Korea Trip 2015 Day 6: Gangchon Rail Bike, Chun Cheon Dalkalbi Street

15 April 2015
Wednesday

I woke up at 7:30am this morning to prepare for Gangchon Rail Bike ride with Haeun. It was a 2 hour journey from Noksapyeong to Gimyujeong. However, I had some delay while walking to Noksapyeong station from HBC house. Having set off from Noksapyeong at 8:30am, I was still on course to reach Gimyujeong at 10:30am. The subway was quick and accurate. However, when I transferred to the Gyeongchun line, the train stopped for about fifteen minutes at Sangbo station, the first station of Gyeongchun line. I was panicked as I won't be able to reach on time due to this stoppage which I think was not captured in the time estimation of the subway app. Along the journey, I calculated that I would reach Gimyujeong at 10:55am. Haeun has already reached at 10:30am. I felt really sorry and told her that I might not make it. However, she reassured me that we could have lunch first then take the next rail bike at 1pm if we miss the 11am ride.

I got off at Gimyujeong station at 10:55am and immediately ran for the exit to meet Haeun. As I looked back, there were many people also running behind me. I guess they were at a similar situation as I am. It felt like Running Man for a moment. As I approached the exit, I saw Haeun. We didn't have time to say Hi and off we ran towards the rail bike ticket counter. We were relieved that we were able to make it on time. Most of the people there were for the four seater ride while only a handful including us were for the two seater ride.

At around 11:25am, we finally started our rail bike ride. The feeling was really great as we cycled our way along the rail. After a few minutes, we were on a gentle downward slope and for a moment we were a little too close to the couple in front of us. We had to pull the brakes a couple of times to avoid collision.

Gangchon Rail Bike

The scenery was amazing, with couple of tunnels to go through. There was a short passage where we passed by a rail gate. The gates on the sides were closed, and cars were queuing behind the gates to let us through just like when a train passes through. There was also a tunnel with blinking LED lights and fog from the ground. It was a pretty romantic atmosphere for couples. We stopped by a resting area to enjoy the magnificent view of rivers and mountains. Some went for toilet break. When we resumed our ride, it took us another half an hour to reach the end. The whole journey was around one hour.

Some Scenes Along the Ride

We found that we were at the Gangchon rail bike station when we finished our ride. At that time we were extremely hungry. Haeun recommended a Dalkalbi restaurant at the Dalkalbi street in ChunCheon. We walked for about 20 minutes to Gamchon train station and went to Chuncheon station. We took a bus and alighted at four stops from Chun Cheon station and walked to Dalkalbi street. In Dalkalbi street, both rows of shop houses sell Dalkalbi and Dalkalbi only. Haeun found the restaurant that she recommended and finally we could have our lunch.

Dalkalbi Street 

Delicious Dalkalbi

As expected, the Dalkalbi here was awesome! Just like other Korean restaurants, we had fried rice with the left overs. We chatted a little and enjoyed the awesome food. Haeun wasn't a talkative person, but I didn't feel awkwardness between us even if we didn't talk much. I felt comfortable with her.

After finishing the Dalkalbi, it was already around 2:30pm. My initial plan was to go to Nami Island alone as Haeun needed to go back earlier to study for her midterm hydraulic test on the coming Friday. However, Haeun told me that she wanted to bring me to visit her university. As I wanted to experience local life, I chose to visit her university of Nami Island as there won't be many chances where I could visit a local university. It was a long journey to her university and we were tired. We slept on the train until Sangbo station and transferred to subway.

Haeun's university wasn't very big but the landscape was beautiful. They had many cherry blossom trees and a lake with water fountain. Haeun showed me her faculty and her reinforced concrete lab. We also walked around the sports complex and park. It was a school anniversary holiday so there wasn't any class on that day. We spent for about 40 minutes there and we bid farewell as Haeun had to meet her friends at a cafe nearby.

Haeun's University

I went to Insadong and had Kimchi Jjigae for dinner. Kimchi Jjigae is my favourite Korean dish and it was great especially in a cold weather. I also tried a waffle after dinner. Then I went to Insadong street to search for souvenirs. I bought the Hanbok teddy bears and some hand made key chains. There were many handicrafts along Insadong street. But at that time, most of the shops had already closed because it was around 9pm. There was also a street performer who played and sing along with his guitar. He was pretty good and I gave him 10000Won after listening to 3 songs.

I returned to HBC house but my phone had died. I remembered the route roughly that I should turn into the junction when I see a yellow colour salon. I was walking along that street but I couldn't see any yellow salon. I turned back and tried other streets but to no avail. Fortunately, I found a helpful lady and she brought me to a cafe with internet service. I logged in to my email and studied the powerpoint slides that Eun Kyung had sent me earlier. I found that I was walking along the correct street in my first try and that salon was actually right in front of me! I thanked them and quickly went back to that street and found that salon. I had no idea why I was blinded. Anyway, I managed to find my way back to HBC house. It was a long day starting from all the running and riding at Gangchon Rail Bike station to finding my way back to HBC house late at night.

Tomorrow I will be on a solo trip again. Haven't had any concrete plans yet. I guess I will decide my itinerary on the next morning!