Sandra and I spent an amazing weekend hiking around Seoraksan National Park. If you're in Korea, and you get a chance, I highly recommend this trip. I've heard the most popular time to go is in the fall to see the changing leaves but the lush green forests were a sight to see as well. Sandra says, in autumn, all the hikes take twice as long because everyone's constantly stopping to take pictures.
Traveling from Busan was about a 6 hour bus ride up the coast, so we did it overnight and arrived to Sokcho at 4 am. Then we waited around for an hour and a half, watching the sun come up over the ocean and waiting for the local buses to start running. We caught the first bus of the day out to the park, a 30 minute ride.
It was a 3-day weekend for Buddha's birthday and I expected it to be crowded with Korean hiking enthusiasts (there are many!), but it was refreshingly empty. Living in the city, even in a city full of natural beauty, like Busan, it's easy to get bogged down with work and social activities. I can go weeks running from one obligation to the next, never stopping to appreciate it. Sometimes I just need to get away.
Well this is exactly what I did this weekend, and it was fantastic. It felt like a mini-vacation. Walking around, all I could do was gape at the beautiful landscape and climb up rocky trails, focusing on hauling my body up over rockpiles. It was so refreshing to sit out in the sun on a big boulder and eat sandwiches, watching the stream trickle down a nearby rock face. A much needed break at a place I hope to visit again!
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| There were lanterns up for Buddha's birthday. |
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| Explorers! |
some tiny people for some perspective
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| We walked all day, and left the park just after sunset. |
Beautiful pictures. What a great place to go walking in!
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