Year: 2008

In Korea hiking is popular. The hikers have the latest equipment, the right clothes and they look very professional. Question is how good the hiking is in this country that is not really known for their impressive mountains. Last weekend I decided to find out in the local National Park, Bukhansan, just north of Seoul which is very popular and crowded during the weekends.

I had read on the internet where to go and took the subway to one of the stations close to the park. I did not find the bus I was looking for but a nice enough Korean pointed out another one that would take me in the right direction. On the bus I found two men with all the fancy gear for a day of hiking. I asked if they were going to the same place as me and with their not very impressive english vocabulary they made me understand that they would show me the way.

They started off in a fast pace. I tried to stop at the ranger station to find a map but the guys were stressing me on like I was a race horse. But I figured that I would not get lost if I followed these guys so I did not bother about the map. I kept up with the first guy and realized after a few minutes that we had left the other guy behind us. I asked Mr Fast Guy and he just pointed at his watch and said time, so I guess they had no plan of walking together.

After half an hour or so we reached the first gate of an old fortress that is situated on the ridge in the park. You walk along the wall which was restored after the Korean war. The gates are popular places for picknicks and many seem to have come there mainly for eating and not necessariliy for hiking.

Mr Fast Guy took me almost all the way to Baegundae Peak which is the highest point in the park. This was my goal but not his so we parted just below the peak. The hiking in this national park is more technical than I thought, it is often very steep and in some places it is even easier Via Ferrata hiking. The last bit up to Baegundae Peak is the steepest and hardest part. This however does not scare the Koreans and the path up to the peak is full of people. At the top you have a lovely view of Seoul and the Bukhansan National Park.

On the top of Baegundae I met Nina from Switzerland. We had a rest and enjoyed the view before we started walking back together. It’s always fun to be one Swiss and one Swede, very confusing for everyone. I am still amazed how Swiss people always are accused of being Swedish and the other way around. Where is the logic in that?

If you ever get the chance I can really recommend to go hiking in Bukhansan National Park. It is easy to get there from the city and it offers great hiking and wonderful views.

Samsung does rule this country it seems. Even one the nicer museums is the Samsung Museum of Art, called Leeum. It is situated very close to my hotel and I have wanted to visit it many times but never got around to. Today I did managed to go the 5 min down the hill to see what it is all about (you can see my hotel in the background). From the hotel I have seen some statues on the roof of the museum which look like huge spiders and since I found out it is a museum I have had in my mind to go there.

This Art museum covers both traditional art like ceramics and paintings from 13th to 19th century and modern art, local and foreign.

The artifacts themselves are nice but the best thing about this museum is the building itself. The architecture is superb. The two main buildings have their own style and are very beautiful. Not only what is inside the buildings is interesting. Don’t forget to look out the windows, everything you see is well planned and stylish. Just the staircase in the brick building is worth a visit.

The rooms that show historic art are spatious and dark. The items themselves are lit up individually which creates a calm and relaxing environment. It is a welcome feature compare to other sights like the War Memorial Museum (which is interesting really and very well made) which attracts groups of screaming children that runs around your feet.

Whenever in Seoul, I can really recommend this museum.

Although I do love adventures and often seek them, I can also get lazy. This is easily done when travelling for business. When I go to work in e.g. Korea I stay at a moderately nice hotel during the weeks but at a very nice one during the weekends. When I go on holidays my budget is very different and I often stay at hostels or very cheap hotels in order to be out as long as possible. At those times the goal is to have an adventure and not to rest and save your strenght for the coming week of facing the customer. When I do get the chance to stay longer in a foreign country for work, like now three weeks in Korea, I do want to take the opportunity to see something else than the customer site and the area around the hotel. But staying at these really nice hotels makes me lazy. From my room I have the most beautiful view of the Han river and Gangnam area in Seoul (picture). The hotel is situated on a hill which makes the view absolutely stunning. It has a garden with an outdoor pool and sun deck, a sauna, a gym and a lounge with complimentary snacks and drinks in the evening. Staying in this kind of environment is a treat itself and absolutely necessary for a stay this long in a foreign country that you did not choose yourself. Without these weekends, working in Korea would have been very hard.

Along the river mentioned in the last text there were water outlets in several places. For some reason they had decided to decorate these. You decide which picture you find most suiting. 🙂

In Korea they are very good at landscaping. In the big cities there are small beautiful parks that makes a big contrast to the grey, boring city. Also companies build small, nice areas for people to spend their lunch break in or hang around smoking. These places are very well planned and clean. Usually the main features are stones and flowers.

I just have to continue the sounds of Asia stories. I thought when I left Korea to go to Taiwan I had heard “Für Elise” for the last time this trip. I was wrong. As I was writing the last text I heard a faint melody being played. It sounded like they had hidden speakers somewhere playing the radio on very low volume. But when I listened carefully it was just a short melody that was repeated, quite annoying actually. You know when you hear a faint noise and it irritates you to dead but if you don’t listen you don’t hear it. I could not figure out where it came from and was just hoping it would be gone by the time I would go to bed.

Later when we were sitting at the window in the restaurant next door to the hotel, I suddenly heard the melody again! I looked out and saw the garbage truck driving by. I had heard a truck in my hotel room on the 22nd floor emptying garbage bins in the neighbourhood. This means that it is played quite loud. Poor guys that have to do that job all day. I can imagine that kind of treatment being used as torture.

This afternoon we got stuck in the weekend traffic coming back from customer site and guess what I suddenly heard!? “Für Elise”. And guess what it was!? The garbage truck. Good thing that they work during the day…