Ain't no mountain high enough...

One of the things I love about living in Daejeon is that I can look out the window or walk down the street and see mountains. Last weekend I hiked the mountain by my apartment with my friend Carina. The weather was gorgeous and everyone was out with the same idea. According to my South Korea Moon Handbook, snort snort, Koreans love to hike, and it has become a national pastime. I realized how out of shape I was when old Korean women were booking up the mountain past me. Sad.





Ginseng farm at the bottom of the mountain.





Koreans are very generous to foreigners. Every time Carina and I would get lost, there was always someone smiling and pointing us in the right direction.

These “exercise machines” were found all along the mountain. Apparently, this one works the love handle region.

I saw a bunch of Koreans walking shoeless on these rocks, so I thought I’d give it a whirl. At first it felt amazing like a foot massage, and then slowly it began to hurt, and I realized that I was in fact walking on sharp rocks.


Korea doesn’t really have any wildlife, so seeing this squirrel was a big deal.

After losing our way several times, we finally made it to the pagoda at the top of the mountain. People were picnicking, resting, hanging out, and Carina said there’s always a group of old men in the corner sipping on the Soju…oh yea.





I think it's a shame Korea is often overlooked, because it's absolutely beautiful.

I gave these boys a piece of candy at the pagoda, and they were our best friends, following us down the mountain.

My amazing city.