Namhae

With impromptu road trips, the plan is that you plan as you go… So you google search places to stay on the five hour drive down and find a gem just a stone’s throw away from the beach.

As a Greek mythology buff, a pension called Pygmalion definitely sounded appealing and a little past 8 o’clock, the girls and I drove over the ‘Golden Gate Bridge’ to Namhae, a group of little islands on the south of the peninsula. We were greeted by the owner who showed us our room and then offered to drive us to the nearest village for some local fare, galchi jorim, a spicy stew made of hair tail fish.

Long weekends when summer is turning to fall means a lack of crowds, cool breezes and the last gasp of sunshine and Namhae is the perfect retreat. Song Jong beach, which I’m sure is packed to the brim with people in the summer was practically deserted and although the errant jellyfish tentacle stung a little, the water was perfect and it was a great day to day drink on the beach.

Namhae is known for its German Town where, coincidentally, they were hosting an Oktoberfest. Sadly, I am not much of a beer drinker but they also had some German rose, which was a great alternative and went exceptionally well with the sausages and pork belly. I did make some progress with the beer too, seven whole sips!

There are buses to and from Namhae from Nambu Terminal in Seoul five times a day but Namhae is one of those trips you want to take by car with a group of friends blasting some music and munching on goodies you get at the rest stops along the way!