Wednesday, Aug. 39, 2006--Hanoi to Haiphong
I never sleep well when I must set the alarm for an early bus or train. I set the alarm last night for 4:50, knowing it would take 30 minutes to bathe and get out of the hotel and another 20 minutes or so to get me to the train station for my 6 a.m. train. But I slept restlessly worrying about whether the alarm would really go off. I eventually awoke and got up 10 minutes earlier than planned.
The hotel was locked up tight when I tried to leave. But one of the young men working there was sleeping on a cot by the door. He had to get up, unlock the glass doors, and raise the metal doors to let me out. It had been raining slightly, but it was dry enough by then for me to walk with no problems.
I was excited about my plan. I would arrive in Haiphong at 8:15 and would go to the ferry landing. I intended to catch a ferry to Hong Gai, a small village on Ha Long Bay, the bay with all the karst upcroppings that is always shown in films from Vietnam. I had decided on Hong Gai, because the ferry to there went by the main concentration of outcroppings saving me from having to take an organized day tour on a boat to see them.
The train ride went well. I sat with a family group of about 6 adults. The hard wooden seats (only thing available on this train) were uncomfortable. But I read a book and tried to get the time to pass without noticing too much.
I hadn't even planned to come to this part of Vietnam. Although it is a big tourist area, this is the rainy season here. I had already decided that it would be best just to avoid it and the mountain provinces north of Hanoi because of August and September being the wettest months of the year. I changed my mind after being encouraged to leave my hotel in Hanoi, because I had communicated from Texas with a couple of Vietnamese people on an Internet travel discussion board. I was lucky. Although it rained hard just before we arrived in Haiphong, it was sunny when we got here.
First, I went into the train station to plan my departure. I bought two train tickets for tomorrow--one to get me from here to Hanoi, and an overnight train to get me from there to Hue. Then I walked to the ferry landing. That's where things started falling apart. The ferries to Hong Gai had been canceled. Everyone seems to go to Kat Ba and then do the organized tour. I didn't want to take the ferry to Kat Ba, because it doesn't travel through the bay; it goes behind an island. Why should I go there for one night when I wouldn't see the upcroppings on the way and wouldn't have time to take a tour?
I decided just to stay here in Haiphong, and it was such a good decision. Haiphong is a fairly small city that is easy to get around by walking. They aren't used to tourists. The tourists pass through without stopping except to maybe each a meal before catching the ferries or buses. So all the local people were amazed to see me. They all smiled and said hello. Father's holding children would walk up to me so that the children could wave to me. It was the kind of day I really enjoy most when traveling: mingling with local people--seeing what their daily lives are like and interacting to a certain extent with them.
I ate lunch on the street. The couple were so happy to have me at their eating stall. They sat me on a short plastic stool at a small table on the sidewalk. The man immediately poured me a bia hoi (local draught beef) which I realized was best, since they didn't sell anything else to drink. The woman brought me a plate of rice noodles, a bowl of sweet vinegary sauce with slices of carrot and cucumber in it, a plate with two fried spring rolls cut into pieces, a bowl of various leaves, and a small empty bowl. I tried dipping a piece of the spring roll into the sauce, and she came over to show me what I should do. She put some noodles in the small bowl, a piece of spring roll on top of that, pulled apart some leaves and added them to that and then poured some of the sauce over it all. I ate that with the chopsticks, then I repeated the process 4-5 times until I had gotten full. The whole meal with the drink cost $1.25.
In the afternoon, I tried to explore two sites in town. One is a long communal living house. When I got there, it was closed. I got the impression it may have burned down and was being rebuilt. Anyway, it was under a cover and had been closed for about a year. From there, I walked to a pagoda temple. It was interesting to see, but photos were not allowed.
I returned to town and just walked up and down streets saying hello to people and seeing what was happening. One thing going on everywhere was that banners and flags were being hung along the streets. Sept. 2 is Vietnamese Indpendence Day, so they are preparing for the celebrations. Eventually, I stopped at a sidewalk barber and got my hair cut. He used manual hand clippers. I sat on a folding chair, and he had a mirror hanging on the concrete fence. He actually did a good job of cutting the hair, and I was impressed to see that he replaced the blade to shave my neck. People paused to watch, since it was so unusual to have a westerner getting a haircut in such a place. Cost: $.60.
As the day went along, I realized something was wrong. I was sneezing and my throat was starting to feel as if it might be getting sore. Sure enough, by bedtime I either had a cold or allergies. I'm not sure which. My head is aching and has been. Most of the discharge is clear. So I am hoping it is allergies and that it will clear up in just a few days. Maybe the open windows on the train as we passed through fields caused the reaction. But if it is a cold, I dread being sick for a week or so.
Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006--Haiphong
I checked out of the hotel at 9 so the ladies could clean the room. I walked and walked looking for an Internet cafe. I knew one just two blocks from my hotel, but it was full. Eventually, I had to return to it, since I couldn't find another. I feel draggy and uncomfortable due to the cold/allergies. I must pass the time until 3 p.m. when I will catch the train. There will be a 2 hour layover in Hanoi, then I will catch a night train for Hue. It's raining down that way, and I see a low pressure system off the coast of southern Vietnam. I've been lucky so far, I hope I don't arrive to days of raining. And I hope that the Independence Day celebrations don't cause a problem getting a hotel when I arrive tomorrow. Will just have to see.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Hanoi Is a Wonderful City!
Note: I used the computer in the hotel yesterday, and it is very slow. I had problems with posting to the blog. It finally told me it had posted, but I was unable to get the blog open to see. I'm on the same computer today, so I hope I am successful again.
Monday, Aug. 28, 2006--Hanoi (Continued)
I spent more of the afternoon walking after resting a while in my room. Hanoi is a fun city to just walk up and down the streets watching the people and interacting occasionally with one who wants to talk. Of course, the ones who want to talk the most are the motorcycle drivers who want you to hire them to take you on a ride around the quarter. But they are friendly and nice and tend not to be too pushy. Sometimes, however, an ordinary person on the street will speak. As I said yesterday, the streets and are alive with people. And the buildings are interesting to see. Unfortunately, I haven't taken many photos. The streets are too narrow and there are too many trees obsuring the view to get any really good photos of the buildings other than the largest ones that are museums or government buildings. While walking, I came across a supermarket and bought some snacks. Then I stopped at a juice shop and got a blended milk and watermelon. It was so refreshing after all the walking!
After returning to the room for a while, I went out early to dinner. Vietnamese eat early themselves, and I had picked out a small place which I knew would become crowded. As a single traveler, I'm not comfortable taking up a whole table when others are waiting. So I had dinner at 6 p.m. To get to the restaurant, I had to walk down a long, narrow alley far from the main street. I twisted and turned and eventually came to a small lighted dining room with about 10 tables. The specialty at the place is beefsteak cooked French style. It's was two pieces of sliced beef that had been tenderized and embedded with lots of garlic and cooked in a dark juicy sauce with a side of French fries. Everything else was ala carte, so I ordered a tomato-cucumber-onion salad, a loaf of French bread, and a Hanoi beer to go with it. The meal was so delicious. The tomatoes and cucumber tasted just the way they should but seldom do. I gulped down the salad. The meat was wonderful and the fries crispy and hot. The bread was perfect for sopping up the gravy from the meat along with all the bits of garlic in it. And the beer was very cold, since they serve it here over ice (manufactured and pure). That whole meal cost me $2.87!!
Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2006--Hanoi
I started today with the Vietnamese beef soup for breakfast. It was filling and tasty. They didn't make it here at my hotel. They sent an employee out onto the street to buy it from a street kitchen, so I was having the same meal that most Vietnamese eat themselves for breakfast.
I have had some problems at my hotel. When I arrived the first night, they seemed surprised that I was here, but they gave me a room. I showed them my reservation confirmation form, but it seemed to be news to them. Then this morning, I was told they didn't have a room for me tonight. I commented that I had a reservation. The response was that it was for only two nights. Then I produced my form showing that it was for 3 nights. They relented and said I could stay. But what a hassle!! And I wonder who will have to suffer for it. I could offer to share my room if necessary with someone else who has a reservation if they are short a room, but I decided to let them solve their own problems.
That did scare me into making plans for traveling tomorrow. I just have not been in the mood for planning how to move onward. But now I have decided to take a train to Haiphong tomorrow and then catch a ferry to an island. I'll write more about it later.
The museums were open today. I walked straight to a history museum and tured it, then I went across the street to another history museum which told the story of the revolution and wars. The history museum had a fantastic exhibit of pottery from one community here in Vietnam from ancient times to the present; the modern work is really outstanding, and I wish I had a way to buy something and send it home. Both were very nice museums--so much better than I have encountered in many Asian countries. In fact, Hanoi is surprising me as a city in the way it is so clean, cosmopolitan, etc. It definitely is one of the better cities in Asia--more compact than Bangkok, cheaper than Singapore and Hong Kong, lots more atmosphere than Singapore or Seoul, so much cleaner and developed than Yangon or Vientienne, so much better in all ways than Manila.
All museums here close from about 11:30 until 1:30 for a lunch break. So when I had to leave the museums, I went to the train station and bought my ticket for tomorrow. I have to leave the train station at 6 a.m.!!! What a horrible hour. I had one other choice--to leave at 5 a.m.! So 6 didn't sound so bad as I thought about my choices.
From the train station, I walked to the part of town that has the Ho Chi Minh tomb, the big square for communist parades, the presidential palace, and another lake called West Lake. I walked around part of West Lake watching men fish, people ride on swan boats, etc. I took a photo of a pagoda. Then I walked back to the hotel. I've thoroughly enjoyed myself, although as I look back over what I have done, it doesn't seem like much. I prefer seeing people, watching them going about their daily lives, seeing the food being cooked at the street kitchens, interacting with the children, etc., to spending all day going in and out of temples and other tourist sights.
After resting in the room and trying to plan where I will go once I arrive in Haiphong tomorrow, I went out in the late afternoon. I walked to Keim Lake in hopes of finding an ATM to get more cash before heading out into the hinterlands. I did find an ANZ Bank, one that rejected me Sunday night at the airport, but this time it gave me cash.
I walked around the lake watching the people. It is one of the main gathering places in Hanoi. Nights are more alive than the daytimes, since people are off work. I talked to a motorcycle driver who just wanted to be friendly and to a young man who hoped he could make some money off me. But I knew what was happening and just enjoyed the experience. Afterwards, I walked a couple of blocks from the lake and sat on a balcony where I had Vietnamese fried rice with chicken and draught beer. It was a relaxing place to be. The price was less than $2!
Tomorrow ill be an early day and a busy day. Hope it goes well. I changed my mind this afternoon about where to go. Rather than tell you now, I will wait to see if anything goes wrong causing me to alter my course. The problem is that I cannot stand organized tours. Yet that is how most people go to the area where I hope to go tomorrow. But they get trapped into boat rides that involve stopping to swim, stopping to cook fish and eat it, etc. I would be bored to death being on such a trip alone. So I am hoping to see the highlights without the crap that goes with the tours. Maybe it will work; maybe it won't. Whatever will be will be.
Monday, Aug. 28, 2006--Hanoi (Continued)
I spent more of the afternoon walking after resting a while in my room. Hanoi is a fun city to just walk up and down the streets watching the people and interacting occasionally with one who wants to talk. Of course, the ones who want to talk the most are the motorcycle drivers who want you to hire them to take you on a ride around the quarter. But they are friendly and nice and tend not to be too pushy. Sometimes, however, an ordinary person on the street will speak. As I said yesterday, the streets and are alive with people. And the buildings are interesting to see. Unfortunately, I haven't taken many photos. The streets are too narrow and there are too many trees obsuring the view to get any really good photos of the buildings other than the largest ones that are museums or government buildings. While walking, I came across a supermarket and bought some snacks. Then I stopped at a juice shop and got a blended milk and watermelon. It was so refreshing after all the walking!
After returning to the room for a while, I went out early to dinner. Vietnamese eat early themselves, and I had picked out a small place which I knew would become crowded. As a single traveler, I'm not comfortable taking up a whole table when others are waiting. So I had dinner at 6 p.m. To get to the restaurant, I had to walk down a long, narrow alley far from the main street. I twisted and turned and eventually came to a small lighted dining room with about 10 tables. The specialty at the place is beefsteak cooked French style. It's was two pieces of sliced beef that had been tenderized and embedded with lots of garlic and cooked in a dark juicy sauce with a side of French fries. Everything else was ala carte, so I ordered a tomato-cucumber-onion salad, a loaf of French bread, and a Hanoi beer to go with it. The meal was so delicious. The tomatoes and cucumber tasted just the way they should but seldom do. I gulped down the salad. The meat was wonderful and the fries crispy and hot. The bread was perfect for sopping up the gravy from the meat along with all the bits of garlic in it. And the beer was very cold, since they serve it here over ice (manufactured and pure). That whole meal cost me $2.87!!
Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2006--Hanoi
I started today with the Vietnamese beef soup for breakfast. It was filling and tasty. They didn't make it here at my hotel. They sent an employee out onto the street to buy it from a street kitchen, so I was having the same meal that most Vietnamese eat themselves for breakfast.
I have had some problems at my hotel. When I arrived the first night, they seemed surprised that I was here, but they gave me a room. I showed them my reservation confirmation form, but it seemed to be news to them. Then this morning, I was told they didn't have a room for me tonight. I commented that I had a reservation. The response was that it was for only two nights. Then I produced my form showing that it was for 3 nights. They relented and said I could stay. But what a hassle!! And I wonder who will have to suffer for it. I could offer to share my room if necessary with someone else who has a reservation if they are short a room, but I decided to let them solve their own problems.
That did scare me into making plans for traveling tomorrow. I just have not been in the mood for planning how to move onward. But now I have decided to take a train to Haiphong tomorrow and then catch a ferry to an island. I'll write more about it later.
The museums were open today. I walked straight to a history museum and tured it, then I went across the street to another history museum which told the story of the revolution and wars. The history museum had a fantastic exhibit of pottery from one community here in Vietnam from ancient times to the present; the modern work is really outstanding, and I wish I had a way to buy something and send it home. Both were very nice museums--so much better than I have encountered in many Asian countries. In fact, Hanoi is surprising me as a city in the way it is so clean, cosmopolitan, etc. It definitely is one of the better cities in Asia--more compact than Bangkok, cheaper than Singapore and Hong Kong, lots more atmosphere than Singapore or Seoul, so much cleaner and developed than Yangon or Vientienne, so much better in all ways than Manila.
All museums here close from about 11:30 until 1:30 for a lunch break. So when I had to leave the museums, I went to the train station and bought my ticket for tomorrow. I have to leave the train station at 6 a.m.!!! What a horrible hour. I had one other choice--to leave at 5 a.m.! So 6 didn't sound so bad as I thought about my choices.
From the train station, I walked to the part of town that has the Ho Chi Minh tomb, the big square for communist parades, the presidential palace, and another lake called West Lake. I walked around part of West Lake watching men fish, people ride on swan boats, etc. I took a photo of a pagoda. Then I walked back to the hotel. I've thoroughly enjoyed myself, although as I look back over what I have done, it doesn't seem like much. I prefer seeing people, watching them going about their daily lives, seeing the food being cooked at the street kitchens, interacting with the children, etc., to spending all day going in and out of temples and other tourist sights.
After resting in the room and trying to plan where I will go once I arrive in Haiphong tomorrow, I went out in the late afternoon. I walked to Keim Lake in hopes of finding an ATM to get more cash before heading out into the hinterlands. I did find an ANZ Bank, one that rejected me Sunday night at the airport, but this time it gave me cash.
I walked around the lake watching the people. It is one of the main gathering places in Hanoi. Nights are more alive than the daytimes, since people are off work. I talked to a motorcycle driver who just wanted to be friendly and to a young man who hoped he could make some money off me. But I knew what was happening and just enjoyed the experience. Afterwards, I walked a couple of blocks from the lake and sat on a balcony where I had Vietnamese fried rice with chicken and draught beer. It was a relaxing place to be. The price was less than $2!
Tomorrow ill be an early day and a busy day. Hope it goes well. I changed my mind this afternoon about where to go. Rather than tell you now, I will wait to see if anything goes wrong causing me to alter my course. The problem is that I cannot stand organized tours. Yet that is how most people go to the area where I hope to go tomorrow. But they get trapped into boat rides that involve stopping to swim, stopping to cook fish and eat it, etc. I would be bored to death being on such a trip alone. So I am hoping to see the highlights without the crap that goes with the tours. Maybe it will work; maybe it won't. Whatever will be will be.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Leaving Korea/Arriving in Vietnam
Saturday, Aug. 26, 2006--Busan (Continued)
I found another local restaurant near my hotel and had fantastic meal, although what I had is questionable. The owner actually had an English language menu. What she recommended and what I ate was named "Hangover Chasing Broth." It was a tomato-meat broth with vegetables and backbone sections with meat. As usual, it was served with a large variety of side dishes. I got almost totally full just eating the broth and the rice. The more I think about it, however, I wonder if I ate dog meat. As I was eating it, I couldn't place the meat. It had the texture somewhat of chicken, but it was on backbones cut in half that had a diameter of maybe 1 inch (2.5 cm). It wasn't beef. What other animal that is eaten would have that size of backbone? I didn't have a hangover for it to chase, but the taste was delicious whatever the meat was. And it was so spicy that it made my eyes water. A Korean guy at the next table eating the same broth was huffing and wiping his forehead from the heat it was generating in his body.
Sunday, Aug. 27, 2006, Gyeongju to Inchon Airport to Hanoi
Rain was forecast for the day. I got to the station at 8:30, just 5 minutes before it started. It was a good day to be traveling; I wouldn't have enjoyed being out seeing sights in that weather.
The ticket to the airport was more than I expected (more than the tourist office had said it would be)--about $37 for the 5-hour bus trip. But it got me all the way to the airport in bad weather without having to change anywhere or worry about connections. I still had 5 hours before my flight when I got there. I explored the airport and bought a small bag of cookies with my leftover coins--the first dessert I had eaten in about 10 days! I also exchanged my remaining Korean won bills for Thai baht. I could have gotten dollars, but that would have been more expensive in the long run; while paying to change money, I might as well pay once and get another currency that I know that I will be needing to buy along the way.
Hanoi Aiport is fairly new, but it seems to be degrading fast. It must not have been good construction. Or in small countries like this, there is sometimes corruption in the contracting that leaves the country with a poor building the contractor with extra money in his pocket that should have gone into the job. There was no problem going through immigration and customs, but there would have been if I hadn't gotten my visa in advance; Vietnam does not give visas at the border or airports.
I headed to an ATM I had read that would be available and it wouldn't take my credit card. As I looked around, I saw a bank of other ATMS representing various banks across the way. (The guildebook had indicated there would be only one, so I almost panicked before I saw the others.) I went to them and chose one that takes VISA. It said it was out of money. Then I tried the only other one in that cluster that said it would take VISA, and it, too, rejected my request! I looked around. Unbelievably, there was another cluster of ATMS (there must be at least 20 machines in that small airport lobby) further away. I tried ANZ, a Japanese bank I have used before, and was rejected again. About to give up hope, I tried Citibank. For a fee that isn't usually charged on credit card cash withdrawals, I got 3,000,000 dong. That's a little less than $200 U.S. How relieved I was to have local money.
I didn't know whether to expect a driver or not. I had told the hotel not to send one. But the confirmation voucher I got from them said that a driver would be waiting for me with my name on a board for the $10 fare that is the normal taxi charge. When I came out of customs to go to the ATM, there was no driver, but we had arrived 50 minutes earlier than scheduled. After my ATM ordeal, it was within 10 minutes of our scheduled arrival. But there still was no driver. I waited until 5 minutes past our expected arrival before feeling safe to go ahead and take a taxi.
As the guidebook had forewarned, a friend of the drivers was asked to come along after I had paid for the taxi. So he got a "free" ride. Fortunately, the detour to drop him off was only half a block off the route to bring me to my hotel. Best of all, the taxi driver didn't speak English well. Why is that so good? In countries like this, the normal procedure is for the taxi driver to spend the time getting to town (45 minutes of driving time while you are trapped in the taxi with them) explaining how bad the economy is, how difficult it is for people to make ends meet in the country, how he has to pay almost all of the taxi fare he gets to rent the car from the company, etc., in hopes of getting a big tip. For me, it is a real turnoff. I felt much better about tipping the guy last night for keeping his trap shut!! The other tactic that I avoided because of his lack of English was the push to get me to hire him for the day while I am here to take me around town privately to see the sights. It actually was a quite pleasant ride!!!
We came down wide boulevards and through elegant sections of town on the way to the Old Quarter where my hotel is. Here, it's anything but that. The streets are narrow and twist and wind like a maze. Even the driver had trouble finding my hotel. But he did find it avoiding something else my guidebook warned me about--drivers who try to take you elsewhere that gives them a kickback on rooms by telling you that your hotel has gone out of business.
My room is nice! The whole building, like all buildings in the Old Quarter is narrow. My room represents the width of the building, and there is only a narrow space to walk along the end of my bed which butts a side wall. But it is a long room. And it has molded plaster ceilings with an elegant light fixture and nice sconces on the walls. The bed is good. It's European style--two twin beds pushed together to make a double. I have a big TV with cable, a mini-fridge, a nice a/c with temperature control, etc. All that for $13 per night.
I stayed up another hour watching TV, because there was an Australian Football League (Footie) game on. I like watching that sport, and I seldom get to see it. Freemantle, a town I've visited, was mopping up the other team.
Monday, Aug. 28, 2006--Hanoi
Wow! I've definitely left rather quiet Korea which had heavy window coverings. At 5 a.m., the street noise began. And by 5:30, light was streaming through the thin curtains in my room. Although it's a nice room, there is no way to keep out that noise and light. I pulled out my shaving kit to get my earplugs, and that helped. Tonight, I will pull out my sleeping mask and use both it and the plugs so I can sleep later.
The neighborhood here (Old Quarter) is alive with people who live and work on the sidewalks during the daytime. Pedestrians are forced into the streets with all the beeping motorcycles (which have replaced all the bicycles which we used to see in photos of Hanoi). Getting around isn't too bad, however. Because of my experiences in Myanmar, Brazil, and other places, I've learned how to cross the street at a steady pace and let the drivers avoid me (rather than trying to avoid them myself and creating chaos as far as they are concerned). So I walked and walked and walked this morning. I wasn't sure, after twisting and turning several times, if I would find my way back, but I kept going. I watched people and looked in shop windows in the Old Quarter. I arrived at Kiem Lake and sat and enjoyed the serenety. I walked most of the way around it to the French Quarter. Then I walked block after block admiring the architecture of the wonderful old buildings (including the beautiful opera house) in that part of town. Eventually, I realized I was on a street that would lead me directly back to my hotel, so I returned here around noon to nap and relax.
I haven't eaten yet today other than the breakfast served by the hotel. Today, I had eggs and toast and the tang they serve instead of real orange juice. But tomorrow, I will have the Vietnamese noodles with beef. More on this afternoon and that in a later post.
Spending Update for Korea: I traveled a total of 9 days and spent $403.74 for a daily average of $44.86.
I found another local restaurant near my hotel and had fantastic meal, although what I had is questionable. The owner actually had an English language menu. What she recommended and what I ate was named "Hangover Chasing Broth." It was a tomato-meat broth with vegetables and backbone sections with meat. As usual, it was served with a large variety of side dishes. I got almost totally full just eating the broth and the rice. The more I think about it, however, I wonder if I ate dog meat. As I was eating it, I couldn't place the meat. It had the texture somewhat of chicken, but it was on backbones cut in half that had a diameter of maybe 1 inch (2.5 cm). It wasn't beef. What other animal that is eaten would have that size of backbone? I didn't have a hangover for it to chase, but the taste was delicious whatever the meat was. And it was so spicy that it made my eyes water. A Korean guy at the next table eating the same broth was huffing and wiping his forehead from the heat it was generating in his body.
Sunday, Aug. 27, 2006, Gyeongju to Inchon Airport to Hanoi
Rain was forecast for the day. I got to the station at 8:30, just 5 minutes before it started. It was a good day to be traveling; I wouldn't have enjoyed being out seeing sights in that weather.
The ticket to the airport was more than I expected (more than the tourist office had said it would be)--about $37 for the 5-hour bus trip. But it got me all the way to the airport in bad weather without having to change anywhere or worry about connections. I still had 5 hours before my flight when I got there. I explored the airport and bought a small bag of cookies with my leftover coins--the first dessert I had eaten in about 10 days! I also exchanged my remaining Korean won bills for Thai baht. I could have gotten dollars, but that would have been more expensive in the long run; while paying to change money, I might as well pay once and get another currency that I know that I will be needing to buy along the way.
Hanoi Aiport is fairly new, but it seems to be degrading fast. It must not have been good construction. Or in small countries like this, there is sometimes corruption in the contracting that leaves the country with a poor building the contractor with extra money in his pocket that should have gone into the job. There was no problem going through immigration and customs, but there would have been if I hadn't gotten my visa in advance; Vietnam does not give visas at the border or airports.
I headed to an ATM I had read that would be available and it wouldn't take my credit card. As I looked around, I saw a bank of other ATMS representing various banks across the way. (The guildebook had indicated there would be only one, so I almost panicked before I saw the others.) I went to them and chose one that takes VISA. It said it was out of money. Then I tried the only other one in that cluster that said it would take VISA, and it, too, rejected my request! I looked around. Unbelievably, there was another cluster of ATMS (there must be at least 20 machines in that small airport lobby) further away. I tried ANZ, a Japanese bank I have used before, and was rejected again. About to give up hope, I tried Citibank. For a fee that isn't usually charged on credit card cash withdrawals, I got 3,000,000 dong. That's a little less than $200 U.S. How relieved I was to have local money.
I didn't know whether to expect a driver or not. I had told the hotel not to send one. But the confirmation voucher I got from them said that a driver would be waiting for me with my name on a board for the $10 fare that is the normal taxi charge. When I came out of customs to go to the ATM, there was no driver, but we had arrived 50 minutes earlier than scheduled. After my ATM ordeal, it was within 10 minutes of our scheduled arrival. But there still was no driver. I waited until 5 minutes past our expected arrival before feeling safe to go ahead and take a taxi.
As the guidebook had forewarned, a friend of the drivers was asked to come along after I had paid for the taxi. So he got a "free" ride. Fortunately, the detour to drop him off was only half a block off the route to bring me to my hotel. Best of all, the taxi driver didn't speak English well. Why is that so good? In countries like this, the normal procedure is for the taxi driver to spend the time getting to town (45 minutes of driving time while you are trapped in the taxi with them) explaining how bad the economy is, how difficult it is for people to make ends meet in the country, how he has to pay almost all of the taxi fare he gets to rent the car from the company, etc., in hopes of getting a big tip. For me, it is a real turnoff. I felt much better about tipping the guy last night for keeping his trap shut!! The other tactic that I avoided because of his lack of English was the push to get me to hire him for the day while I am here to take me around town privately to see the sights. It actually was a quite pleasant ride!!!
We came down wide boulevards and through elegant sections of town on the way to the Old Quarter where my hotel is. Here, it's anything but that. The streets are narrow and twist and wind like a maze. Even the driver had trouble finding my hotel. But he did find it avoiding something else my guidebook warned me about--drivers who try to take you elsewhere that gives them a kickback on rooms by telling you that your hotel has gone out of business.
My room is nice! The whole building, like all buildings in the Old Quarter is narrow. My room represents the width of the building, and there is only a narrow space to walk along the end of my bed which butts a side wall. But it is a long room. And it has molded plaster ceilings with an elegant light fixture and nice sconces on the walls. The bed is good. It's European style--two twin beds pushed together to make a double. I have a big TV with cable, a mini-fridge, a nice a/c with temperature control, etc. All that for $13 per night.
I stayed up another hour watching TV, because there was an Australian Football League (Footie) game on. I like watching that sport, and I seldom get to see it. Freemantle, a town I've visited, was mopping up the other team.
Monday, Aug. 28, 2006--Hanoi
Wow! I've definitely left rather quiet Korea which had heavy window coverings. At 5 a.m., the street noise began. And by 5:30, light was streaming through the thin curtains in my room. Although it's a nice room, there is no way to keep out that noise and light. I pulled out my shaving kit to get my earplugs, and that helped. Tonight, I will pull out my sleeping mask and use both it and the plugs so I can sleep later.
The neighborhood here (Old Quarter) is alive with people who live and work on the sidewalks during the daytime. Pedestrians are forced into the streets with all the beeping motorcycles (which have replaced all the bicycles which we used to see in photos of Hanoi). Getting around isn't too bad, however. Because of my experiences in Myanmar, Brazil, and other places, I've learned how to cross the street at a steady pace and let the drivers avoid me (rather than trying to avoid them myself and creating chaos as far as they are concerned). So I walked and walked and walked this morning. I wasn't sure, after twisting and turning several times, if I would find my way back, but I kept going. I watched people and looked in shop windows in the Old Quarter. I arrived at Kiem Lake and sat and enjoyed the serenety. I walked most of the way around it to the French Quarter. Then I walked block after block admiring the architecture of the wonderful old buildings (including the beautiful opera house) in that part of town. Eventually, I realized I was on a street that would lead me directly back to my hotel, so I returned here around noon to nap and relax.
I haven't eaten yet today other than the breakfast served by the hotel. Today, I had eggs and toast and the tang they serve instead of real orange juice. But tomorrow, I will have the Vietnamese noodles with beef. More on this afternoon and that in a later post.
Spending Update for Korea: I traveled a total of 9 days and spent $403.74 for a daily average of $44.86.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Korean Portion of Trip Coming to an End
Saturday, Aug. 26, 2006--Gyeongju
Last night after leaving the cyber cafe, I went back to the restaurant where I had eaten lunch the day before. It was full of people, so I must be right about it being a good place. I took a table that was being left by a group. And two more groups came in right after me to take other tables that were being emptied. The owner was happy to see me again. I ordered the kimchee chicken again, since it was so good the first time around. Two men sitting at a table near me spoke to me in English. She had told them about my having been there the day before. This time around, she served several different side dishes. One was a freshly fried egg instead of the cold egg omelet she had served the day before. The better one was a salad consisting of small boiled bird eggs, crabmeat, some kind of vegetable, and mayonnaise. I was glad she served the pickled garlic again, since I had especially enjoyed that the day before. This time, she added some sliced pork to the dish; it may have been because she was running short on chicken. But it was as good as before. And I noticed for the first time that it was nice and spicy. It had been the day before, too, but it just hadn't registered. I saw several slices of pepper and that made me realize that my tongue and lips were tingling from eating it.
Today has been my last day of sightseeing. It was a rather long one. I took a bus into the countryside to visit two World Heritage Sites that are near each other. The bus went to Bulguksa Temple, a Buddhist temple from about 750 A.D. It's a beautiful complex with many buildings on various levels because of being built on a hillside. I got some good photos, but the interiors of all the buildings were off limits for photo taking. Too bad.
It was crowded there and everywhere else today. Koreans go places on weekends. It's such a common thing that motels always charge 5000 more per night on Friday and Saturday nights than they do the other nights of the week. And sure enough, last night my motel was full, whereas there weren't many guests on Thursday night. Anyway, among the teeming crowd at the temple were school groups. It was fun to watch them. On creative teacher had brought blocks that were cut so they could be stacked to create an arch. There are archways in the construction of the stone steps to the temple, so she had students trying to figure out how to put the blocks together to form the arch without it all collapsing first. That's a good teacher!! Another teacher I watched was a young man. He lectured and questioned his students with so much enthusiasm and concern for their learning. Then, as he was finished and walked away, several of the students ran up to walk along with him with their arms around his waist and legs--a true sign that the students like him.
From the temple, I went to Seokgulam Grotto which was built at the same time. Unfortunately, the grotto is further uphill from the temple. I walked a trail that went up and up and up. And not with any occasional downward dips like most trails have. This trail NEVER went down. At one point the ascent decreased, but then it picked up again. It was steep. And it was 3.2 km (2 miles) long. I can guarantee after that experience that my heart is in very good shape; no stress test on a treadmill could ever compare with the stress of that climb. And it had to be done in high temperatures with very high humidity. It was through a forest, however, that was teeming with interesting sounds--more sounds than usual for such a trail.
The grotto was nice. There is no longer a stream. I heard a guide explaining in English (to a bunch of Korean-looking people, so it must have been 3rd or 4th generation Korean-Americans who don't speak Korean but were visiting the land of their ancestors) that the Japanese cemented over the spring and that the Koreans later cemented over it a second time. But the main reason for going there is to see the two small temple buildings on the hillside, one of which contains a very special stone Buddha. In addition to the two temple buildings, there was the typical small building housing a huge bell.
Korean does an interesting thing. They number their national treasures. It would be like the U.S. deciding that the Declaration of Independence were National Treasure #1; the Constitution, National Treasure #2; the Liberty Bell, National Treasure #3; etc. Anyway, this Buddha figure is way up on the list--number 15 or so.
Walking back was so much easier than walking up to the grotto. And I had to go back, since the bus stop for town was at Bulguksa. I felt so sorry for people I passed who were on their way up.
Back in town, I stopped at the same dumpling place again today. But this time, I bought the small dumplings like the ones I had in Gongju when I first arrived in Korea. They are meat filled and served with soy sauce and slices of a pickled vegetable. I took them back to my room to eat as my afternoon snack.
The women at the tourist office directed me to a local spa, so I went to the sauna again this afternoon. This one was smaller than the one in Busan and seemed a little darker. But as I adjusted to being there, I realized it was a rather nice facility, too. There were fewer pools--one warm, one hot, and one cold. But there were both dry and wet saunas. The crowd was smaller; no more than 5-6 people were there at any one time. I stayed for 2 hours and just feel so relaxed now. That's where I just came from to write in the blog today.
Tomorrow will be a big travel day. I have to catch a bus from here to Inchon Airport at 9:10 a.m. I will get to Inchon about 3:30 or 4:00 p.m. Then my flight for Vietnam (Hanoi) will depart at 7:30 p.m. I'll get to Hanoi at 10:20, and there should be a taxi driver waiting with my name on a sign to take me into town. I already have a reservation at the Star Hotel. My next entry in the blog will probably be from there on Monday (Sunday night in Texas).
Last night after leaving the cyber cafe, I went back to the restaurant where I had eaten lunch the day before. It was full of people, so I must be right about it being a good place. I took a table that was being left by a group. And two more groups came in right after me to take other tables that were being emptied. The owner was happy to see me again. I ordered the kimchee chicken again, since it was so good the first time around. Two men sitting at a table near me spoke to me in English. She had told them about my having been there the day before. This time around, she served several different side dishes. One was a freshly fried egg instead of the cold egg omelet she had served the day before. The better one was a salad consisting of small boiled bird eggs, crabmeat, some kind of vegetable, and mayonnaise. I was glad she served the pickled garlic again, since I had especially enjoyed that the day before. This time, she added some sliced pork to the dish; it may have been because she was running short on chicken. But it was as good as before. And I noticed for the first time that it was nice and spicy. It had been the day before, too, but it just hadn't registered. I saw several slices of pepper and that made me realize that my tongue and lips were tingling from eating it.
Today has been my last day of sightseeing. It was a rather long one. I took a bus into the countryside to visit two World Heritage Sites that are near each other. The bus went to Bulguksa Temple, a Buddhist temple from about 750 A.D. It's a beautiful complex with many buildings on various levels because of being built on a hillside. I got some good photos, but the interiors of all the buildings were off limits for photo taking. Too bad.
It was crowded there and everywhere else today. Koreans go places on weekends. It's such a common thing that motels always charge 5000 more per night on Friday and Saturday nights than they do the other nights of the week. And sure enough, last night my motel was full, whereas there weren't many guests on Thursday night. Anyway, among the teeming crowd at the temple were school groups. It was fun to watch them. On creative teacher had brought blocks that were cut so they could be stacked to create an arch. There are archways in the construction of the stone steps to the temple, so she had students trying to figure out how to put the blocks together to form the arch without it all collapsing first. That's a good teacher!! Another teacher I watched was a young man. He lectured and questioned his students with so much enthusiasm and concern for their learning. Then, as he was finished and walked away, several of the students ran up to walk along with him with their arms around his waist and legs--a true sign that the students like him.
From the temple, I went to Seokgulam Grotto which was built at the same time. Unfortunately, the grotto is further uphill from the temple. I walked a trail that went up and up and up. And not with any occasional downward dips like most trails have. This trail NEVER went down. At one point the ascent decreased, but then it picked up again. It was steep. And it was 3.2 km (2 miles) long. I can guarantee after that experience that my heart is in very good shape; no stress test on a treadmill could ever compare with the stress of that climb. And it had to be done in high temperatures with very high humidity. It was through a forest, however, that was teeming with interesting sounds--more sounds than usual for such a trail.
The grotto was nice. There is no longer a stream. I heard a guide explaining in English (to a bunch of Korean-looking people, so it must have been 3rd or 4th generation Korean-Americans who don't speak Korean but were visiting the land of their ancestors) that the Japanese cemented over the spring and that the Koreans later cemented over it a second time. But the main reason for going there is to see the two small temple buildings on the hillside, one of which contains a very special stone Buddha. In addition to the two temple buildings, there was the typical small building housing a huge bell.
Korean does an interesting thing. They number their national treasures. It would be like the U.S. deciding that the Declaration of Independence were National Treasure #1; the Constitution, National Treasure #2; the Liberty Bell, National Treasure #3; etc. Anyway, this Buddha figure is way up on the list--number 15 or so.
Walking back was so much easier than walking up to the grotto. And I had to go back, since the bus stop for town was at Bulguksa. I felt so sorry for people I passed who were on their way up.
Back in town, I stopped at the same dumpling place again today. But this time, I bought the small dumplings like the ones I had in Gongju when I first arrived in Korea. They are meat filled and served with soy sauce and slices of a pickled vegetable. I took them back to my room to eat as my afternoon snack.
The women at the tourist office directed me to a local spa, so I went to the sauna again this afternoon. This one was smaller than the one in Busan and seemed a little darker. But as I adjusted to being there, I realized it was a rather nice facility, too. There were fewer pools--one warm, one hot, and one cold. But there were both dry and wet saunas. The crowd was smaller; no more than 5-6 people were there at any one time. I stayed for 2 hours and just feel so relaxed now. That's where I just came from to write in the blog today.
Tomorrow will be a big travel day. I have to catch a bus from here to Inchon Airport at 9:10 a.m. I will get to Inchon about 3:30 or 4:00 p.m. Then my flight for Vietnam (Hanoi) will depart at 7:30 p.m. I'll get to Hanoi at 10:20, and there should be a taxi driver waiting with my name on a sign to take me into town. I already have a reservation at the Star Hotel. My next entry in the blog will probably be from there on Monday (Sunday night in Texas).
Friday, August 25, 2006
Hot and Humid in Korea!!
It is so hot and humid here in Korea. We talk about humidity being bad in Texas, but it is nothing compared to this. Within minutes of leaving my air conditioned hotel room, my shirt starts sticking to me. It is really difficult to enjoy being outside and is always refreshing to return to the room. I bet the fall would be great here, however. I've seen such nice photos of the autumn leaves, and I know the humidity wouldn't be such a problem then.
Aug. 23, 2006--Busan (Continued)
A strange coincidence occurred on the subway as I made my way from the temple I visited to the area with the spa/sauna. The same man who had sat beside me on the train in the morning going up to the temple entered the same car I was in on the return train and sat beside me. I know it was the same man, because he was carrying a small Bible and reading it. My guess is that he is a lonely person who rides trains much of the day while reading his Bible as a way to be around people. But what a coincidence it was that we ended up in the same cars together twice in the same day.
Well, I went to the alternative spa I had spotted. And I'm so glad that I did. First, it was a very nice facility, but it wasn't the lavish hotel-like place that had been recommended by the guidebook. This was an almost brand new place that obviously serves the local people. (My guess is that locals buy a monthly pass.) And it was only $4 compared to the $10 price of the hotel spa. Although I had expressed anxiety in my previous posting, all went well. (It helps that I had read about the procedure and had seen a National Geographic or Discovery Channel film about the same kinds of spas in Japan. I bought my ticket in the lobby and was told to go to the 3rd floor. (The 2nd floor is the women's spa.) I took the elevator up and entered in a small vestibule. A man there took my ticket and indicated that I should walk up to the far edge of the vestibule (just before a step to the locker room floor). Then he indicated I should remove my shoes and step up to the next floor barefooted. When I did, he picked up my shoes and walked with me to a locker. He removed the key and handed it to me and placed my shoes in a plastic tray on the bottom of the locker. Fortunately, the procedure here was like in Danish spas. I knew to use the streachable band for the key to put it around my wrist or ankle after removing my clothes and locking them inside. While undressing, I watched the others to see what they were doing. After undressing, they were walking to a glass door and entering. So I did the same, picking up a small towel from a basket just before passing through the doorway.
As I entered, I could see the washing stations all around the front walls and in a small nook in the back. In the center and toward the back and on the sides were the facilities for bathing and sweating. I walked to a washing station to my right, sat on the short plastic stool and proceeded to soap and rinse myself all over. Because I knew how fastidious they are in these places about being clean before entering the pools, I repeated the process a second time. While I was still rinsing for the last time, a man who had been beside me pointed out some soap on my left shoulder; he probably feared I would contaminate the water by missing it if he didn't show it to me. (I'm glad he did. I think I would have gotten it, but one of the worst things you can do is get soap in the clear pools.)
I went to the biggest pool in the center where there were already about 8 men soaking. I stepped into it onto an inner step. Then I stepped further down to the bottom of the pool which made the water come to just below my waist. I sat down on the ledge where I had first stepped in. The water was nice and warm. I relaxed while looking around the facility to see what else was there. I saw a man and his young son bathing each other in the nook in preparation for entering the pools. They were scrubbing each other with a rough cloth (and probably with some salts I later saw in a box) until their skin was red, and they took a long time doing so. I saw four other pools, and I saw a hallway people went down. When I got too warm, I went to investigate using my hand to check the waters. The pool to the side was not as warm as the one I had been in, but it was warm. The one just behind the pool I had been in was HOT! The two pools on the back wall were both cold with one being colder than the other. The less cool of the two was long enough for people to swim a short lap and had two spouts of flowing water--one that was wide and nice for pouring over the whole body to cool it down and the other with a powerful force for massaging the body as one moved around underneath it. Down the hallway were two saunas--a wet one that had cobblestone floors and walls covered in lava and stones, and a dry one with wooden floors and benches and baking tiles covering the walls. (One should never make the mistake of leaning back against such tiles!!)
My routine became to go between three areas--the big hot (but not the hottest) pool, the cold (but not the coldest) pool, and the dry sauna. In time someone talked to me, and I was surprised at who it was. It was the little boy. He was 11 years old and takes English in school every day. He and his father then visited with me for sometime as they accompanied me from pool to pool to sauna. Others nodded and/or looked my way at times, but no one spoke. I wonder how many of them were disturbed that I was there? I can imagine that they wondered if I cleaned well before I came into the water.
After 1 1/2 hours, I soaped up and rinsed off again and exited the door. I stood on the mat just outside and dried off with one of the towels. Then I walked to my locker, put on my clothes, carried my shoes to the vestibule, sat on the stool there to put them on, and walked out. I felt so refreshed. It was a great experience and it made me feel good, too!
I looked for a snack at the train station near my hotel when I got off the subway, but I didn't see anything that looked especially good. I did, however, find a Danish hotdog restaurant serving Steff Holberg hotdogs (with no one inside the restaurant other than the employees). I went to a 7-11 and bought myself something else Danish--a small carton of Danish strawberry yogurt and drank it for my snack.
Aug. 24, 2006--Busan to Gyeongju
I got up at 6 again, but I was glad to do so today. I wanted to get to the subway before rush hour, since I needed to take it all the way across town to the bus station with my luggage. I got a seat and the car never got crowded. When I got to the bus station, there was a bus ready to leave for Gyeongju, so I got right on. I arrived by 8:30!
There were helpful women at the tourist kiosk next to the bus station. And when I told them the name of the hotel I had chosen from my guidebook, they pointed it out to me; the top floors were visible from there and were distinguished by a special orange color that none of the other buildings had. I checked into the hotel, but I couldn't have my room then; the rooms were being cleaned and prepared. I left my luggage and went out into the heat and humidity of the day.
Gyeongju is an old capital that has lots of burial mounds and ancient temples and houses. As the guidebook says, it is difficult to walk far in the city without coming across something historical and interesting. I picked out a route on the map that I had gotten at the tourist office and headed to a nearby park to see some of the tombs. I wandered around several of the tall mounds, then I entered another park across the street that has one of the few tombs that is opened to tourists.
It was a tomb of one of the old kings. They had cut the mound into a half-section so that tourists can enter a doorway and see the layers of the construction and the spot of the dead king. When they buried him, they put him in a wooden casket, built a small room around it with heavy wooden beams, mounded rocks several yards (meters) high over it, and then put sod over that. (One other tomb I visited the other day said that they had mixed lime with the sod to make it concrete-like to discourage people from digging into it. I don't know if they used lime in this one or not.) The far wall from the entrance to the tomb was the simi-circular cross-section of the tomb construction. At the base of it, was a plexiglass vault showing the remains of the king. Of course, all that could be seen was dirt and the gold and jade jewelry he had been wearing. Over time, the wood had deteriorated and the stones had apparently fallen in to flatten even these items. It was fascinating, however, to be seeing a real grave from so long ago (1500 years or so).
I walked through the rest of the park on my way to the next attraction. But it was so hot!! There was a water fountain where I stopped and scooped up handfulls of water to try to quench my thirst. And there were benches under trees where I sat and fanned myself with my Japanese fan I carry with me. The next potential stop was an old observatory. I could see it through the fence and shrubbery, and I decided it really wasn't worth paying to go inside to see it closer. I continued walking to the National Museum. But it was a LONG walk taking to the edge of town.
When I tried to pay, I was told that the museum was free. My guidebook didn't suggest any days that were free, and when I came out they were charging people. I don't know why it was free when I arrived except possibly for the fact it was before noon. Anyway, it is considered to be one of the best museums in Korea. It has lots of gold, silver, jade, glass, crystal, pottery, bronze, etc., from the area tombs and ruins displayed in 3 different buildings. It also has a wonderful old bell that took 30 years to cast and has a very nice sound (which I was able to hear because someone was disrespectful and knocked on it while I was there). Almost as good as the exhibits, however, was the air conditioning inside the buildings. How I hated to leave.
One thing I saw at the museum and have seen all over Korea is jade cut into what they call "comma" shapes. I think I would have called it "cashew" shapes myself. I wonder why that shape was so popular? I don't think I have seen anything jade here other than in that shape. They are incorporated into necklaces, bracelets, crowns, etc.
It took probably 1 1/2 hours to walk back to my hotel area from the museum. The sun was beaming. I was frantically looking for a place to eat. Finally, one block from my hotel I stopped at a small place (3 tables) with no customers. The lady spoke only a few words of English. I understood "rice" and "kimchee," but that was enough. She prepared me the best meal I have ever had in Korea. It was a mixture of kimchee and thin slices of chicken cooked in a metal pot. On the side were served a bowl of rice, a place with a small piece of fish (tuna?), and various vegetables and sprouts. When I started eating the kimchee with chopsticks, she came to correct me. Then she almost panicked as I started to spoon the rice into the pot. She indicated I should use the spoon to take a bite of rice from the rice bowl, and with the rice still on the spoon dip it into the kimchee-chicken mixture to complete a bite for the mouth. Later, I could tell she was worried that I was too slow and that the kimchee-chicken mixture was getting cold. But it really was a fantastic meal. UMMMMMMM!
I had to do laundry back at the hotel. The $5 "identical bag" (compared to the one from Copenhagen I had been wearing last year that was wearing out) I bought in India last year has a problem. They must have used shoe polish on it or something, because my pants are turning black from it rubbing against them! After 5 days, the sides of my pants were filthy. I washed pants, socks, and underwear. Fortuntately, the black came off. Because there were thunderstorms outside, I didn't go back out for the rest of the day.
Aug. 25, 2006--Gyeongju
I left the hotel today carrying my umbrella as a parasol. I got a little red on the face and the arms yesterday with all the walking I did in the sunshine. I don't want to burn more than that. So I am joining the Korean tradition (for both women and men) of carrying an umbrella to keep the sun off me.
There was an elderly German couple at the bus stop this morning. It's so nice to see older people traveling independently. They were going to a temple, but they said the village I was going to visit was "absolutely lovely." So they had already been there and walked the 1.5 km (.8 mile) to the village from the bus stop, walked up and down the hills to see the old houses, and walked back to the bus stop. My guess is that they were in their early 70s, but they could have been even older.
The village I visited was Yangdong Folk Village. It was the country home of high officials and prominant writers 300-400 years ago. It is filled with nice large old houses with tile roofs and small cottages with thatched roofs. Unfortunately, the richest people lived on the highest levels, so to see the nice houses with walls, tile roofs, etc., it is necessary to climb up one hill after another! But the views from each were nice, and the architecture was interesting to see. These are not abandoned buildings, however. People still live in them. It is allowed to enter the gate and look around without being too intrusive. People living in them creates another problem, however. Koreans do not tend to be tidy people. They leave stacks of things in yards. They collect things for future possible use (I guess). Anyway, what it means is that yards and porches can be junky looking. It was not easy to find beautful views for pictures due to each place having a mess of some kind to spoil it all. Overall, however, it is a very beautiful little village.
Back in town I bought 3 steamed buns hoping they would have bar-b-que inside. Instead, they had sweet red bean paste. I ate two of them. They were fine, but sweet red bean taste is just a little too rich tasting for me to enjoy it much. I gave the 3rd one to the lady at my hotel when I returned to the room. Unless we have heavy rain, I will go out tonight and have a night meal for a change.
Aug. 23, 2006--Busan (Continued)
A strange coincidence occurred on the subway as I made my way from the temple I visited to the area with the spa/sauna. The same man who had sat beside me on the train in the morning going up to the temple entered the same car I was in on the return train and sat beside me. I know it was the same man, because he was carrying a small Bible and reading it. My guess is that he is a lonely person who rides trains much of the day while reading his Bible as a way to be around people. But what a coincidence it was that we ended up in the same cars together twice in the same day.
Well, I went to the alternative spa I had spotted. And I'm so glad that I did. First, it was a very nice facility, but it wasn't the lavish hotel-like place that had been recommended by the guidebook. This was an almost brand new place that obviously serves the local people. (My guess is that locals buy a monthly pass.) And it was only $4 compared to the $10 price of the hotel spa. Although I had expressed anxiety in my previous posting, all went well. (It helps that I had read about the procedure and had seen a National Geographic or Discovery Channel film about the same kinds of spas in Japan. I bought my ticket in the lobby and was told to go to the 3rd floor. (The 2nd floor is the women's spa.) I took the elevator up and entered in a small vestibule. A man there took my ticket and indicated that I should walk up to the far edge of the vestibule (just before a step to the locker room floor). Then he indicated I should remove my shoes and step up to the next floor barefooted. When I did, he picked up my shoes and walked with me to a locker. He removed the key and handed it to me and placed my shoes in a plastic tray on the bottom of the locker. Fortunately, the procedure here was like in Danish spas. I knew to use the streachable band for the key to put it around my wrist or ankle after removing my clothes and locking them inside. While undressing, I watched the others to see what they were doing. After undressing, they were walking to a glass door and entering. So I did the same, picking up a small towel from a basket just before passing through the doorway.
As I entered, I could see the washing stations all around the front walls and in a small nook in the back. In the center and toward the back and on the sides were the facilities for bathing and sweating. I walked to a washing station to my right, sat on the short plastic stool and proceeded to soap and rinse myself all over. Because I knew how fastidious they are in these places about being clean before entering the pools, I repeated the process a second time. While I was still rinsing for the last time, a man who had been beside me pointed out some soap on my left shoulder; he probably feared I would contaminate the water by missing it if he didn't show it to me. (I'm glad he did. I think I would have gotten it, but one of the worst things you can do is get soap in the clear pools.)
I went to the biggest pool in the center where there were already about 8 men soaking. I stepped into it onto an inner step. Then I stepped further down to the bottom of the pool which made the water come to just below my waist. I sat down on the ledge where I had first stepped in. The water was nice and warm. I relaxed while looking around the facility to see what else was there. I saw a man and his young son bathing each other in the nook in preparation for entering the pools. They were scrubbing each other with a rough cloth (and probably with some salts I later saw in a box) until their skin was red, and they took a long time doing so. I saw four other pools, and I saw a hallway people went down. When I got too warm, I went to investigate using my hand to check the waters. The pool to the side was not as warm as the one I had been in, but it was warm. The one just behind the pool I had been in was HOT! The two pools on the back wall were both cold with one being colder than the other. The less cool of the two was long enough for people to swim a short lap and had two spouts of flowing water--one that was wide and nice for pouring over the whole body to cool it down and the other with a powerful force for massaging the body as one moved around underneath it. Down the hallway were two saunas--a wet one that had cobblestone floors and walls covered in lava and stones, and a dry one with wooden floors and benches and baking tiles covering the walls. (One should never make the mistake of leaning back against such tiles!!)
My routine became to go between three areas--the big hot (but not the hottest) pool, the cold (but not the coldest) pool, and the dry sauna. In time someone talked to me, and I was surprised at who it was. It was the little boy. He was 11 years old and takes English in school every day. He and his father then visited with me for sometime as they accompanied me from pool to pool to sauna. Others nodded and/or looked my way at times, but no one spoke. I wonder how many of them were disturbed that I was there? I can imagine that they wondered if I cleaned well before I came into the water.
After 1 1/2 hours, I soaped up and rinsed off again and exited the door. I stood on the mat just outside and dried off with one of the towels. Then I walked to my locker, put on my clothes, carried my shoes to the vestibule, sat on the stool there to put them on, and walked out. I felt so refreshed. It was a great experience and it made me feel good, too!
I looked for a snack at the train station near my hotel when I got off the subway, but I didn't see anything that looked especially good. I did, however, find a Danish hotdog restaurant serving Steff Holberg hotdogs (with no one inside the restaurant other than the employees). I went to a 7-11 and bought myself something else Danish--a small carton of Danish strawberry yogurt and drank it for my snack.
Aug. 24, 2006--Busan to Gyeongju
I got up at 6 again, but I was glad to do so today. I wanted to get to the subway before rush hour, since I needed to take it all the way across town to the bus station with my luggage. I got a seat and the car never got crowded. When I got to the bus station, there was a bus ready to leave for Gyeongju, so I got right on. I arrived by 8:30!
There were helpful women at the tourist kiosk next to the bus station. And when I told them the name of the hotel I had chosen from my guidebook, they pointed it out to me; the top floors were visible from there and were distinguished by a special orange color that none of the other buildings had. I checked into the hotel, but I couldn't have my room then; the rooms were being cleaned and prepared. I left my luggage and went out into the heat and humidity of the day.
Gyeongju is an old capital that has lots of burial mounds and ancient temples and houses. As the guidebook says, it is difficult to walk far in the city without coming across something historical and interesting. I picked out a route on the map that I had gotten at the tourist office and headed to a nearby park to see some of the tombs. I wandered around several of the tall mounds, then I entered another park across the street that has one of the few tombs that is opened to tourists.
It was a tomb of one of the old kings. They had cut the mound into a half-section so that tourists can enter a doorway and see the layers of the construction and the spot of the dead king. When they buried him, they put him in a wooden casket, built a small room around it with heavy wooden beams, mounded rocks several yards (meters) high over it, and then put sod over that. (One other tomb I visited the other day said that they had mixed lime with the sod to make it concrete-like to discourage people from digging into it. I don't know if they used lime in this one or not.) The far wall from the entrance to the tomb was the simi-circular cross-section of the tomb construction. At the base of it, was a plexiglass vault showing the remains of the king. Of course, all that could be seen was dirt and the gold and jade jewelry he had been wearing. Over time, the wood had deteriorated and the stones had apparently fallen in to flatten even these items. It was fascinating, however, to be seeing a real grave from so long ago (1500 years or so).
I walked through the rest of the park on my way to the next attraction. But it was so hot!! There was a water fountain where I stopped and scooped up handfulls of water to try to quench my thirst. And there were benches under trees where I sat and fanned myself with my Japanese fan I carry with me. The next potential stop was an old observatory. I could see it through the fence and shrubbery, and I decided it really wasn't worth paying to go inside to see it closer. I continued walking to the National Museum. But it was a LONG walk taking to the edge of town.
When I tried to pay, I was told that the museum was free. My guidebook didn't suggest any days that were free, and when I came out they were charging people. I don't know why it was free when I arrived except possibly for the fact it was before noon. Anyway, it is considered to be one of the best museums in Korea. It has lots of gold, silver, jade, glass, crystal, pottery, bronze, etc., from the area tombs and ruins displayed in 3 different buildings. It also has a wonderful old bell that took 30 years to cast and has a very nice sound (which I was able to hear because someone was disrespectful and knocked on it while I was there). Almost as good as the exhibits, however, was the air conditioning inside the buildings. How I hated to leave.
One thing I saw at the museum and have seen all over Korea is jade cut into what they call "comma" shapes. I think I would have called it "cashew" shapes myself. I wonder why that shape was so popular? I don't think I have seen anything jade here other than in that shape. They are incorporated into necklaces, bracelets, crowns, etc.
It took probably 1 1/2 hours to walk back to my hotel area from the museum. The sun was beaming. I was frantically looking for a place to eat. Finally, one block from my hotel I stopped at a small place (3 tables) with no customers. The lady spoke only a few words of English. I understood "rice" and "kimchee," but that was enough. She prepared me the best meal I have ever had in Korea. It was a mixture of kimchee and thin slices of chicken cooked in a metal pot. On the side were served a bowl of rice, a place with a small piece of fish (tuna?), and various vegetables and sprouts. When I started eating the kimchee with chopsticks, she came to correct me. Then she almost panicked as I started to spoon the rice into the pot. She indicated I should use the spoon to take a bite of rice from the rice bowl, and with the rice still on the spoon dip it into the kimchee-chicken mixture to complete a bite for the mouth. Later, I could tell she was worried that I was too slow and that the kimchee-chicken mixture was getting cold. But it really was a fantastic meal. UMMMMMMM!
I had to do laundry back at the hotel. The $5 "identical bag" (compared to the one from Copenhagen I had been wearing last year that was wearing out) I bought in India last year has a problem. They must have used shoe polish on it or something, because my pants are turning black from it rubbing against them! After 5 days, the sides of my pants were filthy. I washed pants, socks, and underwear. Fortuntately, the black came off. Because there were thunderstorms outside, I didn't go back out for the rest of the day.
Aug. 25, 2006--Gyeongju
I left the hotel today carrying my umbrella as a parasol. I got a little red on the face and the arms yesterday with all the walking I did in the sunshine. I don't want to burn more than that. So I am joining the Korean tradition (for both women and men) of carrying an umbrella to keep the sun off me.
There was an elderly German couple at the bus stop this morning. It's so nice to see older people traveling independently. They were going to a temple, but they said the village I was going to visit was "absolutely lovely." So they had already been there and walked the 1.5 km (.8 mile) to the village from the bus stop, walked up and down the hills to see the old houses, and walked back to the bus stop. My guess is that they were in their early 70s, but they could have been even older.
The village I visited was Yangdong Folk Village. It was the country home of high officials and prominant writers 300-400 years ago. It is filled with nice large old houses with tile roofs and small cottages with thatched roofs. Unfortunately, the richest people lived on the highest levels, so to see the nice houses with walls, tile roofs, etc., it is necessary to climb up one hill after another! But the views from each were nice, and the architecture was interesting to see. These are not abandoned buildings, however. People still live in them. It is allowed to enter the gate and look around without being too intrusive. People living in them creates another problem, however. Koreans do not tend to be tidy people. They leave stacks of things in yards. They collect things for future possible use (I guess). Anyway, what it means is that yards and porches can be junky looking. It was not easy to find beautful views for pictures due to each place having a mess of some kind to spoil it all. Overall, however, it is a very beautiful little village.
Back in town I bought 3 steamed buns hoping they would have bar-b-que inside. Instead, they had sweet red bean paste. I ate two of them. They were fine, but sweet red bean taste is just a little too rich tasting for me to enjoy it much. I gave the 3rd one to the lady at my hotel when I returned to the room. Unless we have heavy rain, I will go out tonight and have a night meal for a change.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Walking and Exploring
Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2006, Busan (Cont.)
Went through the fish market which is rather famous here. It was in the late afternoon, and I didn't expect anything to be going on there. But I saw a tour group coming out of the area. When I went to explore, I was surprised. There was as much activity as I would have expected in the early morning hours. Of course, the auction of the fish fresh off the boats was long over, but the stalls were full of fish and people selling it. To be honest, there was much more than fish. There were all kinds of horrible looking sea creatures for sale, and those were the things that were selling the most. Yuck!! It is difficult to find a place to eat here without some slimy seafood being in the dish you are served, too. Compared to western tastes, Korea must be about as far away from what is acceptable as any country in the world.
Two funny stories:
1. When I ate my rice dish which I wrote about yesterday, there was a small portion of slaw on the plate. I like slaw, but I like fried rice better. So I decided to eat all the slaw first so I could concentrate on eating the rice. Well, the owner of the restaurant saw me eating the slaw and assumed it was my favorite; she brought be a big bowl of more slaw and set it to the side. It was good, so I ate it, too. But I didn't eat it before eating the rice; I ate them together switching bites from one to the other.
2. I was having trouble finding my hotel yesterday. I saw the BIG hotel I was supposed to go behind to find my small place. But when I got behind it I didn't see any hotels. I stopped in a 7-11 store, and there was a young student who spoke English there. He didn't know where the hotel was, but he took my guidebook into the back and called the number to get directions. When he came back to tell me how to get there, he told me the name has changed and is now called the Hilton. Of course, I was puzzled thinking surely it couldn't be a REAL Hilton. Seeing that I was questioning something, he quickly responded, "Like Paris Hilton--Hilton." Can you believe that that woman is known over here? What has she ever done to become so widely known?
Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2006--Busan
I seem stuck at a set of times that still isn't right. I've been getting very sleepy and going to bed between 8:30 and 9 p.m. Then I have been waking up refreshed at 6 a.m. Somehow, I adjusted to the change of time zones without adjusting my sleep patterns properly.
This morning, I started the day by walking 6 subway stops. On the way was a Hyundai Department Store which was very exclusive looking and elegant. The basement food hall was fascinating. It must have had 30 different kinds of mushrooms. And it had better bread than can be bought in San Antonio. I left and continued on my way just trying to see what was along that route between my hotel and a big center of town where the two subway lines cross. I was tired by the time I got there, though. I tried to find a place to eat in the area and couldn't find anything that I knew I could trust what I would get. I went ahead and caught the subway to Beomoesa Station where I planned to go to a nearby temple. I looked for a place to eat there, too, and didn't find any thing. So I continued to the temple.
It was a nice old temple up in the mountains. The air was fresh, and a stream was flowing down beside it and the walkway to it. There were wonderful old tile rooftops, nice painted wood, wild looking figures (like often decorate Buddhist temples), etc. It is a temple that participates in the Temple Stay program--a program where a traveler can arrange to live and study at the temple for a period of days or weeks. I didn't see anyone who appeared to be there for that program, but I saw the old temple buildings that housed them.
Speaking of not seeing anyone. I had not seen a westerner since leaving the airport Saturday in Inchon until I got here to Busan. There is an American base nearby, and this is a big international port. So I have seen some men and some couples wandering around town here. Some look like they could be military in civilian clothes. But I have yet to see an American military man or woman in uniform in this country either this time or during my visit last year.
I finally found a place to eat after taking the subway back 6 stations to my next destination. Across from the station as I looked in the window, the woman called me inside. She held up a nice piece of cooked pork and indicated she would slice it to put in the soup. So I stopped there. A Korean man had just ordered the same dish, and I sat so I could watch him to know what to eat how, since they serve about 8 side dishes with the soup. I added salt and some red pepper paste to the soup, scouped my rice from the bowl into the soup, and stired. I ate the soup with a spoon. I reached across with my chopsticks and picked up the long green vegetables (what?) that had some kind of red paste on them; they were delicous. I also picked up some kimchee, the pickled cabbage that comes with every meal, and ate it. I used my hand to pick up a green pepper and dip it in another sauce that was served (just as the man had done). It was fine; the pepper was not too hot, and it and the sauce tasted good together. It was a great meal. Of course, I was famished, since it was 2:30 p.m. and I was eating for the first time today. But it was good on its own measure, not just because I was hungry. I was happy the lady had encouraged me to come into her place.
I stopped here on my way to a spa that was recommended by the guidebook. It is supposed to be the largest in Asia. But when I got to the building I didn't want to go into it. It was a huge, modern building attached to a fancy hotel. It just didn't look like anything that would be my style. There is another big (but not as big) spa in a building with a more modest hotel just a block from where I am right now. I think when I leave here, I may take a chance to go there. I've always wanted to try a Korean-style spa. They are similar to what the Japanese have. One must bathe completely either in a shower or at a tap with soap and a bowl to pour the water over the body before entering the sauna or the hot tubs. The tubs are the main thing. One gets into them and just relaxes. I tend to be shy about going into places like this where I don't REALLY know the routine, but I think I should push myself this afternoon to have this experience. I may not have another chance in Korea.
I missed my rinse and blow dry this morning!
Went through the fish market which is rather famous here. It was in the late afternoon, and I didn't expect anything to be going on there. But I saw a tour group coming out of the area. When I went to explore, I was surprised. There was as much activity as I would have expected in the early morning hours. Of course, the auction of the fish fresh off the boats was long over, but the stalls were full of fish and people selling it. To be honest, there was much more than fish. There were all kinds of horrible looking sea creatures for sale, and those were the things that were selling the most. Yuck!! It is difficult to find a place to eat here without some slimy seafood being in the dish you are served, too. Compared to western tastes, Korea must be about as far away from what is acceptable as any country in the world.
Two funny stories:
1. When I ate my rice dish which I wrote about yesterday, there was a small portion of slaw on the plate. I like slaw, but I like fried rice better. So I decided to eat all the slaw first so I could concentrate on eating the rice. Well, the owner of the restaurant saw me eating the slaw and assumed it was my favorite; she brought be a big bowl of more slaw and set it to the side. It was good, so I ate it, too. But I didn't eat it before eating the rice; I ate them together switching bites from one to the other.
2. I was having trouble finding my hotel yesterday. I saw the BIG hotel I was supposed to go behind to find my small place. But when I got behind it I didn't see any hotels. I stopped in a 7-11 store, and there was a young student who spoke English there. He didn't know where the hotel was, but he took my guidebook into the back and called the number to get directions. When he came back to tell me how to get there, he told me the name has changed and is now called the Hilton. Of course, I was puzzled thinking surely it couldn't be a REAL Hilton. Seeing that I was questioning something, he quickly responded, "Like Paris Hilton--Hilton." Can you believe that that woman is known over here? What has she ever done to become so widely known?
Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2006--Busan
I seem stuck at a set of times that still isn't right. I've been getting very sleepy and going to bed between 8:30 and 9 p.m. Then I have been waking up refreshed at 6 a.m. Somehow, I adjusted to the change of time zones without adjusting my sleep patterns properly.
This morning, I started the day by walking 6 subway stops. On the way was a Hyundai Department Store which was very exclusive looking and elegant. The basement food hall was fascinating. It must have had 30 different kinds of mushrooms. And it had better bread than can be bought in San Antonio. I left and continued on my way just trying to see what was along that route between my hotel and a big center of town where the two subway lines cross. I was tired by the time I got there, though. I tried to find a place to eat in the area and couldn't find anything that I knew I could trust what I would get. I went ahead and caught the subway to Beomoesa Station where I planned to go to a nearby temple. I looked for a place to eat there, too, and didn't find any thing. So I continued to the temple.
It was a nice old temple up in the mountains. The air was fresh, and a stream was flowing down beside it and the walkway to it. There were wonderful old tile rooftops, nice painted wood, wild looking figures (like often decorate Buddhist temples), etc. It is a temple that participates in the Temple Stay program--a program where a traveler can arrange to live and study at the temple for a period of days or weeks. I didn't see anyone who appeared to be there for that program, but I saw the old temple buildings that housed them.
Speaking of not seeing anyone. I had not seen a westerner since leaving the airport Saturday in Inchon until I got here to Busan. There is an American base nearby, and this is a big international port. So I have seen some men and some couples wandering around town here. Some look like they could be military in civilian clothes. But I have yet to see an American military man or woman in uniform in this country either this time or during my visit last year.
I finally found a place to eat after taking the subway back 6 stations to my next destination. Across from the station as I looked in the window, the woman called me inside. She held up a nice piece of cooked pork and indicated she would slice it to put in the soup. So I stopped there. A Korean man had just ordered the same dish, and I sat so I could watch him to know what to eat how, since they serve about 8 side dishes with the soup. I added salt and some red pepper paste to the soup, scouped my rice from the bowl into the soup, and stired. I ate the soup with a spoon. I reached across with my chopsticks and picked up the long green vegetables (what?) that had some kind of red paste on them; they were delicous. I also picked up some kimchee, the pickled cabbage that comes with every meal, and ate it. I used my hand to pick up a green pepper and dip it in another sauce that was served (just as the man had done). It was fine; the pepper was not too hot, and it and the sauce tasted good together. It was a great meal. Of course, I was famished, since it was 2:30 p.m. and I was eating for the first time today. But it was good on its own measure, not just because I was hungry. I was happy the lady had encouraged me to come into her place.
I stopped here on my way to a spa that was recommended by the guidebook. It is supposed to be the largest in Asia. But when I got to the building I didn't want to go into it. It was a huge, modern building attached to a fancy hotel. It just didn't look like anything that would be my style. There is another big (but not as big) spa in a building with a more modest hotel just a block from where I am right now. I think when I leave here, I may take a chance to go there. I've always wanted to try a Korean-style spa. They are similar to what the Japanese have. One must bathe completely either in a shower or at a tap with soap and a bowl to pour the water over the body before entering the sauna or the hot tubs. The tubs are the main thing. One gets into them and just relaxes. I tend to be shy about going into places like this where I don't REALLY know the routine, but I think I should push myself this afternoon to have this experience. I may not have another chance in Korea.
I missed my rinse and blow dry this morning!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
4 Days in South Korea So Far
Well, it's taken a while to get to a computer. Actually, computer places are almost everywhere here with LOTS of stations in them, but I never seemed to be near one at the right time. I've been sluggish while adjusting to the time change, to the increased exercise, and to the decrease in food intake, so once I am in the hotel I have been using any excuse (mostly the occasional rain and drizzle) not to go back out. But today, I just ate my one meal at 4 p.m. (I had a snack at 11:00 during a bus stop) and saw a computer place right next to the restaurant. I knew I needed to start posting onto the blog. So hear's an update from the beginning:
Aug. 18-19, 2006, San Antonio to Gongji, South Korea
4:45--Out of bed in SA
5:30--Departure for airport (Not so big a problem with security; similar to normal)
8:00--Departure of flight for San Francisco
9:30 (Western Time = plus 2 hours)--Arrive in SF
13:30--Departure from SF
Crossed International Dateline making the date change from the 18th to the 19th
16:45 (Korean time = plus 6 more hours)--Arrived at Inchon Airport
18:00--Through customs and caught local bus to Inchon Bus Terminal
19:42--Arrived at bus stop near terminal after LOTS of slow traffic and many lights. Waited for long light to change and ran to the bus station
19:45--Lady for information booth rushes with me to ticket window and gets my ticket, then rushes to get me to the last bus of the night going to Gongji
19:50--Bus departs for Gongji
21:40--Arrive at bus terminal in Gongji and walk to town over long bridge crossing river
22:00--Check into OB Yeoguan (Local-style hotel named OB)
22:30--Got to sleep (28 3/4 hours after awakening in San Antonio!!!
I thought I had a federal marshall sitting across the aisle from me on the plane from SF to Inchon. He stopped a stewardness and showed her an ID and said, "I know things have been a little tense lately, so we have been asked to identify ourselves so you will know where we are." Then he proceeded to open an empty water bottle, pull a tube out of his bad, extract a strange looking slender device from the tube, screw the tube into the inside lid of the water bottle, and screw the top onto it. I was wondering if it was some kind of special weapon such as a tear gas sprayer disguised as a drinking glass. But as the flight progressed, he talked to the guy next to him about going onward to Busan, so I figure he was some type of military security man who happened to be on the flight.
Aug. 20, 2006, Gongju to Jeonju
I awoke at 6 a.m. I had nodded quite a bit on the plane and on the bus last night, so I seemed rested. I turned on BBC news and watched it and then got ready. I decided I would go ahead and leave Gongju today after seeing a couple of sites.
First stop, and the main one, was the National Museum. The reason most tourists stop in Gongju is because an intact tomb from about 1500 years ago was unearthed just 30 years ago. A museum houses a replica of the tomb and the items that were brought out of it. It's a wonderful museum, and it is interesting to see exactly what was put in the tomb without any robbers having been there first.
For lunch, I saw a steamed dumpling shop and stopped. There were several kinds, but the lady seemed to think I should eat the ones that were rounded like balls and about 1 1/2 inches (3 cm) in diameter. She brought me a plate with 10 of them!! And she showed me I should put some soy sauce into a separate dish and dip the dumplings in them. The innards consisted of lots of green onion and minced meat. They were delicious. It was a little bit too much, but I ate it all. I did make a mess by having one slip out of my chop sticks and fall into the soy sauce. I had droplets of soy sauce on both my shirt and my pants. Dirty clothes already on the first day of the trip!!
It became a bit awkward trying to get from Gongju to Jeonju today. The tourist office had a woman who spoke little English, and the person she called didn't speak much more. I understood, however, that I would take a local bus to somewhere and then take another local bus from there. Fortunately, the lady wrote in Korean where I should go on the first bus (although I never quite caught the pronunciation myself). There are at least 4 bus stations in Gongju, and people who read the Korean note kept pointing the way. One man finally followed me to make sure I found the right place. Eventually, while on the bus and watching the signs, I realized I was to get off at Yuesong Junction. And the stop there was obviously a bus station. I opened my guidebook where Jeonju was written in Korean and showed it to the ticket agent who sold me a ticket. Then I kept showing the ticket to every bus until the right one came along. Eventually, I did make it to Jeonju in the late afternoon.
My hotel room was quite fancy in Jenju. It had a water bed which was better than any I have ever used before--rather firm. It had a water cooler/heater in the room so I could have cold water to drink or hot water to make tea or coffee. It had a VCR, and there was a library of videotapes downstairs. (I watched Traffic in the evening.) It had a mini-fridge. But best of all, it had an electronic toilet seat--heated and with controls for various purposes (more later)!!
Before it got dark, I walked to a local park with a lake that had lots of lotus blossoms in bloom. Many people were walking around the lake taking photos. It being a popular neighborhood park, there were also people visiting and playing outdoor board and tossing games of the oriental kind. Nearby was the local university and lots of trendy shops and restaurants.
Aug. 21, 2006, Jeonju
I started the day on the toilet. Following the completion of my business, I let the electronic toilet seat give me a rinse and a blow dry. It was quite interesting and was very effective!!
Wow, it is hard to get money in Korea. I had about $100 worth of Korean currency left from last year. Since I was in a rush at the airport to get the bus, I skipped getting money thinking I would get it along the way. This is a city of 600,000 people, and the tourist office told me there is only one bank for using foreign credit cards for getting money. I walked to that bank only to find that the one machine they have connected to the international network was out of service. The people were nice, though. They worked on it and had it operating within about 10 minutes so I could get some money.
I'm finding more people who speak a little English here in southern South Korea than I did in Seoul. It's certainly nice to get help occasionally, especially since I am changing hotels and traveling a lot.
I found Jeongu a bit disappointing. There is an old village that is the main attraction. Well, it isn't as well preserved as the guidebook makes it out to be. Yes, there are many old buildings, but there are new, modern ones among them. And the Korean style of building puts houses behind walls so that all one can see from the streets is their roofs. I was disappointed. But I walked and saw what I could. I also saw two cathedrals, the old gate to the city, a market, etc.
I had a horrible lunch. I went into a place and just had what everyone else was having. It was a boiling bowl of soup with rice to add to it. What was so bad was the meat inside. I THINK it was beef, but parts looked like stomach. Even the part that looked like beef muscle was mostly very tough fat with a little bit of meat attached. One piece of meat was so tough and large that I would have choked on it if I had tried to swallow it; I just put it back in the bowl. I had to push most of the meat to the side and just eat the broth and the rice.
It rained in the afternoon, so I stayed inside the hotel room and planned my route for the next day, read TIME magazine, and watched films on TV.
Aug. 22, Jeongu to Busan (Pusan)
This brings us up to date. I am writing this on Aug. 22. I awoke at 8 a.m., got ready fast, and left Jeongu on the 9 a.m. bus. Across the aisle from me was a nice man named Ko who spoke good English (having spent 3 years in the UK). He is an agent selling time-share condos for the leisure market and works out of Busan half the month and out of Japan the other half. He had been to his hometown of Jeongu and was heading back to work. We visited for quite a while. And he bought us a potato snack (new potatoes deep fried and sprinkled with your choice of salt or sugar) when the bus made a stop. He then helped me get my subway ticket and get on the train. He got off 6 stops before me. I continued to my stop and found the hotel I had chosen from the guidebook. It's similar to where I have been staying, but I won't have a rinse and blow dry after using the toilet tomorrow; there is no electronic toilet seat!!
Signs here in Busan are often written in Russian. It's a port, so I guess Russian ships come here often. The city is hilly and has been called the Korean San Francisco. It's a HUGE city with many high rise apartment buildings. I haven't seen much of it. I walked to downtown and found a restaurant where I had a meal of fried rice with minced meat and chopped ham and topped with a fried egg. On the side was cole slaw and various pickled items. It was tasty!!
Aug. 18-19, 2006, San Antonio to Gongji, South Korea
4:45--Out of bed in SA
5:30--Departure for airport (Not so big a problem with security; similar to normal)
8:00--Departure of flight for San Francisco
9:30 (Western Time = plus 2 hours)--Arrive in SF
13:30--Departure from SF
Crossed International Dateline making the date change from the 18th to the 19th
16:45 (Korean time = plus 6 more hours)--Arrived at Inchon Airport
18:00--Through customs and caught local bus to Inchon Bus Terminal
19:42--Arrived at bus stop near terminal after LOTS of slow traffic and many lights. Waited for long light to change and ran to the bus station
19:45--Lady for information booth rushes with me to ticket window and gets my ticket, then rushes to get me to the last bus of the night going to Gongji
19:50--Bus departs for Gongji
21:40--Arrive at bus terminal in Gongji and walk to town over long bridge crossing river
22:00--Check into OB Yeoguan (Local-style hotel named OB)
22:30--Got to sleep (28 3/4 hours after awakening in San Antonio!!!
I thought I had a federal marshall sitting across the aisle from me on the plane from SF to Inchon. He stopped a stewardness and showed her an ID and said, "I know things have been a little tense lately, so we have been asked to identify ourselves so you will know where we are." Then he proceeded to open an empty water bottle, pull a tube out of his bad, extract a strange looking slender device from the tube, screw the tube into the inside lid of the water bottle, and screw the top onto it. I was wondering if it was some kind of special weapon such as a tear gas sprayer disguised as a drinking glass. But as the flight progressed, he talked to the guy next to him about going onward to Busan, so I figure he was some type of military security man who happened to be on the flight.
Aug. 20, 2006, Gongju to Jeonju
I awoke at 6 a.m. I had nodded quite a bit on the plane and on the bus last night, so I seemed rested. I turned on BBC news and watched it and then got ready. I decided I would go ahead and leave Gongju today after seeing a couple of sites.
First stop, and the main one, was the National Museum. The reason most tourists stop in Gongju is because an intact tomb from about 1500 years ago was unearthed just 30 years ago. A museum houses a replica of the tomb and the items that were brought out of it. It's a wonderful museum, and it is interesting to see exactly what was put in the tomb without any robbers having been there first.
For lunch, I saw a steamed dumpling shop and stopped. There were several kinds, but the lady seemed to think I should eat the ones that were rounded like balls and about 1 1/2 inches (3 cm) in diameter. She brought me a plate with 10 of them!! And she showed me I should put some soy sauce into a separate dish and dip the dumplings in them. The innards consisted of lots of green onion and minced meat. They were delicious. It was a little bit too much, but I ate it all. I did make a mess by having one slip out of my chop sticks and fall into the soy sauce. I had droplets of soy sauce on both my shirt and my pants. Dirty clothes already on the first day of the trip!!
It became a bit awkward trying to get from Gongju to Jeonju today. The tourist office had a woman who spoke little English, and the person she called didn't speak much more. I understood, however, that I would take a local bus to somewhere and then take another local bus from there. Fortunately, the lady wrote in Korean where I should go on the first bus (although I never quite caught the pronunciation myself). There are at least 4 bus stations in Gongju, and people who read the Korean note kept pointing the way. One man finally followed me to make sure I found the right place. Eventually, while on the bus and watching the signs, I realized I was to get off at Yuesong Junction. And the stop there was obviously a bus station. I opened my guidebook where Jeonju was written in Korean and showed it to the ticket agent who sold me a ticket. Then I kept showing the ticket to every bus until the right one came along. Eventually, I did make it to Jeonju in the late afternoon.
My hotel room was quite fancy in Jenju. It had a water bed which was better than any I have ever used before--rather firm. It had a water cooler/heater in the room so I could have cold water to drink or hot water to make tea or coffee. It had a VCR, and there was a library of videotapes downstairs. (I watched Traffic in the evening.) It had a mini-fridge. But best of all, it had an electronic toilet seat--heated and with controls for various purposes (more later)!!
Before it got dark, I walked to a local park with a lake that had lots of lotus blossoms in bloom. Many people were walking around the lake taking photos. It being a popular neighborhood park, there were also people visiting and playing outdoor board and tossing games of the oriental kind. Nearby was the local university and lots of trendy shops and restaurants.
Aug. 21, 2006, Jeonju
I started the day on the toilet. Following the completion of my business, I let the electronic toilet seat give me a rinse and a blow dry. It was quite interesting and was very effective!!
Wow, it is hard to get money in Korea. I had about $100 worth of Korean currency left from last year. Since I was in a rush at the airport to get the bus, I skipped getting money thinking I would get it along the way. This is a city of 600,000 people, and the tourist office told me there is only one bank for using foreign credit cards for getting money. I walked to that bank only to find that the one machine they have connected to the international network was out of service. The people were nice, though. They worked on it and had it operating within about 10 minutes so I could get some money.
I'm finding more people who speak a little English here in southern South Korea than I did in Seoul. It's certainly nice to get help occasionally, especially since I am changing hotels and traveling a lot.
I found Jeongu a bit disappointing. There is an old village that is the main attraction. Well, it isn't as well preserved as the guidebook makes it out to be. Yes, there are many old buildings, but there are new, modern ones among them. And the Korean style of building puts houses behind walls so that all one can see from the streets is their roofs. I was disappointed. But I walked and saw what I could. I also saw two cathedrals, the old gate to the city, a market, etc.
I had a horrible lunch. I went into a place and just had what everyone else was having. It was a boiling bowl of soup with rice to add to it. What was so bad was the meat inside. I THINK it was beef, but parts looked like stomach. Even the part that looked like beef muscle was mostly very tough fat with a little bit of meat attached. One piece of meat was so tough and large that I would have choked on it if I had tried to swallow it; I just put it back in the bowl. I had to push most of the meat to the side and just eat the broth and the rice.
It rained in the afternoon, so I stayed inside the hotel room and planned my route for the next day, read TIME magazine, and watched films on TV.
Aug. 22, Jeongu to Busan (Pusan)
This brings us up to date. I am writing this on Aug. 22. I awoke at 8 a.m., got ready fast, and left Jeongu on the 9 a.m. bus. Across the aisle from me was a nice man named Ko who spoke good English (having spent 3 years in the UK). He is an agent selling time-share condos for the leisure market and works out of Busan half the month and out of Japan the other half. He had been to his hometown of Jeongu and was heading back to work. We visited for quite a while. And he bought us a potato snack (new potatoes deep fried and sprinkled with your choice of salt or sugar) when the bus made a stop. He then helped me get my subway ticket and get on the train. He got off 6 stops before me. I continued to my stop and found the hotel I had chosen from the guidebook. It's similar to where I have been staying, but I won't have a rinse and blow dry after using the toilet tomorrow; there is no electronic toilet seat!!
Signs here in Busan are often written in Russian. It's a port, so I guess Russian ships come here often. The city is hilly and has been called the Korean San Francisco. It's a HUGE city with many high rise apartment buildings. I haven't seen much of it. I walked to downtown and found a restaurant where I had a meal of fried rice with minced meat and chopped ham and topped with a fried egg. On the side was cole slaw and various pickled items. It was tasty!!
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Around-the-World VI Continues--Itinerary & Book List
Itinerary Information
I'm about to depart on more of Around-the-World VI. It began in January in Lisbon and continued with my travels in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Mexico City. Now it will continue with the following stops:
Aug. 18 UA 6397 from San Antonio to San Francisco; UA 893 from San Francisco to Seoul (Note: I visited Seoul last year; this year I will tour southern South Korea for 9 days.)
Aug. 27 OZ 733 from Seoul to Hanoi
Aug. 27-Sept. 25 Overland Travel in Vietnam
Sept. 25 TG 681 from Saigon to Bangkok
I will be buying a new ticket for Around-the-World VII in Bangkok and making it the city in the future for beginning and ending each trip. The ticket price in Bangkok is as cheap as in England. Because I stop there for at least a week each year, it will be easier ending a ticket when I arrive and starting a new ticket days later than it was trying to end a ticket and begin a new one on the same day in London each year; I always feared missing my connection, and there is a fast rule for ATW tickets that you must take your first flight on the scheduled date. Anyway, I have already planned the itinerary for ATW VII, but I don't have the dates or flight numbers yet. Here is the part of its itinerary that will get me back to the U.S.:
Bangkok to Chennai (Madras) around Oct. 1
Overland in India for about 10 weeks
Bangalore to Frankfurt/Frankfurt to Copenhagen (Probably Dec. 6)
Copenhagen to Washington/Washington to San Antonio (Probably Dec. 11 or 12)
Therefore, I will be away from home for about 4 months this time out. And I will be back in Texas for Christmas for the first time in about 22 years. (I'm sure it won't be as nice as Christmas in Denmark, however!)
Reading List for This Trip:
I will be taking the following books (each linked to Amazon.com for you to read about them by clicking on the titles below) with me as my reading material:
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahini
The Plot Against America by Phillip Roth
Last Orders by Graham Swift
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fall or Succeed by Jared Diamond
Trojan Odyssey by Clive Cussler
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
A Frolic of His Own by William Gaddis
Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Anticipate Regular Postings with a Different Procedure
I will be making my usual postings as I travel, but I will follow a different procedure. In the past, I have handwritten a journal each day. When I have gone to a cyber cafe, I have typed directly from the journal. This time, I plan to keep only outline notes in my journal. When I go to the cyber cafe, I will use these notes to guide me as I type extemporaneously about my travels. I hope this will make reading the blog more interesting. Please feel free to e-mail me to let me know what you think of the changes.
Final Reminder
As I have told many of you before, the blog represents 0ne-way communication from me to you. When you read the blog you know where I am and what I am doing. However, when I am traveling and writing it, I am alone and have no communication coming my way unless you write me. I can go days and weeks without even having an extended conversation with a person, so traveling can get quite lonely. Therefore, in return for whatever enjoyment the blog brings you, I would appreciate it if you would write me e-mails occasionally. My e-mail address is in the bar on the left side of the blog page.
I'm about to depart on more of Around-the-World VI. It began in January in Lisbon and continued with my travels in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Mexico City. Now it will continue with the following stops:
Aug. 18 UA 6397 from San Antonio to San Francisco; UA 893 from San Francisco to Seoul (Note: I visited Seoul last year; this year I will tour southern South Korea for 9 days.)
Aug. 27 OZ 733 from Seoul to Hanoi
Aug. 27-Sept. 25 Overland Travel in Vietnam
Sept. 25 TG 681 from Saigon to Bangkok
I will be buying a new ticket for Around-the-World VII in Bangkok and making it the city in the future for beginning and ending each trip. The ticket price in Bangkok is as cheap as in England. Because I stop there for at least a week each year, it will be easier ending a ticket when I arrive and starting a new ticket days later than it was trying to end a ticket and begin a new one on the same day in London each year; I always feared missing my connection, and there is a fast rule for ATW tickets that you must take your first flight on the scheduled date. Anyway, I have already planned the itinerary for ATW VII, but I don't have the dates or flight numbers yet. Here is the part of its itinerary that will get me back to the U.S.:
Bangkok to Chennai (Madras) around Oct. 1
Overland in India for about 10 weeks
Bangalore to Frankfurt/Frankfurt to Copenhagen (Probably Dec. 6)
Copenhagen to Washington/Washington to San Antonio (Probably Dec. 11 or 12)
Therefore, I will be away from home for about 4 months this time out. And I will be back in Texas for Christmas for the first time in about 22 years. (I'm sure it won't be as nice as Christmas in Denmark, however!)
Reading List for This Trip:
I will be taking the following books (each linked to Amazon.com for you to read about them by clicking on the titles below) with me as my reading material:
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahini
The Plot Against America by Phillip Roth
Last Orders by Graham Swift
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fall or Succeed by Jared Diamond
Trojan Odyssey by Clive Cussler
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
A Frolic of His Own by William Gaddis
Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Anticipate Regular Postings with a Different Procedure
I will be making my usual postings as I travel, but I will follow a different procedure. In the past, I have handwritten a journal each day. When I have gone to a cyber cafe, I have typed directly from the journal. This time, I plan to keep only outline notes in my journal. When I go to the cyber cafe, I will use these notes to guide me as I type extemporaneously about my travels. I hope this will make reading the blog more interesting. Please feel free to e-mail me to let me know what you think of the changes.
Final Reminder
As I have told many of you before, the blog represents 0ne-way communication from me to you. When you read the blog you know where I am and what I am doing. However, when I am traveling and writing it, I am alone and have no communication coming my way unless you write me. I can go days and weeks without even having an extended conversation with a person, so traveling can get quite lonely. Therefore, in return for whatever enjoyment the blog brings you, I would appreciate it if you would write me e-mails occasionally. My e-mail address is in the bar on the left side of the blog page.
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