Jagged Ridge Hike

Traveling 남 to the tip of Korea this weekend, we’ll be spending our time hiking on another well-planned William Cho and Discover Korea trip.  Following an overnight bus ride, we’ll watch the sunrise over Admiral Lee Park, take a ferry to Sa Ryang Do and make our way from 동 to 서 through the jagged ridges of this island, hiking literally the whole island.  On the way home, we’ll stop by the Jinae Cherry Blossom festival, known exclusively for their, you guessed it, Cherry Blossom trees!

Now that was an abridged version of our travel itinerary, panned out by William Cho and company.  Also included in this itinerary was the mention of possibly wanting to purchase travel insurance.

April Fools, William?  If I had to make any suggestions about this trip, it’d be to purchase LIFE insurance, as I feared for my life hmm… one to many times.

After fighting for and securing the back of the bus, our group of 10 coziest right on in a passed out… well all of those equipped with some Benadryl (I should really start thinking about being a spokeswoman for Benadryl, huh?).  And all of those equipped with Benadryl also missed the sunrise over Admiral Lee Park.  Oops.  Gotta get those 8 hours.

For me, a sunrise is a sunrise.  But I will say that a Korean sunrise is somehow 10 times better than any American sunrise I’ve seen.  Don’t know why, but I’m always more impressed.  It works the same with sunsets too.  Although blessed by the always exquisite sunrise over the Land of the Morning Calm, I managed to spread out across 3 seats and sleep right through it.

Good thing for B and his new love of photography.

After crossing (bus and all) from the mainland to Sa Ryang Island, we began our “moderate hike including some difficult ridges that are avoidable using side trails. A trail that, if you exercise once or twice a week you should not find difficult.”

But this wasn’t just a hike.  I’d say it was more a combination of hiking and rock climbing.  Jagged Ridge was a much better explanation than the one above.  Although it started off as a stroll through rice paddies, it ended quite differently.

The original mention of 4 peaks, turned into SEVEN and that stroll turned into literally vertical up and down climbs, accompanied by a rope, if lucky.

So all said and done, I and my sore body might just have to disagree with you on that one, Will-iam Cho. “Moderate.”  Ha.

But in the company of 9 amusing friends, not only was this hike rock climbing bearable, but actually quite enjoyable.  With the weather warming up and surrounded by water, I was in a good place.

Alright, until the last peak… With each peak becoming increasingly steep, several of us opted to scoot around this vertical peak, determining that without proper equipment, this just actually wasn’t safe.  I did not purchase LIFE insurance, so I would not be tumbling down this mountain today.  Thanks.

And this is when we hit the mother load.  Dozens of Koreans.  Korean Hikers.  Intense just doesn’t quite do.  What more than intense?  Yes- crazy.  Beyond passionate.  Beyond determined.  And in this crazy state to get down the mountain they literally climbed OVER us.  I don’t know where they thought they were going because we were all stuck behind the ONE Korean in the whole entire country who (although decked out in hiking gear and looking professional) doesn’t know how to hike.

I don’t think a nice word came out of mine, Emily’s, or Ali’s mouth on that last descent.  A nice jjimjilbong (sauna) by our pension turned our frowns upside down.  As did the best galbi I’ve ever eaten.

This probably sounds like a jumble of complaints, but I must say, this was the best hike ever.  Perhaps it was the company or the accomplishment or the location.  Nope, it was definitely a combination of it all!  I can’t say I’d do it again, but I definitely enjoyed round 1.

Vivacious Vietnam

The first word that comes to mind when I think of Vietnam is lively.  Too bad I was busy dying of dysentery half the time.  So I’ll recap what I did (and didn’t do) and perhaps I’ll be kind enough to spare you of the rhea details, round 2. 

As a birthday present to myself, I got to visit another country- Vietnam.  Crossing the border from Cambodia to Vietnam isn’t as sketchy as the books make it, but you definitely get called out for being a foreigner.  An extra little swipe of the passport, a little picture, and you’re good to go. 

Interesting and something I’m definitely glad I did, but nothing to write home to Mom about- no crazy questions, no strip search, no guns.

Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City, as it is properly called following the Vietnam War, is Crazy!!  With a capital C.  But a good Crazy.  The streets are packed with motos (mini motorcycles).  In fact, you have to be careful not to lose your purse to a passing moto, a reason I typically left my purse back at the guesthouse.  And if a moto snatches up your purse, you better let go- if not they’ll literally drag you through the streets of Vietnam until you let you.  Not to worry though, as we never encountered this.

After a half day of exploring Saigon, we booked a trip to the Mekong Delta, a must see when visiting SE Asia, as this waterway serves a greater portion of these countries.  Although a bit touristy, we were able to ride in long boats, feed some crocs, and explore the backwoods of Vietnam.

The itinerary for day 3 of HCMC offered up a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels, an intricate system of underground tunnels that allowed the Viet Cong to live in these rat holes for months at a time.

Although feeling a bit rushed through the tunnels, a healthy amount of facts were thrown our way, broadening our understanding of how the Viet Cong beat the south (re: the North didn’t beat the U.S.- a common misconception).

Just a few interesting things we learned about these elaborate tunnels:

The tunnels were portioned off into 3 layers.  Cooking only took place on the 2^nd or 3^rd layers, avoiding excessive smoke from seeping out of the surface holes.  Instead, the smoke was gradually released through small pipes.  “Toilets” were located on the 3^rd level, which drained into the Mekong Delta.  And when the U.S. and the south released smoke into the tunnels, trap doors partitioned off the 1^st layer and the Viet Cong retreated to the 2^nd and 3^rd layers.

And in relation to that minor misconception (I hope you’re sensing my sarcasm from halfway across the world), the Vietnamese LOVE their old propaganda posters, all of which show the Viet Cong beating up on the U.S.  Shops of propaganda posters litter the streets of Saigon and Hanoi.  Needless to say, we didn’t bring home any of these posters.

Anyway…

Initially excited about traveling to Vietnam during Tet (Lunar New Year), we quickly learned that there’s really only one day of celebrations, followed by an eerie silence.  With the reah hitting me the day before Tet celebrations, I took a Tylenol PM to help me sleep through the night.  This, ladies and gents, led to some pretty crazy dreams.

Traditionally, on the first night of Tet, a nightlong celebration is in order, with a healthy dose of fireworks.  Delirious from the pills and having just visited the Cu Chi Tunnels, I fully heartedly thought I was in the middle of the second Vietnam War.  We were under attack and I wasn’t getting out alive… until I woke up.  I now have a better understanding for PTSD and wonder why fireworks go off on a day that is closely connected to our military.

Luckily, we had enough on our itinerary to not be bothered by this nearly complete shut down of Saigon and Hanoi.  Long days were followed by long massages.  The best massage I’ve ever had in my life came from a sketchy Vietnamese shop, offering up 120 minutes, hot stone and oils massage for a whooping $9.  This is reason enough to go back to Vietnam.

Hanoi, aside from the churches and Ho Chi Minh Complex, really just offered a bunch of shops selling loads of knock-offs, most of which were exceptional replicas.  The real reason for visiting Hanoi lies in the limestone protrusions of Halong Bay.

Thankfully, two weeks before the accident killing 12 foreigners, we loaded ourselves onto a small boat of 20 passengers to realize an even smaller world.  Following lunch, we shuttled onto land and into the caves. 

While Brandon was busy noticing the phallic structures, I became aware that of these 20 passengers there wasn’t just 1 Elon grad, but 2!!  Alex (No, I’m not referring to myself in 3^rd person… the oddity continues) had graduated from Elon just one year prior to me and is teaching English in China… small world!

With obviously lots in common, we hung out the rest of the trip, making friends across the world!  Now if we ever want to visit Shanghai, we know we always have a place to stay.

So despite living on 3 baguettes and cheese (the French left a little culture here too!) and withering away in guesthouse beds whilst the rest of Vietnam celebrated Tet, I came to appreciate the lively culture of Vietnam… with the exception of line butting (something engrained into my brain as inappropriate since the age of 5, so something I’ll never be able to simply dismiss, and definitely something the Vietnamese have no problem doing).

Vietnam is VIVACIOUS!

FFF (29)- Sa Ryang Island

Traveling on a Discover Korea trip to TongYeong and Sa Ryang Island, I felt it was only necessary to look up some facts about this little island we will hike. 

TongYeong, highlighted in red, is obviously loacted on
the southern tip of the South Korean penninsula, with Sa
Ryang island, an itsy bitsy island, protruding right off of it.

Although Sarang, meaning “Love” sounds quite similar to Sa Ryang, Sa Ryang takes on quite a different meaning.  Sa means “snake” and Ryang means columns.  This island, which is basically just a small mountain range, is complete with 7 peaks.  These mountains protrude out of the island like columns, hence the Ryang.  And these mountains contain lots of snakes, hence the sa.  Luckily (as I am indeed writing in retrospect…) none were spotted.  Whew.

And what I felt was the most interesting this week is that when Google searching for facts/pictures of this island, the very first link happened to be a series of photos from kaikilina, a name I immediately recognized as Kate’s email address!!!  Sure enough, upon clicking on the link, we realized that Kate and several of our other friends had been on this William Cho trip the previous year.  After looking through the photos, we were sold.