By day three of my Chuseok vacation, I had settled into a rather nice routine of waking up, doing nothing, writing stuff, and then going back to bed. The weather certainly helped a lot with this, what with the apoclyptic rains we had on Tuesday, and then everything being closed on the Wednesday. By Thursday, my biggest plan was grocery shopping.
My co-worker / neighbour had other plans for me.
They managed to convince me to go to Suwon with them, to go see Hwaseong Fortress. Being the history major that I am, and being quite bored if I were to be honest with myself, I agreed to go along.
I was really surprised, first off, at Suwon itself. The downtown centre was really cool, and the station was huge! I tend to forget that Suwon is actually the capital of Gyeonggi province, the province I live in, because… I don’t know why. I always associate Gyeonggi as just the big suburban area for Seoul (which it is, lets be honest) and that it all falls under the control of Seoul. It’s like letting Toronto be its own province.
But I digress.
After stumbling around with the buses (me and my copy of Lonely Planet Korean Phrasebook save the day once again!) we managed to get to Paldalmun, the south gate, where most begin their epic hike.
I just want to note here that nowhere was I told that I would have to climb a mountain that day. LUCKILY, I WORE PRACTICAL SHOES. However, I am not one of those people who goes for a walk just for the hell of it. I’m not a recreational hiker or anything. So when I saw this staircase that looked like it very well may lead to heaven, it went that high… Well, I whimpered and shut up because nobody likes a whiner.
You’ll be pleased to know I did survive. Albeit winded and wanting to die, but I got to the top. And really, that’s all that matters.
It was worth it, the view from the top was gorgeous. Once we got the worst of the climb done, the rest of the walk was really quite nice. Long, (almost 6km long!) but there were some amazing photo opportunities, and fun tourist moments. At the top of the hill, there is a giant bell. For 1000W (about $1), you and a friend can ring the bell three times. The first time is to honour your family and relatives. The second is to bring good health and fortune to your family, and the third is to bring you luck in achieving your dreams and goals. I really enjoyed ringing the bell.
According to our guide book, the walk around the entire fortress should take about two hours. For us, it took at least three hours. Granted, we stopped a LOT taking photos and goofing about in the different towers around the fort. There were some really nice ones along the walk, where you could take off your shoes and relax, which was really nice and appreciated.
Despite the steep hill, and the way my legs are aching the day after, I really would recommend this trip to anyone who is in Korea and wants to really enjoy the fall weather we’re getting a hint of. In the coming weeks, this hike should be spectacular, with the tree covered mountains changing colours and the air becoming more cool and crisp. It was a fantastic way of getting to see the city, without actually having to deal with the whole city atmosphere of sidewalks and traffic and things being crowded. Every step was eye catching and gorgeous, and if my flickr account is any indication, quite photogenic as well. Feel free to check out my Hwaseong Fortress Set, or watch the slideshow on Flickr.