I’d just visited Samseonggung. After a coffee at La Plata, I arrived in Namwon.. I walked along the river and visited Gwanghanruwon Gardens (광한루원). This was the third day of my 5-day trip to the area of Jirisan.

La Plata cafe (라플라타) is a mega cafe with garden and rooftop terrace overlooking a river and mountain.

From there, it was an easy drive into Namwon and to the Mua Hanok Guesthouse (무아 한옥 게스트하우스). I was booked to stay in a dormitory in the building on the main road, but they put me in a private room in a really nicely refurbished hanok in the alley behind. It was a lovely room, there was a small garden with rescued cats, and a stairway to the roof. A really nice place and I’d definitely come again.

I walked along the stream and to Seung-Wolgyo (승월교) an elegant looking stone footbridge. It seemed like there was some kind of flower festival in preparation. I didn’t go but heard some musical performers later.

The Gwanghanruwon Gardens (광한루원) are probably the main attraction in Namwon. They are a collections of buildings, ponds and trees. It has some historical significance but I didn’t find that out! I spent about an hour there. There were some very interesting looking bird on swimming on the ponds, perhaps some kind of duck? There were also a lot of very large carp. The sun was setting and the light was perfect for photographs. The gardens were also open till quite late and free to enter after 6 pm (I’d paid about 5,000 won to get in).

I went for a long wander to get some food and couldn’t really find anything that took my fancy. I tried one place that only served groups of two or more. I ended up at a 24-hour restaurant that served all kinds of things; not great but good enough. I then returned to Gwanghanruwon gardens to see it lit up with spotlights. It was quite nice.

Back at the guesthouse, I showered then had a beer in the garden. One of the cats entertained me for a while. Another guest in the kitchen bought me some beer snacks (generous!) then I went to bed.

Places visited on this trip:

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