Day two of the beach trip began rather late due to the previous night’s shenanigans. Everyone ate sandwiches around 11 to prepare for the ascent of the nearby mountain. Sophie, our guide to all things Korean, set her course through the trees and we followed. At first the path was pleasant and we trundled along at a comfortable pace. The trees on this particular island were mostly evergreen, but different from most American pines. These trees didn’t have any green along the trunk. They only sprouted their needles at the very top which created a nice canopy with plenty of open space underneath for us to travel and look around. Soon enough our journey grew more strenuous. Just as many Asian cultures inexplicably eschew the spoon in favor of chopsticks, the islanders who constructed the trail excluded switchbacks from their plans. In other words, we pretty much went straight the f*** up the mountain. There was lots of grumbling along the way and I can’t say that I didn’t whine. However, once we reached the top all our efforts were redeemed in full. From a sweet little pagoda perched on the summit we could see all the way around our little island and deep into the blue yonder. This made for some sweet pictures which should be forthcoming once I strangle them out of Clay.
Today was admittedly a bit of a disappointment. Korea’s strange and inconsistent closing schedule once again foiled our plans. We wanted to check out the War Museum, but found out the bad news only after an hour subway ride. We did however eat some delicious Thai food so it wasn’t a total loss. Clay at this point had to return to work, so the rest of us rode back to the Hwajeong area and strolled around a ritzy outdoor shopping district. I got some more gifts for folks, played a sweet game I’ll call “DJ DJ Revolution”, and lost twice to Mat in Clue at a board game cafe. No worries, I’ll take his ass tonight in basketball when we play 2 on 2.