Lunar New Year Weekend February 16-19

Happy Year of the Pig! According to the Chinese zodiac, 2007 is the year of the pig, and is supposedly one of financial prosper and luck. Here's hoping....Anyway, to celebrate (read, to make the most of a 4-5 day break) some friends and I headed East to Sokcho, a city on the coast and home to Seoraksan National Park. More on the park in a little, but first a brief play-by-play of the weekend's (mis)adventures.

Shannon, Geoff, Les, Gilles, and I took off on an 11pm bus to Sokcho. Geoff and Shannon were shushed more than once on the midnight trip to "the Sok" (damn whiteys always making a ruckus!). We arrived in Sokcho around 2ish, if I remember correctly. A teeny ajumma (older woman) talked us into staying at her pension-style hotel. She wanted 30 bucks--split that 5 ways and we were easily convinced. We dumped our stuff and headed out for some grub. Funny how a 4 hour bus trip will work up an appetite. We chowed down and in a soju/seafood tent before going back to our room for beer and poker at 4am.

We were all loosened up when night decided it was time to turn to day. So we threw our shoes on and marched down to the beach to watch the sunrise. Shan, Geoff, and I enjoyed the sound of the powerful Korean surf, while Les and Gilles tossed a frisbee in the morning light.