Interesting to be on a film set. Especially as it was quite a cultural place as well. Amazing how such a small place can be the scene of so many episodes. It seems, not enough, somehow.

Then from there, we moved on to Nami Island, where they shot Winter Sonata, probably one of the first Korean dramas I have ever watched. The place was a private island in the middle of the river and was named Naminara Republic. We had to take a short ferry across and once there, oh MY. It was super romantic, the way they had so many long tree-lined avenues, and it was very romantic. Now that they have a hotel on the island itself, I feel like this is somewhere I could come back to. Very very nice. Plenty of photo opportunities here.

Next was a very long journey to Mount Sorak. On the way, we watched a movie about Korean soldiers. Who all died in the end. Very sad. Again, WoobyBear came into mind. Haha. And remembering how we talked about how the shows always end in so much death. Hope he is well. Our hotel for the night was a great place. There were spas, swimming pool, and even a bowling alley. Best of all, a real internet lounge, and not a stupid single computer stuck in a freezing lobby. It was filled with loads of kids from school on school trips though, but not for skiing on the nearby ski slopes which looked quite nice. Perhaps one day I shall try skiing in Korea. Living in this hotel was as good as living in an apartment. It had the same concept, where one took off shoes in the front, and there was the kitchen and living room, and tatamis to sleep upon. So nice that it felt that it was such a waste that we were only to stay here for a night.

Day Four was pretty quiet. We spent the whole morning at Sorak National Park, the only park where one could find wild bears. We took a cable car up the mountain and climbed the rest of the way up. The way up was by stairs and rocky stones, so it was simpler than climbing the volcanic crater on the first day. Was the wind strong !! At some points, some of the smaller people had to sit down to avoid from getting blown off the mountain as there were no safety rails right at the top. There was also a nice little cafe at the top, which can be quite lovely too ! Apparently in Winter, the snow covers up the whole cafe.

We also walked to a large Buddha statue and some temples nearby where one could drink magic spring water for longevity. The temples all had special tiles. Each year the tiles would crack in Winter. So during the rest of the year, they would sell tiles for people to write wishes upon. Then in Spring, they would retile the temple with these tiles.

Quite a good idea, for the public to pay for retiling. Then we went to the Daepuhang fish market. It was quite like the Sydney idea of fresh fish sales, except for the fact that there were not many restaurants at all. But pretty much a waste of time. We also visited a little garden of sculptures where it was like walking around, admiring art. Some very naked art. The hotel that night had hot springs on the Ground Floor separated by genders. Open 24 hours, it was quite a treat !