjoy life hor!!! wuahahaha!!!

after dinner, we paid (won12000 or RM48) and went up to our room to take bath... my sister then realized there's no HOT water to bath... so i went down to the ajumma to ask... now i again mimed like a crazy charlie chaplin, repeat "hot hot? water water? bath bath?" like a million times... the family looks puzzled, the younger daughter broke into laughters, the ajumma brought out a pile, i shaked my head, tried harder to explain, the ajumma brought out another ladle... i gave up. i thanked them and walked up. my sister was very upset coz there's no way we could take the bath with the icy water in a freezing weather.

i decided to give it another try. this time i brought along a travel guide which it teaches how to pronounce "hot water" but of course they mean to order hot water to drink lah... but it's worth a try... so i asked the ajumma with my half past six Korean "mul? mul?" she thought i want water to drink... then i did my famous taking bath gesture again... still she didn't get me... i then pointed to the water filter and pointed to the red button (indicating hot water), then repeated the bathing gesture again... then finally the ajoshi understood... he also mimed the gesture of turning the water tap to left hand side... (of course we have tried turning the tap to left, we are not idiots, but it didn't work)... well, i very malas to explain any further, just thanked them and went upstair to tell my sis the bad news...

ok, so we decided to do as they said, but left the water running for longer time. after about 3 minutes, the water turned to hot... yahoooo!! bathing time!!! it got so hot i nearly got burnt!! hehehe... and the floor was very well-heated too... i changed to my singlet and short pants... and quickly fell asleep....

to be continued... the next morning when i became the iced-leg-man... :P