Stair Master Deluxe

So the past 2 weeks have definitely been interesting. I came down with the flu and have honestly never felt so sick in my life! I thought I was going to die! Being sick definitely made me miss home and so it put me in a mood. I was beginning to get really irritable and just wanted to go home. I thought maybe I was finally entering the culture shock stage of living in a new country but I'm out of it now, now that I am feeling better! I missed quite a few days of work because the school didn't want me to be near the children but it gave me plenty of time to rest up for the trip I had planned for this past weekend!

A couple of friends and I signed up through Adventure Korea to go to Mt. Seoraksan which is in my province. We left Seoul on Saturday morning and started making our way to the park. We stopped for lunch and then headed straight to the park. Now, I knew this hike was going to be somewhat challenging but I didn't realize it would be like entering the stair master hell. Miranda and I ended up hiking it together because everyone split up and hiked at their own pace. It was nice hanging out with her and doing this hike together because we encouraged each other the whole way! When we started off, the path was nothing but rocks and so we knew we were in for a long hike. We got about halfway up when we saw the stairs. We wanted to cry but we knew we had to finish the hike because we didn't start it for nothing! We made it up the rocks on our hands and knees and finally reached the stairs. It was seriously like climbing a ladder. It was so steep!! There were approximately one million stairs (ok maybe not that many but it sure felt like!) And I was pretty sure my knees were going to fall off. It was so high up and so steep that I began to panic a little bit. My heart started beating fast and I started to shake but I knew I had to keep going because it would be worth it in the end.

We finally made it to the top!The view was amazing and we got to take our picture with the Korean Flag. We couldn't stay long because we had to get back down to the bottom before the bus left. We began our trip back down and it was just as scary going down and it was going up! Once we got down the stairs and rocks it was a much easier hike! After 4 hours of hiking, we met up with Garry and Stewart at the base. We sat and talked about our hike some and then got on the bus and headed for the hotel. Everyone on the bus fell asleep. It was pretty funny! Once we reached the hotel we got cleaned up and went to dinner. We had Korean BBQ which was delicious as usual. After dinner we went to pretty much the fanciest Noraebang ever! We stayed there for a bit but Miranda and I were so tired we ended up leaving before everyone else. The next morning we went on another hike. We were told it was a nice leisurely walk but obviously whoever said that was not in pain from the hike the day before. Yes, usually this hike would have been considered easy but I could hardly move! After an hour and a half we finally finished that hike. We went for lunch and then packed up our things and headed back to Seoul.

It was a great weekend of hiking and hanging out with friends! I must say though, the next time I head to Mt. Seoraksan I will definitely be taking the cable car up the mountain!

xoxo,

Whitney