Bliss

Hallelujah, glory be. I am in love! Yep. With Gyeyang Mountain. I've been eyeing this wee little mountain since I arrived and glimpsed it amongst the high rises. I figured it couldn't be too far to walk to, and I was correct. Thanks to some helpful directions from a fellow westerner, I found my way there today, no problem. Here's a look at the hill from near my place.

This mountain is perfect in many ways. Number one, it's very close by. Any mountain or natural space of any kind near to me (in a city particularly) is also very dear to me. Took me less than an hour to get from my place to the top. Which brings me to the second reason why it is perfect. It's a teeny little thing in mountain terms, which is good for you-know-who, who has spent far too many weeks sitting on her rear. It should not have taken as much exertion as it did, hahaha! The third reason is simply that it is. It is a hill, it is natural. There is life on it besides humans...I get so tired of humans! Although...the people I met going up and down the mountain were really friendly, smiley, and hello-y, which was a super nice change from the bustle of the city. I had the BEST afternoon because of this mountain. Ok, so ya ready for the adventure-tour? Here we go.

To begin with, we have a really neato staircase made out of stones.


Also on the first part of the mountain, there were all these little bumps. They appear to be well-kept little spaces...and some have markers. This makes me wonder if they are graves. I'll have to ask a native. I'm still illiterate here, so I have no idea what the signs said.

I particularly liked this little marker with the little asian hat. I'd be happy if it was my gravestone:

Also right at the beginning, I came upon this rest area. Don't know why there was green netting around it...repairs perhaps? Traditional Korean architecture is lovely and has a lot of soul. It sorta went downhill somewhere along the way...like most modern architecture I suppose.
Here is a look back at the same little rest area. And voila, your first glimpse of the city I now call home:

Much of the route I took was stairways:

And then I came upon this little tunnel. I went inside, and to the right there is a tiny room with a window cut in the stone overlooking the city (toward Seoul). Military lookout? No idea.
Ah...pretty much at the top! Another look at my city:
A monument at the top:
Another view...Yes, notice the smog. Kinda gross, eh? Well actually I can't complain. I don't notice it at all in daily life. It doesn't smell (ok, yes the streets smell, but it's garbage, not air pollution), and it isn't difficult to breathe. Also notice the millions of apartment complexes I was telling you about earlier. I think a lot of people live here and work in Seoul.
So then I summited...and thought I'd died and gone to heaven. The following picture doesn't show my actual view that well, because I was taking it directly into the sun (it was far superior to what you see here). BUT (!!!) that is the ocean you see in the distance! I stayed and breathed in this amazing sight for awhile, til I got a little chilled and had to begin my descent.
Sun setting on the way down. Does it get any better than this? I think not.
And just in case you thought I was fabricating this little excursion and pilfering someone else's photos:

Ya, not the most flattering picture, but it was taken in haste (I get stared at enough without being stared at for taking a picture of myself). haha. So once I got down the mountain, the sun had set, and the many street food vendors had set up shop on the sidewalks. I love street food...it is so tasty and cheap! A big plus for someone who loves cooking as much as I do (can anyone say bagel for supper?). So far I much prefer Korean food to Canadian in a lot of ways. It's healthy, delicious, and more readily available. So I picked up some dokpokki (the dish to the left). It is rice cakes (not like the ones at home...these ones are more like dense pasta) cooked in red pepper paste (hothothot). I also got some pung-oppang - deep fried, fish-shaped cakes (ok these aren't healthy I agree). The dark one you see is filled with sweet red bean paste, and the white one is filled with something akin to lemon pie filling, but without the lemon, and creamier. Oh yum, oh yum. I have more than one sugar tooth, that's for sure. There are also tons of fruit vendors. All this (plus 2 more fish that, hmmmm, somehow disappeared before this shot was taken) cost me about $6-$7. Nice huh? Especially since the dokpokki is really filling and is more than one meal.

So, there you have it. Another spectacularly sunny day here in Asia spent in one of the best possible ways I can imagine. Hope your day goes as well as mine did. Happy weekend everyone! Love to you and good vibes from Asia! XOXO