2 Days, 2 Countries and 1 Ferry Ride

 Tyler Reporting:

(Continuing my transcription of my journal entries from our three-week trip to South Korea and Japan.)

Two days and one country later.

Day 5: The last full day in Busan was a "beach day" Got up early to hunt for some breakfast with a Starving Stella. Ended up making it to a Starbucks where she could get a bagel, and I could get Sarah an iced coffee. Much joy from Sarah.

(Sorry, distracted. Talking to Otto who just woke up and then getting yelled at by a weepy Stella who wants to sleep later.)

Anyhow, we all went to get abalone porridge for breakfast. That was a bit of a hike in the sun and a meal I wasn't super enthused about, but it's a large group, so you gotta go with the flow sometimes.

Then it was all on the bus to go to a beach, which was a *huge* hit with the kids... though they also ended up getting *really* sunburnt. J and I made a hike up through a winding pedestrian road until we found a place to get friend chicken. That was also a *huge* hit with the kids.

Sarah and J relaxing on the beach. We had also rented a table and umbrella, similar to the ones behind them.

Looking back down through the neighborhood of narrow pedestrian streets J and I navigated looking for fried chicken. I love discovering little neighborhoods like this.

The kids (on the right) play in the bay. To the left you can see that the Korean beach goers were much more diligent about covering up to stay out the sun... and loved floatation devices.

Post-beach, it was bing tsu at A Twosome Place, a walk down a winding pathway that extended out over part of the bay; then we took a gondola ride that extended across the bar. 

The winding pathway that extended over the bay, and in the background you could see the gondola that stretched across it. 

Otto and I riding the gondola across the bay. Great views in every direction, but you have to look at my burnt mug.

To get home, most people jumped on the bus, but J wanted to take a cab, so he called one for the two of us and our daughters. Unfortunately, too late, we realized that he'd put in the wrong address. But, by then, we'd driven across one bridge and were stuck in traffic on a second bridge. So, the Uber ended up taking a lot longer than the bus.

After the beach, everyone was pretty exhausted. So, Sarah and I went out to get our kids more chicken; then the rest of us went to a market street that was exciting, if overwhelming. I ended up getting a pork and cheese dish (Korean's love their cheese!). Then we called it a night. 

Navigating the narrow, covered market street where we got dinner. A crazy variety of food (the signs even declared that vendors had to serve different dishes from each other), but crowded even by South Korean standards.

The next morning, we were all up and out the door early (7am!) to get to the ferry. We got off at the stop marked "ferry terminal" in the subway only to discover that it may be geographically closest, but the highways and train tracks blocked getting to it and we have to effectively walk back to the previous stop to get to the actual station. We *just*made it to the ferry, sweaty and wiped out.

The Queen Beetle Ferry! We made it!

The ferry crossing was fun. It was probably the most "open ocean" I've ever sailed across, but -unlike Sarah and Otto- sea sickness doesn't really affect me. Though, like nearly everyone else, once I was back on land I felt wobbly for pretty much the rest of the day.

Bye Busan! Bye Korea! Hopefully we will be back some day!

With some time to burn on the ferry, better break out the Magic cards!

It was another long, hot trek to the hotel; where the kids were -again- bummed that they had to share a room with us. Then off for more shopping at a giant mall in Fukuoka, including a multi-floored store, called Hands, that Y was eager to shop at. The ramen shop in the shopping malls basement helped improve a lot of our moods though.

The kids enjoying their Shin Shin Ramen. Believe it or not, this is the "good picture" from the numerous I took. It continues to be a joy watching them navigate this trip as a group.

Back at the hotel, a group of us did the hotels baths, though it was a little nervous-making because of the "no tattoos" signs... since all of the adults have multiple tattoos. Then J and I finished the night playing Magic cards and drinking wine in the hotel's lobby.

I'm morning now. We had breakfast in the hotel and are now packing to head on to Yuda Onsen. It should be much more rural and relaxed there; but a longish travel day ahead of us. We'll be there for a couple nights, so that will be good. Onward!

Train to Busan

 Tyler Reporting

(Continuing to transcribe my Morning Pages journal entries relating the details of our 3-week trip to South Korea and Japan.)

Day 4: Travel Day! Packed up in Seoul and left our luggage with the hotel reception until we had to head to the station. J wanted to get some of the rice wine we had tried the previous night; so we went to Lotte Department Store. It wasn't open yet, so we milled around in a underground mall, then went in through Lotte's *giant* food court. J was able to find some wine similar to what he wanted, but then -unfortunately- we ended up drifting around the store for another hour or so. 

We got back to the hotel, grabbed our stuff and then made the very hot and sweaty hike back to Seoul Station. There we boarded our train to Busan. (Zombie time!)

Boarding the train Busan. Sarah and the kids had to deal with plenty of references to the Korean zombie movie during this portion of the trip.

The train went quicker than expected. It was 3 hours, but maybe after an 11+ hour flight, it just seemed fast in comparison. Enough time for a couple of beers and a game of Magic with J. The scenery went by quickly. Korean towns are interesting because they seem to grow upward rather than sprawl out. Even the smallest town will have a cluster of high rises, with green hills where the suburbs should be. 

Beers and Magic the Gathering while racing across the Korean countryside.

At one point we went by a large Buddha statue, which felt novel. Korea is now a Christian majority nation, so we haven't seen much in the way of temples, etc.

Arriving in Busan, it was then a sweaty, delirious ride to our hotel; which is a small, which is a small clean building with the worlds nicest and most helpful owner. He'd literally printed up a map, turned it into an envelope to hold our key car, and on it was a QR code linking to an Instagram account with photos and descriptions of all the restaurants he recommended.

Panorama photo of the view from our balcony. Other parts of Busan had more of a resort/beachy feel, but the bay we overlooked had a cool working port feel, with boats constantly coming and going.

We made our way to a seafood restaurant where -similar to the meat market- you'd buy shellfish and eels, then head to an eating area upstairs to have it cooked for you. Despite the fact that I'm still a little suspect about a lot of seafood, it was still a really great experience.

The restaurant we ate dinner out. You ordered your food, from the tanks on the ground floor, then went upstairs to have it prepared for you.

Eels and veggies sauteed in a chili sauce. A lot of the dishes in Korea included a lot of gochujang sauce... and all my light-colored shirts were invariably speckled with red and orange dots by days end.

Sarah enjoying another exciting meal in South Korea!

Afterward we went to the BIFF... Busan International Film Festival street... which has that name year-round, despite the fact the festival wasn't currently occurring. It was another chaotic night market scene, but most of our group was spent, so we didn't linger long.

Exploring BIFF Street. Lots to see, do and eat!

A side street in Busan, at night. So many narrow, illuminated streets just begging to be explored.

This was actually across the street from where we ate our dinner. A bustling warehouse where people were unloading and sorting the days catch. Incredibly busy, even late in the evening.

Back in the hotel, Sarah and Y set off to do laundry, while J and I decided to head back to the market to grab a beer. We went to two places that both actually featured IPAs, but you could tell that the were geared more to tourists and expats. The second place features "spam fries" ... literally strips of Spam that have been deep fried and were crispy. They were something so simple and tasty that I'm honestly surprised we haven't encountered them in someplace like Hawaii.

Spam fries!

Getting back to our hotel, I encountered a very exhausted and disgruntled Sarah who was still dealing with damp clothes after the dryer failed to do its job. 

I awoke the next morning to hang the still-damp clothes outside on our balcony to dry better, then took a hangry Stella to Starbucks for some breakfast. On the walk back, we accidentally overshot our street by one block and ended up in an amazing fish market that ran for several blocks down the street. Then returned to our hotel to begin our final full day in Korea.

Scenes from the seafood market just a block from our hotel.

Seoul Food

Tyler Reporting 

(For this entry, and for the next few, I'm going to transcribe what I wrote in my Morning Pages journal, and then add some photos and captions. This 3-week trip to Korea and Japan wrapped up about a week and a half ago.)

Now a couple of days into the Asia Trip, so I think that this entry will just be getting caught up on those events. Let's go, shall we!

Day 1: Travel Day! This day was essentially just traveling. Flight departed a little afternoon, and was a little over 11 hours... I think. Maybe 12, maybe 14? It was long. And we arrived in a steaming Seoul at 4:30pm Korea time.... which was like 3:30am our time. Or something. It was a blur. Took a 45 minute train ride to Seoul Station, got lost for a bit, then hoofed it a good quarter mile or more -fully loaded down with our bags- to our Marriott Hotel. Checked in and went around the corner for dinner. Tensions were high (I unfortunately snapped at Sarah), so we just called it a night after that.

And we are off on another adventure!

Day 2: A little better rested, we met up and then went to Namdaemumn Market across the street from the hotel where we largely just picked up hottek and other snacks. Then caught a bus to see the changing of the guard at one palace, then another bus to a second palace to see the "Secret Garden" there. So hot! 

Namdaemumn Market whose entrance was just across the street from us. 

The changing of the guard at Changgyeongung Palace. The costumes and pageantry of it was impressive. 

Stella takes a picture in the Secret Garden, as "I" watches on. (I'm just going to use our friends first initials, since then aren't as terminally online as we are.)

Another part of the scenic Secret Garden, which was named that because it wasn't open to the public originally, and was reserved for the royal family and visiting dignitaries.

After that we were looking for a late lunch on our way to the stream that runs through the middle of Seoul when it started to downpour. Running between restaurants we ended up finding a Korean BBQ place that had seats for all 9 of us, and had an enjoyable meal there. The food was good, and it was fun watching the "kids table" where they bickered and grilled their own meat. 

The "kids table." It was fun traveling with another family, and having the kids be old enough that they could manage many things themselves. Definitely a change from our original Iceland trip years ago.

Our spread of food at the "adult table."

Then we wandered down to the stream, which is an old underground culvert that has had its roof removed so it could be turned into a combination park and walking path. Unfortunately, it was closed because of the rain (flood concerns). So, we continued our walk back toward the hotel, running through a market street where we bought umbrellas at the Butter store, bing tsu (shave ice) across from a cat cafe and then strolled and snacked our way back to the hotel. 

The whole crew looking down at the (sadly inaccessible) stream.

Dinner that night wasn't great, at a Korean-Chinese restaurant with less than satisfying food and everyone fading quickly. 

Day 3: Food Day! Got up, ate breakfast at the hotel's all-you-can-eat buffet, then set off -via a couple of bus rides- to the Mangwon Meat Market. Got there a little too early for lunch, so after walking through it, we went dow to another part of the same stream from yesterday and hung out there a bit. Back at the Meat Market we did the Meat Market thing, which is buy meat there and then have it grilled in one of the restaurants directly above the stall. The beef (hanwoo?) is Kobe beef-esque, but not exported so it's a rare treat and made a fun BBQ experience.

Exploring the stream. It was neat to have a green space like this threading through the bustling city.

Entering the meat market. This whole market specializes in beef and pork. 

The stall that we ended up buying out hanwoo from. Most place, like this one, has a restaurant space upstairs where you can grill your meat and buy beer, etc.

Sarah excited for some grilled hanwoo beef. It was really good!

Then it was back to the hotel for bing tsu and beer, where we just ended up hanging out until dinner. Ordering the kids room service (or, rather, giving them instructions how to do it themselves), we hopped in a taxi and took a long ride out to the Gangnam (Gangnam style!) district to go to Mingles, a fancy restaurant there. I think Sarah and I aren't used to going out for "nice dinners" while traveling, so it felt a bit odd trying to clean up for one, but the meal was super tasty. Just some amazing dishes, and a good time. Then it was back to the hotel and to bed.

Forgot to take many pictures at Mingles, except this one. All the food was really thoughtfully prepared, including details like this display where they showed off all the ingredients going into the next dish.

Today, we are off to Busan. I definitely could stay her longer, but that just isn't the cadence of this trip. I do feel like Korea is getting the short end of the travel stick, with just two more days here, then on to Japan. Still, happy to make it the 32nd country I've visited! As always, onward.