"Hiking" with the 500 000 of my closest friends

Yes, I did put "the" in on purpose. Sentances are different here, they don't use a lot of the little words that we do like "the" "a" "he/she/it" so they often put them in in weird places, and leave them out where they are supposed to be. I saw 2 signs today, "The 200 persons being the maximum number allowed on the girder bridge." The second one also warned, "no passing the children, the elderly, the weak or the drunken." Because it's possible, they sell beer everywhere, I'm not kidding, everywhere.

We went on an excursion today to Daedun mountain to see some fall colours. They aren't in full force yet, but any excuse for a hike is a good one, right?! The minute we stepped off the bus, I smelled something that will forever be embedded in my mind: the unmistakeable aroma of roasting silkworm larvae. I have never smelled it before, but somehow I knew, with that first whiff, that nothing else could possibly smell like that. Bondeggi. They should have a commercial like Lay's, only instead of "bet you can't eat just one", take out the 'just'. They have HUGE pans of it, and it's enough to make your stomach turn 4 times over! And they LOVE it!! We probably passed 7 bondeggi places, even up on the mountain. My favourite was the one who had bondeggi AND fried grasshoppers, and we got to wait in line beside them to climb up one of the girder bridges (the 60 person was the maximum on that one). All served up in little paper cups, you just eat them with a toothpick, just smack away. Ugg. I'm glad I didn't have a hangover!

Hiking here is almost exactly the same as at home. Except the paved path wide enough for 2 cars to drive up. And the roasting insects everywhere. And the MILLIONS of people around. And the kiosks set up all up the mountain selling beer and soju (hence why it's entire viable to have "the drunken" on the bridges) and various snack foods. And the giant steel alien-space-ship-looking monument at the top. And the hand railings all the way up. And the stairs. And the steel girder bridges. And did I mention the MILLIONS of people? But other than that, exactly the same. At least I didn't see anyone in heels today. I was going to wear mine, but I'm glad I didn't... they would have gotten caught in the stairs.

So not everyone enjoys hiking as much as I do, which I can appreciate. I think the exact line was "Why walk uphill for an hour of boring when you can take a cable car for 6 minutes and get right to the good stuff?" So we took a cable car up the majority of the mountain. It's a fairly easy mountain to get to, so I'll probably go back again, then I can check out the whole path up. The cable car ride was good, good views, and no one there had bondeggi. But you get to the top, and immediately climb up some incredibly steep stairs, up to a little flat bit with a monk continuously beating on a wooden bell. To the right we go, where there is the first bridge, about 70 m long, linking 2 small peaks across a huge valley! Aaron did not participate in this, as he and heights don't get along. Great views, though. It was a fairly clear day, by Korean standards. We then scrambled up some rock stairs, then more metal stairs (even steeper!), past 2 little cafes, both selling bondeggi and beer. Then there was the other bridge, which was more like suspended stairs, as it also linked 2 rocks. Then a final scramble up some more boulder stairs, past another beer vendor (no larvae this time, shucks) and we reached the space ship at the peak. It was a beautiful view. This whole country is covered in mountains, so it was just peak after peak as far as you could see. It's still looks all green when you see the big picture, but along the trail there was some colour starting to come out, which was also lovely. It was also refreshing to breath some fresh air.

One thing, however, is that you don't go to the mountains here for peace and solitude. It's kind of like walking through downtown at lunch time on a Wednesday, only with hills. The path is literally crawling with people. Picture, if you will, Johnson's Canyon on a summer day, and add the entire population of Calgary. And the top, the fenced in area was packed, all along the railing was packed, on the other side of the railing was packed, and people just line the sides of the trail to have their picnics. And boy do they pack a picnic!! They have whole spreads, all the sides, soups, fish, kimbab, rice, the works! No crackers and cheese for these folkd! They all looked very yummy!

Koreans, though, aren't very shy about letting you know if you're going too slow. "Excuse me" is a phrase that is reserved for more serious situations, which I have not encountered yet, because they just shove you out of the way. No, not a little nudge, or a poke, but a full-on push. Or repeated hard pokes, in the back of your legs. That one was nice, a little 4'9'' ajima (old lady) in a pink blazer, mumbling something (probably "stupid slow oegugin") and giving me a little jab in my hamstring every 20 seconds or so. I wanted to turn around and say "I CAN"T GO ANY FASTER BECAUSE THERE ARE 150 PEOPLE ON THE TRAIL DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME WHO ARE ALL GOING THE SAME SPEED!" but my Korean isn't that good yet, so I just kept repeating "stop pushing me. Stop pushing me. Stop pushing me" to whoever came near. At least no one grabbed my butt, as one old man did to Charlotte. I think he was trying to steady himself, and that was the closest thing around!

I still can't get over how many people are in this country. It's the size of New Brunswick, with the population of Canada plus New York City. I've probably said something like this before, but it never ceases to amaze me! It changes your perspective on everything!

But all in all, it was a good day. You can't complain too much about the mountains, and every outing is a cultural learning experience. And I have renewed my commitement that no insect shall knowingly cross my lips, however I may go back to try some deep fried ginseng.