No, I’m not talking about the fine Neil Young song.  We made a weekend sojourn to Naksan Beach on the sea that is not of Japan but is instead simply East.

In the past I’ve always driven but seeing as how I don’t have a car here now, we took the bus.  We had the Express direct to Sokcho and hopped another for the short ride to Naksan.  About 3 hours total (not counting 50 minutes on the subway to the bus terminal).

We did make one comfort stop along the way.  I was a little nervous when I saw that we were in “Gang Land” but I didn’t spot any Crips or Bloods, so it was all good.

As is our custom, Jee Yeun took charge of securing our beachfront lodging.  Our regular place only had one room available (we went with another couple) and most of the places wouldn’t discount their prices (getting a cheap room is a matter of honor to Jee Yeun).  Apparently, October is still high season at Naksan because of all the folks enjoying autumn colors at Seoraksan coming down to the beach to sleep. We wound up getting both nights at the place pictured above for W125,000, a reduction of W15,000 from the initial asking price.  Score!

The view from the room.

The aforementioned other couple, Lonnie and Jaime.

And yes, here is the evidence that I was in fact on the beach.  But not in the water.

Truth be told, there’s not a lot of nightlife in Naksan.  So, we made our own–Korean style.  Which is defined as drinking beer in front of the 7/11 store and watching the people pass by.  It is actually more fun than it sounds.

There must be 50 places serving fresh seafood in Naksan.  Three of us weren’t feeling fishy, so we found the one place that served samgyupsal.  We cooked it up with garlic, kimchi, and onions and it was indeed a tasty treat.  And no worries, Jee Yeun got her raw fish the next night.

Next morning we made the short hike up to Naksansa, the famous Buddhist Temple.  You can read some history, including the tragic fire of 2005, at the link.  The hilltop setting overlooking the ocean is really incredible.

It ‘s probably bad form to take a photograph of Jee Yeun during worship, but I tried to be discreet.  If I ever prostrated myself like that I’d never be able to get back up.

Jee Yeun also paid her respects to Haesugwaneumsang (Bodhisattva of Mercy), known as the goddess Gwanseeum-Bosal (no, I don’t know what I’m talking about, I lifted that from Wikipedia).

Did I mention how beautiful it is there?

Lonnie is the bald miguk in this picture.

Lonnie and Jaime pause to reflect on the beauty of their surroundings while contemplating the deeper meanings of life.  Me, I was just trying to catch my breath.

The temple bell.  Being the irreverent punk that I am, I couldn’t help but imagine how it would be if you put a man between the clanger and the bell.  Talk about a nutcracker!

Naksan Beach as seen from the temple grounds.

Jee Yeun replenishes the water bottle for our trip back down the mountain.  Or hill as that young whippersnapper Lonnie called it.

So, while Jee Yeun and I napped, Lonnie and Jamie taxied out to Seoraksan for more hiking.  Later on we reconvened at the convenience store for some beer drinking.  Up and down the main drag these horse drawn carriages hauled smiling Korean folk while blaring “Gangnam-style”.  One time of that was more than enough, believe me.  But what we saw was even more distressing.  These were not even full size horses, and they were pulling heavy carriages fully laden with people.  At a fast trot.  That’s what got to me.  I’ve done carriage rides, but at never more than a walk.  With strong draft horses doing the pulling.  These little guys were huffing and puffing, and in the two plus hours we watched they never got a break.  Lonnie couldn’t take it anymore, so he bought a huge carrot which the horse pictured above surely did enjoy.  Then it was back to work for him and we moved on to the beach to burn some money fireworks.

We were feeling the craving for some beer with pizza to wash it down, so we did that.  I was also getting close to drunk enough for some…

…norebang!  Ah yes, Saturday night is not complete without the traditional Korean singing room.  I’m told that when I sing folks can literally feel my pain.  Or maybe they just feel pain.  One of those.

And all too soon our quiet weekend on the beach was drawing to an end.  We caught the bus in front of the local K-Mart.  It was not the express bus to Seoul, in fact it was the direct opposite.  We crawled at a stop-and-go pace all the way over Seoraksan and down into the valley below.  Once we reached the 4-lane things hadn’t much improved so the driver made an announcement in Korean which must have been “hey, hold onto your seats, I know a shortcut!”  Lordy, lordy, we were back in some mountains and this time it was a one lane road.  Which our bus amply filled.  Fortunately there was not much traffic, but when we did encounter another vehicle they’d pull over as far as they could and we’d somehow manage to squeeze by.

Ah well, six hours later we were back in lovely Seoul.  And so ends this tale of adventure from Korea.  Stay tuned!