Ginhae Cherry Blossom Festival

Last year, this festival in Ginhae, South Korea was literally my second time out of Busan. We got up incredibly early, went to the wrong bus terminal, and made it out to the crowded streets of Ginhae to see the wonders of the season.
This year was quite different. Different people, different route, different mentality. But, all in all the same amount of beautiful!



We started our long, long journey at the Sasang bus station in Busan. A group of us met up to do the unthinkable...climb a mountain from one city to the next. The bus dropped us off at the Changwon bus station, only 45 minutes away. We started at the bottom of the mountain and trekked our way all the way to the top. Traversing the treacherous ridge and then repelling our way down the rocky, steep mountain and into the city of Ginhae. Ok, yes this is a dramatic retelling...but, we did eat shit a couple of times on the way down. The hike took us about 2 hours to get up, 1 to get down and then another hour to get into the city. Our thighs were burning and we were drenched in sweat, but the effort all paid off in the end!


Sara and I at the top!

Once at the bottom, we meandered into the city, stopping to eat in a tent and rehydrate on beer and makoli and refuel on pajang (Korean pancakes) and a meat plate of epic proportions.
After filling our bellies and giving our livers a little kick, we ventured further, seeing the sights. We made it to the famous love stream. It's a small creek, lined by cherry blossom trees and small bridges to cross over. It was very romantic for all of the single waegoks (foreigners) involved.




After over indulging in the sappy sights and taking one too many pictures, we headed to the train station to see if we could avoid the Sunday commute's traffic back to Busan. We made it to the train station just in time to catch the last train out of GInhae. Since we got our tickets so late, we all had to sit in different cars, most of us ended up falling asleep. At our connecting station in Changwon, I was politely awoken by a Korean woman, since I was now sitting in her seat and it was time for me to get off of the train. One of our friends wasn't so lucky, waking up in Daegu (about another hour away) with no cell phone or money.

All in all it was a lovely day, amazing adventure, and a major kick in the butt. Love cherry blossoms....love Ginhae...love Korea!