Wednesday, October 30, 2013

THE HAEPARANG TRAIL

Karen Tan (seen here holding a smart phone) invited my wife and I to join her and a group of friends for a hiking trip to South Korera.  We began our little adventure as soon as we landed in Incheon on 18th Oct 2013.  This picture was taken en route towards Yeongdeok during our hot-plate dinner. 

It was the beginning of snow crab season.  Thus, n
o prize for guessing the main dish for our breakfast the next morning.

Here's the real deal - stretching along the east coast of the Korea peninsula, the Haeparang Trail offers a wonderful walking experience.

There are many photo opportunities along the trail. 


As one would have noticed, I also took the opportunity to practise taking selfies.

Justin Man is funny and he often served as my selfie practice target.

Our niece, Samantha Tan (3rd from left), was the 'baby' of the group while Dr Chin (age 72, with pink scarf) played the fatherly role.


The trail a.k.a. the Blue Road (blueroad.yd.go.kr) has many courses: from sandy beaches and gravel tracks to paved paths and boardwalks. These courses are pitched at various levels of difficulty. We even walked along the road on certain intersections.

On 21st Oct, we drove up north to Seoraksan to continue our hiking experience.  It was colder there but we were timely to witness the changing colours of the leaves.


During the hiking days, we stayed in the peaceful countryside among the local folks. One morning, I was woken by the march of the military troops outside our pension - a reminder that we were rather close to DMZ! 

Overall, it was a great hiking experience for Irene and myself. We thank Karen Tan and her 'kakis' for accommodating us during the trip.  And we sincerely look forward to the next outing with our new friends.