Trail Magic in South Korea: Hiking-Related Disasters Averted

Trail magic in South Korea is just like these magically delicate flowers at Seoraksan Park!

There are times when stuff happens, and there are times when stuff happens. Thanks to trail magic in South Korea, this story’s not about hiking-related disasters. Trail Magic in South Korea: Getting To and From a Park Near Seoul In July, I went on a hiking trip which got totally messed up. I woke up early and took […]

Hiking With a Stranger, or Not: It Really Is a Small World

Hiking with a stranger led to this peak at Gajisan, where a marker indicates the altitude.

Yep, I went hiking with a stranger again… You see, I’ve always said I like talking to old men, and old men love me. They always befriend me, take care of me. In April, I went on a day hike to Gaji Mountain and made a friend on the bus en route there. Mr. Kim asked me to […]

A Wolchulsan Hike Gone Really Right!

Red suspension bridge crossing a chasm high up in the mountains on a Wolchulsan hike.

Lately strangers have been showing their kindness more than ever, especially when I went hiking with fellow CouchSurfer Josiah a few weeks ago. This is a story of a Wolchulsan hike gone really right. Wolchulsan Hike Transportation Challenges Frequent hiking partners, this time we were trying to get to Yeongam near Gwangju for a Wolchulsan hike, and we’d […]

Good Luck in Busan: Public Transportation Crisis Solved

Inside a Busan subway station, on the waiting platform...

I’m generally a lucky person. Only a few days ago, I had some good luck in Busan. I somehow managed to lose my hanaro card on Saturday (a discount bus card). Right, this isn’t the good luck part yet, I’m coming to that. Lol. Good Luck In Busan On the Subway I tried to buy a new hanaro […]

The Kindness of Strangers in South Korea: Language Barriers Notwithstanding

The kindness of strangers in South Korea saved me after hiking Seonunsan, where I photographed this lovely landscape.

The kindness of strangers in South Korea isn’t always as overt as in other countries in which I’ve travelled. I’ve said before that I’ve been laughed at or rudely shunned when asking for help. This isn’t always the case. I think Koreans are eager to help, but often intimidated by the language barrier, which, frankly, is bigger than […]

Bus Ride Near JeonJu: Confucius Says, Read Not Thy Book When Interesting Old Men Are By

If the old man from that bus ride near Jeonju had seen this crowd of hikers gathered around a vendor's cart on a mountain peak, he wouldn't have worried about me hiking alone.

I met an old man once on a bus ride near Jeonju; I was going hiking. The man was 80 years old and really wanted to talk to me. I don’t know if it was just to practice his English or because he was curious about me, but he wouldn’t let me read my book. That’s ok, it […]

Bus Ride From Puerto Maldonado to Cusco

The view of the area surrounding Puerto Maldonado was very similar to the views on the earlier part of the bus ride from Puerto Maldonado to Cusco.

I left Puerto on Sunday afternoon at 2 o’clock. The bus ride from Puerto Maldonado to Cusco was supposed to last 18 hours, but we were stopped a few times: once because the road was flooded, once because a bus ahead of us had mechanical problems in a flooded area, and once because I-don’t-know-why. Even though it’s only […]

Titicaca: Relaxing and Hiking in Copacabana

Cerro Calvario from Kusijata (the hiking part of relaxing and hiking in Copacabana).

The afternoon of the day after our return to Cusco, I met up with Brunold, Frank, and Anne, my Inca Trail to Machu Picchu hiking partners, for farewell drinks, then I was off to bed by 9:30nine-thirty because my bus from Cusco to Puno was at 5:30five-thirty the next morning. It was my intention to do some relaxing […]

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