Day 12, Leg 10

I'm at the Saejae Park Motel, now W40,000 a night (it used to be W35,000) and under new management. I was greeted by an unfriendly golden retriever that growled and barked as I approached the front desk. (Being insular people, Koreans train their dogs to be just as insular. This has been my constant experience, repeatedly, across the peninsula. In the States, a golden is likely to bound happily up to a stranger who is potentially a new friend. In Korea, the golden is trained just like a Jindo to view strangers with suspicion and anger.) The lady who greeted me was friendly enough, though, and I was quickly assigned a room. WiFi here still sucks, so I'm relying on my portable hot spot. I'm not even going to bother showering tonight; today's walk, at only 13K, was that short. The only real effort was in tackling the 3K hill, which I did at a slow pace. 

The weather service predicted foggy and cloudy weather until around 5, but the skies brightened within an hour of my walk's start time, which was late: around 8:45. By 10:00 or so, the sun was shining through the fog. I didn't use my hat, though, until the final part of the walk. 

Some stuff from yesterday that I didn't mention:

1. At a rest stop, I spoke with an older gentleman about my trip. At one point he tried to guess my age, saying, "Sixty." Ouch. "I look that old?" I asked. "It's the gray in your beard," he said. Well, I guess sixty isn't far off: I'm 54, after all.

2. My left ankle was hurting for much of the end of yesterday's walk, and it hurt this morning, too. Just walk it off, though, right? I did, and the pain faded. I'm now massaging and stretching my ankle when I remember to. 

3.  I'm a side sleeper, and I'm also, unfortunately, a drooler. It's never nice to fall asleep and wake up in a kiddie pool of saliva. I need to make a habit of draping a towel over my pillow. I slept comfortably enough, but I did wake up a few times to find myself next to a wet spot. Ick.

4. Since yesterday's motel had a smart toilet, I finally made my peace with the bidet function. The Japanese-style smart toilet's notion of a bidet is a narrow beam of water fired directly into your asshole. This is nothing like how a real bidet works: a real bidet has a regular tap, and you gently scoop water with a soapy hand from the tap to your nether regions, clean yourself, then wash your hands in the sink when you've finished your ablutions. The Japanese toilet, by contrast, feels intent on raping you, and the first time I ever encountered a smart toilet in Fukuoka during a visa run, I felt both violated and betrayed. Yesterday, though, knowing what to expect, I wiped my ass with toilet paper and activated the bidet, soapy hand at the ready. The water beam stays on for about a minute, it turns out, giving you enough time to soap up your bunghole and let it get rinsed in the blast. While the experience still feels violating, last night's session wasn't as bad as Fukuoka.

What is there to say about today's walk? More dead snakes, a horrifically mangled and flattened cat carcass, some awesome views from the 3K ascent, some apple orchards, and very little in the way of human interaction. There was one old man, on his way up the hill I was descending, who asked me for the time. He said his watch's battery had run out. He, too, saw my shirt and briefly remarked on my journey. I'm beginning to realize there's a bit of ambiguity in the question, "Where are you going?" because it could refer to your goal for the day or to your ultimate goal. So I've learned to give an answer to both shades of the question: "I'm heading to Busan, but today, I'm stopping when I get to Yeonpoong-myeon."

With today's walk being so short, I feel almost as if I cheated. I didn't help myself by stopping at a restaurant for lunch: today's supposed to be a fasting day. That hasn't been going well, by the way: I snack even on fasting days. But I'm still losing weight, and I can feel my resting heart rate slowing down to something more normal.

Your visual feast for the day:

today's route

not much of a caloric burn

The Suanbo region is famous for pheasants (ggweong/꿩).

The cat went splat. And ended up in snake heaven.

I saw tons of apples today.

Flowers retire in the face of impending cold.

where gloves meet to discuss all the missing gloves

It's rare to see a myo/묘 (tumulus) from above and behind.

"'Utting ou' 'y 'ONGUE 'on't 'op ME!"

the Ma-ae Bul Jwa Sang, a Buddha carved out of rock

I saw this old lady drying out rice while I took a rest break.

a lunch of soondubu-jjigae (tofu stew)

Tomorrow's walk takes me over the big, 5K hill and to San Gwa Gang Pension. I'm thinking about not eating tomorrow because the next day is my first of two camping days, and I'd rather not have to poop at all on a camping day. But I know my intestines are fickle, and they've been known to hold something in reserve even if I skip a day of eating. I've pooped during and after fasting days before, so if you'll pardon the awful pun, what happens is always a bit of a crap shoot. There's a good chance, then, that I might have to poop while camping no matter what I do. Well, if it happens, it happens. I've been there and done that before.

I'm actually looking forward to the 5K hill, which happens right at the beginning of tomorrow's 26K walk. When you tackle a hill like that, there's a feeling of deep satisfaction that accompanies you for the rest of the day. It's not the most challenging hill on this walk, but it's long enough to make you feel that you've done some work and earned your keep. That said, it's easier to do on foot than on a bike, I think. I always feel a pang for the poor bastards huffing and puffing their way up on their bikes. They're higher off the ground than I am, and even in an "easy" gear, it must be torture for them to pedal their way up to the top. I guess it's worth it, though, because the reward is a 5K descent down the other side. I enjoy that descent, too.

PHOTO ESSAY

leaving the motel

things I pass as I walk out of town

cosmos

a gentle uphill

As always, on the right track.

more mystery cairns

shrine

alcohol offering at the shrine

tap (mini cairns/pagodas)

Too early, yet, for the sun to have beaten away the mist.

the tall, narrow café, a landmark in this area

Café Good Impression Ajeossi

the Suanbo area's spirit animal: the pheasant

barely recognizable feline

architectural design office

Dae An Bo, some kind of village or township

selling two types of mushroom

Live long, Hook 'em Horns, and Satan

ad for CORN

crossing the road here

Ihwaryeong (5k hill's summit) is 16 km away. That's for tomorrow.

fellow traveler

some kind of aster

an explosive-looking tree

dog next to beware-of-dog sign

another unique-looking shwimteo

marigold

The mist is burning away.

before the bridge

past the bridge

"deadly traffic accident zone"

grave

graves from above and behind

We're going up the day's 3K hill now.

mantis down

mystery outbuilding

yin and yang (more like yang and yin from left to right)

top of the rise

I never stop at Hotel West of Canaan. It's too early along my already-short route.

when you find that one gorgeous redhead

What would it be like to live right here?

when they cut out your tongue and leave you screaming

"Do not enter (go onto) the mountain."

asters

dog, sitting

a congregation of hangari

that one weird shwimteo

black dog of death

another "Don't go into the mountain" sign

stone carving of the Buddha

thataway

peekaboo

pergola/shwimteo

more asters

abandoned motel

"hot spring motel" or "spa motel"

my usual resting spot when I get this far... not much farther to go

men looking busy

temporary bus stop

old lady drying rice

one of those construction walls that get put up when they're developing land

a place devoted to traditional paper

one of the jangseung guardians out front

the feminine guardian

"Goesan Korean paper"

chilies, chilies, and more chilies

a myo (tumulus gravesite)

Daegwang Goat Farm

Podae (not the Buddha) and the cairn

The sign for Yeon Poong (Lotus Wind) Myeon, the village where I'll be stopping for the day.

here be old people

fascinating colors

tucked-away shrine

hanging persimmons

in town

Gunja Meat Restaurant: the building where I normally have my post-hike meal.

under new management, and with a completely new menu

soondubu-jjigae + banchan (sides) + rice

petunias?

where I'm staying tonight