Bustling Suwon

After visiting Burak-san, and getting accustomed to my local stomping grounds, I figured I would take a little trip north for the sights in Suwon.  The view as you step outside the metro station:

 

A few views of the region from its highest point.

 

A city of 1.2 million in an area less than half the size of Denver, Suwon is quite the busy little metropolis.  The biggest attraction here is the well preserved Hwaseong fortress.  It covers the high ground in the center of the city and provides fantastic views of the region and a link to the fortress building past of the Joseon Dynasty. The outer wall of the fortress is more that four miles in circumference, which makes for a great hiking tour.  Because all of the land inside the fortress that was not part of the preservation project, this fortress reminded me of a German city that still had its wall preserved, like a jam packed city within a city.  It took me several hours to tour the outer wall, stopping frequently for pictures.  For all of its many remarkable attributes, it has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Just outside the museum, there was this memorial.  Apparently, there was a tradition for the umbilical cords of the kings to be preserved in monuments such as this...not judging, just a bit strange to my standards.

Just outside the main gate is a SPRAWLING market selling fresh produce, dried chillies, meat, seafood, shoes, clothes, plants, perfume, purses, watches, everything you can possibly imagine, by numerous vendors and all prices negotiable.  Tonya would have to be given a homing beacon and wheelbarrow for any visit here, as the maze of merchandise and bargains are unending!

The packaging for this SPAM really spoke to me.  It is done with the same reverence that I think Pap-pap and I place on this delicacy :-)

After passing all of the food stalls my mouth had begun to water, so it was time to grab a little meal.  I stopped in a tiny Korean restaurant, that seemed authentic and unintimidating.  Unfortunately, they did not have a picture menu.  As luck would have it, the gentlemen eating at the corner table took a special interest in helping me order.  It turned out to be a delicious dumpling soup.  Four large vegetable and mushroom filled dumpling in a steaming light broth, accompanied with rice and two types of Kim-chi and a tea pot.  To my surprise, what I thought was a small pot of tea was actually some type of warm rice/water mixture of a lightly thickened consistance and neutral taste. 

As I started to dig into the meal, I noticed that the guys in the corner kept glancing at me and smiling and saying hello.  I figured they were just interested in talking to an American, so I did the polite thing and smiled back and said hello.  Well, I guess I kinda opened up the door at that point, because one gentleman yelled over at me and told me to come to the table....holding a shot glass of sojou (Korean vodka).  It should come as no surprise that I could not refuse, and I made my way over and one shot lend to another, and then a few broken sentences later and they were feeding me from their table and I was pouring them drinks from mine.  I learned that they were five brothers out for their weekend meal together.  I also was introduced to just how incredibly friendly the Korean people are.  The chef came out and joined in our conversation, adding his help with translation, because by this point the brothers were very deep into a day of drinking, and language training was out the door.  As we wrapped things up, they insisted on paying for my meal, as long as I promised to spread the word on how friendly and hospitable they are...and this recounting is part of keeping that promise.  Below is a picture of me with brothers number two and five.  Brother five could speak the most English, and brother two was the most interested in figuring out what some crazy American was doing walking around by himself in Suwon.

After this great experience I made my way through the palace on the fortress grounds, and then on my way back to the Metro, stumbled upon a beautiful temple snuggled up with the bars and stores of the market district.

Fortunately Suwon is only about a 20 min ride from base so I will be back frequently, and next time plan on taking plenty of pictures of the market!

Finding a Stomping Ground

To be honest, I was hoping that the base would be in a more mountainous region of the country, but as luck would have it, the Air Force was able to find one of the few spots in Korea without an abundance of craggy peaks.  Additionally, Korea does not really build "western" style parks, with bike paths and running paths and such.  Instead they go to temples and palaces left by their ancestors to do those kinds of things.

Unfortunately, the area of Songtan is lacking in the important palaces department as well.  I guess the Joseon Kings did not find it as appealing as the 7th AF.  However, after running into dead end after hiking dead end, I ran across a picture online of a pagoda on one Burak-san (-san in Korean means mountain), from the blog of an Airman that served here, and said that this mountain was only about 2 miles from base.

Well,  after frantic searching, and a very pleasant and productive conversation with my Korean librarian Mr. Pae, I was headed off to find this mysteriously difficult to locate mountain. I grabbed a cab to hopefully use his local knowledge, but either my Korean phrase book is not accurate, my pronunciation is terrible, or he just wasn't familiar with the park, because Burak-san signaled very little to him, so I asked for city hall instead, which according to Google maps is somewhat nearby.  With a shout and finger pointing, I signaled to the cabby that I had spotted the trail entrance from the road, thanked him and headed off.  Now, this is not quite Apex Gulch of Mt. Falcon, but the trails on this mountain are very well maintained, and heavily used.  And, despite it being a relatively short mountain, only about 600', there are no switchbacks, which can make for some steep uphill climbs.

For a Sunday Morning, this place was PACKED.  There were hundreds of locals out in their top of the line hiking gear, for a stroll and some exercise.  Unlike in America, it seems that the Koreans take full advantage of the amenities the local government provides for outdoor activities.  There is an entire one mile stretch of the trail basically lined with different exercise stations, including bench presses and some machine that you stand on and twist side to side.  These seemed to be more comical than useful, but it still saw heavy usage.  I was a little surprised by all of the stares I kept getting, though.  I kept thinking "These people live right next to a big US Air Force Base, I shouldn't be that odd to them.", then I realized that it was not ME, but my legs, my very hairy, very un-Korean legs, catching all the stares LOL!

Throughout the trail I kept running into these Cairns.  I am not really sure their significance, but they are obviously a living tradition, and can either be stand alone, such as this one, or be at the base of some "significant" tree.

Also, the Koreans traditionally buried the nobles in modes, such as these, and can be found in varying sizes throughout the country.  In fact I plan to travel to those of a few kings, as I read that they are great parks and even UNESCO World Heritage Locations.

It is a four mile trek to the summit of Burak-san, and makes for a pretty rewarding 12 mile round trip walk from the gates of the base, there and back again.  I am thrilled that I was able to find something like this within easy walking distance of the base.  It is a great exercise location, and also a good way to escape from the concrete jungle of the base, and the neon nightmare that is the downtown area just outside the gates (more to come in this phenomenon).

After my hike I stopped in a place recommended by a cabby for lunch.   There are basically three internationally famous dishes from Korea: Kim-chi, Bulgogi and Bipimbap.  I had a version of Bulgogi (short ribs) here.  It was a very good soup of light vegetable broth, cabbage scallions, mushrooms, dumplings seaweed, and the meat of a short rib.  I have to say, these string-like white mushrooms have come in just about every soup I've had here, and they add a GREAT texture that is a strange combination of crunchy, squishy and chewy.  Also, the dumplings were of rice, in the shape of two small connected mothballs, and were kind of chewy and sticky, mostly tasteless.  I quite liked them.  The ribs of course were very good, tender and succulent, but not very flavorful.  This aspect was added by a green tangy dipping sauce that accompanied the soup.

In addition to every meal, a variety of side dishes are provided.  There is always Kim-chi, which I liked in very small quantities, but am not in love with.  Of a similar flavor but more interesting texture, were the cubes of radish, that were very crisp and spicy, in the upper right corner.  A bit more pungent and less pleasant mouth feel were the dried minnows with peppers, in the center of the table.  Lastly, there was a slightly bitter blanched green served plainly with toasted sesame seeds.  I enjoyed this, but was not swooning for more.  Overall this was a great, filling lunch, and you can't beat the portion or quality for $7.50.  I will definitely be back ;-)

No, Really James?

Well, as you all know I have a distinct penchant for eating.  Well, perhaps bordering on obsession with food.  I mean, what kind of life can I lead without at least one hearty breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, second lunch, mid-afternoon snack, supper, dinner, and bedtime-snack?  Now, I know, there are those who may consider this constant consumption of delectable delights a bit of a health problem and, dare I say, a sign of gluttony.  However, I have come upon  an ancient and fantastic solution to my, debatably unhealthy, taste for copious quantities of butter, cream, and rich (although 100% natural I might add, Mom!!) foods.  This solution also happens to be one of my favorite activities, namely hiking.  Be it urban exploration in unknown cities and parks, historic locations, or more traditional locales such as mountains and camping trails, an obsessive adherence to "walking" provides my body the activity needed to continue my other passion :-) So, what better way to document my extended tour in the Republic of Korea than by sharing with you the sights of my various meandering hikes, and the local fair that sustained me along the way?  Without further introduction, I invite you all to accompany me on my oriental journey upon two sturdy hairy legs and a bottomless iron-kettle stomach.