B - reporting
We left quite early after buying food from 7-11 then drove to the beach and ate yoghurt by the ocean. It was a bright sunny day, mad tropical birds tweeting and lots of vibrant pink and orange flowers everywhere. We then headed north, on what we thought was the main road. This grew narrower, windy-er, and took very sharp turns past small farms and rice fields. We then found the real Highway #7 and headed to Sokcho, where we would catch the ferry to Russia.
At Donghae, we stopped in a park where there were a few mystery sculptures and a random selection of exercise machines...we have no idea why. Then set off but after a few minutes a cop car pulled up and honked (imagine a polite 'pip pip') and pointed to the side of the road. My heart started pounding but all they wanted was to find out where we were from. All the way from Canada?!!! Big smiles and handshakes, and we were free!
Further north, past a huge cruise ship on top of a hill (a hotel) we came to Unification Park. This is a museum with a North Korean submarine, captured by the south in 1996, after it ran aground in bad weather when landing 25 red guerrillas. Eventually one was captured, all the others killed (11 by their own side). This sub and the pictorial display really brought home how warlike North Korea is, and how much of a 'cold war' mentality still exists in the south.
We drove further north, past beaches surrounded with barbed wire, and a couple of military bases, till we stopped for lunch (mystery sandwich) and to sort out our paperwork for the ferry from Sokcho...only now discovering the ferry no longer goes from Sokcho! Argh!!!!! The ferry now goes from Donghea, practially where we started!!!! There was a slight moment of panic, and when I say 'moment' I actually mean several hours.
So we abandoned the picturesque #7 road, winding through fishing villages, and whizzed down the Expressway back south...to find the ferry terminal would not be open until tomorrow, when the ferry left. Some of us (ie me) were so frazzled that we decided to stay in a motel and not camp.
This was the flashest hotel so far, found by randomly walking past. After a couple of beers everything seemed so much better, and we decided to head to the port for 9am.
We left quite early after buying food from 7-11 then drove to the beach and ate yoghurt by the ocean. It was a bright sunny day, mad tropical birds tweeting and lots of vibrant pink and orange flowers everywhere. We then headed north, on what we thought was the main road. This grew narrower, windy-er, and took very sharp turns past small farms and rice fields. We then found the real Highway #7 and headed to Sokcho, where we would catch the ferry to Russia.
At Donghae, we stopped in a park where there were a few mystery sculptures and a random selection of exercise machines...we have no idea why. Then set off but after a few minutes a cop car pulled up and honked (imagine a polite 'pip pip') and pointed to the side of the road. My heart started pounding but all they wanted was to find out where we were from. All the way from Canada?!!! Big smiles and handshakes, and we were free!
Further north, past a huge cruise ship on top of a hill (a hotel) we came to Unification Park. This is a museum with a North Korean submarine, captured by the south in 1996, after it ran aground in bad weather when landing 25 red guerrillas. Eventually one was captured, all the others killed (11 by their own side). This sub and the pictorial display really brought home how warlike North Korea is, and how much of a 'cold war' mentality still exists in the south.
We drove further north, past beaches surrounded with barbed wire, and a couple of military bases, till we stopped for lunch (mystery sandwich) and to sort out our paperwork for the ferry from Sokcho...only now discovering the ferry no longer goes from Sokcho! Argh!!!!! The ferry now goes from Donghea, practially where we started!!!! There was a slight moment of panic, and when I say 'moment' I actually mean several hours.
So we abandoned the picturesque #7 road, winding through fishing villages, and whizzed down the Expressway back south...to find the ferry terminal would not be open until tomorrow, when the ferry left. Some of us (ie me) were so frazzled that we decided to stay in a motel and not camp.
This was the flashest hotel so far, found by randomly walking past. After a couple of beers everything seemed so much better, and we decided to head to the port for 9am.
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