tonight's adventure

I walked a somewhat different route tonight, mainly because I was curious to see whether the northern/eastern side of the Tan-cheon was walkable. Turns out it was, but at the very end, the bridge I normally cross to go back to my place was blocked, forcing me to use a nearby bridge to cross. Pics and explanations follow.

I left the office around 7 p.m. Took a look at the stairs leading down to the Yangjae-cheon (Yangjae Creek) to see whether the flood had receded any. It hadn't.

I really don't get the silly red tape. You can't see the danger without help?

another angle to drive home the point that the stairs no longer lead down to a bike path

green font at the top: "Contemplative Resting Place"
white font just below: "Your Body and Mind's Place for Rest"
poem title: "Scholar Met at the Yangjae-cheon"

a sad-looking lamppost... whatcha' knowin'?

a tree on the submerged bike/walking path

more stairs into the drink

When I used to walk the Yangjae-cheon more often, doing staircases, this was what I mentally labelled as "Staircase #1." As you see, it's suffered a good bit of damage from the flooding, partly because the stair-builders insist on not building these stairs solidly. Every year, there's a staircase collapse because no one appreciates how soft the ground is. People never learn. Staircase #1 will be rebuilt flimsily, and the cycle/circus will continue.

another shot of poor, sad Staircase #1

a flower defies the rain

the flower's cousin, I guess

compare this with the two previous shots of the same spot

this, too

and this, from off the bridge

I thought this was a nifty shot.

pylons and water

the far side of the Tan-cheon, which I'll be walking soon

that wooden walkway paralleling the Tan-cheon, high up and away from the water

another nifty shot; off in the distance, the bright lights of a stadium

the high level of the Tan-cheon walk keeps you by the creek (right), but you follow a road for part of it

endoscopy ad on the side of a bus for a medical center called, funnily enough, Happiness Hospital

I crossed the Samseong Bridge as I'd done the previous night, and I stepped through a flimsy tape barrier to access the other path along the Tan-cheon. From the south, the Tan-cheon angles roughly northwestward toward the Han River before suddenly turning almost straight north during its final segment. This is why it's hard to describe where the path I'm walking is. This is the east/north side of the Tan-cheon path, which is currently the un-submerged side. Having now walked a goodly stretch of the path, I have no idea why it was blocked off. Other people were on the path as well—to be expected in Korea, where people ignore rules and laws all the damn time (and I've become one of them).

the ramp down to the Tan-cheon path

The driver's-test course is almost totally submerged except for the raised section you see here.

In case you've forgotten, the course normally looks like this.

oh, the irony (the sign says, roughly, No bikes or kickboards)

As I said, Koreans routinely ignore rules and laws. The kickboard/scooter above shouldn't have been there, and as I walked along the path, I saw several bikers and kickboarders, none of whom should have been doing what they were doing. Of course, I had ignored a cautionary bit of tape to walk this path, so I wasn't in any position to tell these scofflaws what to do.

Abandon ship! Normally, this house sits on dry concrete. It looks pretty damn flooded now.

a sort-of straightaway

water was pouring out from somewhere off to my left

a flood gauge of some kind

one of several large signs advertising this as part of the Songpa Dulle-gil (the 21K Songpa Loop)

another straightaway; the flood waters didn't get quite this high (notice there's no silt)

Korean sunflower, I think, but the yellow center makes me unsure

bathroom break, noticing the emergency button to summon the police

I guess the water got close enough to soften the soil, here, and topple another lamppost.

sorry for the blur

The bridge where I normally do my U-turn and turn toward my apartment was blocked.

see?

I'm on a ramp and moving up to the nearby bridge now. Here's a wide shot of the blockage.

A curved ramp takes me up to the bridge.

on the bridge, now—and here's the ramp I walked

shot of the blockage from the bridge

Google says "교행데크" (gyohaeng-dekeu) translates to "crossing deck." The red dot shows your current location.

I crossed the bridge and took this ramp one level down—still way above the creek.

I've never been on this part of the path before; I usually walk at creek level. This is nice, but noisy because of traffic.

LED sign for the Suseo Interchange, Yangjae Interchange, and Irweon Tunnel

Take away the traffic noise, and this is a nice path.

more silly tape barriers, but the creekside section of the path, at this point, is clear

all in all, it's just a...nother brick in the wall

Every time I pass this phalanx of apartments, I get a fortress-like feeling.

I'll be going right, taking the path that goes under the bridge.

Here we go.

I pop up, and the rest of this path is familiar. I've done it a million times.

more silly barriers

a sign about not speeding on your bike: keep it under 20 kph for people's safety (people first!)

closer and closer to my place

These shots of the Lotte World Tower never come out as awesome as I'd like.

digital zoom

the footbridge that means my apartment is less than a kilometer away

final shot: Gaepo-ro, the street leading to my apartment building

Now that I know how walkable the other side of the Tan-cheon is, I'll be doing this route until the flood recedes, and things return more or less to normal. It's interesting to discover these new paths that have been sitting right under my nose, but because they're almost all elevated, they put me at the same level as street traffic, which makes these walks noisy and reeking with exhaust fumes. I'll be happy to get back to creekside walking—soon, I hope.