In the morning the passing mist reveals some of the mountains lit by the rising sun. This was a moment worth waiting through days of rain and cloud for.
Breakfast is provided by the hotel. The Korean food is good but I settle on the comfort of Western: cornflakes, toast and jam. Coffee is not provided. (That's later and in the hotel lobby at two dollars a cup). There's nothing to spread the jam on the toast. I ask for a knife. (In Korean and in English and with my best miming). The waiter looks frightened and scuttles off. A second waiter comes. I repeat my request. The same response. A third one appears. He returns, 5 minutes later, with a knife. My Korean table-mates told me they had already tried to get a knife but were told to use their spoon instead. What's going on?
We quickly check out and depart on the final climb. Our bus is once again No. 1 in the convey. It helps that we have a high official in the Hyundai Asan company with us. About ten other buses follow us up a narrow mountain road with hairpin bends. The driver is good and very careful. (He is not South Korean but Chinese ethnic Korean). We continue walking up the road and see the damaged bridges on the path; concrete slabs pushed metres out of position by the force of the water and culverts blocked by boulders. Our track is also an overflow from the river, so once again it's wet feet.
Now we are once again in a situation remarkably similar to South Korean hiking. Too many people (about 10 bus loads) pushing past each other up and down narrow paths. There was a spectacular rock at the end of our course, except that it was covered in people.
Some of the wildlife!
After returning there's time for a quick lunch (neng-myeon - the cold noodle soup - a staple dish of the North). One of my favourites.
Group photo outside the restaurant where we had lunch - photo shooting is organised here - just stand on the white line!
Our buses line up in convoy order for the trip back across to the South. The hotel staff are lined up outside the hotel to wave us off. "Ready, one, two, three - WAVE" in a wonderfully spontaneous display.
The soldiers do not wave.
Soon we are back in the south, where although the soldiers do not wave either, they do look a lot friendlier.
We get our mobile phones back. How could we all have survived for so long without? The absence of silly phone talk is one of the good things in the North. Perhaps it's not so bad after all!
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