Early to Rise

*cough cough* Umm, this got a bit . . . umm, well, long. I guess it makes up for all the posts I haven't written
      which I should have.

Chuncheon - area of Korea known for its dakgalbi and beautiful scenery.

As of last Sunday, my friends, Gina and Cody, and I know it for these as well as some other things. Adventure has a way of joining you in ways that you don't quite appreciate in that exact moment. But when adventure joins you in that way, it always makes your stories so much more interesting.

The morning began bright and early - at 5:45 a.m. to be exact. Why did I wake up this early on the day right before Monday? I don't know. At least the subway was nice and quiet.

We figured out the correct trains to take and after about an hour or so subway ride, we made it to the lovely city of Chuncheon. There was even a LAKE! There were two exits, one of which would lead us to the tourist information booth of which we were in need. We finally decided to take the exit with the really, really long hallway. As we rode the escalator down to ground level, we realized that this was not the side we should be on - it was deserted except for some bicycles, a few stores, and the Michelin Man. So we retraced our steps to the escalator, rode up, and walked back down the really, really long hallway - all the while Cody reminding us that he had said the other exit was what he had said we should take in the first place. This did not seem like a good precursor for the rest of our day - and it was only 9 a.m.

We got our map and made our plans to go to a temple up in the mountains. After walking over to the correct bus stop, we tried (unsuccessfully) to figure out how often the bus to the temple ran. That was when we met Pastor Ha and Pastor Han - two very easily confused names (I should know, I confused them). Pastor Ha had just returned to Korea two months ago after pastoring at Napa Korean SDA Church in CA for 30 years. He also used to be the president of SDA Language Institutes, the place I WORK! Ten years ago, Pastor Han served as the president of Northern Asia division of the Seventh-day Adventist church. He was 67 and had traveled to 103 countries and hopes to make it 125 in the next five years. He also told us we could come to his house anytime, gave us his phone number, and offered to give me a Golden Retriever puppy.

Not long after the dynamic H duo left, our bus arrived - out of 1962. I was almost positive the floor was going to rust through as we drove through the winding and tight-cornered mountain road. But at least somebody had the thought to put a high-tech flat screen TV at the front of the bus so that even if the floor did fall through, you could still watch your favorite drama, no worries! After a white-knuckled ride, my feet landed firmly on solid ground, alive!

The bigger waterfall, where we looked so helpless trying to
find someone to take a picture of the three of us that a
guy with a baby strapped to his chest walked out onto
the rocks for us. lol It was great.

We began our hike in the sunshine and clean air. In fact, the air was so clean, I think my lungs were actually grinning and giggling. There was a beautiful clear gurgling stream running on its merry way alongside our walking path. We found a spot near a good-sized waterfall where we could leave the path and ever so gingerly step our way across the water on wobbly rocks. If we got yelled at, we had all decided we could just play the foreigner card - give them a wide-eyed, slightly scared look and play dumb. "So sorry, we didn't know. Thank you. Sorry." However, we set a trend - a few older couples actually followed us out to the rock slab by the waterfall. After we had gotten back on the walking path and were trekking our way up the mountain to the bigger waterfall, one of the older couples decided it was time for them to cross back over to continue their hike as well. The woman went first while her husband was filming on his phone. Then . . . the woman biffed it! And the man just kept right on filming, for the next 45 seconds until the woman was able to make it back up the side of the bank. We almost died! It was so hilarious - I wish I had gotten it on camera.

Cheongpyeong-sa, the temple at the end of our trek since we
didn't go up any higher. There were people who made it to
the peak of that mountain in the picture, however.

Anyway, we made it up to the temple, enjoyed the breathtaking scenery around us, and headed back down so we could catch the bus for another 30 minute ride back to Chuncheon. As we waited around for a bit at the parking lot, we started wondering when this thing would actually arrive. Thankfully, Gina can speak enough Korean to get us around. She asked the gate keeper when the bus would arrive. He said 6 p.m. It was now 1:30 p.m. This was not going to work for us or our complaining hungry stomachs. We contemplated a taxi - but we knew that would cost an arm, a leg, and money besides. The thought of walking briefly flitted through like a nervous butterfly, but we quickly shooed it away. Someone brought up the suggestion of asking any of the leaving parties for a ride. At first it wasn't a serious idea. However, even though it was awkward, it seemed the most appealing.

So, the hunt began. We prowled the parking lot until we found our first victim. They, unfortunately, were going to Hwacheon, in the opposite direction. So again the stalking began - I think we looked more desperate and weary than anything else though, dragging our feet as we trudged back and forth, up and down, scouring the parking lot in the unforgiving sun. Finally, we found another one to pounce on. He said he was going to Hwacheon, but there was a station there and we could take a bus to Chuncheon. We were so grateful we immediately agreed. This young man, from now on until eternity, will always be known as Driver, for we did not find out his name. He spoke a slight amount of English, took a wrong turn at one point, and had a friend who kept calling him every 5 minutes to ask him where he was. After a gorgeous scenic drive through the mountains with a huge river on one side, we arrived at the bus station. He wouldn't take any money, so we hope that he understood just how grateful we were.

After a nauseating and daring bus ride (our driver was crazy - he almost ran over a cyclist!), we had returned to the wonderful Chuncheon station. From there, we hailed a taxi and ate at the most famous dakgalbi restaurant. Oh my, mother of pearl, the best dakgalbi I have EVER had! So much flavor and awesomeness being shoveled into my mouth, it was unreal. In case you were wondering, dakgalbi is a dish of cabbage, chicken, rice cakes, spicy pepper sauce, and ours had sweet potatoes, too. You cook it in the huge pan that is at your table and uses gas (don't try to stretch your feet out under the table - you might end up slightly singed). Here is a wonderful picture for your viewing and drooling pleasure.

All in all, the day was wonderful. Was it full of unexpected events and issues? Yes. Were we exhausted by the time we stepped onto the train to head back home, stomachs full of dakgalbi and Cold Stone ice cream? Yes. Would I do it all over again? In a heartbeat.