Early morning on Saturday, I was picked up by one of the Korean kayakers that I haven't seen in a year and we headed off to meet a few others for a day of kayaking. I was excited to get on the river, since the last trip to Jinbu with Luca. It's been a few weeks too long.
packed and ready. kayak waiting by the door of my flat.
well...we met up with the others in a suburb of Seoul.....
I just had to get a photo with the model for Vivaldi Park's Ocean World as we were waiting for one other kayaker. :D
also some delicious looking peppers in a nearby garden.
well were almost loaded. decided to take one car...nice load of colorful plastic on the roof!
on the way...noticed a big bear on the side of the road at the top of a mountain pass....
we stopped for breakfast, and like always a "cow stomach soup" place. i opted for the convenience store ramien noodles. Just can't eat certain animal organs, especially that early in the morning. LOL!
well hours later we made it to the put-in. the water is lower than when we were here last year.
but, should still be fun. it's hot out and the water is cool.
and we're off!
had to get the WildWasser shot...
all along the river, many people were enjoying the beautiful day. Today is "Independence Day" so everyone seems to be out....nice to see Koreans having fun! they set up their tents for the day on the side of the river...swim, fish, bbq, etc.
Jong Keun in the distance....
we arrive at the first main rapid. Scout it and I Fire it up, sweet line and a good rush of adrenaline......
above as i was sitting in the eddy waiting for the next one to run, some guys decided to do some "net fishing", not sure if they caught anything, but it looked like an interesting technique.
here comes Hyo Su...(Spelling ?) lining up for the drop...
going deep in his Bliss Stick playboat..if you look close you can see his paddle in the middle of the white....
some on-lookers.
here comes Jong Keun in his Jackson Hero...he a a good line....
this gives the drop a good perspective on size....
i had to chase after a boat from a swimmer....so i was pretty far down stream and missed out on some excitement. if you look closely in the photo above you'll notice a small E-Mart raft running the drop blind, not knowing it was even there, no helmet, no PFD, not nothing....needless to say, i think they were lucky.
well they made it through...i wish i was closer to see the action and capture some good photos.
this might have been the best photo of the day....Ajumma (Older lady) sitting in the river with her umbrella. the things you see in foreign places, gotta love it!! :)
one of the many ledge type rapids. Definitely a fun run, last year there was more water, so it felt bigger. have to come back when it's higher.
Jong Keun running one of the boulder garden rapids....
we stopped half way for lunch, a roadside food stand and natural spring
we had Korean style crepes.
nice river side lunch.....
4 of us, the 5th is taking the pic. L to R (me, Jong Keun, Kookin, and Hyo Su)
enjoying some food and a CASS.
then came along the Bundaeggi (Silk Worm larvae) this smells like dirty feet, pretty gross....i have never tried it in almost two years living here....decided to have a taste, just one little piece, that's all I needed to try and it really wasn't bad...I've had worse, but it wasn't good...
this place had it's share of specialty teas, bottle for who knows how long...
well, back in the river....more action = more fun.... :)
amazed at the high water mark...check out the pieces of trash on the trees/bushes.
well just about finished....
at the take out some local farmer driving by....
loading up and heading home. We stopped for some Korean BBQ on the way home. Lots of traffic and hours later, made it home around 1130pm. On the way back talked to Luca who was out with friends in Seoul. I thought about going out, but it was a long Korean day....6:50am to 1130pm. Lots of Korean culture experienced throughout the 15+ hours...that can definitely tire one out.... LOL!
until next time, hope you enjoyed the adventure!
