Mysterious Ways, Part 6: Why

The following is Part 6 of a 6-part series about my trip to the islands of Ulleung-Do (울릉도) and Dok-Do (독도) from 20(Fri)-22(Sun) August 2010. In this installment, I discuss day 3. Please see related posts (Part 1: Ulleung-Do Awaits; Part 2: Dok-Do Is Our Land--Don't Fuck With It; Part 3: Sundown; Part 4: Naribunji; Part 5: Over the Mountain and Through the Fields) for additional photos and comments.

After breakfast, we pack up our gear and head to the dock in our bus. With the sun shining brightly overhead, the bus driver deliberately takes the long way around, along the ocean, to give us an opportunity to see the island from a coastal perspective, which we had missed on our arrival at sunset two days earlier. Thank you.

Saving the best for last, our final activity is the highlight of the trip: a short trek along the island's southeastern coast, a route that some regard as Korea's most beautiful. The bus takes us to the starting point. In two hours, we will end up at the dock.

The entrance,

an unassuming concrete hole in the wall adjacent to an abandoned parking lot,

gives zero indication of the magnificence that lies ahead.

A series of arching bridges, each a color of the rainbow.

More stairs.

A bird's eye view of the bridges from the top of the stairs.

A bamboo forest leading down to the other side of the cliff.

At the end of the bamboo forest,

we encounter a seafood shack that also serves patbingsu (팥빙수),

sweet red beans over shaved ice.

A restaurant of sorts, cut directly into the cliffside.

We order Cokes.

After an 8-hr journey back to Seoul, we arrive at Lotte World sometime past 10PM. Naturally, we can't bear to part company just yet, having only spent the past 68 hours in close proximity. So, as per tradition, we go in search of the Last Supper, which turns out to be jokbal (족발) (roasted ham hocks), bossam (보쌈) (boiled and sliced pork bellies), and hongeo hoe (홍어회)(fermented skate wing). Ultimately, this is why we come together--the together part--not so much the pigs feet or rotten fish.

THE END