Rob and Anna's travel adventure

Anna's entry:

We had just completed our journey in the Philippines, and later on that day around 10 p.m. touched down in the new for us destination - South Korea.  Prior to our arrival we heard contradictory things about traveling in this country, but "wait and see" approach always works the best - we wanted to explore South Korea with an open mind and make the conclusions based on our personal experiences.

BUSAN

Just a few minutes before our plane officially landed in Busan (also known as Pusan), we found our about the airport curfew (yes - they have such a thing) from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m.  That meant no one was allowed to stay at the airport until the next morning (which we would normally do).  It was almost 11 p.m. when we completed the immigration and passport control.  Luckily for us, there was one helpful young volunteer girl working at the information desk who actually was able to understand some English.  She informed us that we had only one hour to get to the city before the subway system shuts down for the night, and that normally it takes exactly one hour to get there.  We rushed into the dark chilly night of the unfamiliar city with ALL signs posted only in the Korean language.  We quickly had to figure out the metro lines and instructions, and successfully reached the city center by 12:00 midnight...

We started to look for a small budget hotel listed in our old guide book (new ones don't even bother with such things).  We knew it was in the area, but the map just didn't quite match the directions, so we attempted to ask whoever we could find on the street at midnight on the weekday who could also speak at least some English.  A young couple were very enthusiastic to help by punching the directions in Korean on their iPhones, but they had no luck locating the place.  We started walking down the street and saw two well dressed young men who we also asked about the hotel.  Luckily, we had the name of the place printed in Korean, and one of these men spoke decent English; he suddenly exclaimed: "I know the place!  I walk by it every day on the way to work.  It is hidden under the staircase leading to the park!".  He insisted to show us to the very entrance of the hotel.  AND - we were in!

We, like two ghosts, walked into the dimly lit reception area around 12:30 a.m.  The hotel was definitely opened, but there was no one at the reception desk to check us in.  We waited for about 10 minutes, and then I noticed several room keys laying around the desk.  I looked at Rob and said "How about we check ourselves in, and deal with the rest in the morning?"  There was no other obvious option, so I grabbed several room keys and climbed up several sets of squeaky stairs to start choosing a room.  I was ready to walk into one of the rooms, when a  professional-looking couple in their business suits (man and a woman) almost bumped into me while they were exiting the room.  They gave me a worried look like "what are you doing walking in the middle of the night with all those keys in your hand?", and then rushed out of the hotel.  I did not give up - I was determined to find a bed for the night, but this time tried another approach.  I stood in the hallway, and as gently as I could (not to startle other hotel "residents") started to call out "Hello!  Helllllloooooooo!  Hello?".  That did the trick!   A few minutes later an older gentlemen in sweatpants and a sweatshirt walked out of one room and with a bewildered look in his eyes asked "You Englisss?"  YES, we have hope!  He motioned me to wait downstairs for a bit, and I obeyed.  I told Rob (who was waiting for me with all the backpacks at the reception area) that after all we might be able to get a room.  Rob asked me if I was SURE that the man was a hotel worker.  I was not sure about anything, but was willing to wait and find out in about 10 minutes.  NOW - here is the necessary disclosure -  the hotel we were standing in was also known as a "love motel" - which explains that quick exit of the couple described above in the middle of the night.  By the way, "love motels" are totally normal in South Korea and are very different from their "equivalent" in the West; they are also the best budget choice (rooms are super comfortable, clean, modern, and reasonably priced). 

Anyway, it was almost 1 a.m. when we started hearing sounds of vacuuming and toilet being flushed.  Finally, the man "of the hour" appeared with a big smile on his face, and motioned us to our room - the same one the "affair" couple had rushed out from....  The room had such a nice feel!!!!!!!!  It reminded me of our Seattle apartment or even an old Russian-style place.  It had large windows, pleasant wall paper, huge bed, dresser, mirror cabinet and wardrobe, club chairs, satellite TV, but the star of the show was the huge bathroom - it had a real bathtub supplied with crispy clean towels, aromatic soaps, shampoo, and shower gel.  I can't tell you how great it felt to have a hot bubble bath after almost four months of cold water bucket showers! 

We settled in that hotel for a couple of days and went to explore the city.  Busan was a great place to walk around.  Surprisingly there was a lot of Russian influence in the city - the bank's VIP section was specifically dedicated to Russian clients, and even the Philippino part of town catered towards Russians with numerous signs posted in Russian. 

Another thing we "reluctantly" explored was the famous Busan sea-food market.  It was not for the faint-hearted...  Rob called it "the apocalyptic market".  Indeed...  The marine life we were so used to see and adore in the ocean while snorkeling and exploring numerous hours had been butchered in great numbers and was displayed on the tables, trays, walls, hooks, etc.  Bodies of sting rays, octopi, and squid were the most graphic...  Row-after-row-after-row of dead marine creatures so eagerly and matter-of-factly being bought and sold.  It felt quite apocalyptic, Rob was right...

Apart from that...  Local people were super nice to us.  While taking a walk in the park (with gorgeous cherry trees) we were approached by a gentleman who cordially offered us a bottle of traditional Korean wine.  He insisted we would help ourselves, so we did.  And, when we sat down to have our spicy noodle soups (purchased from a convenience store - Korea is expensive!) in a pedestrian part of town, another guy bought a bottle of water for us.  Complete strangers would offer us chocolates at a bus stop...  

So far, South Korea is up to an interesting start!

I loved Gyengju for various reasons.  Sometimes while taking walks around picturesque abundant cherry blossoms on a background of vast blue sky and old fortress walls, the entire place almost had a whimsical feeling.  It was so beautiful, almost breathtaking, it felt like the real spring - the time when one falls in love with someone, even though that person may be far away, or even not know it...

OK, I'd better go back to the practical description.  Gyengju as a city dates back to year 57 BC - the times of Julius Ceaser; it also became the capital of Shilla dynasty.  The architecture and well preserved historical treasures create a perfect atmosphere (at least to me).  When we visited, there were some tourists (mostly local Koreans), but not many Westerners at all (that's the benefit of traveling out of season).  The part of town we stayed in was in an old Korean traditional village.  We stayed in a 130-year old house run by a charming Korean family.  We had a cozy ondol room - the double doors had a wooden design with rice paper screens and lush curtains, the wooden floor we slept on was heated at night, and our mattress, blankets and pillows would feel like one warm cozy cocoon.  The bathroom was located outside, and when I would run in the middle of the night to use it, the crispy chilly air would wrap itself around me, and yet I wanted to stand in the middle of the garden and stare at the stars.  Jumping back into the warm cocoon back in the room felt even better than before.  In the morning guests were supplied with various food items for self-catered breakfast in a well equipped kitchen - we would make freshly fried eggs, accompanied by bread toast and jam, juice, coffee or tea.  Free internet computer was always available, so it was nice to catch up on the news, and it came quite handy for the rest of Korea route planning - I was able to figure out a lot of train options across the country, which saved us a good deal of budget.

We did lots of walks around Gyengjy itself which was lovely, and I also "dragged" Rob to several good quality (free) museums displaying historical and architectural treasures.  One day we also attempted to venture into Namsan National Park.  The reason I said "attempted" was because I was determined to avoid the crowds, and learned that there was a more "wild" trail to follow.  It was "wild" all right - after several miles of walking (including running across a busy highway, coming through a traditional village with barking dogs, crossing over agricultural fields and several ancient graves), we finally got on a trail...  Or, as Rob would call, we went completely "rogue".  The trail took us to a peaceful lake with ..... two leather chairs parked next to the water edge....  How convenient I thought - we had no idea how the furniture got in there, but it seemed quite handy to me.  After a brief rest, we continued along the trail going up-and-down-up-and-down (times ten) around tree trunks, shrubs, sand dunes, and basically having no idea where exactly we were...  We encountered a deer and a hawk, but not a single person in sight, so no chance for any directions...  There was an occasional garbage along the trail (so people had been here before), so it gave us confidence to continue.  Rob encouraged me by saying "follow the garbage, and we'll be OK".  Eventually we ran out of garbage, and decided it was a turn-around point for us.  We sat down to have a quick snack surrounded by a thick pine forest and several ancient tombs.  The air was chilly and super fresh, and warm sun beams were penetrating through the tall pines.  It was beautiful.  We never "conquered" the Namsan National Park as originally planned, but the day turned out fine.  We came across more traditional villages on the way back, and had a glimpse of the local country side life.  So, that was in some ways more interesting than marching with masses along the well posted trail.

We also visited a temple complex of Bulguk-sa, called by guide books a "crown of Shilla architecture", and also a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.  Personally, I think the place was somewhat over-rated, but it certainly was beautiful.  Buddhist temples, bridges, pagodas, arches, terraces, landscape, lake and history were in abundance and certainly created a serene mystique-like aura. The entrance to Bulguk-sa was bathing in the sea of cherry blossoms - that part for me was the real show-stopper...
  

Eventually, it was time to part with whimsical Gyengju...  We walked from our traditional village alongside the ancient city wall surrounded by blooming cherry trees.  We arrived at the modern train station, and walked towards our platform.  Right in front of us there was a long procession of rail cars loaded with tanks...  There were so many of them...  That reminded us that the country was still officially at war...  Another thing that seemed unusual was a wall mural depicting a scene from the wild west - men (robbers) taking over a train and shooting their guns.  An interesting mural choice for a train station, I thought...   And right next to the shooting train "robbers" was a painting of a modern young lady cheerfully walking in high heels along the train platform aimlessly pushing her carry-on.  OK, I thought, South Korea is another "land of contrasts"...  Our train arrived exactly on time (minute-per-minute), and departed exactly on time (minute-per-minute).  The train was comfortable, the journey was picturesque, and we were off for our next destination - Andong.

ANDONG

We did not see a single Western tourist in this town, which explains a genuine hospitality of the residents.  Complete strangers would offer us candies and chocolates while we were waiting for a bus.  Things like that always make a person feel welcomed and creates a warm feeling about the place.  And, we needed that warm feeling - the air temperature was quite cool, and the wind was strong and blustery.  We took a public bus to a near-by cute Folk Village (used by the way in Korean movie sets staging historical dramas), and walked a couple of miles back along the river on the well designed wooden boardwalk with pretty views.  The mountain hid us from the wind, and we were able to really appreciate a beautiful sunny day and the gorgeous cherry blossom landscape.

We also gained some local familiarity with a few things.  Local supermarket samples were interesting - they were dried and roasted bugs (I think we could recognize a few insects), seaweed and sesame drinks (they were quite acceptable, though Rob would disagree - I have acquired strange palette lately); two kinds of  coffee samples, and bakery items filled with cream - the latter were very decent (even Rob would agree in this case).  We also refilled our supplies of hot spicy noodles - those seem to help our budget quite a bit as Korean food prices are shocking after super-affordable Philippines and Indonesia.  The only exception is sushi - very reasonably priced (even for our standards), so I have been enjoying it quite a bit.  Rob doesn't understand why people (who have not grown up on sushi or in sushi culture) would go gaga over such a simple food - he has a good point, but sushi seems to be agreeable with me.

We stayed in a simple, but very comfortable and clean hotel, and even managed to be startled there one night.  Some woman unlocked our door and walked into our room in the middle of the night.  I recognized her as a hotel worker, so I tracked her down.  Hotel staff usually slept on a mattress on a floor behind their reception desk.  Even though the woman did not speak a word of English (and I knew only a partial greeting in Korean), I was determined to get my point across.  She kept speaking to me in Korean, and I kept speaking to her in English, but apparently my unhappy look was translated appropriately.  I could only guess what possessed her to pay us a visit in the midnight hours, but I am sure it was an innocent mistake.  In either case, by now we are starting to get a feel that Korea is a little different.  

Two days later we boarded the train to our next destination - Danyang.  We love Korean rail.  You can set your watch by the punctual train arrivals and departures, and the routes and so pretty!  Trains are super clean and comfortable and seem to be the best transportation value.  This time around, however, I had an older lady sitting behind me, who I think may have been consuming those roasted bugs from the local supermarket.  She kept making all kinds of crunchy noises, and the food stunk.  I just wish I had that seaweed drink to offer her to wash her lunch down... 

DANYANG and GUIN-SA

By now we are used to a "little different" check-in procedure in Korean hotels (remember that strange mid-night interaction in Busan, or a late night visit in Andong?).  Town of Danyang was no exception.  When we arrived to a hotel (actually a "love motel"  as it is known here in Korea, which also is the best safe budget option), the reception desk was empty, and available rooms were unlocked.  There was a sign in Korean with a mobile number posted on the window - we only could recognize the numbers 18:00 (6 p.m.) - OK, someone might be here in 5 hours.  We settled on the stairs of the ghost hotel.  Rob was able to get a Wi-Fi reception and disappeared in his own world, and I went to explore the town center.  There was no single Western tourist in sight (we like it that way), the streets were empty, a vegetable market had a ghost feeling to it, the grocery stores were very lightly stacked (that meant another spicy noodle soup in a package for supper tonight). The setting of Danyang was pretty - our hotel was located on a river bank, and across from the river there was a gorgeous landscape of mountains.  I returned back to our hotel - the reception desk was still "out-of-service", but by that time a helpful Korean man (who spoke English!), offered to call the number posted on the reception window.  Basically, our suspicion was confirmed - someone will be back by 6 p.m., and we were offered to settle in a vacant room and deal with the formalities later that evening.  I was happy to change our waiting location from the cold staircase to a cute cozy well-decorated room (supplied with shampoo, lotion, soaps, bath gel, cologne, hair dryer, slippers, hair comb, make-up kit, and satellite TV with several adult channels - all those trinkets expected from a love motel).  Finally after 6 p.m. we got to meet a hotel receptionist (and her child), who turned out to be a lovely sweet lady.  She insisted we would help ourselves to free coffee (in packages), and even gave us a yogurt treat.

There was not much to do in Andang itself, but the main reason for coming here was Guin-sa - a vast temple complex in the mountains, also famous for being one of the most powerful Korean Buddhist cults - tempting, right?  We took a local bus and spent the entire day in Guin-sa.  The place seemed to be very popular with monks and ordinary Koreans.  The setting was stunning - mountains, pine forest, and numerous walks and hikes.  I dragged Rob on several hikes, which were quite steep, but were also so beautiful to skip.  One Korean "babushka" of (what I would estimate) about 90 years old, almost put us to shame.  We were ready to turn around at 3/4 of the way up to the top of the mountain, but she would just keep pushing on.  Because of that babushka, Rob and I decided that there was no way we would respect ourselves if we did not finish our walk up to the top.  So we did.  There was a religious memorial and burial place of the cult leader, and local Koreans kept bringing several food offerings to the obelisk.  A monk guarding the area kept clearing the food offerings, and at some point walked straight to us and offered us a can of pop - he insisted we would not be shy and help ourselves to it.

The temple complex also provided a free vegetarian lunch for both the temple residents and all visitors.  We always try to include things like that for a cultural experience (and it does help with the budget at times),  The food was very basic - cabbage, rice, some-strange-vegetable-thing and something-strange-and-very stinky-else.  The rule was - no food would be wasted, you must finish everything on your plate.  Some Korean lady dared to question the rule and returned her tray with some unfinished food item, and the cafeteria worker unloaded on her in a very angry way.  All guests eyes were on that poor lady - needless to say we finished ALL our food, even that stinky-something. 

We spent the entire day walking around the temple complex, and slowly started our descend back to the temple exit.  Half way down, a friendly young lady-monk approached us and in good English asked us "Are you hungry?  We have good noodles and coffee.  We would really like to bring those to you!"  Wasn't that super sweet?  We settled on the sunny courtyard, and a few minutes later a tray with two noodle plates and a cup of coffee was brought out to us.  There was also a small lace bag with a little trinket for us.  The noodles were really tasty, and coffee was super fresh, especially enhanced by a fresh pine air - we eagerly consumed our "food offerings" and enthusiastically thanked the girl-monks.

We continued walking down to the temple exit, and were approached by a young Korean couple (a man and a woman), who wanted to chat with us (in English!).  They were very surprised to see Westerners in the complex, and kept wanting to know how we were able to get here.  At the end of our cultural exchange, the man also made some remarks how handsome Rob was.  OK, we thought - it must be a normal Korean culture for one man to compliment another man.  So, I matched the custom and proceeded with a compliment for his lady-companion.  We bid good-byes to each other followed by warm smiles, and Rob and I went to board our local bus back to Danyang.

The next morning we headed to the train station.  Both Rob and I are big fans of Korean trains - they ALWAYS run on time, are super comfortable, and are an excellent value.  Danyang's train station was also super cute - with picnic tables, fish pond, and the location was stunning!  The train station was surrounded by mountainous scenery and cherry blossoms.  What a nice way to depart!  We boarded our punctual train and were on the way to our last stop in South Korea - the mighty city of Seoul.

FINALE - CONCLUSIONS

South Korea has surprised us in so many ways, and most definitely exceeded our expectations.  It just felt good to be there!  Yes, we definitely had to overcome a price shock (we are very spoiled with an incredible value traveling in South East Asia), but that very price tag may have kept certain Western tourist-invaders away, and brought a more respectful bunch.  Local people treated us in the most hospitable way, and the country surprised us with an incredible diversity and beauty.  We laughed, felt inspired, overwhelmed with kindness of strangers, at times bewildered, and sometimes probably even misinterpreted certain cultural quirks, but it definitely kept our interest going.  Publishing this blog entry several months later, I still have a smile on my face recollecting our journey.  I would return to South Korea without any hesitations!