We had less than 48 hours of free time when we didn't have to be in Seoul. Mr. Happy and I decided to take a road trip.
A Korean American friend of mine insisted that we visit Geyongjo. She said it was her all time favorite place in Korea. A former capital of ancient Silla, you can visit the temple ruins in a beautiful and peaceful setting.
I got the bus schedule and after Mr. Happy's last meeting of the day we headed to Geyonjo. It was an easy bus ride and we arrived in town around 3pm. I hadn't been able to book a hotel on line so we wandered around a bit before stumbling on to the Q Motel. It was nice and clean and had a PC in the room and a whirlpool bath. The hallways were extraordinarily dark and illuminated by strange ladybug lamps. It was ok.
Because it was late in the day and raining outside, we figured we'd save the ruins until the morning and have a wander about town.
Hmmm.
Not the quaint town I'd been imagining.
Mr. Happy kept asking, "This is her
favorite city?"
I chalked it up to the rainy weather and felt that we'd be in for a treat when the sun came up.
We found a restaurant for dinner. There was no English menu, or picture menu, or people that spoke English. So the waitress said a few words and we nodded. Whatever she wanted to bring us.
Mr. Happy was skeptical and tried to translate what she was saying in our Lonely Planet.
He was convinced that she was bringing us cow's knee bone.
Frankly, that seemed impossible and I couldn't imagine that would be a very big meal.
At any rate, she brought us
something and it was delicious!
Sorry no picture of the actual stew that came. I liked it!
Mr. Happy just picked. So after the meal he wanted to hunt down something new. The first restaurant we stopped at had some English on the menu. They offered something called Loach Soup both with and without green onion. Mr. Happy wasn't having Loach Soup.
The next place had a menu with pictures! And that was just up our alley. Without hesitation Mr. Happy ordered a scallion pancake.
It was massive!
Even though I had a stomach full of cow's knee bones, I couldn't resist a slice or two.
After that we called it a night as we wanted to be up early to take in the sites.
The next morning I consulted my map and discovered.
We were in Gongjo.
We were supposed to be in Geyong jo.
That is the place my friend recommended. Her favorite place in Korea. Not Gongjo.
Hmmm.
Well, it's part of the adventure of traveling and quite frankly it renewed our faith in our friend's suggestions. Gongjo still had a fort to visit so we bundled up and headed across the river to take a look at the fort.
Along the way, I stopped and took a photo with this guy.
I wasn't sure what he was supposed to be.
Luckily, they had a photo of what it was.
Still.
No. Idea.
On to the fort.
I really couldn't decide what was my favorite part. It might have been this.
But this was very good.
And I can't forget this.
Totally worthwhile!
Actually there were one or two more interesting buildings.
And this story was pretty funny!
Seriously? The guy with the food's name is Mr. Im Famished? I think someone is having a laugh.
In the end, we packed it in early and caught a bus back to Seoul. We got back early enough to take in a show. We watched Nanta which a lot of people recommended and it played on Broadway a year or so ago. It was a fun show. Maybe a little pricy for what it was, but if you check online you can find some discounts on the tickets.
