Summer, while necessitating half a dozen wardrobe changes a day and making me do laundry three times as often as usual, means that it's time for t-shirts, backpacks and travelling.
I did my first weekend-long trip of the season with my friend Yunmi a couple of weekends ago. We decided to head to Damyang, which is just outside of Gwangju, roughly 4 hours north-west of where I live. I've been to Gwangju before, and I've concluded that it was "The City of Perpetual Nothingness." So, not wanting to waste too much time there (more on Gwangju in a bit), we headed straight to Damyang and its famous bamboo park also called the Juknokwon Bamboo Forest.
Damyang itself is a sleepy little friendly town, with a big, beautiful river running through it. On one bank is Juknokwon...to be honest, there's not much to be said for the bamboo forest aside from the fact that...yes, it's pretty cool...you're in a bamboo forest. In typical Korean fashion, though, it was crowded, so if you're looking for that serene, away-from-the-world-and-its-troubles feeling, look elsewhere. Still, it had some idyllic spots, such as the waterfall:
Wandering through the bamboo forest, you could also chomp down on all sorts of delicacies, including what I can only describe as bamboo jerky...it was surprisingly delicious!
We spent a few hours bumming around the bamboo forest and making friends with the pandas, then headed to the river.
The river itself was nice, but not especially picturesque, but what made it amazing was that both banks were crowded with people walking, riding bikes, etc. It's awesome how active Koreans can get! It was one of the few places I've seen in Korea that had tandem bikes, and couples (usually wearing matching shirts) took full advantage of the opportunity.
After that we wandered around Damyang for a bit, hiked up a small hill and found an awesome monument to the fallen of past wars:
Following that, we headed back to Gwangju, not expecting much. After asking a few people where downtown was, we headed there, got off the bus and were greeted with...nothing. Even Yunmi remarked that despite being "downtown" the place was eerily empty. Interestingly, a block or two away from the main street things got lively, loud and interesting! Not only was there a festival, but we found several long pedestrian streets with shops, cafes, and restaurants lining both sides. This was a nice departure from the usually ho-hum grayness of the city! After securing a motel (dirt cheap...even in the downtown core, it was $25 for a clean, spacious suite!), we went wandering around and found a free, open-air concert by YB (or Yoon Do Hyun Band ), one of Korea's most famous rock bands!
As you guys know, unless it comes to T-Ara (an all-girl K-pop group), by and large I can't stand the generic and boring genre that is K-Pop. So, to see a true rock band (even if they were a little behind the times by western standards...it was like watching a rock band in the 1980s haha), was a massive treat! They put on a wicked and energetic set...one of the songs complete with drum solo and pyrotechnics!
The next day, we got going nice and late (thanks to me sleeping in 'till 10:30...amazing what a set of curtains will do...I'm so used to the morning Sun waking me up!), grabbed some breakfast on the go (fresh melon smoothie and strawberry waffle together for the equivalent of $1.70!!!)...
...and headed for the second planned destination of our trip: Soswaewon Garden. It was constructed about 500 years ago by a scholar who had had enough of the system (after his friend was exiled and killed) and wanted to escape into the middle of nowhere and live out his days in peace.
On paper, the place sounded amazing. So, we hopped on a bus to get downtown, then another to get us out to Soswaewon (the latter one being an hour-long bus ride). We got there, grabbed some tickets, walked in...and exclaimed: "Ummm....Really? This is it??"
The "garden" was extremely underwhelming and disappointing. Sure, it's cool that some guy built it 500 years ago - even if pretty much nothing of the original structures remain as it was no more immune to Japanese invaders and their torches than most other Korean buildings of historical significance -, but it was less a garden and more just...well, just a couple of buildings and some stone walls and stairs in the middle of the forest. I couldn't see anything in this so-called garden that looked like it didn't just grow there anyways. Except for the koi fish pond, which was so murky you couldn't see more than 1 cm below the surface. I'm pretty sure I saw one of the fish trying to jump out to end his miserable life.
Neat...but does not live up to all the hype:
On the way back, we grabbed some corn on the cob from a street vendor and for a moment wondered whether she had accidentally sold us props from the nearest Ikea store. The taste and texture were dead-ringers for cheap plastic.
We waited an hour and 15 minutes for a bus that was supposed to run once an hour and then bounced the hour back to Gwangju. I don't regret going to Soswaewon, but I certainly won't be returning anytime soon!
One city I can always guarantee I'll be back to, however, is Busan! Tune in tomorrow for another entry on Busan and Geoje Island!!
Cheerio,
T
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