the city of Gwangju

From Gwangju, I will be travelling down to Damyang 담양 which is famous for its bamboo forest. Damyang is located 40min away from Gwangju by bus and it is from here that will begin my tumultous journey to Damyang. Firstly, instead of going straight to Damyang-gun, I decided to head to Samjicheon 삼지천, a village in Changyeong that has been designated as a slow city by Korea. To get there, I needed to take Bus 303 whereby I was suppose to get off at Changpyeong police station. However, strange thing is although the same bus number 303, different buses of 303 have different routes for each 303. So you have to make sure you get on to the right 303 by checking the routes listed in front of the bus window. They should really labeled the bus as 303-1, 303-2 etc. Another thing, the bus number 303 is not listed at any of the bus stops located in Gwangju. Not knowing this and despite given direction by the person at the tourist infromation counter located just outside Gwangju train station, I had have difficulty finding its stop until I caught a glimpse of the bus after walking for a while and followed it to see where it stopped. Thank God, I found one parked along a street as the bus driver were resting away. Asking the bus driver whether this bus goes to Changpyeong and he said yes, I boarded it.

The bus driver was REALLY skillful in driving. He could maneuver all steep bends skillfully and did I not say he was really driving fast too. The journey to Changpyeong was a very bumpy ride as Changpyeong is a farming region and so the road were mainly of ground and rocks and unless you are a local there, you totally have no idea where bus stops next as there is totally no designated bus stop stand at most of the places it passed through. I got lost eventually not knowing where to stop until the bus reach its very last stop, somewhere in a farm, really. The driver seeing that I was a foreigner somehow knew from my expression I was lost so he asked me again where I was going and was it slow city which I wanted to go. I said yes and he murmured something which I sort of figured out that he said this is not the right bus and on the way back, we passed by another 303 which he asked me to alight and take that bus, at the same time telling the other bus driver that I wanted to go slow city. Koreans, although sometimes they look fierce, they are actually quite friendly and helpful ^_^. By the time I boarded the right 303, my stomach was already weak from all the rocky roads and at one point, I almost couldn't take it anymore. I got my plastic bag ready in one hand and nearly wanted to puke but thank God, I haven't had my lunch and managed to suppress it.

Finally I reached my first destination Samjicheon. By then, I was just glad to be out of the bus and the mood for sightseeing was totally killed by the journey. Anyway, I travelled so far and after what I went through, I must not make a wasted trip. So here's the pictures:

Basically Samjicheon is a small village which still contains original traditional korean houses known as Hanok and where traditional heritage are well preserved.

I caught a glimpse of a cherry blossom tree blooming in someone's house

Jars of sauces prepared in traditional way

a church near by the village

Myself! - travelling alone

After Samjicheon, next is the bamboo forest in Damyang-gun. I made sure that this time I will board the right 303 bus..haha. After 15min, I arrived in the city of Damyang at the bus terminal.

an ahjuma selling hotteok 호떡 at the roadside

the famous bamboos of Damyang

Resting

I'm a fan of this korean variety show 1 night 2 days...simply love the chemistry between the 7 members. This was one of their destinations in one of their episodes.

flowers among the multitudes of  bamboos

Bought some stuff and strawberries are in season...yummy!

Next up is Jinhae, a city famous for its cherry blossoms...you won't regret going there ^_*