A Beginner’s Guide to Nostalgic Camping as an Old-School Camper 3 - Online Shopping

As expected, the most exciting period is the planning and preparation stage

After work, every evening I watched YouTube channels like “auto camping,” “car camping,” and “wild camping,” and before I knew it, it felt as if my mind and body were floating inside the videos.

I thought the newly coined term “internet travel” perfectly described my lifestyle.

At last, the weekend came around again,

and I gathered my courage and casually brought it up to my roommate.

Me: “Last time we tried camping, we didn’t have a windscreen, so the burner flame kept going out and almost wouldn’t stay lit~~~ Why don’t we go to Gorilla Camping once to buy a windscreen?”

Roommate: “...We only have to buy a windscreen!!!”

After barely getting approval like that, I headed back to Gorilla Camping in Hanam with a swelling sense of excitement.

Since it was my second visit now, I felt a little more familiar with the place, and I walked into the store confidently, guiding my roommate like a tour guide.

But the excitement was short-lived.....

If I even took a quick look at the various camping items,

or touched them for a moment,

from behind me,

“Don’t even think about buying it~~~!!!”

“ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”

It was as if I had brought along a full-time guard.

In the end, we went home having bought only two 2,000-won camping gloves and a windscreen.....

(The gloves were the only thing my roommate had suggested buying first, and they were really useful!!!)

I felt empty and downhearted, but we had “internet shopping,” didn’t we~ haha

With my smartphone in hand, I boldly. Fearlessly. Went on a shopping spree.

While repeating to myself, “Yes—hesitation only delays delivery!!!”

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“Oh no~~~ What if all of that gets delivered at once???? ㅠㅠㅠ I need to hide it little by littleㅠㅠㅠ”

When living life, you always need at least one ally on your side.

In the end, half excitement, half fear...

The day of destiny arrived.

I can’t tell you how glad and proud I was that my son was at home taking online classes.

After a secret phone call with my only ally,

I sent a careful message.

I looked forward to the time I could leave work, and the commute home felt exciting.

“Surely, surely... it’s been hidden well~~~!!!!”

. . .

The moment the elevator door opened, my roommate shouted in a sharp voice.

“What is that!!!”

...

While my ally was briefly out, a delivery box that had arrived late had been left outside the door.

“Uh~ it’s a camping charcoal grill...”

Fortunately, even though only one had been discovered, ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Taking advantage of the moment when my roommate was busy preparing dinner, I quietly slipped into the study room.

Delivery boxes were lined up, waiting for me!!!

Since dinner preparation would take a little time.

Carefully, quietly, I began unboxing them one by one.

(Unboxing secretly is this thrilling and exhilarating!!! haha)

I folded the delivery boxes neatly to reduce their volume as much as possible...

And, worried that the door to the study might be opened with “Dinner’s ready,” I trembled with anxiety.

Every now and then, I went out to check how much longer dinner preparation would take...

After asking several times whether dinner was ready,

my roommate probably thought I was asking because I was hungry~~~ haha

Even though I was sitting in front of the dinner my roommate had carefully prepared,

I wasn’t hungry at all, so I just quickly ate everything.

While washing the dishes, I slipped back into the study and finished organizing the boxes I hadn’t yet cleaned up.

“Hmm~~~ now everything’s been sorted out!!!”

With a sigh of relief,

I took out my smartphone again and tried to make a camping site reservation.

A weekend camping reservation a few days later was like plucking a star from the sky, and since I had no knowledge of which campsite was good,

I made an impulsive reservation for any place that would accept one.

It seems I’m now fully prepared!!!

Camping again this weekend!!!

“Ah, right, we still don’t have a shelterㅠㅠㅠ”

I had already placed an online pre-order for the popular vehicle docking tent “Jed Auto Dual Palace 2,”

but I had been told that delivery would start from May 20...

Still, I comforted myself with the thought that something being a little incomplete might be what guarantees anticipation and excitement for the future.

I declared to my family,

“Camping again this Saturday!”

Tsundere, tsundere!!!

When I opened my eyes in the morning, I heard someone muttering.

“To sort the recyclables,

you have to remove the stickers and tape from the delivery boxes properly,

and the plastic and bubble wrap too...

mutter mutter...”

I had been caught leaving the delivery boxes and plastic from the previous night folded and crumpled in a corner.

Looking at me, they muttered,

“What did you order so much stuff for~~~ mutter mutter...”

When I pretended not to hear it, they gave up.

My roommate, who is secretly a tsundere, becomes a very cooperative helper once they’ve given up.

Now, we had cleared one hurdle.

After getting through a fairly busy morning and taking a short breather,

an unexpected, unbelievable message suddenly popped up!

Two weeks earlier, I had called “Namyangju Gorilla Camping” to ask about the arrival timing and availability of the “Jed Auto Dual Palace 2,”

and they said they would check and get back to me, but they never contacted me,

so I called again the next day. After the phone rang for quite a while, they finally answered and said,

“Ah~ I told you we’d contact you when it comes in later.”

So I had simply given up.

The impression I got from the phone conversation was that they were somewhat disorganized and a little unfriendly.

But then, like another tsundere appearing...

they contacted me so kindly like this!!!

I wanted to run there immediately, but I firmly promised to pick it up tomorrow.

Now, tomorrow, the “Jed Auto Dual Palace 2” will also come into my arms.

I quickly canceled the order for the Jed Auto Dual Palace that I had already paid for online and that was scheduled to ship sequentially starting May 20.

Another day passed,

and after work, with the help of my tsundere roommate, who kindly drove me around as my driver because I’m terrible with directions, I rushed out to Namyangju Gorilla Camping.

At last, Namyangju Gorilla Camping!

Even though it was a weekday evening, it was so crowded.

It was hard even to find the owner...

Fortunately, I found the owner and said,

“I’m the person who reserved the Jed Auto Dual Palace 2 and came to pick it up. The last digits of my phone number are ....”

The owner looked through the notebook for a long time and then tilted his head.

“Ah... did something go wrong? ㅠㅠㅠ”

At last, the owner seemed to have found something in the notebook.

“Oh, you didn’t prepay. You can pay now.”

While paying, I also bought charcoal and firewood.

When I asked whether they also had the “double grill” sold at Daiso,

they explained that it was just below the register.

When I said I’d buy the double grill too,

the tsundere owner of Namyangju Gorilla Camping said,

“Just take it as a free gift.”

Only then did my driver—and roommate—arrive late after finally parking properly.

Pointing at the double grill with his hand, he said bluntly,

“Why did you buy this too!”

The owner smiled and said,

“It’s free anyway ^.^”

At that moment, I felt so relieved~ haha

The Jed Auto Dual Palace is quite heavy.

The experienced staff at Namyangju Gorilla Camping even loaded it directly into the trunk for me as a service!!!

On the way to Namyangju, I thought of a close older brother who lives nearby in Guri, so I sent him a message.

“Hyung, have you left work?”

Instead of a reply, a photo flew in.

It was 17 minutes away by navigation, so I headed straight there.

With jokbal and a refreshing soju-mixed beer, I got swept away by the movie-like tales of many camping adventures from long ago told by my older brother and his wife.

Have I truly become fully prepared now!!!

Now,

I’ll pitch a tent with Mozart’s Divertimento playing in the background,

sit in a relaxing chair,

and listen to Pink Martini’s Splendor in the Grass,

sing Danny Boy as the evening glow settles and fades away,

and then, looking up at the night sky,

all that will be left is to lose myself in Pat Metheny’s The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress...

Internet Shopping Purchase List

1. Lighting

Claymore Ultra Plus L

Claymore 3Face L

Bounce Hormong sentimental lantern

Barebones sentimental lantern (Forest)

Lantern stand - Idoogen

2. Table

Marex Table 1200M

Huae-dong Cube Block Jed table

3. Chair

Marex long relaxing chair

Jed camping chair

4. Tableware

Kazmi cutlery set

Kazmi mug set

5. Shelf

Natural wood-style wooden shelf, 3 tiers

6. Fire pit

Bab Grill (Bab Camping)

7. Screen

Grandview Deluxe GMP-25F screen

8. Bluetooth speaker

Fix Dual-Fi Bluetooth speaker - the only purchase I regret

9. Tent

Jed Auto Dual Palace 2

“I’ll gradually upload detailed reviews of each product later”