Ganghwa-do: Holey Moley Mud Beach

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With the promise of a mud beach, a much-needed vacation (after only working in S. Korea for little over a month), and a girls' slumber party, I headed over to Ganghwa-do where one of my new friends out of IMOE (Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education) had been placed. Our third party wasn't able to make it because of a last second hweh-shik(company dinner).

I nervously followed my friend's directions from the Bupyeong Subway Station, guessing my way out of the maze-like exit and making it out to the main street (you know you are successful when you come out to a McDonalds and a big roundabout street). I crossed the street to the square.

Note: You may think that automobiles at lights are stopped, but after one too many cars have jerked in your direction or run red lights, you learn to be weary of automobiles here. I believe Korea has one of the highest rates of pedestrians hit by automobiles...if not, the numbers are still up there.

Then, I had to cross at the other end of the square, except there was no crosswalk in the direction that I wanted. So, I went down the subway at that end, and keeping a map of where I was in my head, navigated out to the other side of the street (it's confusing the first few times and simply trial-and-error). Exiting out on the correct sidewalk, I walked down while checking the bus signs for #90. When I found it, it was a short wait before the bus arrived. I swiped my T-Money card and I was on the bus! The ride was bumpy and swervy at times, but I've had worse.

For the most part, the bus contained 5 people or less. At one stop, an angry older woman began an argument with the bus driver and I dreaded having to suffer the rest of the 1-3 hr ride with her screaming. Being able to understand what they were saying, I knew that she was off-kilter and felt bad for the driver, not to mention it was dark outside and I didn't want him to be distracted. She got off quickly though.


Ganghwa-do is the last stop, so don't worry about missing the stop. When I arrived, I was exhausted after a long day's work plus bus ride. I wanted to go out with my friend, but passed out in her spacious apartment before I could change my mind.

Emergency Exit

When I woke up in the morning, we messed around with my friend's oh-so-handy emergency fire exit, installed directly in her room. It consisted of a large metal pole in the shape of an upside-down "L" and a tie-on-yourself harness. She was supposed to crawl out her window and crank herself down in case of an emergency. After goofing around some more, we were ready to go trekking. The weather was perfect, sunny and cool, and it just felt good to be breathing fresh air outside of the city.

We stopped by the supermarket so I could help her with some Korean goods, check out the old ladies selling fish and produce, and grab a delicious breakfast from a small Paris Baguette. Mmm mmm (Grab a tray and tongs and self-serve! The fresh baked goods in the middle of the store are usually the tastiest!). You find these in every major city of Korea and I definitely recommend stopping in for a snack or on-the-go treat.

Local Farmer's Festival

Afterward, we began walking down the main street toward the mud beach. The sidewalk was empty and we walked next to some beautiful farmland that was being harvested. To my friend's surprise, there was a tiny festival setup by local farmers and fishers. We got to see and taste a lot of fresh food. One man, gave us a Korean radish; this may sound strange to some, but Korean radishes are full of flavor with a little kick at the end that leaves you refreshed.

When we left the festival, my friend suggested taking a quick detour to look for cranes where she had spotted them before. Alas, there were no cranes to be found, but we walked down the street chasing after every bird in the water. As luck would have it, we spotted one when we finally decided to return to the main road because the sun was setting fast. We hurried by the scenery and could hear the seagulls as we neared. We passed ships and fishermen and a collection of drying fish on the ground.

Holey Moley Mud Beach

When we finally reached the main beach, my friend received an urgent long-distance call which left me to play on my own. I carefully rolled up my jeans as I had seen another woman slip in the mud, then carefully placed one foot in front of the other. The beach was much much smaller than I had imagined, but it didn't matter because I had to take baby steps to keep from falling anyway. There were tiny holes EVERYWHERE! I constantly detected movement in the corner of my eye, but didn't see anything on the surface. It was only when I squatted down and waited that I spotted itty bitty crustaceans in many of the holes! They were so sensitive to the slightest movement that it was very difficult to get a solid picture. The picture I included here is of a crab that was as tiny as the tip of my pinkie. Finally, I walked to the edge of the shore and enjoyed the still water and quiet breeze. That slow-tempo and peaceful silence was the hallmark of this brief trip.

Before leaving, I left a message for a friend in the mud and snapped a picture. I regretted it immediately as my hand was freezing and I had nowhere to wash it clean. Stinking of the sea, fingers and shoes tracked in mud, we finally found a restaurant to eat at on the way back where I washed my hands with warm water. The food tasted great after the walking. I would guess that most of the restaurants would offer delicious food. Though, stick to meat if you have a picky palette.

When we both left to Bupyeong on Sunday, we returned in the hands of a multi-tasking bus-driver. He could talk on the phone, smoke a cigarette, and still have a hand on the wheel over the bumpy country roads. *shudder* Buckle-up your seat belts!

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