I took a trip to Daejeon for the first time. I did some hiking on Daedunsan and Gyeryongsan the first and third days, and explored parts of Daejeon and the nearby lake on other days.
DAY 1 OF 4-DAY TRIP to Daejeon
After getting of the KTX to Daejeon Station, I got the subway to Lotte Rentacar and got all set up. The toilet there had a bidet so I was already happy! I drove about forty minutes south to Daedunsan mountain. The road up to Daedunsan Cable Car station had lots of restaurants so I stopped at Arirang Sikdang (아리랑식당) for some really tasty mountain-vegetable bibimbab.
The cable car ride up was nice on this clear crisp day. At the top there’s a shortish hike to a few viewpoints before getting to the first red suspension bridge, Geumgang Cloud Bridge (금강구름다리). From the suspension bridge you can see Samseon Stairs (삼선계단), a steep red stairway that goes straight on up; it’s very spectacular; the Google Maps pins for these aren’t that accurate, but once on the trail, they’re not hard to find.
Once across then up, it’s a relatively short hike to the peak of Daedunsan where there’s a really old brutalist style metal monument! Very old-school. I didn’t stay too long at the top as I wanted to get back to Daejeon before the sun set.
Heading down the mountain takes you through a different route where you can go under the bridge.
Off the mountain, I mooched about then found a coffee shop called Cafe Naerida (커피내리다). I got a very delicious drip coffee and sat by the window.
The drive back to Daejeonn was fine, though the drivers around the apartment complex suburbs really didn’t like me stickingn to the speed limit! Jeez, chill guys! I parked up at the hostel Sky Garden Daejeon Guesthouse (하늘정원). I got a room in a four-bed dorm thinking it would probably be empty; it was, but only until I went to bed! It was very basic, not that modern or clean, but cheap. I ended up only staying one night in that room and switched to a private room after a guest entered the room later at night; no problem with him, just covid season, innit!
I walked around the neighbourhood looking for food. There were what looked like many options on first glance, but a lot of places closed early or were closed that day, so I ended up walking into a busier area that resembled Sinchon in Seoul. I found an izakaya style restaurant, Tokyo Donburi (도쿄돈부리대전은행점), got some rice and dumplings and a beer, then headed back ‘home’.
Places visited this trip (click the ‘door’ icon to see a list):