Autumn in South Korea: Part 3
GANGWON-DO PROVINCE
Gangwon-do Province is a train away from Seoul, we planned to stop by Chuncheon city to see the Soyangho Lake which is the largest artificial lake in Korea and visited the Cheongpyeongsa temple nearby before we move on to the quiet and romantic island of Nami. We we were hoping that we will have time to proceed towards the east to see Seoraeksan National Park which is famous for it's mountain scenery, glorious waterfalls and several temples and hot springs however, due to time constraints and I was already sick at the time, spent the remaining days of our travel in Seoul again .
We checked out from Yim's House and rode the train of subway line 3 (our hotel is near exit Jongno 3) towards Cheongnyangni station where the Gyeongchun line of the Korail train passes by. The train ride is really comfortable and easy. Dennis fell asleep during the trip while I enjoyed the view of the countryside. We had made reservations at Sejong hotel, which is a business type hotel in Chuncheon and at Nami Hotel in Namchuncheon which made the trip easier for us since we don't need to worry where to check in.
When we got off Chuncheon station, we hired a taxi that took us to our hotel, the way the roads are constructed in the steep hill, reminded me of Mabayuan, Gordon Heights and Baguio. The hotel has its charms. The Korean temple gate serves a welcoming reminder to guests where they are. It is away from the town proper and had a bird's eye view of the small city below. The neighborhood is so quiet too, I felt we were in a residential part of town. The hotel room is American standard, it has a queen size bed, a TV, vanity table, coffee table and chairs, its own bath and toilet and definitely larger and cleaner than Yim's house. It costs us around PHP4,000 per night to stay in this hotel (around $80). After we checked in, we decided to walk around the city for a while. There are no taxis around so we walked down the steep hill to get to the main town and took more pictures. During this time, I am having a hard time imagining myself climbing back the hill again to get to our hotel once we decided to head back, but, I decided to just go with the flow and enjoy the journey with Dennis. When we got to the busiest intersection we can find, we found ourselves a shopping street which reminded us of Myeongdong in Seoul. There are a lot of stores lined up; there are some Korean ladies calling out to customers to buy products out in the cold and of course places to eat and unwind. We usually chose traditional looking Korean restaurants whenever we eat (which is a good way for travelers to experience local food ) and we were always asked if we wanted to drink Soju, which I regret not trying. Overall, I like the Korean food but I deeply apologize for saying this but I am so over Kimchi. I remember, the first time I ate Kimchi was with a Korean businessman who came to the Philippines to learn English (I was tutoring him) and it was delicious. I told Dennis that I will not have a problem with Kimchi, but, having to eat everything with Kimchi as an appetizer or as a side dish everyday with every meal, I got fed up with it so no more Kimchi for me from now on. I'll try my luck again once I travel back to Korea again.
Moving on, when we decided to head back to our hotel, it was already nightfall and we can't seem to figure out where to go. So, like Jack and Jill that we are, we just went up the hill (to wherever it is going) and walked in circles hoping to see a familiar landmark (luckily there's no well and we did not tumble down). We finally realized how lame it is to not ask for directions. But apparently, everyone we have met does not speak English so we decided to just hail the first available cab that we saw and tried to communicate the name of the hotel we're staying in. Luckily, the cab driver we met is really accommodating and funny. He asked us where we're from (he speaks a little English in his own way) and when we told him that we came from Philippines, the first name he blurted out was "Marcos" and the next one is "Pacquiao". He also said "Philippines good english" which we thought was a compliment for us being able to speak English fairly. We thank him after he dropped us off to our hotel and we didn't realized how sleepy and tired we were until we hit the bed.
The next morning was a blast for me because, I finally got a break from the Kimchi stuff and was able to eat an American breakfast, which comes with the hotel package that we got -- bacon, eggs, toast and new zealand butter, coffee and sausages. We were ready and full of energy when we hit the town again and tried to figure out a way how to get to Soyangho Lake and see the dam plus the temple.
We were supposed to ride a bus that can take us to the Lake but, again, we were not that lucky with finding the correct bus stop so we went and take the cab which costs us around PHP500 pesos (I think). The ride is actually easy - no traffic at all (the lake is in the outskirt of town). We felt really really cold as soon as we stepped out of the cab. The lake is surrounded by mountains and you can see small boats around the lake. We walked towards a side road that has rows and rows of small stalls selling grilled corn, peanuts etc. We walked past them and headed towards the buildings around the lake and got to what seem to be a small dock where the ferries are. The ferry ran in a tight schedule, we bought the next available ride right away to not waste time but still had a lot of time to spare. So we took a couple more pictures around the lake and decided to eat lunch.
We found a small building not far from where the ferry stop is and we went ahead and eat a traditional Korean meal Bulgogi (Marinated Korean beef) with rice, which we absolutely loved.
We boarded the ferry and enjoyed the cold wind and the view of dried up but still colorful trees lined up in the mountains. It was nice that we can freely go as we please around the boat and take as many pictures as we like (just don't go overboard and fall off the icy water). The ride to the Cheongpyeongsa temple stop took us about 20 to 30 minutes. We were reminded that the last pick up trip passing through that stop is 4PM . We followed a bunch of people who seems to lead towards a mountain. We knew that we have to climb up to see the temple but we had no idea that there are "literally" a lot of hiking involved in this side trip.
The lake looks so serene looking out a clearing from the mountain. And, even though we spend a good whole 2 hours hiking up that mountain to get to our destination, I personally, find the journey more interesting than the destination itself. There are a lot of couples walking hand in hand and enjoying themselves up that mountain, there are stores that you can pass through if you need to take a break and get souvenirs from, while the comfort rooms ( which are traditional Korean toilets) are stationed near the foot of the mountain. There are also unexpected sights that we can't resist to take our eyes off and a must sight to take a quick stop over, like that of the Guseong Waterfall.
Guseong Waterfall which is about 9 meters high. Legend said, it was named Guseong because it can make Nine distinct Sounds (which reminded me of Hinulugang Taktak here in the Philippines). It sits comfortably near the hiking path so you can't miss it.
As we walked farther up the mountain path, we find this statue in the middle of a stony creek. Which we later found out, upon doing research, that it is a statue of a princess of Emperor Shun who had a really bad problem with a snake. The snake is so in love with her that it literally stalked her and won't leave her alone. It is said that the princess went up Cheongpyeongsa temple and after praying there got rid of the lovesick snake. When the emperor heard of this, he built a pagoda nearby named Gongju.
Right before you enter the temple grounds, you will pass by a ticket office that has a "Sandara promoting pepsi" poster in it ( I wished I had the picture I'd taken that time). Anyhow, we paid the entrance fee and hiked the most steepest part of the path. Finally, we arrived at the temple. There is a free-flowing water fountain at the foot of the entrance that people are drinking up. I wanted to try it out but I played it safe and just decided to buy a bottled water on our way back. We spent some good 30 minutes there observing the quietness of the place, there are people kneeling down, piling up rocks and offering their prayers. It such a serene place to be.
We come across these rows of hanging (I'm not sure if they are lanterns) colorful things that has some tags on them with writings on it. Up to this time, we have no idea what they are for and what the writings meant.
Overall, we find this temple not as grand and memorable as the palaces in Seoul. But, as I said before, I was looking for a much more laid back side of South Korea. A different kind of experience - something off the beaten path. And, I guess the hike up the mountain itself just did that.
