daegu

in daegu, susan and i went on various larks. since peter has to work during the day, we did many things on our own. we went to various markets to buy gifts for when she returned home, went to the spa for some pampering, got our hair cut and permed (not such a good idea after all...), visited the downtown area for people watching and shopping, went to a daegu baseball game, rode the city buses for the first time (trying to figure out their routes was like trying to solve a rubix cube), and climbed Mount Apsan.

the mountain climb was fun and tough. i read somewhere it is a 20% grade mountain; the hike was at an incline the whole way up. i learned from our tour book that Mt. Apsan is where avid hikers go as it is quite beautiful. the entire hike took us 4-5 hours. while going up the mountain there would be several little "rest stops" which were actually outdoor gyms with free weights and elliptical machines. maybe i'm just lazy, but i don't think i'd hike for 2 hours to use the outdoor machines to exercise some more, but i'd really like to high-five the people who do. : )

another interesting observation were the lack of people climbing up the mountain alongside us, but we'd see several "ajummas" = middle aged ladies, sitting on blankets with picnics or playing cards with their friends on the edge of a jagged cliff. it was an odd sight since the mountain is on an incline the whole way up so they'd be perched in crevices or jutting rocks in the mountain like little birds in a nest. less than half the way up the mountain, the trails were not clearly marked and several boulders lined the paths so much of the "hike" was actually rock climbing. i wondered how all the ajummas got up here... the hike wore us out! nearing the top there were tons of stairs leading to the peak of the mountain. i hummed the rocky song while shaking my fist in the air....our victory to the top!

the view at the top of mountain was beautiful. unfortunately i didn't bring my camera since it's so bulky. but susan had hers with her. i'll have to steal a photo or two and will post later.

this is a little shop in downtown daegu that serves drinks in ziplock baggies. it has a cool vintage art feel to it. i'd like to go back again.