Sunrise, Sea and Good Eats at Gangwon-do

After our graduation, my friend and I decided to travel somewhere prior to departing Seoul for good :(

After much deliberation (we had only a few days left), we opted to head to Gangneung-si at Gangwon-do which is not too far from Seoul (3 hours by bus, 5 hours plus by train). We decided on Gangneung-si for one main purpose; that is to catch a sunrise by the beach. I've read about Jeongdongjin from my Student Book and watched coverage about Jeongdongjin on TV, and it seemed like a good place to visit- beach, sun, and away from the hustle and bustle of Seoul.

Took a night train (11.20pm) that departs from Cheongnyangni Station 청량리역 and reached Jeongdongjin station (where the Sunrise Park is) at 4.45am. When we alighted from the train, it was drizzling, so I was worried that we wouldn't be able to catch the sunrise. While we had breakfast and waited for the sun which is expected to rise at 5.45am, the rain got a little heavier. Thankfully, we managed to catch this beauty of nature. 

Mugunghwa train

After what feels like eternity in the train (we couldn't sleep since the train keeps on making arrival announcement, plus there were a handful of noisy passengers), we arrived at Jeongdongjin Station, which is listed the Guinness Book of World Records as the closest railroad station to the sea in the world (and it's true!)

We arrived at 4.45am, one hour ahead of the estimated sunrise time.

Pre-sunrise glow

Although raining, seems like it did not dampen anyone's mood. Professional photographers had their tripods and cameras ready, and like everyone else, waited eagerly for the crack of dawn.



Everyone's waiting

Brighter, but we've yet to see sunrise.

Finally, slightly past 5.45am, sunrise... sunrise! (cues Norah Jones's Sunrise).

Beauty of Nature

Beauty of Nature #2

Watching sunrise for the first time felt amazing. Since sunrise signifies that start of a brand new day, it was as though I'm the first to catch the morning's fresh air. Feels great!

It's sad that sunrise lasted only a few minutes.

Sunrise glow

After sunrise, we hung out briefly at the beach for crisp air and fresh wind. Not very often do we get such privilege.

Although noticibly 'brighter', it's only 6.30am. However, due to rain, gray clouds continued to obscure the otherwise glowing sky.

We left the beach around 7-ish, wanting to explore the surrounding area to see what's where (what to do, where to eat), at the same time, to locate where exactly is our hotel. (Side note: it took us about 40minutes to reach the hotel by foot from the Jeongdongjin beach. Painful. Directions to the hotel was very vague on the WWW and we went round and round looking for it. By the time we found the hotel, we sweated buckets).

However, we were checked-in upon arrival (thankfully, 8-ish in the morning) and upon entering the room, I was happy to see the marvellous seaview! Freshened up and took a short morning nap.

The view from our hotel room. Right opposite our hotel is a on-land cruise themed resort.

View of Jeongdongjin Beach from our room

View from our room



View from our room

After forty winks, we woke up hungry. Along the way back to the train station (that's where the good eats are), we stopped by (the quieter side of) Jeongdongjin Beach, Hourglass Park and Time Museum for photo-taking.

Hourglass Park

Time Museum

Our first meal at Gangneung - Spicy Tofu and Oyster Jiggae

Our first meal at Gangneung - Seafood Pajeon

After lunch, we took a public bus to Hassla Art Museum. We pought admission ticket for their garden, but not the museum. Art confuses me. Heh!

But if you're an artsy-fartsy kinda person, please do. :D 

By the way, here, public buses come once every hour, so it's advisable that you find out about their timing and frequency first so you can plan your itinerary better (if you plan to take the bus). Otherwise, cab makes a good alternative. Depending on your destination, taking cab in a group of three can cost about the same as taking bus per person when you split the cab fare.

After a brief stay at Hassla, we left. While waiting for the bus, there was another heavy downpour. The bus stop is unshaded, two of us were sharing an umbrella (thanks R!) and by then, we probably had waited for about 45 minutes for the bus. And in times of need, the taxis just decided not to show up. By 6pm, we were dragging our feet already due to the excessive walking (uphill to where the hotel is) that morning. Not to mention we were really fatigued due to the lack of sleep.

Before 9pm, we were dead asleep.

*********

Woke up to a sunny day two. The beach pictures turned out better!

We made an early check-out to catch a train to Gangneung Station, which is a 15-minute train ride away from Jeongdongjin Station. Had 75 minutes to kill before the next train arrives, so we proceeded a nearby cafe for morning 'wake-me-up coffee'.

This cafe was a filming spot for one of the couples on 'We Got Married'

Jeongdongjin Beach

Jeongdongjin Beach

Jeongdongjin Beach

Fifteen minutes past noon, we arrived at Gangneung station, and the first thing we did was... food hunting. 

Shortly after exiting the station, we found ourselves seated in small, four-table only Korean 식당 not expecting anything extraordinary, but the  식당 아줌마 (lady boss) proved us wrong. How can something as ordinary as white tofu jiggae and egg roll be so delicious? I conclude, here, good eats are aplenty.

After our satisfying lunch, we went to Gyeongpo Beach which is famous for its sandy beach. Here, all seasport is within your reach- water skiing, parasailing, fly-fishing, and guess what, even bungee jumping. If these are not to your liking, just rent a tube and play in the sea.

Tubes for rent

Or, if you just want to bask in the sun without wetting your body, rent a mat and sit on the beach. People-watching is optional, but it can be fun! ;)

Flying-fish

Hungry? Just call and you'll get Chinese food delivered right to your mat on the beach! We were just lying on our mat, and this one guy just walked over and 'slip' a menu card on the sand. I am ... amazed!

Beach bliss





Needless to say, it was a tiring trip, but it's all fun! Good travel buddy, beautiful beaches, clear blue skies and sunrise by the beach makes the best reason to come here, at least once. :D