Sokcho and Seoraksan National park

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The pier in Sokcho

The bus from Seoul to Sokcho was one of the most luxurious I've ever boarded.
Spacious leathered seats only three in a row and each one with plugs to charge your phone.
The landscape to Sokcho was quite hilly with a lot of woods and small villages along the road. It reminded of me of some parts of Bulgaria.

I arrived in Sokcho in the afternoon. I had not booked any accommodation so I decided to camp in a park or somewhere in the outskirts of the town.
I had a quick look around the bus station. Grabbed a free map from the tourist information center and headed towards what looked like a park with a lake in the center of town.
I decided to camp on the shore of the lake over some chopped bamboo trees. I  slept without a tent as the weather was clear but in the morning my sleeping bag was damp. I couldn't sleep very well but still made it through the night ok.

Camping like a ninja in the bamboo

Sokcho

On the next day, I found a small tourist information center where a very polite lady wanted to practice her English and gave me a lot of information on the area. It was off season so I was one of the few tourists in town and she was rather bored. There's a very popular fish market in Sokcho  . She suggested I should
try a local meal, one of her favorite and gave me a map of the exact location.

I found the place and handed the waiter the little note she gave me. I was the only European in there and people looked at me with amazement. The place actually was super cool, First, you take off your shoes, and after that, you sit on the floor which has heating. Then you when you order your meal it comes with several small side dishes. It is a lot of food and rather delicious.

Fish market in Sokcho

The place the lady suggested.A place not to be missed!

The name of the food

You sit on the floor and eat.

After I looked around town I decided to go to Seoraksan national park, do some hiking there and camp in the woods for a few days. I took a bus to the park. It was weekend so there were a lot of people hiking.

I decided to do one trail which on some parts had metal steps built almost all the way to the top and had a nice view of Sokcho from the top.

In the evening I found a nice place and camped there.

The entrance to Seoraksan national park

I traveled in South Korea in October so weather happened to be nice.
Nice colors of the trees.

View of Sokcho from the top

It was amazing how these people have made those constructions of steps so high up in the mountain so people can climb all the way to the top and enjoy the beautiful views.

On the next night, I decided to camp near a Buddhist Shrine. I could hear the monk singing their prayers about 4 am in the morning. I had a peaceful night though.

The shrine near I camped.

On the next day I walked out of the park and took a bus to Naksana Temple which is not far from Sokcho.

It was ok but to be honest it's not worth the expensive entrance fee you pay to get in.
I met an English girl from London which I also met the previous day in the Park.It's a small world we live in.

Sokcho beach

I ordered some kind of Kim Chi meal. It comes with a lot of side dishes.

Naksana temple

I slept in a small wood near the road. On the next day, I decided to hitch-hike to DMZ Museum, close to the border with North Korea. There was no bus that goes there and taxi is very expensive .So I had to rely on my thumb to get me there. That was the first time I was going to hitch-hike on this journey.

I did not know how that kind of traveling works in this country which made me even more willing to do it.