Dobongsan 도봉산

Today was a very satisfying day. Just got back from my dinner on my own in an eatery after I got back from my day hike in Dobongsan area, at Bukhansan National Park. Right now at this moment, I am still in some 'euphoric dream' state because I still can't believe I went on a hike on my own today. It was just something I really wanted to do, because I have been seeing too much city scape and buildings lately... And today was one of the warmest spring days in Seoul, some places sky rocking towards the 28°C and 30°C - if I understood it correctly from the news on the tv while I was having dinner...

Right now as I am writing this entry, my hands are still a bit dirty and sticky, my hair feels like straw (but I like it because it has more volume now), my face covered with mountain dust (which makes a good facial peeling for my face I think ;p) and my pants are really dirty because of climbing and sitting an sliding down from rocks an soil. Just wanted to type this entry while I am still carrying some particles of Dobongsan - it sounds more exciting I think - but after this very sentence, I will be clean and showered... (So to be continued...)

To Dobongsan
(Back and clean ;-))... I actually don't know where to begin. This week there were plans to go on a hike to Bugaksan - a small mountain north of Seoul - with a group of people from Kyunghee University - friends of Heli - but because of circumstances and mid-terms coming up there were not many interested. I actually was really looking forward to a weekend with more activities than just some city sightseeing and window shopping, although Seoul has some nice parks and some nice green spots near the Han River too. I was so enthusiastic that I already told my class that we were going on a hike - and that was just because we saw some grammar about the future tense and having to answer on questions like "이번 주말에 뭐 할 거예요?" What are you going to do this weekend? Haha, but that was not the main reason. I just really needed to get out of a concrete environment.

So I decided to go to another destination, Dobongsan on my own, also because it's very reachable by public transport. And I heard that it's safe to go on your own too. Korea is a safe country to do those things on your own as a woman, especially by daytime and Dobongsan is also a very popular weekend destination by Seoulites (people of Seoul :)). My pre-hike already started out very interesting because I transfered to the wrong subway / train but luckily I asked the way every time I am doubting my orientation. The map I had was a little bit different than the map in the 'Lonely Planet' that I borrowed from a friend. After about 45 minutes I think, I finally got to my main destination and just followed the crowd of people whom I suspect to go hiking at the same place as I was planning to. You must know, Seoul people are really one of the most best-dressed hikers : "... check out those red waistcoats, black ninja outfits and Darth Vader sunvisors" (dixit Lonely Planet). Especially most ladies have HUGE sunvisors, at least as huge as the cap of a welding visor or clear laboratory visor - reason for this is the fear of becoming tanned because in Asian countries being pale and white is still the way to go. Again I felt a little bit under-dressed with my jeans and dotted T-shirt... at least I have my fancy Timberland hiking shoes ;p and a cap I bought somewhere at an underground market (I managed to bargain 1000 less than the original price, which is actually ridiculous nothing, nada, zip, zero, but I managed to try at least ;-))
I brought my shorts to wear at the beginning of the hike. Although it was very hot, I couldn't get myself to wear my short, because really nobody was wearing a short, or let's say even with these temperatures of almost 30°C around noon, most people were still wearing long sleeves and long pants. Especially long pants. I saw 2 or 3 men wearing shorts up till the knees. But no women. Because of this social dress code, I didn't wear my shorts but I really wanted to. It was so hot... I just don't know if it's offensive to walk around with naked female knees - still with a slight bruise coloring purple, red and yellow from Kyunghee Sports day.

The entrance of the Bukhansan National Park was crowded with eateries, beverage stands and shops selling hiking materials for very reasonable prices. I just felt like being around the city markets again. I didn't buy anything yet, but now I have a list of things in my mind for the next hike : finger topless gloves, hiking stick and a backpack with airflow at the back - my back was really soaked during the day because of dehydration.

Up to Jaunbong (Dobongsan Peak)
The beginning of the itinerary that I had in mind, was more the kind of park-walk accompanied by colorful lanterns. There goes my idea of a hike ! Not that I was really disappointed, but it just didn't feel like a hike... at least at the beginning.

Passed a Buddhist temple but I didn't really bow or prayed at the Buddha statue neither at the statue of the Guan Yin, because I sometimes don't know how to act. I don't want to do something wrong that might offend the people in and around the temple, so I just kept silent and showed respect in my thoughts. Although back in Belgium I quite often went with my mother to pray and show my respect to the 'Guan Yin' - the bodhisattva of compassion. I really like most Korean Buddhist temples, because of their wood carving and especially the colorful wood painting. And most of them are constructed without using one single nail - if I understood it correctly - but using special wood binding techniques.

After the temple the road became a bit steeper, but still very walkable and wide because of the stairs carved out of the rocks. There was a small stream on my left and some people descended to have a rest close to the water. Although it was very walkable, I was already tired after the first half hour, maybe because of the heat and also because I was in a bad shape. Haven't been doing some intensive sport at all during my three weeks of stay in Seoul. Actually I don't really sport, but at least back in the USA we like to do some day cycling in the weekend or just walking from our home to downtown. (Still have to try out my inline skates on Californian ground.)

I actually find climbing up stairs more exhausting than just go up on a steep road without stairs. And because I was alone and had nobody to talk to, time didn't really go fast, as well as the distance seems further than in reality. I did ask myself several times : "Why am I doing this? It's just crazy going on my own... " But I didn't find the answer. I just knew, I really wanted to go outside of Seoul today.

Eventually, the itinerary became a bit more interesting because it involved some climbing using a bit of 'handwork'. Don't get me wrong, I am not a good climber at all, but I like some challenges on my way. But doing this on my own, was less fun as I thought because there was no partner giving a helping hand. Some older men 아저씨 and women 아줌아 were surprised to see a 'young' lady on her own, because most young ladies were at least accompanied by their boyfriend or husband... But I was thinking, if I can do this on my own, I can definitely survive a lot of more situations on my own. Just the hearing of sighs and puffing of the many 아저씨 and 아줌아 on their way to the top, really gave me a feeling of not being alone. We were all puffing together :).
The last part to the top was quite steep and there was a metal rail where you can pull yourself up. Right before that steep part I got a cramp in my feet, what usually happens 2 or 3 times during a hike. Don't really know why this happens, maybe because my blood gets stuck somewhere... And it happens too when I go swimming. When I was little, I happened to have cramps in my legs while swimming in deep water, so you can guess what happened many times : panic and blub... blub... blub... That's why I don't like swimming so much. I just sometimes become a submarine ;p.
If I am lucky, my cramps only last for one minute and then everything goes back to normal. So the last steep part was quite an experience but the effort to got all the way up is nothing compared to the tremendous view once you reach the top.

I ate my lunch - whole wheat bread with dark chocolate and a banana - while enjoying the splendid views with background music of people getting excited and taking pictures. I asked an old man of about 60 - how did he get there anyway? - to take a picture of me. It was quite funny, because he really did his best focusing on pushing the button of my camera without really framing the view, but I like the picture =)

New encounters

After lunch I continued my itinerary towards east, but I got a bit lost on my way because I didn't find the road I was looking for. I asked an old man how to get to Mangwolsa Temple and he explained very patiently and detailedly, but of course I nearly understood half of it. I could deduct from his attitude, that it was a bad idea, because it was already 16h / 4pm and the road was not easy according to him. But I was in the middle of my trip and I didn't want to take the same route back anyway. He told me to be careful. There is one Korean word that I find very charming, which is 아가씨 agasshi, meaning 'young lady' or 'miss'. "Young lady, be careful; you can go first, miss; you better go up at this side, miss". Although I was alone, there were a lot of elder people on my way. Hearing those advices from elder people really makes my heart melt for them. I just find elder people, especially Korean elders, very charming and friendly.
I think I was a bit disorientated after my lunch. I asked the way several times because I didn't find the road signs. Eventually a middle aged old man asked me where I was going, so I told him my final destination. He told me it was better to head west in stead of east but through a different trail. So he kind of offered me to follow him back to the entrance of the park.
I didn't know if it was a good idea to follow him, because you just never know when you meet strangers on your way, but I really had a 'gut' feeling that this 아저씨 should be fine. Actually I didn't really had a choice. Trusting people is not easy, but I just did it. And I am glad I was not afraid or superstitious : I still tend to believe that people that offer to help are really nice people. Maybe that's a bit of a naive thought, but that's just the way my mind works. I also trust my instincts and my sixth sense :-).
On our way he asked me if it was okay to show me alternative routes to some other mountain peaks in the park with tremendous views. At first I hesitated a bit, because it was already getting darker but I decided to trust him. And I am glad I did.

His name is 남진우 Nam Jin-wu and he's lived in this area all his life. He knows the park as the back of his head because he goes hiking here every week. He used to do rock climbing when he was young, but now because he's older and gaining a +50 belly, he just does some hiking. Being an expert of this park, he took me to some places where not so many people go and through itineraries that were different from the main hiking trails. I must admit I was afraid at first, because he knows the area so well he just hops from one rock to the other, some involved some climbing without rope or metal bars, but I did well I must say. Maybe because I trusted his experience. It's strange, when you are with someone, you extend your borders of fear and are able to push your limits. Sometimes he just got a bit too enthusiastic about an itinerary that I really had to hold back, because we were really not going to the subway station at all.

I have no regrets at all. To have met this nice 'uncle'. The last part of the hike really lead me to tremendous sights at some of the mountain peaks of the park. Sometimes there are really no words to describe the thoughts that go through your mind when you are in such a beautiful environment of mountains, forests, pink spring blossoms, a sun and sky turning warmer and orange red as evening falls. It's beyond words. Standing at a peak while he's pointing out some other mountains in our sight saying that we have been there just one hour ago. I was always amazed that distances seem long at sight, but the perception of time is different when you have a companion to talk to.

On our way back we passed some old ladies and I heard them saying something like "Look, there's a father and child still going"... Yes it did came on to my mind too, an older man and a younger woman hiking together do look like father and daughter... I found out, that he was 51...

So... I am quite done with talking about my impressions of the hike, so I'll just let the pictures do their work. I got back at the subway station around 20h / 8pm - so it was already dark when we got out of the national park - and I thanked him for the beautiful walk he guided me through.

My not so lonely dinner
I really craved for some doenjang jjigae 된장찌개 on my way back to Anam-dong. And I exactly knew where I was going to have it : that very small family eatery that looks like a living room. The father of the eatery was outside welding something, making some very flashy stroboscope light that didn't really suit the sober atmosphere of the eatery. When I entered, the lights in the eatery were already out except for the kitchen. I asked if it was still okay to have dinner at that hour and the mother of the house invited me friendly to come in and asked me what I wanted to eat.
I really enjoyed just sitting there, that living-room like eatery, I just like that kind of sober home-like atmosphere. The lady went back to the kitchen while I was watching the news.
I had dinner on my own, but I didn't feel like being lonely at all. I really like the mother of the house. She remembered that I don't eat meat because she gave me all vegetarian side dishes, while as the first time she gave me a meat side having it switched to a veggie dish. The father of the house came in silently and joined for dinner at the table next to me, but he didn't say anything. It was nice :). I thanked the mother of the house for the nice dinner and I think I will be back in few days.

Blessed
Today was a day I will be remembering for a long time. Today I felt really blessed. Because I met really kind people, because I went to some beautiful places. It's just, high up on a top, surrounded by silence and nature, you can think of nothing else but the beautiful view in front of you. Breathtaking. The chaos in your mind comes to a rest. High up on a top, I sometimes feel so close and connected to my late father. I sometimes feel like he's watching over me, especially when the sun shines. I just feel blessed and happy =).