one down, eleven to go!

According to the tourism literature, Ulsan has 12 scenic sights that every tourist MUST see. So, I have decided it is my mission to see all 12 scenic sights by the end of my contract. That's one scenic sight a month. I'm a bit behind schedule, as I finially made it to my first one yesterday afternoon. (I thought I'd been to one earlier, the black pebble beach at jeongja coast, but it turns out I was actually at sinmyeong coast...).

Gigi (the mountain bike) and I headed out to Dong-gu, where the Daewangam Songnim (pine forest) is located... it's about 15km south of my place, if you don't get lost. The pine forest was absolutely beautiful, and since I was taking my photos during the magic hour, they are all pretty darned good. (I will not subject you to all 70 photos that I took). Needless to say, in the middle of this heavily industrialized coast, (hyundai heavy industries - one of the most major shipbuilding yards in the world, with the biggest cranes EVER - actually kind of surrounds the pine forest, if you look at a map), there is a breathtaking pine forest. No, not breathtaking because of the pollution. Because of its beauty. Before we get to the beauty, Hyundai heavy industries, which I biked by for, oh, say a kilometer or two (at least).


Here's the actual proof that I made it to one of the 12 scenic sights of Ulsan - and I'm not just faking these shots or something! This sign essentially says that this was an important area in the Silla dynasty, and that kings would spend quality time hanging out here. Also, that the view from the point is the second best view of the East Sea in Korea. (it did not say who ranked it as the second best)


Now, before actually getting to this sign, I went through this small little area of food kiosks and super old-school cheesy fall-fair type stuff, like what's in this photo:


okee, time to see the beoootiful pine forest and the sea! (and hyundai heavy industries - a different campus than in the photograph above)



and trees, trees, trees!


After (b/h)iking through the forest for a bit, I came upon this classic (and huge!) example of the "workout stations" that are everywhere here in Korea.


This stuff all looks very bizarro when you first happen upon it, but it's SO much fun! (I am forbidden to use any of this stuff though - a lot of it is flexibility stuff so because my joints are pretty loose and hyperflexible, if I use it, weird things happen - have happened - like I hyperextend my elbows - something I do sometimes when I bike, too, believe it or not! - or my knee gets really slippery and slidey). Here's a shot of Liz and Chris using one, when we were hiking up a mountain:


The views were absolutely amazing from the pine forest! And the rocks were fascinating, so smooth, and dotted with people fishing (I don't know that I'd trust any fish caught that close to the Hyundai plants but whatever).

(me on the bridge, with Gigi) - did I mention that everyone who cycles here wears pretty hi-tech cycling clothes with really sweet gear? It's really funny, my first time on the trail, I was so impressed that there were all these seemingly hardcore cyclists, and there's me in my skirt and t-shirt flying by them, leaving many, many baffled Korean cyclists in my dust. Apparently, fashion is everything here, when cycling!


and one shot of the endless horizon...


Anyways, so on my way home, I kind of got a bit lost, and turned what was a 30 km ride into something like a 40 km ride. Actually, I'm not sure how long the ride was supposed to be, or how long it ended up being. It may have been closer to 50km? But I'm in pretty bad shape right now, cycling-wise, so I can't judge by the time it takes me... sigh.

So, when was busy getting lost, I did find a foreigners bar in an area called Bangeogin - all the foreigners in that 'hood are not teachers, but Hyundai employees, or workers sent by other multi-nationals to work at Hyundai's many many operations in Dong-gu. It's kind of fun, because they're all really nice men who speak German (and English), so I get to practice my mad German (and Germish) skillz with them. Whodda thunk that I'd be here in the middle of Korea, concerned about how well I'm speaking German! Anyways, this horrible photo is for Liz, to prove that (after our fruitless hunt a couple of weeks ago) I actually made it to the Korean Union bar:


Because all foreigners bars are SO hard to find, we have a theory that it's on purpose, and only those who are worthy - or lucky! - are allowed to find them. Seriously, you would think that bars especially for those who do not really speak the language, who are not originally from the city, area or even country, would be a bit easier to find, would be well-marked, or at least give somewhat useful directions or maps. But no. (Ev and Urs, did you guys find this, too, or are we just directionally challenged?)

Anyways, off to do laundry, ironing and some lesson planning!