Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Busan, South Korea
Not stopping in Seoul since I have to get to Japan to meet an old mate (as in longevity) this weekend in Yokohoma, on the outskirts of Tokyo. Necessitates zipping down the South Korean peninsula to Busan, crossing the sea to Japan, zipping up Japan to Yokohama. Where copious amounts of beer will no doubt be waiting. Before flying back to Seoul next week for a few days sightseeing. No time now you see.
So.
High speed train to Busan. Tickets purchased for the lowly sum of £40 for a First Class seat on a 3hr journey. Wish it was that price in the UK. None of the usual rigmarole of ticket barriers like we have in the UK. No. Just some writing on the floor of the platform entrance which says.
‘We Trust You! (Only paid customers past this line)’
Can you imagine that happening in the UK?
Indeed, I don’t have my ticket checked at all on the journey.
By high speed train I mean high speed.
300km/hr. 186mph.
Yes. That fast.
Frenetic Seoul city soon gives way to paddy fields and mountains which in turn become cities which in turn become paddy fields and so on. As we zoom along at an amazing speed. Very smooth but find I have to focus on distant objects as focussing on things near the track makes you dizzy with the speed at which they pass by. Blink and you’ll miss it.
Train staff bow every time they enter and exit the carriage. Can you imagine that happening on the East Coast Main Line?
Arrive in Busan, the world’s 5th largest container port apparently, and check in to the Commodore Hotel (https://www.commodore.co.kr/eng/html/main/) built in the style of a Buddhist type temple. Very ornate and colourful. More bowing ensues at reception. So I bow. Then they bow to my bow. So I bow to their bow to my bow. And so it goes on. It amuses me anyway.
Having bought the ferry ticket months ago decide to check out ferry terminal and make sure everything is in order. Petite South Korean girl at the ferry terminal is so sweet and tries her best English out. Which is just about understandable. She asks why I’ve come today when the ferry is tomorrow. Takes some time but we eventually get there.
Very peaceful and serene feeling as I wander the backstreets. Despite being a city, there’s a calmness to the place. As I walk down one particular back street, this serenity is disturbed by the faint clickety clackety noise of printers. The street is lined by open fronted small shops, each with a single small printer churning out leaflets.
Seeing a tower tower over the city make my way to investigate. Built in 1973, the 120m tall Busan Tower affords great views over Busan city and the small islands and boats dotted around the coastline. From this vantage point can make out what appears to be a covered walkway which requires investigation. Transpires that it’s a cascade of half a dozen or so escalators. Which are in going up mode only. Which doesn’t help as I need to go down. At the foot of the escalators is an upmarket street which leads to a fish market by the harbourside. Wow. Some weird and wonderful sea creatures on display that I’ve never seen before. Some look like penises. Which makes you squirm when you see a stall holder chopping them up.
Clearly the subject of discussion amongst the female stallholders as I walk by. They’re taken by my height. As I’m taking photos of something, a woman sidles up to me and checks her height against mine. She comes up to my waist. To the amusement of her fellow stall holders. All the stalls are run by women, presume the men are out fishing, and they all have multi-coloured umbrellas with the fish displayed on plastic tubs. There’s a real buzz here and it’s fascinating ambling along taking it all in. So engrossed am I in it that I find I have walked the entire length of the harbour.
Which will need a glass of wine to recover from all that strenuous activity. Ahem.
Looking forward to a large glass of wine.
The glass of wine arrives.
It’s a thimble.
Oh dear. This won’t do.
