To start our journey, we went to the DongSeoul bus terminal in front of Gangbyeon subway station and lined up at the counter to buy the tickets to Sokcho. The adult fare was 17,300 won (in 2015) from Seoul to Sokcho, and the journey took roughly around 2 and half hours. Basically, when it was time to ride our bus, we just went to the platform indicated on the ticket, and showed the ticket to the bus driver for confirmation if it's the correct bus before loading our stuffs and took our seats.
 |
| Bus ticket Seoul-Sokcho (17,300 won) |
The bus was clean and comfortable, and the journey was quite smooth and breezy. The traffic was not so bad, so overall it was an easy ride. The view along the journey is a very nice and much welcomed change to the city scene of Seoul that we had for the last few days. It was like entering a magical tunnel, one minute we were in Seoul and after the tunnel, it was a completely different, new world.
 |
| The bus was clean and comfortable |
 |
| One minute we have this kind of view |
 |
| After the tunnel, voila! Lush greenery along the way |
After a while, our bus pulled over into a rest area and the driver announced something before getting off. Due to our limited understanding of the Korean language, we decided to stick close to the bus and not wander off too far despite the selection of food at the stop seemed very nice and tempting. Just getting some juice and coffee from the convenience store and immediately back at the bus for fear of being left behind. The rest area also seemed very nice and not as crowded as the highway rest areas in Malaysia tend to be. The driver and everyone else on the bus were back within 15 minutes so the journey was continued.
 |
| Rest area that we stopped at |
Finally our bus pulled over at Sokcho Intercity Bus Terminal and it's time to get off already. The breeze already felt a bit salty (or was it just my imagination) and I'm already feeling the seaside feels of Sokcho. Haha, anyway we made our way to the bus stop in front of the convenience store next to the bus terminal to board the local bus (no. 7 or 7-1) that will take us to Seorak National Park. The fare was around 1,200 won, and the journey took approximately 30 minutes.
 |
| Sokcho Intercity Bus Terminal. Do note that there are 2 bus terminals in Sokcho; this and Sokcho Express Bus Terminal which was located a bit further in town. The brown building in the back is the Egg House Hostel. |
 |
| Entrance of Seoraksan National Park. Fee is 3,000 won per person. |
We paid the fees, get ourselves a piece of map and only then really planned what we wanted to do. There are various hiking trails for all hiking lovers out there, but none of us were really that prepared for a hiking trip, so we just opt for the cable car ride to the top. The cable car fee is 10,000 won per person, and we were given the timeslots available for our journey up. The cable car was quite big and spacious, although it was a crowded ride to the top and we couldn't get any decent pictures during the ride. Once we reached the cable car station, we finally able to take in the fantastic view comfortably and without bumping into a stranger every two seconds or so.
 |
| View from the cable car station |
It was awesome. The weather is quite nice so we can see far up to the East Sea. The crowd were quite good although it wasn't that packed, so the journey further up was not that bad. It was a series of stairs and slight hiking, and in around 10 minutes we finally arrived at the "main" area of the mountain.
 |
| Splendid. And yes, that lady was wearing a dress while climbing up Seoraksan. She's cool like that. |
To be honest, it was my first time to be so high up in a mountain, so it was a breathtaking experience. With no safety railing along the edges (at least none that I'm aware of), to be able to just stand there and taking in the view was exhilarating for me. One of my friends basically froze in her spot, hesitant to move around at first because she's afraid of heights but after a while she plucks the courage and join us further up. None of us had any experience with climbing and hiking, so our movements were basically a small step or two, mainly in flat areas to take a photo, basically keeping at the safe side. It was amazing however to see the rest of the people around us, and just how the hiking culture was instilled at such a young age.
Young parents taking their two-year old up the rocks, couples hanging around and taking picture (with some of the ladies still rocking killer heels), older people at my grandparents' age yet barely sweating hiking the rocks while the four of us were hal-gasping for air, children basically racing each other to the top. I even helped taking the photo of a lovely family with three children, one of them the cutest baby boy I had ever seen and two adorable sisters. What better place to take a family portrait than while sitting at the edge of a rocky mountain like this one, eh? It was an interesting situation that I've never encountered before and that was actually one of the highlights of the day. Half-challenged by the children's courage and half-curious of what being at the top really feels, we decided that a little bit of climb to the very tip wouldn't hurt... much.
 |
| Yup, definitely doable! Or so we naively thought. |
Note to self: if you're not used to hiking or any sort of vigorous physical activities before, know your limits. Or be prepared to face the consequences in the form of aching muscles and sore all over. But hey, at least the view is worth it! By all means, I'd say just go for it, and worry about anything else later, ha!
 |
| Forgive the angle as I'm hanging on for my dear life |
 |
| We tried to simulate their pose in the spot, but none of us were able to stand up straight enough to take a proper picture. So no picture. |
Although we were reduced to a crawling bunch of creeps by the time we reached the top, every single bit of it is definitely worth it. I think I'm beginning to understand why some people love to go hiking despite all the difficulties that they have to go through. The view is worth it, and the light, breezy feeling when you're at the very top is simply indescribable. I might give this hiking thing another go again sometime in the future, just to be able to get that same feeling I felt in this moment.
 |
| Panoramic view of the top |
 |
| A breathtaking view taken while sitting down since I'm too afraid to stand up. |
We finally climbed back down (slid down some stretch on one ocassion), we unpacked our lunchbox and had our lunch there, complete with drinks and stuffs just like many people around us. Finally it was time to go back, so with a heavy heart we made our way back to the cable car station begin our descend to the base. We walked around the park, and found a nice stream flowing through the area and thought it will be great to sit along the banks.
 |
| Seems cold and refreshing, right? |
There were a group of young couples actually playing in the streams, and it was a scene straight out of a K-drama. We were thinking of doing the same, but one guy came around 10 minutes later and told everyone to get out from the stream so nope. We just sat quietly and enjoy the serenity and tranquility of the soothing sound of the stream.
Overall, it was a nice trip that got us keeping in touch with the nature. Although it felt that quite a lot of this gem was unexplored, it was one of the days that I'll always cherish and remember. But I'll definitely be back in the future, hopefully this time actually hiking my way up to the top. Until next time!
Comments
Post a Comment