Last moments in Korea

Today is my last day in Korea and I travelled back to Seoul. It took me 5 hours by train and although I arrived pretty early at my guesthouse (14:30), I didn't have enough time to go back to the Olympic museum, the only thing I really wanted to see before I leave :(. It's very cold again here in Seoul, a bit different from Busan, the city I left this morning.
I had a good time over there but there were less things to see or do than I expected. Two full days were enough to get a good feel of the city. I walked a lot once again, and my knees are hammered. The first day, I went to the Busan Tower, where I could see the port and the numerous appartment buildings, to the fish market where I had a very nice time and to the modern history museum of Korea. A complete day where everything was walking distance from the same subway station.
The next day (yesterday), I had planned to go see the Democracy Park where there is (another) monument for korean soldiers who died during war time. I caught the right bus but going the wrong way, and I went on a long ride. The driver was nice though and when we arrived at the terminal, he led me to the next bus so I didn't have to pay again. I didn't really care about losing that much time, I got to see many parts of the city on the ride and in the end, made it to the Park. It was alright but very windy, the view was even better from that point and I took more pictures. I then figured it was time to relax and rest my knees a bit, so I went to see a movie, the only one in English, King Kong.
So this is about it for Korea, My time here just passed so quickly and I'm taking the plane back to Japan tomorrow morning. It was pleasant, I got to see so many temples and museums, along with eating lots of local foods, so I am satisfied with what I've done in such a short period.
I would've liked to visit smaller cities and get a better perspective of the life in Korea, but my time was limited and I had to make decisions.
Hope you enjoyed reading my comments and having a look at the pictures, I know I did sharing my korean experience on this blog.

Once again, happy new year to everyone and I'll keep you updated about my situation in Japan.

Michel


Photo section:

Busan station, ultra modern facility
Night life in Busan, so many bars called "Hof"
An overview of Busan
The fish market
Before
After
Fishermen bringing back loads of seafood (octopus and calamar)
South korean flag in the Modern history Museum
The Monument up in Democracy Park
View at the bottom of the monument
Another overview picture
The old man and the sea

Busan

Treve d'anglais s.v.p., je me permets un post en francais.
Je me suis reveille tot hier matin afin de quitter Seoul et me diriger vers la deuxieme plus grosse ville de Coree, Busan, completement au sud. 5 heures de train, pas si mal, mais j'ai du passer la premiere heure debout puisque tous les sieges etaient occupes. Je n'ai donc pas eu le temps d'aprecier les paysages, surtout que j'ai somnole les heures ou j'etais assis. Bref, Busan a l'air d'etre une belle ville, mais elle est reputee pour ses nombreux immeubles en beton, ce qui ne l'avantage pas. C'est une ville portuaire cependant et je peux voir la mer et les dechargeurs le long de la cote. Je suis au 18e etage d'un immeuble a logements, un appartement transforme en une petite guesthouse (8 lits seulement). Sympathique mais je me retrouve encore avec des japonais, mes trois compagnons de chambre me rappellant que je ne suis pas loin de la terre nippone apres tout. Je n'ai croise aucun autre etranger hier lors de mon excursion nocturne, ce qui m'a bien etonne. Ce n'est donc pas aussi touristique que Seoul. Il n'y a pas autant de choses a faire ou voir egalement, ce qui fait que je n'aurai pas a trop me stresser pour maximiser mon temps.

Anecdote hier soir; Je me dirige vers le centre-ville pour trouver un endroit "koreen" ou manger et je vois sur une pancarte la face d'un cochon. Bien satisfait, je regarde vite vite le plat d'un client et je rentre dans la place. Je realise alors que c'est un BBQ restaurant, bonne chose en soi mais il faut generalement etre accompagne puisque les portions servies ne sont pas individuelles. Trop tard, on m'assigne a une table et les regards discrets commencent. Le serveur se pointe et il a un gros sourire dans la face, mauvais signe, puis il ricane quand je parle en anglais, comprend pas un mot. Je lui montre la face du cochon et apres quelques hesitations, il m'amene les "tranches" de porc, du bacon presque, et les accompagnements, on dirait que je vais manger pour trois. Comme je sais comment ca fonctionne, je mets le tout sur le grill, accompagne la viande d'ail et d'oignon, ca se deroule relativement bien. C'est alors que le gerant, pour une raison que j'ignore toujours, me spotte du coin de l'oeil et voyant mon grill vide apres que j'ai entame quelques bouchees, se poste a ma table et commence a cuir la viande pour moi. Je lui fait signe a trois reprises, c'est correct vieux, je sais comment ca fonctionne, regarde j'ai la bouche pleine tabar...., rien a faire, le gars bronche pas une seconde, tourne et retourne ma viande sur le BBQ, ajoute de l'ail par ci par la, me regarde meme pas et reste la pendant 5 longues minutes.. Aie aie aie, pire qu'un papa, qu'est-ce qui allait suivre, il allait me foutre la viande dans la bouche tant qu'a y etre......Incroyable, j'osais meme pas regarder autour de moi de peur de voir les regards d'incomprehension ou d'amusement, un peu humiliant comme situation. Finalement, il me laisse tranquille et quand il revient 15 minutes plus tard, je saute sur les pinces et lui montre clairement que je maitrise la situation. Entretemps, j'arrive pas a sortir les tissus de la boite qui sont sur ma table, les 2 filles assises a cote de moi me tendent la leur, pas le choix d'accepter......... Retour en enfance le temps d'une soiree!!!!

Voila donc pour le moment, je vais essayer de visiter un peu la ville aujourd'hui et trouver des restos PG 18.

Je ne peux malheureusement pas afficher de photos, l'ordi ici ne fonctionne pas avec Windows XP. Ca ira donc a mon retour a Seoul, dans 3 jours si j'ai acces a l'ordi a la guesthouse.

A bientot!!!

New year's eve

On December 31 st., I decided to visit one of the last big temple complex I hadn't seen in Seoul. I went to Deoksugung palace, situated right in the middle of the city, downtown. Again, there was a big temple in the center of the complex, along with a few buildings around it. There was also a small museum presenting paintings from different eras and countrys, so it was interesting.
I then walked down a pretty busy street, where people were preparing for new year's eve.
I reached Namdaemun market, about a km later and streamed through the narrow streets filled with shops and food stands. Very busy area, it really felt and smelled like Asia.
The night came and I had decided to go at the City Hall, to celebrate outside with a few people from my guesthouse. Unfortunately, they had to go back to the guesthouse first, after we had dinner, and we couldn't meet at the rendez-vous point, with the subway line beeing invaded by townsends of people. I could meet up with Peter though, so we enjoyed the festivities together.

It was quite a spectacle, as everybody was launching fireworks here and there, for at least an hour before the countdown. When it came to a minute, the launches increased and it was insane when the new year finaly came. I have it on tape, but the pictures aren't bad either. It was nice and very different from what I'm used to. It then took me an hour and a half at least to get out of there and try to reach a bar, as the police had thoughtfully closed the nearest subway station, making a giant human traffic congestion.
The bar I went to was laim but it doesn't matter, I got to see what I wanted.

I woke up very late yesterday and tried to go see the Olympic museum, but lucky me again, it was closed. I should've thought about it. So I moved three stations further and took pictures of the Olympic stadium, very important to me, the big sports guy that I am ;)
I couldn't stop thinking about Ben Johnson, and how crazy it must have been almost 18 years ago when he pulverized the 100m world record with a time of 9,79 sec. Amazing. We all know the rest of the story.
So that's it for now, One more day in Seoul and then I'm moving all the way down to the south, to a city called Busan. Find it on a map...........



Photo section:

In front of Deoksugung palace
The entrance gate
A little bit of history
The temple, in the center of the complex (and the city)
A building next to it
Namdaemun market
Where is the exit?
Nice snack, silk worms
Seoul Station
Crazy fireworks on New year's eve
The celebration goes on
Massive police deployment
Nearby the City Hall
The Olympic museum (that I didn't see yet)
Big monument in the Olympic Park
View from underneath
The Olympic stadium