For our last long break of the year, we took a little summer vacation. We've traveled to almost all corners of Korea, and we decided to head back to one of our favorite locations: Sokcho. This is the same place that we spent Christmas weekend, except this time we could enjoy both the mountain and the beach. We fell in love with our hotel during Christmas, and so we made arrangements to stay there again. After a little mishap the first night--where we stayed in a different hotel that was the equivalent of an empty college dorm room, at best--we were able to be comfortable and cozy again. In addition to the lovely and very hospitable accommodations, Sokcho has a lot to offer: a beach, a national park, and, to our surprise, a music festival.
The beach:
We were told to visit Naksan Park Beach, which ended up being a great choice. This was our first time at the beach since last summer at Lake Michigan. We were prepared. We had cards, Ben had new swim shorts, we had granola bars, sunscreen, and towels. We had to take a bus and then walk a ways to find our way to the ocean, but we finally made it. At first glance, it looked pretty much like a circus. That was mostly because there was a giant inflatable slide set up right near the entrance. Beyond that, colored umbrellas could be seen in the distance.
As we combed the beach, looking for the perfect spot to settle down, we came across this guy: who, apparently, had no desire to be in the sun.
That was much unlike us, however, whose milky-white bodies were ready to be a little sun-kissed. Some parts were crowded, or at least they seemed crowded because there were beach umbrellas that were cramped together in rows along the shoreline. As we walked a little further, looking for our perfect spot, we found a perfect place. And, since by this time we were feeling the heat of the sun, we decided to check out one of the vacant umbrellas. Well, thankfully, we found out before putting the towels down that it cost ten dollars to "rent" the umbrella. (We looked at all the umbrellas on the beach and realized that someone was making a fortune!)
We finally chose our spot, got settled, and tested out the ocean. It was, of course, absolutely freezing. This is Ben's first reaction to the water temperature. He decided to play around in the waves for a bit, like a big kid. Meanwhile, I just stayed on the beach and took video of him playing the the waves, like a big kid.
Look, in the corner, behind Jen...it's the ocean! This is the Korean East coast, which is essentially the Pacific Ocean. Our typical Ben-holds-the-camera-self-portrait-pose, but with a new background.
By the time we left, this is a bit what the beach looked like. Actually, the picture doesn't do it justice. There were hundreds and thousands of umbrellas, each with families underneath, enjoying the shade, and making the best of their ten dollar investment.
Talk about sun-kissed! Someone didn't put on very much sunscreen...
For modesty's sake, Ben opted not to put the picture of his tomato-red stomach and shoulders on the blog. It finally stopped peeling about three weeks later.
The Mountain:
Amazingly, the hiking is much different in the summer than in winter. As I recall, the last time we were here we were hiking in snow. More trails were open this time around, and so we went on a little hike around Mt. Seorak.
This is one of the views from near the top. The rocky-riverbed went throughout the park.
At the top! Well, actually, not at the top. This was a place to stop and look at the view, but it wasn't quite the top just yet.
You see, we kept going to the top of the trail, which was supposed to be a cave. Well, after climbing some steep rocky steps (and metal steps, too), we came to a small temple that was about the size of an average kitchen. Or, maybe smaller. And the three people that were there, including the lady-monk talking on her cell, were making it crowded. So, after a little let-down, we went back to this place, where we had a snack and a photo shoot.
Don't mind the safety rails...
This is just a picture to note how easy our hike was, compared to the guy in this picture climbing the mountain. Look closely, by that lonely tree in the middle of the picture. He's there. Or she.
Ben took this picture:
The music festival:
As we were about to go into the city for dinner, our hotel hosts stopped us and explained that there was going to be an international music festival in the little town square near the hotel. Well, we wouldn't call it international, really, unless it was because we were there...watching. Anyway, it was a fun hour or two of Korean musicians, like these guys below, a rising Korean rapper, an emcee inviting children to the stage to dance to Korean pop songs, and--the best part--a traditional Korean drum group. Unfortunately, we have mostly video of the music festival, and not many pictures. It was a nice finale to our much-needed summer break.
