Trekking in Gangwon Province, South Korea
I went trekking two weekends ago in Gangwon Province in northeast Korea. The area is famous for a mountain range abutting the sea that is supposed to be South Korea's most beautiful: Seoraksan. Outside of one Korean family who stopped to photograph all the crazy white people splashing around in the stream we walked along, there were no other people to be found. It was beautiful and absolutely relaxing. Spring in Korea is gorgeous: the weather, the sights and the smells. I swear there must have been honeysuckle and lilacs growing on every inch of the ground not covered by the little pink flowers that are ubiquitous in this country. There were also white flowers that looked like shredded paper and trees with foliage that grew parallel to the ground while the trunks jutted out of the sides of the mountains. You could see every stone at the bottom of even the deepest pools of the stream. I didn't want to leave. I just wanted to lay on the rocks all day, dipping my toes in the water and taking it all in.
How beautiful. You looked like you had a good time, except for the
seemingly awful lunch:) It sounds like a very zen vacation.
Congratulations. No, really I am happy for you. I ate at China House on
Sunday and couldn't understand a damn thing the waiter said. Oh yeah, the
air conditioning vent on the ceiling also dripped on me the whole time. I
know it wasn't Korea, but it was very Chinese (trust me).