We started off the day at Gangchon Rail Park, a popular tourist attraction where visitors can pedal along old railroad tracks while taking in the lovely Bukhangang River scenery. If you watch Running Man, you might recall them filming an episode here (see episode 144)! The rail park operates from three stations: Gimyujeong Station, Gangchon Station, and Gyeonggang Station. The most popular station is Gimyujeong station (almost always fully booked) and I have no idea why. In any case, it was too difficult to make a reservation (online only, unless you're planning a group reservation) - you need a local phone number and payment mode - and even my Korean host couldn't manage to make the reservation. So Charleston and I decided to just try our luck the very next day at the less popular starting point - Gangchon station. If they didn't have any more bikes then, we would just continue on our way to Chuncheon.
Thankfully, there were still quite a few rail bikes left when we arrived at 9.20am (we should have reached by 9am but thankfully, we could still get the bikes!) and we happily hopped on. The scenery was good even though it wasn't as amazing as I thought it would be - the fields just roll on and on and on and there are only about three changes in the scenery along the way. Perhaps it's better in spring or winter? That said, I still enjoyed the cooling morning breeze, the wonderful corn fields, sunflower patches, never-ending mountains and the refreshing ride.
The only downside that day was that we were assigned a faulty bike which refused to cooperate with the motorised/automated part of the tracks (I suspect the contact point on the bike was broken because throughout the entire ride, I kept hearing this annoying plasticky sound of something hitting against the base of the bike) and so, we had to exert so much more force during the entire journey. There was this guy who was stationed in the middle of nowhere and I think he either heard the awkward clanking or rattling of plastic parts or saw us cycling so hard (when it was supposed to be automated) because he came running over to help us fix it. A few minutes of tinkering and he sent us off cycling again. To our pleasant surprise, it worked! Our bike was finally getting that electronic boost of energy it needed! Alas, the brief respite lasted all but three minutes and soon, the rattling sound resumed and our legs were put to strenuous work again. (RAWR) There was this particular stretch towards the end that was crazy incredibly difficult to cycle.. We were huffin and puffin' for 10 minutes straight because the couple behind us kept zooming uncomfortably close to our bike (their bike had the automatic boost the entire way) and we wanted to maintain a safe distance from their bike. By the end of the ride, I think I arrived at Gimyujeong Station with jelly legs.. Orz
It took me about 2 hours from Mapo Station to Gangchon Station so if you're planning to visit the rail park, do set off early! The earliest starting time is 9am (I believe they have depart every other hour) and since we didn't want to get fried in the afternoon sun, we arranged to meet at 6.30am before we set off for the long trip. You might not get seats on the train either so.. make sure to get a good night's rest before that!
Directions to Gangchon Rail Park
Take the Gyeongchun subway line (towards Chuncheon) and alight at Gangchon Station. You might have to make a few transits in between (eg. at Wangsimni or Mangu Station), depending on the direction you're coming from. After you alight at Gangchon Station, hail a cab - there are many cabbies hanging around the area so no worries - and tell the cabbie, "Gangchon Rei-il Par-keu, ka-ju-sei-yo (I would like to go to Gangchon Rail Park)." It costs about 4000W, which is only a tad more expensive than a bus ride for 2 so.. just take a cab!
Distance
The distance between Gimyujeong Station and Gangchon Station is approximately 8km. According to the site, it takes an approximate 80 minutes to reach Gimyujeong Station. (we reached in about 65 minutes(?) because we pedaled far too much T^T)
Cost
25,000W for a 2-seater and 35,000W for a 4-seater
For more information
Visit http://railpark.co.kr/main/index.asp (it's useful to create an account so as to check the number of available rail bikes left)
Special highlight along the way - light shows in the tunnels!
Came across loads of my favourite flower, much to my delight!
Pictures taken at a rest stop!
And before our weary legs even knew it, we've reached the destination! :D (the one on the right.. act yi ge!)
Reach liao!
I'm smiling but deep down.. DAMN TIRED OMG. (I think I slept for.. 2.5 hours the night before? No thanks to drinking games and the World Cup match..)
The only reason why Charleston wanted to visit Chuncheon.. to eat his Dak Galbi. He seriously travelled to Chuncheon just for this stir-fried chicken... he came with no other plans at all..... (tsk!)
I'm not sure how to walk here.. ask Charleston.
Chuncheon is famous for its 닭갈비 so yeap, this marks the start of the Dak Galbi Street.
Um.. after a long lunch and a lot of bumming around - Charleston's butt was literally glued to the floor - we left to go explore the shopping area. After which, we went looking for the dam. Dam, what was its name again?
Some glass observatory thingy.. which is pretty cool (not). It was wayy too hot to be standing on that metal-glass hybrid structure.
This picture basically sums up the rest of the day after lunch. Which was spent walking, walking and more walking. I think we walked at least 5 or 6 kilometres that day. Possibly more. It was almost 11pm - or was it midnight - when I got back to my guesthouse. With 0.05% energy left (was running on pure adrenaline the whole day). To walk up the steep roads and climb the hill. I'm surprised I didn't just fall asleep by the side of the road. It was so late and there were hardly any people on the streets (was actually quite frightened walking back alone) but I simply didn't have any energy to run all the way up - which was the original plan. Once I saw how steep the hill was, haha I just gave up on the ambitious dashallthewayhome plan and settled on checking behind me every 20 seconds or so. Thankfully, I made it home safe and sound.
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