I’ve been back in Korea for only 6 weeks and I’ve already
had 2 holidays. Unfortunately, my holiday doesn’t really coincide with other
private institutions so I opted to go on this mini adventure alone. I decided
to go to 선유도 Seonyudo, a group of islands off
the west coast of Korea. The islands are connected via bridges allowing you to
leisurely cycle around. It was the perfect remedy for 4 weeks of stress-less
work (since the last holiday I went on to Jeju Island).
It took 5
hours to get there from Seoul (3½ on the coach and 1½ on the ferry), but it
was totally worth it. It’s stunning. The colour I associate Korea with is grey.
Grey buildings, grey sky, grey rivers, but here there was a spectrum of colour.
Blue sky, green islands, white sand, and the sea was clean. Not like the murky
waters of the Han River, it was clean, and a rich blue. It was worth the
journey to end up somewhere that felt more like the Caribbean than Korea.
The
islands are remote. There are about 3 shops, 4 restaurants, no ATMs and no
wifi. I was cut off from the world. I rented a bicycle, paid the ₩10,000 (£6)
fee, no questions asked, no record of my ID, just a “bring it back tomorrow”
attitude. I love Korea. I spent the afternoon cycling around the southern
islands before retiring to the beach, with a beer…or 3.
After
spending the night in a love motel (which was rather depressing as I spent the
night alone) I explored the northern islands and again later returned to the
beach to relax and sit in the shade…with a beer…or 3.
Along the
beach runs a 700m zip line. The departure point of the line is 50m up a tower. I lounged on the beach and watched many people (adults, children, old ladies) zip across
the beach. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the joyous mood I was in, but
I decided to give it a go. I paid the ₩15,000 (£10) (I got a “handsome man”
discount of ₩5,000 (£3)), and got the lift to the top of the tower. The doors
opened and I immediately thought that this was a bad idea. The scenery was
amazing, but the prospect of jumping from 50m was not. Since doing a skydive I’ve developed a fear of heights.
Alongside
me in the lift was a couple. Being the English gentleman that I am I protested
that they went first. They were scared but they did it. Now it was my turn and
the only people around to judge me were the staff. I told the guy that I wasn’t
doing it. He argued with me, and even tried to grab me to hook my harness to
the zip line. I ducked and dived and evaded him. I was back in the lift and was
heading down.
The doors
opened again, this time on the ground floor. The staff who helped me into my
harness then helped me out of it. They were pleasantly understanding until the “boss”
turned up and he was more than happy to laugh in my face. He explained that
there would be no refunds, but to be honest, I’d have paid another £10 not to
have done it.
I’m not
Bear Grylls. I’m not an “adrenaline junkie”. I don’t need to chase the next
high. If I want that addictive “high” sensation I’ll start taking heroin. At
this stage in my life I am officially ruling out bungee jumping, base jumping,
zip lining, or any activity that requires me to jump from a considerable
height. I’m not as brave as I used to be, but there’s no shame in that.
I went to
the shop, got some more beers, resumed my position on the beach and continued
to watch the brave/stupid people on the zip line.
It was a
great few days away and I learnt a lot about myself.
