Well I woke up today with some strange urge to climb a mountain. HMM for a guy with no hiking shoes, map, rope, or hiking partner sounds remarkably idiotic. So without going into to much detail let me entertain you with another "Folly of Robby".
Well it started off quite well, I was walking by the road toward the mountain I chose to climb and a complete stranger picked me up. See being white here automatically makes people want to stare and I guess this guy could stare at me better if he gave me a ride. So, like anybody with a heavy backpack, I hoped in. He drove me right to the start of the hill. Pretty nice guy I suppose. Anyway, I thought this mountain would be a good mountain since it had a lake halfway up and I could do some fishing while I rest my legs. After not getting a bite, well I got bit if that counts, I went on my way towards the summit only after taking note never fish in the middle of hundreds of bees. Only got stung two time on the arm so not too bad. Ok to truely understand the hike you must understand that Korean mountains are straight up, not a slow incline. I quickly realized maybe sticking to the pig trail of a road would be a better idea. So if I passout from being out of shape at least some korean would see and maybe help out while he stared. Well the mountain was beautiful and I stumbled onto a temple at the top. Pretty cool place. It was strange because it was when you got up to the temple, it was on a ridge and was about 10 degrees cooler than anywhere else. Smart monks I guess. After taking afew pics and listening to the monks chant, I moved on and up higher into the hills. It was awesome and I started up a trail that followed a stream. I got some good pics and it felt good to be out of the crowded city. The monks got it right living in the hills. Most of the trails I found led to burial sites and since this week is Koreans version of memorial/thanksgiving day, I felt it wasn't a place for a white boy. The burials are strange because they are all perfectly round mounds.
Well I got back, as you can see, and not to bad of shape. The bees were no fun but fishing was nice. My legs ache but I got good excercise so can't really complain. I have learned that it is best to laugh when faced with problems. It makes ya feel better and also makes people think your crazy so they leave you alone. But living in a country that everything is over complicated and in a foreign language definitely makes ya finally give up on getting upset and instead just laugh it off. I do like to complain sometimes, but only out of sarcasm.
I must mention my friend Chris, found and shared a site with me online that allows you to download a player that shows live feeds of TV in the US. ESPN,FOX,CBS,ABC, all the good channels for free so I know get to watch American TV. Its crazy how little things can cheer me up. As I hiked and fished I had BBQ sunflower seeds, my family sent me and was loving it. Being over here opens your eyes to stuff like that.
The countdown to leaving is 111 days and 9 hours. I can't wait to see everyone again. As usual, hope all back home are doing good and see ya soon.
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