Ridge Walking and “My Seokjin” (5 June)

Every time we go on an AK trip, we have every intention of waking up early to see the sunrise.  To date, we have yet to get up in time for sunrise and this trip does not change that.  Instead, we wake up in time for breakfast and then rent bikes to go for a 2 hour bike ride around the islands.  We also chat for a while on the concrete stairs at the beach since the tide is in, and we can’t help but reflect on the different tide patterns that Korean beaches seem to have. 

It's an Easy Climb?

All too soon, it’s time to return the bikes and head back to our hotel for a delicious lunch of kimchi jigae.  After lunch, it’s time to hike.  Seokjin assures us that it’s more ridge walking than hiking and that it’ll be easy.  Sold on the fact that I can probably keep up, I soon discover the first kilometre involves an extremely steep incline to get to the actual ridge.  Thinking that I may pass out before I reach the ridge, Catfish and ByungMin point out that I’m not actually the last person and somehow I find myself atop of the ridge.  The ridge walking itself is actually very pleasant but the weather is rather humid this afternoon and the brief respites of shade are insufficient.  I’m starting to wish that I’d chosen to stay on the beach with the roaches but the view from the top is worthwhile as we make our way towards one of the oldest lighthouses in Korea. 

My Seokjin

After a humid afternoon on the ridge, we’re more than ready to cool off in the cold waters before heading back to our room for a refreshing shower.  We’re still hungry after a dinner of fish and side dishes and we decide that we will find the chicken restaurant that everyone has mentioned.  We spend another evening relaxing in front of the same convenience store of the night before, eating fried chicken and just generally chatting, before deciding to call it a night just before midnight.  We’ve no sooner changed and got into bed when ByungMin phones Catfish to tell her, “My Seokjin wants you to come drink.”  I wish her fun as I assume that only she has been invited down.  She barely makes it downstairs before I hear Seokjin say something to her and I hear her calling me down.  A few seconds later, she’s back in the room telling me that she’s been told to fetch me to drink and, as I dress, I can’t help but realise that this is going to be a long night of drinking with the boys and I’m right:  We don’t get back to bed until 2:00am when we simply pass out much to our roommates’ disgust.