For the Chuseok five day weekend Ric and I went on a mini-tour of South-West Korea.
First stop: Mokpo. 2 hours and 45 minutes away from Cheonan on the high speed KTX train.
Yudal Beach
Don't go. It's tiny, barely big enough to build a sandcastle on! The trip to the beach wasn't entirely wasted however, as it did lead us to getting slightly kidnapped by an over friendly Korean man named Leon. He offered us a lift to one of the islands and, keen to seize the moment and save bus fare, we accepted. Unfortunately, Leon had other plans and tried to take us across the country to some place 6 hours away. When we tried to make our excuses and escape he begged us not to leave him alone and forcefully invited himself to join us camping in our tiny tent! Slightly creeped out, we left Leon looking heartbroken and set off up Yudal mountain.
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| Naff beach, but there is a bar... |
Yudal Mountain
The mountain has two peaks, we climbed both with all our backpacks and camping equipment on our backs because we are
that badass. From the highest peak you get a 360 degree view of Mokpo and all the islands that sprawl out towards the horizon. Be warned though, the summit is nothing but a couple of rocks and it's windy up there! Unlike the Koreans who hiked to the top, took a photo and then hurried down, Ric and I stayed there for ages, hogging the small space, drinking gin 'n' tonic and playing cards - may as well make the most of the view!
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Stopping for a rest half way up the mountain.
Nuff baggage. |
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| View from the smaller peak |
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| View from the highest peak |
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| Sunset from our camp |
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| Mokpo's famous bridge impressively illuminated |
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| Mokpo |
Camping
Just 100m down from the summit of the mountain we found a cave that made a perfect camp for the evening. We assembled our crumby tent, made an awesome camp fire and watched the sunset with a beer and a picnic. The cave made a perfect place to camp, so much so that we slept for almost 12 hours!
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| Koreans sharing their lunch with the sweaty Westerner |
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| Tent, fire, picnic, gin, beer. |
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| Sunrise over Mokpo |
Old vs. New
Around the train station and mountain is known as Mokpo old town, most of the buildings are traditional one-storey shops, homes and restaurants. On the other side of town, a 10-15 minute taxi ride away, is new Mokpo. This is where all the cool bars and trendy restaurants are. It's really worth visiting both just to get an idea of how different the two areas are. The new part has the "Ocean Dancing Fountain", a water display with music and lights.
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| Mokpo Ocean Dancing Fountain |
Mokpo was great, camping was serene and getting kidnapped... well it's funny in hindsight. Don't talk to strangers kids!!
- Sleeping: we stayed two nights, the first we camped and the second we stayed at F1 Hotel. It's in a rather seedy yet excellently located area behind the train station and is gorgeous inside: 42 inch plasma TV, huge shower, remote controlled mood lighting. All for 50,000won (about £27) - bargain!!
- Transport: the number one bus conveniently served all our needs: bus station ~ train station ~ beach.
