I had a great day on Saturday. Thought I'd tell you about it. My plan was to rise early and head to Geryongsan National Park. Waking at 6:30am, I promptly went back to sleep until 9am. The park isn't going anywhere; no reason to be a darn fool about it. Eventually, I did get out of the hotel. After quite a bit of confusion, I managed to get on the right bus and head to the park. Public transportation confuses me in the USA too, so it wasn't anything unusual.

On the bus, there was an older lady who heard me check with the driver to make sure the bus went to Geryongsan. She talked with another woman who spoke some English and acted as our interpreter. The older woman owns a restaurant in Geryongsan and invited me to come as her guest. Sure! Sounds like fun.

She walked me through the tourist village at the entrance to the park. We arrived at the small restaurant shortly before noon. Only the staff were there -- the park is fairly empty in the winter. So I had a fantastic meal with the owner and staff. I was a bit worried about getting meat in the meal. I'm capable of saying "I prefer vegetarian meals" in Korean, but I've found that most people here don't really understand the concept. So I was worried it would come across more like "I don't eat meat you prepare" instead of "this is my dietary choice." Rather than risk being rude, I had decided that I'd just eat some meat. Kenchana (my newest Korean word, means "no big deal"). Turned out that I didn't need to worry. It was a traditional feast with lots of dishes. Since the staff was eating too, it wasn't obvious that I was avoiding the meat and fish. My favorite food was totouri, which I later discovered was some sort of acorn tofu. I haven't seen it anywhere else in my travels here (speaking of great food, if you ever come to Korea, try the fried dough and peanut brittle from the street vendors).

The whole experience was fun, and I got to be the center of attention (which suits me just fine). After the meal my host refused to accept any money, so I fished through my backpack and came up with a Toblerone chocolate bar. They had them on the flight over to Korea and I grabbed a handful. It wasn't much, but at least I was able to give something in return. Also had a chance to say "thank you very much" instead of the usual "thank you." That was one I memorized on the flight to Korea, but it felt inappropriate to use until now.

Finally, off to hike in the park. The first 1.5km was a road that wound past active Buddhist temples. They appeared to be designed for tourists, but were also obviously in use. The monks all wore gray robes and had shaved heads. One made a point of coming over to me and giving me a very American handshake. I took pictures of the temples, including one shot taken from the center of the regulation size basketball court in front of the main temple. That is just a Nike commercial waiting to happen.

At the end of the road, a hiking trail started up the mountain. It was a typical developed trail. Mostly strewn with granite talus. The final kilometer was covered with hardpack snow and ice. Very slippery. I was ok in my boots, but would have preferred instep crampons. Like any park in the US, there were plenty of unprepared hikers. Those in tennis shoes and without warm clothes looked very unhappy. At the summit I met a family. The boy was about 6 and the girl about 8. Pretty impressive that they made it to the top (816 meters) and were still smiling. The girl had fun practicing her English with me -- hello, what is your name, where are you from, do you like the mountains. Little kids here often stop me in the street for conversation. They laugh at my English and my Korean, but at least I'm the center of attention. I gave the girl and her brother the last of my chocolate. Note to self: Next trip, swipe more chocolate from the plane.

Beautiful views from the summit. The country has lots of mountains, but wide valleys, so the views are often superb. Most of the rock is fantastic granite. This one park probably had a lifetime of first ascents. Being a wimp, I wasn't about to try any climbing or bouldering. The temperature was well below freezing. Taking off my gloves for just a few minutes to take pictures left me with numb hands.

Like any other park, some of the flora was labeled. Though usually in Korean and Latin. I recognized Chestnut Oak, Sycamore, and possibly Musclewood. None of the pines or cedar were familiar, though I could tell they were pine or cedar. Several varieties of cherry and at least one plumb (ok, I got the plumb from a sign). Not much wildlife, but it is winter. There were some very large nests (raptor size), but no inhabitants. One set of mouse or vole tracks in the snow. Lots of magpies.

The entire day, I didn't see a single other westerner. I got the feeling that the park was mostly visited by Koreans. People did notice me -- tall, red hair, a week of stubble (haven't seen any Koreans with facial hair except those dressed in period costumes), and my split finger Pearl Izumi Lobster Gloves (those get funny looks in the USA too).