Kang-Chun-Sa

There were rows and rows of tour buses ready to whisk us away to all kinds of places we may wish to visit in Korea.
We had to stop and listen to an hour long sales pitch on how ginseng cures all.  The asking price was  around $300 for a personal size and $600 for a family size package.

It was good to see the scenery change so soon after we left Seoul; from the hectic city congested with people and buildings, to the peaceful  country side.  We encountered many  scenes of farmers harvesting the crops; beautiful golden color of rice fields.

The entrance to Mt. Kang-Chun National Park.  It is dubbed Ho-Nam province's Mt. Kum-Gang, the most beautiful and famous mountain of Korea.

Within a half mile of the entrance was this water fall.  The main trail in the park was covered with fine gold colored sand natural to this mountain.  They said it was therapeutic to walk on it with bare feet.   There was a special place to wash your feet after the walk.

Korean Tour Bus

After a full day of meeting up with our relatives that we hadn't seen for a long time, we wanted to see more of Korea other than Seoul. Now how do you see and experience Korea? My vague notion of seeing Korea, prior to coming here, was to travel either by train,  bus, or car to different places; stay in the local inns, and sample their cuisines. My sister showed us a different option.

In the local papers, there were tons of advertisements for tours that start in Seoul and go to just about anywhere in Korea. They are usually one or two-day trips, and with fall colors soon approaching, this was peak season. As a starter, we chose the one that went to Kangchunsa, which is located in northern Cholla province about 200 miles south of Seoul. This was an all day affair that started 7:00 in the morning and returned 9:30 the same evening. It was highlighted by a visit to a beautiful national park, Buddhist temple, and a bamboo forest. The tour even included breakfast, lunch, and dinner and all this for a ridiculous cost of only $15 USD per person. Later we learned that this was only possible by being held hostages to some sales pitch.

What I ended up getting was even a bigger treat; on board were 23 females and only four males. First, the female tour guide immediately wanted to pair me up with another female tourist, when she saw that I was seated alone behind Joanne and my sister. Joanne promptly got up and warned the tour guide that I was not alone. I didn’t even get to utter a single word – whatever chance I had was immediately dashed.

The tour started out sedately and quietly enough. However, by the time we headed back, the bus turned into a traveling disco. With Korean dance music blaring loudly, pretty and scantily clad girls dancing in a video on wide screen TV, and rainbow colored interior lights lining the ceiling and floor, the women showed no inhibitions in filling the aisle in wild gyrations. Since the microphone happened to be right above me, I had the best view of the main “dancing queen”, who was shaking everything she had. My best move in a situation like that was to stay glued to the seat and not participate.