Hiking the loop to Gwanggyosan from the Reservoir
Title is a humble brag, but compared to the last 3 hikes, this one was very civilised and easy. It was still long, about 16km in total including an unexpected detour at the end, but it was also never very steep, and when it was, there were stairs. Most of the way had hessian carpets, there were plenty of signs, public toilets, US military bases, and plenty of other people.
Probably a few too many people, they did thin out nearer the top as there are shorter loops to take, but I decided to stick with the purple sign posts that marked the official city endorsed trail
On a weekday, the people you do see are housewives and retired folks. Housewives talk on their phone the entire way, retired folks carry a radio with some sort of talkback call in program going on warning everyone to be on the lookout for foreigners with monkey pox.
There is one other group you might see, the dreaded company team bonding exercise. These are the worst people to run into on the trail. There is normally a fat guy vomiting who has never done anything like this before. They travel in a group of 50 or so to get in your way, and because they are in a big group, they have a lot of courage to talk shit about you as you go past. In my opinion, any group of hikers greater than 2 people is annoying, cut it out.
Now, with all that out of the way, it was an excellent hike, probably my most enjoyable but least challenging of the trip so far. There was plenty of nice views and nature, and still a few nice bits left to climb up without stairs. 5 out of 5, can recommend, would do again.
Hiking provisions. Whatever water is cheapest, heated up iced coffee (I drink that before starting), banana (I eat that before starting), muesli bars. I do not need any of your fancy gel pouches and $5 each protein infused Gummi bears.
The hike start point has a few convenience stores and a very convenient bus stop. The bus comes very regularly and goes direct to Suwon station. So convenient.
My course starts and ends at this reservoir. If you think back 2 days when I walked around a reservoir, this is the upper reservoir that feeds that lower reservoir. So much talk about reservoir, more later too.
The lower parts of the trail were smooth enough for mountain bikers, ignoring the no bikes allowed warning signs.
There were 2 graves like this. My guess is they are either recently discovered bodies from the war, or soldiers that died on a military training thing of some sort. The grave stones look new, so do the flags. Now that I click on it, they have the logo of the parks authority on the bottom, park rangers who died in the line of duty?
A rocky section of the trail, but note the ropes and garden bed things surrounding the trees. No chance of getting lost today.
Probably the best view of the day, from about half way up. That is part of Suwon.
Another part of Suwon, that is not the way I came up, but you can come up that way. There are enough trails to keep you entertained for a year.
Those two towers I think will be the furthest point I go to today, time will tell (Update, yes, they are behind the ridge in the foreground, but they were my destination at the far end of the loop).
Probably the only choose your adventure section of the trail. This was also the quietest point, ideal for public urination, of which I availed.
Near the deepest point in the mountains, this hut, with a selection of books to read. Pretty cool.
And then you can pump out a few sets. Someone carried this up here.
Very near the top and now it becomes a US army base, with lots of warnings about not taking photos which I ignored... for now. There is a razor wire fence, I have expertly stuck my arm through it for this shot.
View from the top, the green ridge would be the way I go down, the way up is around to the left of this picture.
While messing about here, I noticed a camera turn and look at me, time to move on!
After fleeing the army, it is time for the selfie. Although you can see more army base over my right shoulder.
The way down looked very enticing, and it was excellent.
You very briefly, for about 100m, join this road that goes to part of the army base. It is all fenced in, you cannot just wander all the way down the road.
Instead you get to enjoy this luxuriously wide path.
The steep bits were also nice under foot, no jagged rocks.
Eventually this becomes a plantation of sorts. There are a lot less plantations in Korea than in Japan on the sides of mountains, at least in my experience. My experience is pretty substantial (another brag).
The only dicey bit of the hike was right before the end of the mountain and getting back to the reservoir. Something was wrong here, there's no way you should need to abseil.
But abseil I did... and then I realised the highway overpass is new, and the trail has been moved, and the map is not updated. But wait there's more to come.
After abseiling, I wandered around the reservoir on a boardwalk for a couple of km, wondering why there were no other people. Then I got to here. Path closed, kindly climb back up the side of the mountain thanks. A pretty sizeable detour!
Finally, I came back to the reservoir. Here is the dam wall. I have done dam wall jokes before, so won't bother today.
And then finally, back to where I started, you can see the antennas at the right. The way up is to the right of this photo, the way down is from the antennas, down the ridges to off the left of screen. If you come to Suwon, do this hike.
Eating a formal Korean dinner in Suwon
As threatened, for dinner I went back to the Lotte mega complex near Suwon main station, up to the top level, and then had my pick of every single place because I was there right on 6pm for the senior citizens sitting.
I joke about putting on pants, I wore long pants some other nights too, it is certainly cool enough, and I would have no qualms about going into such a place in my Steve Irwin style shorts anyway, but it seemed apt that I would wear pants for a formal Korean meal.
Other than my meal, which I will gastronomify further below, I wandered the streets, both around the main station, and then the other side of the main road near my hotel, which is located near the Suwon City Hall.
Over the road from me is very busy, and on a Friday night, a lot of Rolls Royce's getting about blowing their horns at pedestrians. Unfortunately this night life area is one where cars are banned at night, unless you are important, at which point pedestrians are expected to move for your lazy rich ass.
I made sure to brush up against every illegally parked fancy car.
Here is a street full of bbq places near the station. I would like to have bbq but it is hard to do as a solo diner. Some of these ones here use hot charcoal, they were not really open yet.
The local doggy day spa. I actually saw this out the bus window earlier, so I was thrilled to go past it again on my walk.
A random street scene with some nice angles, shadows and wires.
I enjoy taking photos directly into the sun.
Nice fire hazard architecture.
To get to my dinner I had to get to the other side of the tracks. I don't think Lotte and AK (the department store on this side) have come to an agreement to make that easy. After going through a car parking building with stream of people doing the same as me, I found a way, but for some reason they have roped off the best spot to enjoy the view.
And here is my dinner. The soup is boiled beef and flavourless seaweed. Then you get all the side dishes (Banchan if I am not mistaken). There is hot and cold Kim Chi, bean sprouts, spinach, some great pickled chilli things, tofu, mushrooms, potato noodles, rice in the metal bowl... all good so far, and fermented sardines. The sardines is the only one I don't eat. But this style of eating as well as hot pot where you leave half of it, is why Korea wastes so much food and had to invent ways to deal with it. Also it is common to get a pair of scissors with your meal here.
Now here I am back near my hotel. Nice sunset street scene.
Bonus street scene.
And for the final pic of the day, a Renault Twizzy. I last saw one of these at the Palace of Versailles in France where the police use them, but here in Korea, normal people buy them and drive them. I doubt you can legally drive them on a road in Australia, which is weird because motorbikes are ok. Oh yeah, tomorrow I go to Daegu.