11 Oct 2012 - Waiting at the wrong bus stop

It was about 1pm by the time I settled down in my hotel room. The hotel manager, Mr Kwak suggested that I should check out Ulsanbawi 울산바위 as the itinerary for the day and go for the hiking route to Yangpok Shelter on the following day. If I did not remember wrongly, Mr Kwak said it will take about 4 hours to Yangpok Shelter and another 4 hours back.  He said its well worth the trip becos of the changing foliage.  He also remind me that the higher I go, the steeper it gets.
I told Mr Kwak I wanted the easierrrrrrrr hiking routes and he laughed when I told him about my hike up to Gatbawi.  He said Ulsanbawi and some of the hiking routes in Seoraksan would be even more challenging than Gatbawi! @_@  Huhhh....I read about Ulsanbawi and knew the hike up to the top will be very tough but I didn't knew it would be even more challenging than Gatbawi.
I wish I could hike to Ulsanbawi but my legs were still aching badly ㅠㅠ  I decided to check out Abai village 아바이마을 and a port near Abai Village. Was it Daepohang Port 대포항??  I was not sure, just go!  My hiking trip shall take place tomorrow! 

The route highlighted in yellow is the route to Yangpok Shelter.

I think I should take bus no. 7-1 to Abai Village but was not sure where to alight. Mr Kwak was not sure as well but he gave me a map, and suggested that I alight at the Intercity Bus Terminal and walk over to Abai Village from there.  
Hence, I walked back to where I got off the bus this morning.  Hmmm....I saw the signage on the left, "버스타는곳". I can only understand "버스" ie bus  Hahaha 

버스 정류장.  I thought this was the bus stop so I waited at this big sign board.
This was not where I alighted from bus no. 7-1 this morning.

Woww...More and more vehicles.
At this moment, I turned my head to the right and looked back.
Omg, I saw bus no.7-1!

Oh!  This should be the bus stop!  I have waited at the wrong place. Thank god, I turned my head! It was the same bus stop where I have alighted this morning but I didn't really notice it becos there were many people.

Hahahaa...I still have time to take a picture ㅋㅋㅋ

Mr Kwak gave me this map. Hope this picture can give you a better idea of the distance from the Intercity bus Terminal to Abai Village. I think I came from the Intercity Bus Terminal becos I took the bus from Dong Seoul Bus Terminal. If I have taken the bus from Express Bus Terminal, I would have got to the Express Bus Terminal in Sokcho. 

Saw the Cheonghodaego Bridge? I thought I caught a glimpse of it when I was on bus no.7-1 this morning.

I passed by two red towers and two white towers on my way to the Intercity Bus Terminal. They were located at different locations, being a red and white tower at one location and the other pair at another location along at the coastline. The place was really beautiful but I don't know the name of this place. I didn't alight the bus to check out the place but I saw a signage, "외옹치" ie Oeongchi.

Although I tried my best to recognise certain landmarks when I took bus no. 7-1, but I still could not recognise the place well since it was only my second bus trip on bus no.7-1. I only know the bus journey from Seoraksan Park to the bus terminal will take about 40mins. I asked an 아줌마 ajumma when to alight for the Intercity Bus Terminal and we went into a "Chicken and Duck" situation.  Fortunately, we understood each other. Hahahaa.  Now that I think of it, I should have asked her where to alight for Abai Village instead of the bus terminal -_-

By the way, there will be a lot of elderly folks taking the bus. Be prepared to give up your seat at any time.  I took the bus from Seoraksan Park bus stop at 2pm and alighted at the bus stop opposite Intercity Bus Terminal at 2.41pm.  Somehow, I decided not to check out Abai Village but to visit Naksansa Temple 낙산사 instead. I will visit Abai Village and the nearby port instead of going to Gangneung and Jeongdongjin on 13 Oct. This picture was taken while wating for my bus to Naksansa Temple 낙산사.  Take note, I waited at the bus stop opposite the Intercity Bus Terminal.... -__-

Intercity bus terminal is across the road. I waited for almost 30mins before bus no. 9 came along. Luckily, I asked the bus driver whether the bus goes to Naksansa Temple 낙산사. He said, "아니오" which means no. Oh dear, I wasted 30mins waiting at the wrong bus stop. The online information which I found was to take bus No.9 or No.9-1 from Sokcho Intercity Bus Terminal or Sokcho Express Bus Terminal to Naksansa Temple. I saw bus no 9-1 at this bus stop, so I waited even though there was no bus directory available.
It was getting late, so I decided to take a taxi instead. The taxi uncle told me I should cross the road. Not sure if he meant that I should take the bus from the opposite bus stop or to take a taxi from the opposite but I was quite thankful to him for his advice. Hence, I went back to the bus stop which I got on bus no. 7-1 this morning.  Nope, not to take the bus but to take a taxi to Naksansa.

It was a very cold day but the sky was very beautiful.