Bukhansan National Park

Sunday afternoon found me and some lovely friends in Bukhansan National Park in Seoul. Yes, in Seoul. Korea has tons of mountains, both inside and outside the cities. It was a grand experience, as is just about any expedition involving nature. I didn't mind the many other hikers, but here's a hint folks: if you can't do without the jabber and blabber of a radio station for a few hours while you take a walk in the woods, that's your business. Take your headphones for heaven's sake! Don't subject the rest of us to your aural clutter. Oh, and it's highly unlikely that you will meet up with a bear...so please leave your bear bell at home. Thank you. Luckily I didn't have to hike behind any of the aforementioned noisemakers...I would've gone nuts for sure and been able to think only of biffing the charming bells and tiny radios off of the next boulder. As it was, I thoroughly enjoyed the hike and the company.

I digress. Here's a glimpse of the mountain we are about to climb:
Apparently National Parks here do not have the same regulations about restaurants/shops as they do back home. Here you see the trail actually going through a little maze of eateries:
Koreans are very fond of the makeshift dining room:
Anyone need any snacks to take along for the hike?
And here we have two yet-to-be-discovered Sears catalog models:
These totem-like wooden statues had chinese characters on the bases that you can't really make out in this picture. Aforementioned Sears model suggested they read,"Death to all who enter."
The crew. Aren't they cute!
Anyone want to hazard a guess as to which way we should take?
Found this way-cool wall along the way:
After scrambling up a slippery, scary rock-face, we were treated to some amazing views. In the background you can see the wall that is pictured above:

Snack time. Here I am pictured with a fellow Maritimer. I guess we not only populate Western Canada, but also the foreign teacher community in Korea!
We didn't get to see any of the Buddhist temples that were on the peaks (we'd had enough of risking our skin on the boulders). But close to the bottom, we did find one little temple. I love these statues...they seem so serene:
The inside:
And can you get any more adorable than this sweet little chap selling hot tea near the base?
Did we work up enough of an appetite to get some grubs-to-go? We thought not...
...and opted instead for this restaurant before departing...
...where we had "Korean Pizza." Korean pizza is kind of like a gooey pancake with a strange mix of vegetables and squid on top. Mine did not have squid on it (after hiking I didn't feel like being adventurous and eating tentacles). It was pretty good. In Korea, it seems to be about a 50/50 split between restaurants where you sit at tables, and those where you sit on the floor:Later that night, I got some kimbap from the little restaurant downstairs. It is delicious! It looks like sushi, but no raw fish is involved. Mine had veggies, ham, crab, and mayonnaise in the middle. Yum!