Day 10, Leg 7

I'm now officially just past the halfway point (halfway = 192.5K of 385K). Less than 190K of trail to go, plus a few extra km because I have to go off-piste to reach my lodging every time I stop. Today's 25K walk went very slowly, though, because I got distracted by all of the shaman spiders I photographed along a stretch that felt like a repeat of Spider Alley (close to Mushim-sa—remind me to explain the Buddhist concept of mu shim sometime). 

5:20 a.m. departure. The morning started off with heavy fog, but temperatures weren't as cold as on previous days. When the day got lighter, the fog didn't burn off, so when I passed by Dalseong Dam (달성보/Dalseong-bo), I couldn't see the entire dam: it simply disappeared into the mist. Around 10 a.m., the sun became strong enough to burn away the fog, and the rest of the day was bright, warm, and beautiful. But it was while the morning was still foggy and cold that I entered the second Spider Alley and kept stopping at every tree to admire dew-bedizened web shapes as well as the large, cold-addled spiders that, being cold-blooded, were too torpid to do anything when I lightly touched their front legs to see whether they had survived the freezing night (I used to own tarantulas, so spiders definitely don't creep me out).

My second highlight in this mostly flat walk was seeing a snake the width of a typical American garter snake but almost [half] as long as the bike path was across. By this point, the day had had a chance to warm up. At first, I thought this was yet another dead snake to enter into my dead-snake-photo collection, but when I leaned in and took a photograph, the entire serpent came groggily to life and slithered drunkenly off the path before I had the wit to switch my phone to video mode. A shame, that, but I at least have the one photo of the thing, from back when I'd thought I was looking at yet another carcass. Maybe it had been trying to sun itself. But if so, why in the shade?

My day's third highlight came five minutes later when two twentysomething Korean guys biked up to me and stopped. Introvert that I am, I had a sinking feeling that I knew what was coming, and sure enough, one of the two guys started off with a, "Hi, how are you?" in English. This began a ten-minute conversation about who we were, respectively, what we were doing, where we were going, and other getting-to-know-you matters. The quieter guy turned out to live in Seoul; the talkative guy was currently living in Australia and had been there for five years; he was back in Korea during a break and engaged in this biking project with his buddy. I tactfully didn't mention that his English still sounded heavily Korean-accented for a young, seemingly smart guy who'd spent half a decade in Oz, but who am I to criticize given my so-so Korean skills after 23 years here? Conversation revolved around my shirt and its graphic design; the guys said that they were heading to Busan and currently following the Nakdong River path, but that they hadn't started out along the Four Rivers trail at all, instead hitting sites in the west known for baseball, then heading east to Sangju and picking up the Nakdong River path. Their total time on the path was planned to be no more than 8 to 10 days, with stopovers at some places that were familiar to me. I warned the guys about the steep trail at Mushim-sa and advised them to take the detour; they thanked me for the advice. Conversation had been pleasant enough despite my introverted misgivings, and after they had taken posed photos with me and my tee shirt (it's from 2023, so it counts as false advertising for this year's walk), we went our separate ways, having exchanged no contact information. Good. I didn't even tell them I was blogging this trip. I also didn't take any pics of them as they had taken of me.

All in all, it was a painless encounter, which pleased my inner introvert. The rest of the walk offered no more snakes or spiders, but I did, at one point, feel the presence of a bug on my neck. When I swiped it off, I smelled the familiar, almond-extract odor of a stink bug's butt juice. At least the stink bug itself was gone.

The afternoon ended with culinary bliss, but there was one initial hitch. I arrived at the If Hotel and my favorite Chinese resto, An Shi Seong, at around 3:20 p.m. The restaurant's door had a sign in English saying that 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. was break time, so I went over to the If Hotel, booked myself for two nights (W100,000), and set myself to banging out this blog entry.

There were no hills until about 10 km before the end of today's segment, and suddenly, there was a series of small, steep hills, but nothing tragic. Today's walk was great, albeit a bit slow. I'll give you the usual complement of ten pics for the day, but when I upload the full complement of pics in late November or December, you'll get to see all of the spiders in all of their dewy glory. I didn't take any pics of the two guys; as I've mentioned several times, I'm an introvert, so I'm not really into photographing people except from way behind or at a distance. (And I despise most artificially posed shots... unless I have a chance to do something silly to undercut the mood. Otherwise, if I take anything like a portrait shot, I always ask permission.)

So enjoy today's ten pics. Tomorrow's yet another rest day, so I'll probably slap up more pics then. In the meantime, my schedule (without dates) is:

1. Walk to Lee Motel, Chilgok-gun, 33K 
2. Walk to Libertar Pension, Gumi, 32K
3. Walk to Bonghwang Motel, Sangju, 23K
4. Walk to Bobos Motel, Sangju, 25K
5. Walk to Gangnam Motel, Jibo-myeon, 36K
6. Walk to Songhak Motel, west Andong, 30K
7. Walk to Andong Dam, 28K

So that's another 207K of walking to do, and after today's feast at An Shi Seong, I'll have to get about the business of buying supplies, washing clothes, showering, and resting. And after I leave the Daegu region, I'll need to go back to a boring diet of canned tuna, spam, and chicken breast. Too many carbs up to now.

Enjoy today's selection of pics.

As usual, distance is exaggerated. Only 25K, not 30K.

pretty much just follow the river

The camera makes the scene brighter than what I saw.

해바라기/haebaragi, sunflower

There were gardens of sunflowers and other lovely plants in this area, which also happens to be an area where I used to overnight before I re-plotted my walks. Now, I no longer stop here.

Dalseong Dam disappearing act: into the fog

another Ms. Dewey McWebbington in Spider Alley 2

trail and farm access road

algae blooms all over the Nakdong and tributaries

As I've noted before, the Nakdong really seems to be in trouble this year. Algae blooms are widespread, and I'm not seeing any efforts to clean them up. Maybe North Korea can open up one of its major dams, let the water flood southward, and flush out all of South Korea's algae. Ha ha, as if that were how it worked. Nice try, Kevin.

chair, scheduled for execution

Every once in a while on these trails, you'll see chairs tied to trees as if they were dogs that had misbehaved and were now being punished. I like to imagine these chairs as if they were a broken-down Charlton Heston, dramatically awaiting their ultimate fate.

field work

that long-ass snake (German Schlang)

I regret not pulling the camera back more to allow you to see the snake's sheer length in comparison to the path's width. (UPDATE: It turns out that I had taken a wide shot along with the above shot.) And I remember being about to photograph the snake and thinking, Gee, this one doesn't have a crushed head or any guts hanging out. And then it moved, slowly and ponderously, like the Enterprise leaving Spacedock.

rich, prominent family... all dead—several forms of vanity on display

EPILOGUE: I visited the local 7-Eleven and bought some supplies but forgot others. I then dropped off my booty and went to An Shi Seong across the parking lot, where I ate a meal that was just like the first one I'd ever had there—crackling and delicious 군만두/gun-mandu (fried dumplings) with seismically crunchy 깐풍기/gganpoonggi (chicken poppers in sweet-spicy sauce—crunchy without getting soggy). I was in heaven. The food was exactly what I'd dreamed of, so much better than General Tso's, and the only negative was that the experience had to end. I made sure to thank the chefs on my way out, and I lumber-waddled out into the pleasant evening air, looking positively pregnant but feeling supremely at peace with the world after committing the mortal sin of gluttony. I'll atone tomorrow, I swear, if atonement is possible.

I walked around looking for an electronics store to see about buying myself a new power pack, but all I found was a Daiso (Japanese dollar store) that sold only cheap items. I next went looking for a place that sold winter beanies, and there was no shortage of those. My first stop was a Black Yak, Korea's answer to The North Face (which also has a branch in this part of Daegu). Black Yak had a simple-looking beanie... for the low-low price of sixty fucking thousand won (about $42, US). I went next door to a humbler-looking store called Eider; they had almost the same beanie on sale for W19,000. Ideally, such a simple hat shouldn't be more than W5,000, but after the sticker shock of W60,000, I shelled out for the cheaper hat. And now, I am re-behatted.

I visited that 7-Eleven again and got the rest of the supplies that I had forgotten to get—two small packs of wet wipes and two packs of regular tissues for my constantly running nose (I love the cold mornings, but I pay a price for that love). And here I am again, finishing up this entry. One more proofreading (which won't catch everything), and I'll hit "publish."

ADDENDUM: Bonus pics! From the resto:

the under-the-table drawer with utensils and napkins

settings and sides

mandu 1 (dumplings)

mandu 2 (dumplings)

깐풍기/gganpoonggi (crispy chicken poppers in sweet-spicy sauce)

miraculously crispy

PHOTO ESSAY

starting out late at 5:28 a.m.

convenience store, inconveniently closed at this early hour (not true of all stores in this area)

Aslan, or the ass-lion? Another Lion's Club statue at the edge of town.

The sign says this is the Dalseong Lion's Club.

Seongha-ri (Seongha Village) bus top

early-morning traffic

crossing under a baesumun/배수믄 (drainage gate)

first straightaway of the day

looking back at the eerie bridge (박석진교/Park Seok-jin Bridge)

light pollution lights the way

tributary

slippery when cold and a little frosty; I had to tread carefully

didn't go that way (not a standard bike path)

Lovecraftian ambiance

interesting glove

almost like meeting the "yin" glove after seeing the "yang" glove

exercise parks abound in Korea; the ethos in this country is keep moving

I got passed by morning bikers.

Pink Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris)

sunflowers, but midgety

It says "Dalseong," the area's name, in somewhat abstract letters.

This tree's been through some stuff, thwarted every time it tries to grow a branch.

funky concrete

I only just noticed the "I hate" graffito. I hate what?

bench and litter

never stop growin' stuff

some kind of dorm-style residence on the right

I expect to see the faces of the insane... but, no.

one of many ditches that, when it rains, become tributaries

cafe of some sort...?

You knew it had to happen: park golf.

Yeah, enjoy yourselves, you...

heavy burlap on the trail for better purchase going up or down

until the next park-golf course

I think you can rent these and pedal around in the summer.

coming up on the Dalseong Dam (admin-building tower visible)

Convenience stores in and around the admin building aren't open yet, either, dammit.

Dalseong Sunset Park (Dalseong Noeul-gongweon/달성노을공원)

information office by the dam

the dam itself fades into the fog

But you can see the morning's gotten brighter. (7:09 a.m.)

interesting sculpture

a Star Trek set...?

We're in Stephen King's novella The Mist.

info signs and cert center

If you look closely at the map inside the Dalseong Dam certification center, you can see that the east-coast trail (dark-blue line), which was completed down to Busan in 2017, doesn't go all the way down to Busan. That's because the map hasn't been updated since 2017.

another route map

24K to the next dam: Gangjeong-goryeong Dam

The term 닭강정/dak gangjeong refers to chicken poppers—bite-sized chunks of dark meat deep-fried and often served with something for dipping—sauces or even some types of salt (think back to my NeNe Chicken experience). So when I see "Gangjeong-goryeong Dam," I get hungry even though I realize that the gangjeong for the dam is from two totally different hanja than the gangjeong for the chicken poppers is. God, I'm always thinking about food.

Oh, look—another furry.

how puny when seen in context

The white arrow-signs say I'm going the right way: Nakdong River Bike Path.

국토종주, but upside-down

I think this lady marks the beginning of Spider Alley 2.

There will be plenty of Dewey Webbs along this stretch.

impressive web

These spiders all survived the night, but they're sluggish thanks to the cold.

Even if you don't like spiders, you can surely see the beauty in their form and in how they look covered in dewdrops.

straightaway, with pedestrian lane

국토종주 in both directions

Yes, Paul, there was no one here when I stepped into the bikers' lane, as I did often to get spider pics.

23.1 km to go to the next dam

occasional disrepair is to be expected

self-explanatory, what with the translations right there

curved through the third dimension

Congrats—you've got all eight of your legs.

Written as "Andong dam" instead of "Andongdam" for once. If only "dam" were capitalized.

slight chicane

7:40 a.m.—about another two hours before the fog lifts

just chillin'

I don't see anybody home.

different web

sluggity-slug

dead

Seongsan Bridge (Seongsan-daegyo/성산대교)

benches under the bridge

I so wished that that were a food truck, but it's a bike-repair truck.

Lots of benches under the bridge. I've been by this place when festivals were being held here.

another bridge—Goryeong-gyo/고령교 (Goryeong Bridge)

Not all spray-painted words are graffiti.

breaking the 200K mark soon (and we're back to writing "Andongdam")

looking back at the Goryeong Bridge

another bridge guardian

See the web?

Get out of my fucking lane, asshole.

In situations like the above, I don't yield because the bikers are in my lane, where they're not supposed to be. In fairness, I've seen plenty of walkers do the same thing to bikers by bumbling along heedlessly in the bike lanes. Either way, it's obnoxious and inconsiderate—but not surprising.

another muscular earthworm

VIDEO: The worm turns.

88 Nakdong River Bridge (88 Nakdonggang-gyo/88낙동강교)

bunker

I said BUNKER

up a little rise

persimmon trees in the distance

persimmon trees, closer up

purple morning glory

Don't be sloppy when putting up your signage.

a place to throw away your "waste vinyl" (vinyl = the local word for some kinds of plastic, like grocery bags)

It hurts just to think of a real hand in there, contorted like that.

wide shot of the waste-vinyl dump

first line: "Dispose of your agricultural waste plastic in the collection area."
second line: "Throwing waste plastic outside of the collection-area entrance is illegal and will be fined."

Just capturing the majesty of the utility pole, a.k.a. local phallic symbol.

More garlic; you can sometimes smell it.

What a life, eh?

I could've taken that path down there, but if I had, I wouldn't have enjoyed the view I did from up here.

And so we continue.

rich soil (looks even richer on Jeju Island)

spider off to the left

I'm not sure, but I think the grandma saw me.

Farmers, like taxi drivers in Seoul, are getting collectively older. In a generation or so, I can see all of these jobs being replaced by AI machines. Sad.

the work goes on

Bike path meets access ramp; farm vehicles go up onto the bike path routinely.

looking down at the parallel path again

drainage gate coming up

another access ramp

And note how the normal rural setup is: farms and fields on one side of the berm; undeveloped land on the other side, closer to the water (undeveloped because of flood potential, I'd bet).

so many persimmons still to be picked even in early November

river and parallel path

one o' them narrow farm roads

animal asshole

another animal asshole—dog or cat (probably a cat given the lack of clawprints)

the path splits; I head right

an ajumma surveys her domain

The terms ajeossi and ajumma literally mean "uncle" and "aunt," but they are also used generically to refer to adult strangers who are usually of a certain age. I've heard it said that, technically, a young woman becomes an ajumma ("auntie") the moment she gets married. I guess that makes sense. But I'd argue that, even if she were a 50-year-old spinster, she'd still be an ajumma. A bit like in French culture, where the transition from mademoiselle (literally, "my damsel") to madame (feudal "my lady") has more to do with age than with marital status.

The concept of the ajumma comes with certain connotations. Ajummas, unlike blushing young, unmarried women, tend to be loud, assertive, opinionated, and not shy about expressing their opinions, however wrong they might be. Ajummas are also legendarily believed to possess uncanny reserves of strength, endurance, and fortitude—a notion that probably comes from centuries of hardship on the peninsula. Ajummas who work in restaurants can lift extremely heavy pots, balance heavy objects on their heads, and handle burning-hot kitchen equipment without the aid of protective gloves or cloths. Traditionally, the man might be King Breadwinner outside of the household, but inside the household, it's the ajumma who rules as queen, often managing finances and family, feeding the spouse and kids, putting out metaphorical fires, etc. She is une femme à tout faire. And her husband had better understand this if he desires domestic tranquility.

crossing here

6.9 km back to Dalseong Dam

We cross.

so sad

sad on the other side, too

swinging left, then swerving right

9:46 a.m.—fog will be lifting soon

that chair

to be executed for its crimes, but not this morning

swerving left in a bit

first hints that the day is about the brighten

The sun is beating back the fog. 197K to Andong Dam. Under 200K and almost at the halfway point.

a modern but beaten-up shwimteo

I'm resting here, having done so before.

temperatures have come up

shwimteo in the distance (I never go there)

a peloton of bikers

While there are plenty of Koreans who walk, run, or bike alone, most of them prefer to do things in groups. It's a group-first culture.

from 197K to 196K

chrysanthemums

국토종주 (you can sound that out, right? if not, see here again)

This looks like a tempting spot to fly a drone.

municipal Daegu in the distance

10K to Gangjeong-goryeong Dam; 45.3K to Chilgok Dam

so close to halfway—500 m to go

What happened there, little creature?

another mouse, feeling deflated

shwimteo (I didn't stop here)

gravesite

This might be a heron.

drainage gate coming up

It's called Okgong Drainage Gate. (Okgong-baesumun/옥공배수문)

looking right to a path I won't be taking

12:10 p.m.

farmland with city in the distance

more algae

Okpo Ecological Park (Okpo Saengtae-gongweon/옥포 생태공원)

click to enlarge the battered sign and read the English

equipment drivers chug-chug-chuggin' away

a jogger passes me—one of two or three to do so

12:40 p.m.—that bigger-than-usual snake

Also 12:40—It did get crawling... but slowly.

12:47 p.m. Right here is where I met those two bikers. I told them about the snake.

those ubiquitous creekside paths

I guess we're going left, hoss.

Park-golf course, but curiously bereft of flags for each hole. Maybe it's closed for some reason?

Old Joe's shack

left across the bridge (we're almost in town)

cross this bridge, through the tunnel, and up to the right

not much traffic, thank Gudonov

another creekside path

almost across

ads for things to find in Dalseong County (Dalseong-gun/달성군)

all the ads in one shot (pier, park, village inn)

through the tunnel

out of the tunnel and a bit uphill

I get the impression that this sign is not for a temple so much as it's for a fortune-teller's place. The small font at the bottom of the blue sign says 정해룡사/Jeong Haeryong-sa. It's written in hangeul, but the hanja could mean something about a sea-dragon temple, or it could mean something else entirely. The right-hand column of text says something about a mysterious rock, and the left-hand column, if I understand it correctly, says something about a grandmotherly mountain spirit (sanshin/산신). All of this to say: I have no idea, but my gut tells me this isn't a temple but a fortune-teller's place. Mountain spirits can factor into Buddhism, but they predate its arrival, being part of native shamanism. This is true for sea dragons, too.

tacky plastic lotus lanterns; the building's sign says, Hongcheon-sa/홍천사 (Red Sky Temple?)

construction

This building seems to be devoted to furniture (gagu/가구).

architectural interiors

another building with murals across it

Being built? Being saved from collapse? Both?

another richie-rich gravesite

wider shot

Up the short hill we go.

and up

then down

We cross the street and continue forward here.

Gura 3rd Village (Gura 3-li/구라3리)

shwimteo

into the woods

a clear shot of the shwimteo as I pass

up another little hill

myo

Several times during the walk, I had the urge to take a piss until I realized I was around these gravesites, so I had to tell my bladder to be patient until I was well away from holy ground.

Luckily, the path goes down for a bit.

then back up again (as I'd mentioned earlier—a series of short hills)

another gravesite on the other side of the hill

decent stone steps up; this site is new and/or well maintained

When I see this footbridge, I know I have only a few kilometers to go.

tributary to the Nakdong

Dalseong Wetland Information Map

We'll soon start seeing mention of a special, local frog called a maeng-ggongi (boreal digging frog).

a trail to cut through, then up a ramp next to that parking lot, then left and into town again

swerving left in a bit

heading straight to my destination, the If Hotel

Looking left. Do you see the boardwalk in the distance, allowing you to walk over the wetlands?

straight shot into town (this is western Daegu)

Basically, if Daegu is a clock, I've walked around from about 7 o'clock to 9 o'clock.

This boardwalk is only a couple of years old. I watched it being built over the course of previous walks.

Ach, die Touristen!

Maeng-ggongi Ecological Park

I should stroll along this someday.

"Maeng-ggongi Ecological Park" on the frog's belly

There was a guy with a camera, taking pics of the wetlands, and I tried to avoid him.

one of those ubiquitous "we'll frame it for you" frames for couples

shwimteo looking a bit like a small Viking longhouse

industry at the edge of town

thumbing a ride (or ordering a gladiator to die)

a talented family of maeng-ggongi

Apparently, they will invade even your G clefs.

crossing over

I go straight on for a few more blocks before turning left.

They really love the maeng-ggongi in this part of town.

almost at my motel's neighborhood and about to turn left

3:19 p.m.—the Hotel If (it's a motel, really, given the prices)

looking up

and looking across at my beloved restaurant, An Shi Seong

"Chinese restauran" (sic)

drat—closed from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. for a break

Since I couldn't hit the resto right then, I went into the motel and got my room, then went out and bought snacks at a local convenience store. I was tired and famished and unsure whether to eat first or nap first since I had until 5 p.m. I ate, waited, and farted around on my phone.

I was in Room 302.

the vestibule/anteroom/hyeongwan/현관

Koreans take their shoes off whenever entering a dwelling. They don't have to do this in offices, shops, or many restaurants, but some restos, especially more traditional Korean ones, do have a shoe-removal requirement. Some shwimteo and old-style jeonmangdae (observation decks) will have injunctions to remove one's shoes so as to keep the floors fairly clean. Not taking off your shoes is a major breach of etiquette, but there can be exceptions, such as when the movers are constantly going into and out of your home to cart in or cart out boxes of your stuff.

In an apartment or a house, the hyeon-gwan (not hyeong-wan) is the vestibular area where shoes are removed and often stored (if there's a gudujang/구두장, or shoe shelf). Restaurants that require shoe removal have such spaces, too.

I grew up in a household with a Korean mom, so it went without saying that I never wore shoes inside the house. It was a shock when I went to France to stay with my French host family, where everyone blithely traipsed indoors without removing their shoes. I didn't say anything, but I was aghast and found the custom dirty. Of course, people can get used to anything, and these days, decades later, I no longer care. When I'm in France, I know it's not a problem to keep my shoes on. (My French family also used cloth napkins at dinner, but instead of washing them after every meal and using new napkins, they would fold up the used napkins and put them into an armoire drawer until the next meal. I got used to that, too. Who cares about food crumbs and a little dried saliva, right? Right?)

a shot of the main room from the hyeongwan

straight shot of the bed (very comfortable)

bathroom (note the jacuzzi function in the tub, which I didn't use), equipped with a smart toilet

While I waited for 5 p.m. to roll around, I did wash my travel-worn crotch out while sitting on the smart toilet thanks to the toilet's "bidet" function. Unlike a real French bidet, which has a wide, gentle "faucet" stream, the smart toilet's "bidet" fires a strong and very narrow beam of water right into your asshole. The first time I experienced a Japanese bidet in Fukuoka years ago, I was startled and felt ass-raped, sitting bolt-upright on the pot, eyes bugging out as I tried not to scream. I guess the idea is that the East Asian bidet sandblasts all the chunks away, leaving you no need to wipe, but I've always found that using the bidet without washing/wiping is likely to leave me making skid marks—too many nooks and crannies in there. So I soap up my "cleaning hand" and get to work down there while the water beam is firing away (which it does for what feels like thirty seconds to a minute unless you hit the "stop" button). With the crack now properly cleansed, I then pat myself dry, stand up, flush, and wash my hands for good measure. That seems to be a winning formula for me.

What, too much information? Are you a Swiss nun or something?

a mirror pic taken from across the room and cropped to give a zoom effect (also flipped horizontally)

bandanna riding a little too high on my forehead

Then it was 5 o'clock, so I limped across the parking lot to enjoy the meal I'd been dreaming about since the beginning of this walk. There is simply no other place I know of in Korea that makes gganpoonggi the way this place does.

Many restos have table drawers that store utensils and napkins.

the standard sides come out

I also ordered a plate of gun-mandu (fried dumplings or potstickers), which I ate slowly and with relish while I downed my chicken. Here's the mandu:

gun-mandu ("goon-mahn-doo"); gun/군 = fried; mandu/만두 = dumplings

The mandu here are almost as awesome as the chicken.

slightly more food-porny closeup

And then the chicken came out:

Oh, God, I've been waiting for this for days.

I need to learn the chef's secret for how to create super-crunchy chicken that stays crunchy despite being sauced. A lot of Korean-style Chinese places apparently don't know the secret or no longer care: their gganpoonggi comes out soaked and sopping. Here's another "s" word: sad. It comes out sad. And that's why this place, of all the Chinese places I've tried in Korea, sticks in my mind.

absolute heaven

I do need to pull back from my rapture to note that the godlike crunchiness of the chicken isn't always guaranteed here. I've been here several times, and there have been occasions where the crunchiness has been less than ideal—not bad, but not up to the stellar level of my very first visit here (which wasn't in 2017, when I did my first walk... my plotted route back then was a little different, not taking me to this part of the city, so... 2019, maybe? I'll have to check). This year's visit was up to that level.

Anyway, dinner passed way too quickly even though I did try to eat slowly and savor the experience. Would I take a date here? You bet. Have I tried anything else on the menu? Nope. I'm often open-minded about trying new things, but when I find something I really like, I tend to latch on to that thing. This may explain why it seems to others that I don't want to branch out and try more walking routes. That's a misperception, to be sure: I do enjoy new routes and have done many of them. But at the same time, I also enjoy walking routes I'm familiar with. Sure, they're the same in a general sense when I rewalk them, but every walk along familiar routes is also different in its details, every single time. And the same can be said for An Shi Seong's gganpoonggi. A bit different every time, but mostly guaranteed to be awesome. I cannot praise this place enough. Even on a bad day, it's great.