This was a rest & transition day! I went to a foot spa, visited a cafe with a view, explored a museum, visited a temple and the nearby lake, then had a burger and beer on the beach. This was day 3 of a five-day trip to Sokcho.
This only thing I needed to do this day was get hiking food for my hike tomorrow. Rain was forecasted so I’d planned this day to make my way in a relaxed fashion to the next accommodation by the sea, so just had the roughest of plans.
Foot spa
A few minute’s drive from the Pine Resort is Cheoksan Foot Bath Park (jokyuk gongwon 척산족욕공원), a free, community, foot spa. It’s built next to an overpass, so not the most scenic location! However, it’s very nice nonetheless. You just walk in, wash your feet, then sit and soak your feet. You can rent towels and pads to sit on. There are also snacks and coffees for sale. Only the central pool was heated; the out pool was lined with pebbles to give your feet a massage as you walk around, but the water inside wasn’t heated. I sat in the heated section with two or three other people. It was very relaxing. I particularly like the sign mentioning “keep your kids quiet” nicely worded as “Other people’s relaxation is as important as your child’s memories”! Very smooth. Because it was free and I wasn’t renting towels, I got some boiled eggs to eat while soaking my feet. It was the least I could do.
Orosy Cafe
The Stay Orosy cafe (스테이 오롯이) used to be some accommodation (my guess) and now it’s a multi-room cafe with a nice bit of garden looking over rice fields and the mountains of Seoraksan. There’s also a little courtyard with a pool or pond in the middle. It was next to the Pine Resort I’d just checked out, so not far from the spa. It was peaceful too, only a few people there. I sat in the garden area for a while enjoying the view.
National Mountain Museum
On my way to the lake area, I spotted the National Mountain Museum (국립산악박물관), so thought, “Why not!”. It’s free, on four storeys, and features displays on mountains, mountaineering, and also has climbing walls and lessons available. I didn’t use the climbing walls, but I found the displays of old mountaineering equipment quite interesting. There’s also a rooftop terrace with views all the way to Seoraksan (assuming the construction site next door isn’t planning to block the view with whatever’s going on there!).
Bogwangsa Temple and Yeongnangho Lake
Yeongnangho (영랑호) is in the north east part of Sokcho, north of Cheonchoho Lake (처초). I parked at a small temple called Bogwangsa (보광사) and had a quick look around; it was pretty neat, built in a dip in the surrounding land which I guess protects it from the wind from the sea.
Next to the temple is a mini-golf course and a restaurant; I went to the restaurant (Como, 꼬모) and had pork cutlet. I then walked a little way to the lake and about 100 metres along the path. I realised that the other side had access to the pontoon bridge, so got the car and drove round the the northern side to a large, free carpark. The promised rain was beginning to show as I walked (anti-clockwise) along the road. In the trees beside the road were a number of brick houses and bungalows. They weren’t in use and in various states of disrepair, but in essence were really nice looking lake-side properties. I imagine they were vacation houses but I couldn’t see any signage indicating that, or if the place was about to be redeveloped.
The lake was quite large and had a pontoon bridge going through to the other side. I walked a bit along that, but not to the other side as the rain was beginning to pick up. On the one had, I was pleased it was raining because it justified my plans of not hiking today! On the other, of course, I don’t like rain! I jogged a bit to the mainland and took shelter for a bit next to one of the abandoned houses. Then I got back to the car and drove to a Tous les Jours to get some sandwiched for hiking tomorrow.
Meta Beach restaurant
The Benikea Hotel is next to the sea on a very busy main road. Gareth and I had cycled this exact route. I parked up, checked in, rested, then thought about dinner. The room was nice and had a great view of the beach. Obviously being next to the main road, it wasn’t peaceful at all! I took a pleasant twenty-minute walk south along the beach path to a beach restaurant called Meta Beach on Seorak Beach (설악해수욕장). I was the only customer! I got a burger and beer and sat next to the open doors looking over the sandy beach and sea as it got dark. Good burger and beer.
After that, I wandered around taking photos in the full moon and exploring the beach village. Then I walked back to the hotel and bought some beer to drink in my room. The sea was quite rough but the wind and temperature was quite mild, so I opened the room’s balcony window and listened to the waves while I blogged and drank a few beers. It was very pleasant, chilled evening!