I don't think I've ever been on a cable car, but I've always wanted to go. The idea of gliding above a city or a forest or across a body of water just seems so cool. A few ropes, a metal box hanging from the ropes, the world below, a tiny slice in the line and boom. It's the most exciting time you can have moving 10 km/hr. I've wanted to get to Busan's cable car since Sara's birthday in May, but for some reason we couldn't get out there. Finally on my birthday, six months later, we did.
From Oncheonjang Subway Station you make your way up the mountain to the north. It's about a ten or fifteen minute walk up a hill that leads to a wall with a few different entrances through. One is Geumgang Park, a beautiful serene place captured in my last blog post. If you're there, you're not at the cable car. Leave the park and turn right. Walk up the hill some more. You'll see a temple, that's not it either, though it is beautiful. Keep going, you're almost there. Soon you'll come to a park that's sort of like an amusement park. There will be lots of people and a bunch of signs and people selling stuff. You'll be able to see some rides, like carnival rides for kids, over the trees. And a sign that says, "Rope Way." That's what you want. Follow the signs, get to the rope way, pay 14,000 won for your round trip ticket, and then get on.
At the top of the mountain you'll find what's left of Geumjong Fortress, basically a long wall and four massive stone gates. Geumjong Fortress kind of tells the story of Korea in that it was built to prevent attacks and then destroyed, then re-built to defend against the Chinese and then destroyed, then re-built to defend against the Japanese and then destroyed, and then finally partially re-built as a reminder of all the attacks. There's not much left of the fortress, but the hiking is great and if you've got a lot of time, which we didn't, you can hike to Seokbulsa temple, which is a temple carved into the rocks of the mountain. Sounds cool. As always, here's 10 pictures and some foolish comments.
Busan
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| The highlight is the view of Busan. |
The Station
The Car
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| As the tram pulled into the station, everyone was taking pictures, the people on board saw this and everybody started to pose and smile and flash peace signs. |
The View
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Perfect Timing
Smile... or Don't
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| I don't know why I'm not smiling, it was an awesome time. |
Fall
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| Here's where this lens really shines. This mountain was packed with people and in order to not have a thousand people walking through every picture, you've got to get really close to your subject, and that's what I did here. I'm like three feet from this tree and because the lens is so wide, it gets everything. A great lens for Korea, or any crowded place. |
Red, Yellow, Green
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| The trees were a hundred shads of fall. Everything from green to red, sometimes even on the same tree. |
The Hiker
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| We didn't realize that we were going to be hiking, so we were not really dressed for the occasion. Not a surprise. |
Flowers
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| There were a few small flowers left, hiding in the hills. |
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