I guess it was around this point when I decided I was not going to follow the bicycle path anymore. Moving on to the road didn't really pose much difficulties since the white line by the side was spacious enough. Moreover the cars seemed to stay far away ( Maybe I was cycling erratically) Either way, the distance from where i was to the national park wasn't very far. My plan at the national park was simple :
1. To find a place where my bike could be kept safely and away from the weather
2. Establishing a place to pitch my tent
3. Water and a place to cook / shower
Cycling on the country roads ( as they are termed) also let me get used to the road signboards and wean me off the GPS. I had stopped using my GPS the night before since due to lack of wireless, I was cycling on a grey map :)
Stopping by Daiso helped me so much since I realised that I had left something very important back at the guest house- my contact lens as well as the lens solution ! Plus it felt nice to be in an air-conditioned shopping environment so there I was snapping away :) Managed to get contact lens solution here but contact lens would be a separate issue altogether.
I found it easy to navigate through korea using the signboards as they usually showed the road number as well as the distance to the intersection. Like for instance, this one means that 300 m down there is a fork and that turning left leads to Chiaksan mountain. Country roads or roads which bicycles are permitted on are in an oval while expressways are depicted by a shield design. Constantly referring to the tourist map I had for a map to ground confirmation helped tremendously though I didn't hesitate to ask people for directions.
Finally reached Chiaksan National Park Ranger's office and spoke to the park officials. After explaining that I would be camping at the camping ground, I proceeded to repack my stuff. This would be a process which I would eventually be very fast in but for now it took awhile. Items I took out :
1. Clothes and a rain jacket
2. Tent
3. Toiletries
4. Map
5. Trekking shoes
6. Stove and food for 2 nights
Everything else was left in the pannier and kept at the office building :)
The campsite according to the park rangers was about 4 km away and one of them was kind enough to give me a lift all the way up. On the way I passed by what is called an Auto campsite, where vehicles park and the people pitch tents just alongside the vehicle. The auto campsite had a shower but not the place where I was to stay. What I had however was a running stream with cold water :)
As I wandered around looking for place to pitch my tent i was invited to join two korean dudes who were camping as well. We pitched our tents up along the same stretch and proceeded to chill by the stream. It was rather invigorating or rather after awhile I could not feel my feet so the lethargy couldn't be felt
The campsite extends to both sides of the stream and we're on the left side. It was quite interesting that rubbish is carried out and even at the campsite packed into bags for removal. There are no bins around and no one enforcing any rules. Compared to where I come from, this was a sparkling change; that people would just take their own initiative to keep the place clean and tidy.
My 2 korean friends actually drove all the way down from Seoul just to spend a night camping. My simple camping gear on the left ( A pot and the orange gas canister stove was nothing much compared to what they had brought, a full set of pots and pans, a few cups and even an outdoor foldable table.
Cooking was meat based but no oil was used and on enquiring, I found out that they would not want to use oil due to being close to a stream. I was rather impressed that these campers were so environment conscious :)
Going on to dinner, Kimchi was definitely on the menu and I got to try 2 new things, Chippo and Sansachun.
Chippo is like flattened preserved anchovies in an oval shape and is cooked directly over the fire then torn to shreds and eaten. Sansachun is a rather mild, sweet alcoholic beverage.
Washing of utensils is done at a shelter specifically built for this purpose and there are potable and non potable drinking sources. All food waste is first poured through a strainer and this was the only point which looked messy. Besides that the infrastructure in place to maintain the park was really good and clean. Hearing the stream gurgling beside me, I had a fitful night's rest...
1. To find a place where my bike could be kept safely and away from the weather
2. Establishing a place to pitch my tent
3. Water and a place to cook / shower
I found it easy to navigate through korea using the signboards as they usually showed the road number as well as the distance to the intersection. Like for instance, this one means that 300 m down there is a fork and that turning left leads to Chiaksan mountain. Country roads or roads which bicycles are permitted on are in an oval while expressways are depicted by a shield design. Constantly referring to the tourist map I had for a map to ground confirmation helped tremendously though I didn't hesitate to ask people for directions.
1. Clothes and a rain jacket
2. Tent
3. Toiletries
4. Map
5. Trekking shoes
6. Stove and food for 2 nights
Everything else was left in the pannier and kept at the office building :)
The campsite according to the park rangers was about 4 km away and one of them was kind enough to give me a lift all the way up. On the way I passed by what is called an Auto campsite, where vehicles park and the people pitch tents just alongside the vehicle. The auto campsite had a shower but not the place where I was to stay. What I had however was a running stream with cold water :)
Cooking was meat based but no oil was used and on enquiring, I found out that they would not want to use oil due to being close to a stream. I was rather impressed that these campers were so environment conscious :)
Going on to dinner, Kimchi was definitely on the menu and I got to try 2 new things, Chippo and Sansachun.
Chippo is like flattened preserved anchovies in an oval shape and is cooked directly over the fire then torn to shreds and eaten. Sansachun is a rather mild, sweet alcoholic beverage.
 |
| Sansachun ! |
Washing of utensils is done at a shelter specifically built for this purpose and there are potable and non potable drinking sources. All food waste is first poured through a strainer and this was the only point which looked messy. Besides that the infrastructure in place to maintain the park was really good and clean. Hearing the stream gurgling beside me, I had a fitful night's rest...
 |
| Chippo being cooked |
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