I went on a train journey. It had three stops. I took lots of pictures.
It was a mugunghwa train (second class), but there was quite a bit of room and the seats tilted back a lot. Somehow it felt more spacious than British trains. We departed Seoul at 11.40pm on friday 4th and journeyed east. I was the only non-Korean on the train tour. Luckily I had my friend Sujin to help me out. Everyone was pretty noisy, cracking open the alcohol and eating picnics – there were entire extended families that met up on the train!
Our first stop at 6.20am was Jeongdongjin, a resort on the east coast. It’s the location of a tv drama ‘The Sand Clock’ and is also known for its spectacular sunrises – the station itself was right on the beach and is known as ‘Sunrise Station’! We grabbed a hearty fish soup for breakfast.
It was very crowded because everyone was trying to eat before the sunrise. Ajummas (older women) were everywhere, doing their beauty regime as if they were in front of a mirror back home not in the middle of a Korean greasy spoon! [It's something strange I've observed, as Koreans are so proud of looking smart yet they won't think anything of beautifying themselves in public - including squeezing spots and tweezing nose hair!]
We gulped down our soup and headed to the beach. You’d think that no one had ever seen a sunrise before (which is a little strange as this is the Land of the Morning Calm). The place was heaving with people taking pictures.
It was pretty, but I’ve seen better. Actually, it looked more spectacular in the photos.
I guess I just didn’t fall for the twee romance of the place. Sujin was very excited as she’d never seen a proper sunrise due to cloud cover every time she’s been here before. We bought obligatory souvenirs in the form of mobile phone decorations; all the stalls were selling them in ‘couple sets’ for lovers, but we found a lady who let us choose our own and carve our names on the back. I couldn’t believe that a man would be seen anywhere near a heart-shaped piece of plastic decorated with flowers and crystals, let alone hang it from his mobile! But then I remembered I was in Korea.
Back on the train at 9am, we continued the journey through spectacular scenery. Unfortunately, I slept through most of it (a combination of the motion of the train, the previous night’s Korean gibbering and my hectic new work schedule meant I fell asleep almost the instant I sat down). But when I awoke I did see a very strange sight.
I couldn’t figure out what all the static white foam was doing on the water. And then I awoke a bit more and realised it was ice! Bizarrely, there was no sign of snow or ice on the land. It didn’t even feel that cold outside when we reached our second stop at Sengbu in the Buryeong Valley. But check out this frozen (mini) waterfall.
Underneath the thick ice the water was gushing. We found a hole and decided to put our hands in. As expected, it was COLD!
We had bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables), tofu, and soups for lunch in a tent set up for cooking.
There was basically nothing at this train station except the tents serving food/selling freshly foraged herbs and a frozen bit of water.
However, look closer and see how much fun everyone was having.
I was gutted as we only had an hour here. Not long enough to go exploring in the woods around us. But it was back on the drowse-inducing train and onto the third stop at Punggi and a retail ginseng market.
It’s a small town with not much except ginseng. Well, ginseng and a funny photo opportunity.
I bought some ginseng tea (in bulk) and soap. Sujin bargained the price down for me. The market lady said she liked me as soon as she saw me so she’d give me an extra discount. She even threw in a free bag of ginseng cookies (which looked alarmingly like dog biscuits, but actually tasted pretty good – I wish I’d bought more of them instead of the tea which is now stinking out my apartment!).
I managed to stay awake for a bit during the return journey and enjoyed the industrial scenery as the train sped by.
It was soon dark though and we arrived back in Seoul at 7.40pm on Saturday 5th. And that was the end of my 3 stop train journey.
But I have to add this video which I took in Homever department store that evening when I went to buy a heater. Watch for the poor sleepy Russian hamster in the top right corner which kept jerking awake as the crazy white one ran into it.
