Day 77 – Chuncheon
Today was one of the worst days in regards to weather since we arrived in South Korea with temperatures of only 11 degrees Celsius and constant rain. While having breakfast we realised we lost our red snoopy umbrella in Kyoto Japan so we had to buy a new one.
At Chuncheon Station we got a train bound for Gimyujeong Station so we could do the Gangchon Rail Bike. At the station we took the Korail and not the ITX train as there is a massive price difference. The name / type of train is printed on the side of the carriages.
Not know to us, there are only a certain times that the Rail Bikes are launched, so we had to wait over an hour until 1.30pm as the staff must have been on their lunch break. When we first arrived there was only a handful of customers, but around 1pm at least 100 primary school students appeared. Doh! To pass the time, we read all the posters around the place, and turns out the rail even goes through the snow and there is a VR game which can be done. We also discovered that it is marginally cheaper to buy the tickets online at trip advisor than at the ticket counter (at least in November 2018).
The rail ride was amazing, wet but amazing. There is a brake but the only time we used it was when we were about to hit the school kids in front of us. The start of the rail is downhill so you pick up decent speed. The views of the surrounding mountains and river were beautiful despite the grey skies.
The tracks through the mountains would have been enough to say the Rail Bike is worth it, but then we had an amazing time going through the three themed tunnels. Each one had its own theme. The best for us was the bubble tunnel as it bought back memories of our wedding.
After the 25 minutes of cycling I was feeling it in my legs. J was fine, but I don’t think she was peddling half the time. After disembarking the Rail Bike, we got onto a conventional train and had a 20 minute ride to Gangchon Station. If we wanted we could get a complementary bus back to Gimyujeong Station , but we wanted to go to the Animation Museum, so we caught a bus as per Naver Map.
We had some difficulty getting the connecting bus. We waited for 30 minutes and then were told that the bus no longer runs from a local.
The major Bus Stops have these screens which makes life easier.
We gave up trying to go to the animation museum today and headed back to town. Here we went to the Intercity Bus Terminal to see how we would leave tomorrow. There was a ticket machine that was straight forward to use which had heaps of options. We decided to wait until tomorrow to purchase the tickets.
We then had hot chocolate to warm us up from a nearby Starbucks. One of the best hot chocolates I’ve had in ages. With new found energy we walked a few kilometres to a Sculpture Park. The park is small but has plenty of sculptures and a beautiful arched foot bridge.
From there we walked back to Dakgalbi Street and while walking past we were ushered into a Chuncheon Chicken Store by super friendly staff. This was honestly the best service we have had in all of Korea. Our drenched bags were taken off to the side to dry and our jackets were padded down with paper towels before being hung up.
We ordered the Dakgalbi (Stir Fried Chicken) with vegetables and it was divine. They cooked the chicken and vegetables on the table in the BBQ, and told us how to eat it, which is to roll the chicken with some fresh lettuce. The restaurant also has unlimited soft drinks which was a nice touch. Easily the best meal in Korea to date.
Then we walked back home. We had to place our clothing and bags on the floor to dry (heated flooring again). The rain was still pouring when we went to bed. Despite the rain, today was awesome thanks to the Rail Bikes and Dakgalbi Chicken.