VACATION: Korean Islands

Angela, Charissa and I planned a 3-day island-hopping trip for our last term break. We all packed light; we took minimal toiletries because we promised not to shower. Two expedition members washed and hung underwear and only took small daypacks. The other individual carried extra food and camera gear in a larger pack.

It was crazy from the beginning. I made an extra bathroom run in the subway station and missed the train. Charissa got stuck in the subway door as it was closing, so she jumped back to save herself. Away sailed Angela, leaving Charissa shaking her head in disbelief. I found Charissa, and eventually the three of us were reunited near the end of a long ride.

Once we got to the ferry terminal, we found out that all the ferries were cancelled because of high winds. That was the end of those plans. We decided to take a bus to another island that is connected to the mainland by a bridge, chose a fishing village on the far side of the island for our base, and walked around town until we found a hotel overlooking the bay.

We dropped our packs in the room and went for a walk along the beach to take pictures. Later we met a man who wanted to be our friend. He wanted to take us for a ride in his boat, but he couldn’t even find our island on a nautical map. Even after Charissa pointed out the island to him, he was still confused. Alcohol is not always helpful.

Before the evening was over, he had angrily taken us to the police station. The officers asked for ID, but Charissa and I didn’t have our alien cards or passports, so I changed the subject. Also, Charissa's visa had expired. Oops. They asked again, and I acted confused and changed the topic one more time.

After a few more questions, they saw that the local was the problem, not us. A young officer took us to the door and said haltingly, “Go quickly. He is so drunken.”

We hurried down the main road through town, got some rice, seaweed and strawberries and headed back to our room. We fastened both locks.

The next morning we woke to beautiful sunshine. We wanted to catch a ferry to a small island we could see from our third floor room, but we had one fear—the drunk guy. To reduce the risk of meeting him again, we took a meandering half-moon shaped detour around the edge of the town. Fear is not the best motivator, but that 30 minute walk was just grand. Tourist organizations don’t really promote this particular path, and we think that is the way it should be.

Once on the new island, we skipped the bus and just began walking. We were looking for a mountain trail that divided the island. After a couple kilometers and a little bouldering, we found the trailhead and started gaining elevation. Nine kilometers later we had reached our goal, a Buddhist temple at the other end of the small range.

By the time we finished supper just outside of the temple grounds, there were no more buses back to the ferry terminal. We started walking, but we knew it would be impossible to get back in time to catch the last ferry to our island. After just a few minutes, Charissa flagged someone down. A young couple let us squeeze into the back of their sports car to hitch a ride back to the terminal.

For our last day, we took a bus back to the main city on the island. We rented a mountain bike and a tandem and went exploring. We took pictures at several fortresses that had been used to battle French, Japanese and U.S. ships in the 1800s.

By the end of the 18 kilometer ride we were pretty beat. Three days of exploring, hiking, and biking were more than our bodies were used to. Come on, we’re all writers.

Two more hours on a bus, plus another long subway ride brought us home Saturday night. We had perfect weather for our whole trip, but as we left the subway station, it started to pour. We dropped off our film (Angela=1 roll, Charissa=1 roll, Jeff=6 rolls), and headed to a DVD room. We rented a Korean film with English subtitles to finish off the vacation. It was about a fictitious village where a U.S. soldier, three North Korean soldiers, and two South Korean soldiers ended up living together during the Korean War. We laughed. We cried. We shook our heads in amazement.

We slept well that night.