Today I returned to the hidden temple/World Heritage Sight with my new British friend Chloe.
It turns out that Chloe lives two buildings over and we met after work to hike! We both wore our grubbiest sweats and looked disgusting which is a major no-no in appearance obsessed Korea. Being foreign attracts enough attention as it is, but being foreign and disgusting brings on a whole new level of staring from the locals. We both had long days and were beyond caring.
We bought coffees(Chloe showed me a local Dunkin Donuts!) and began our fun, gossip-filled hike. Mostly we talked about our experiences in Korea thus far and what we liked(mostly everything) and haven't liked(being stared at, the obsession with beauty, corporal punishment etc) so far. The temple is/was truly amazing and we noticed from our mid-hike view that there is another temple atop a nearby mountain. We're determined to hike to it this weekend. Another interesting and odd thing about Korean hiking trails is that each plateau is marked by work out equipment. Outdoor gyms in a natural surrounding.... It's very strange.
After we watched the sunset we went out for drinks at a bar near my house, that was oddly decorated with Confederate flags. We have no idea why these flags lined the walls, and because we were tired and the drinks were cheap we voted against asking any questions.The owner spoke some English(truly an amazing thing in our neighborhood) and we tried a popular local drink Soju(undistilled sweet potatoe vodka) and mixed it with sparkling grape juice. It was tasty.
More tomorrow!
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