Hiking Akeobong
Chuseok has begun and that means that I have days off of work. To kick off this mini holiday I went to Chungju to go on a hike with some friends.
By the way, Chuseok is Korean Thanksgiving. It is the time when families get together and remember their ancestors.
This was my first time to Chungju so that, in and of itself, was exciting. I met my friends at the Central City Bus Terminal at 8. Our bus left at 8:30 and it was almost a two hour trip to Chungju.
After getting off, we took a taxi for approximately fifty minutes. Our taxi driver was kind and told us that we wouldn’t be able to get a taxi back and that we needed to make sure to make the infrequent buses back into town.
Once there, we couldn’t figure out where the trailhead was so we went into the cafe, Lazy Caiman, to ask for directions. The staff told us that it was where the “don’t enter” sign was. Apparently, they put the sign up to protect the wildlife but people still go on the hike.
The hike up was fairly easy and it only took half an hour to reach the viewpoint. The name, Akeobong (악어봉), means crocodile peak in Korean. The land jutting into the water resembles crocodiles. When I discovered this place, I was surprised that there was such a view in Korea.
Finished enjoying the view, we made our way back down the mountain. We stopped in at the Lazy Caiman for a snack while waiting for the bus.
Unfortunately, the bus disappeared off the incoming buses app. We contemplated hitchhiking, but while we were a miraculous taxi appeared and we were able to take that back into the city.
Once more back in the city, we walked around and found a restaurant that was serving shabu shabu. We ordered that and sat down for a meal. We ordered the shabu shabu which started off with meat and mushrooms, then added noodles, and then added rice into the broth at the end to make fried rice. We also ordered makgeolli (a Korean alcohol) and dumplings. It was a very filling meal.
After finishing lunch, we went and chilled at Concept K for a while. They had a rooftop area that was really nice. My friend put on music and we just sat and enjoyed the warm weather.
We took the 5:35 bus back to Seoul. We were all so tired from the day. I definitely felt like I was suffering on the hike but when I got to the top it made all the pain worth it. I will strive to get back into shape.
After arriving back at the bus terminal, we went to Cha R, an American-Chinese restaurant, for dinner. The food was simply delicious and a perfect end to our long day.
