Day 164: Trains, Ferries & Automobiles

Today was Total Transportation Day!

I woke up at the oh-so lovely hour of 5-fricken-AM (yeah, I'm not much of a morning person!) and got all my gear together and went and met up with Brian. We caught the bus to Seoul Station and then strolled into the KTX Train Terminal to buy tickets for the high-speed train to Busan. Our plan was to get onboard the 8am train but it was completely sold-out! We instead bought tickets for the 9am train and went and had some coffee and breakfast to kill time.

Soon it was time to board the train and we were totally excited for the trip! Boarding the KTX feels like you're boarding a plane! The train terminal has very airport-terminal kinda feel to it and it was all hustle and bustle this Monday morning. We got on board the train and a few minutes later we were pulling out of Seoul. This is the second time I've ridden the KTX (the first time was back in May when me and the gang went to the Green Tea Festival/Temple Stay) and it was just as enjoyable and comfortable this time. The train ride, even while flying through the countryside at 300 km/hour, is as smooth as silk. You never feel any push or lurch when the train is accelerating or slowing down. Train travel is such a romantic way to travel. Watching the lush green hills and rice paddies roll on by, flying through town after town, soaring across rivers and through tunnels, onwards sailing towards your destination afar. I love it.

In just three short relaxing hours, we crossed the entire country of Korea and arrived in Busan. Busan is Korea's second largest city ('only' 4 million peole live here) and is the nation's largest port. Busan has a very lovely location, nestled between its jagged harbour and the dramatic green hills that hug the urban sea. It has a flavour and atmosphere very different from Seoul, and is a gateway to many other places in Korea, including where we were going. on this trip - Geojedo Island.

We took a cab to the ferry terminal and bought tickets for the next ferry to Geojedo. We had time to kill and were starved so we had some lunch at the cafe in the terminal. I don't think many foreigners roll through here often because the staff there seemed pretty excited to serve two weguks from the city! It was then time to board the boat - the Democracy 1 - our link to the island. Brian and I only had very basic directions from Pauline on how to get to the island and so far we hadn't had any problems. Because they were already on the island, we had to give them a ring when we got onto the island to get further directions. It was a pleasant 50-minute ride on the boat through Busan's busy harbour and then out into the open ocean - Korea's South Sea.

We sailed into Janseungpo and I could tell already that this island was spectacularly beautiful! It was peaceful and quiet and had a beautiful, dramatic coastline - soaring cliffs and towering green mountains! Wow! Geojedo is the second-largest island in Korea (after Jeju) and is still fairly pristine because of its remote location. We rang Pauline on her cell (yes, cell phones work *everywhere* in Korea) and she gave us another long list of directions on how to find them! Turns out they were camping on Myeongsa Beach - the last beach to be found at the very bottom of the island.

We caght a local bus, one that only travels a couple times a day, and cruised on down the coastal road that hugs the breathtaking shoreline of Geojedo. We passed through many a fishing village on the way down the island. The waters of the sea were pure blue and it was great to be out in the forests of the island. About half way down the island the bus stops running at the coastal resort village of Hakdong, and so we had to catch a cab from there. We had a hard time finding a taxi in this village but eventually we did and rode on down to Myeongsa. We finally arrived at Myeongsa Beach at around 4pm - wow - ten hours of travelling today!! Bus, train, taxi, ferry, bus, taxi... It doesn't get much more remote than this in Korea!

And it was well-worth the journey! Myeongsa was quiet and splendidly devoid of crowds. A good-sized crescent beach in a small harbour surrounded by massive green forested mountains - the perfect place to spend a couple days camping! We met Pauline and then were introduced to Nick and Angele - a really nice couple from Canada who have just returned to Korea for another teaching contract. The three of them led us down the strip of stores and restaurants located just off the beach to our camp site - a rather remote location in itself! There are no formal campgrounds in this part of the island - so we made our own! Up top a rather steep and high ridge over-looking the bay they had found a clearing in the forest - the perfect place to set up camp - away from the beach-goers.

We set up our tent and then we all made some dinner. The stores below provided us with some basic groceries for our meals so we didn't have to hike in food from afar - very convenient. We then went and bought some beer and hung out on the beach for the night. We laid in the sand and talked into the wee hours of the morning, enjoying the solitude and feeling quite small in the world under a quilt of starry night. So beautiful! A warm breeze blew in from off the water and it totally felt like paradise! Ahhhh... now *this* is an ideal vacation!