Korea, Part 1

The high speed hydrofoil ferry to Busan, South Korea from Fukuoka, Japan takes less than 3 hours. With a 30 minute bob break halfway across the sea because something was stuck in the propeller and they announced they were letting it ‘work it’s way out’, we pulled in a bit late. As I was figuring out how to get to the hostel I had booked, an elderly japanese guy introduced himself as Bazzu and asked if he could tag along because he hadn’t booked anything. I said sure and we navigated the subway network together until we found the meeting point where June, the hostel owner, would come pick us up. After several failed attempts at calling him, we finally got through and he showed up shortly after. The hostel, Forjuneteller's Backpackers Inn, was full (only an 8 person place) but he let Bazzu stay on the couch for the 1 night. We passed by an eel restaurant, an all you can eat tuna place, a dog meet restaurant, and probably four 7/11s before we got to his backpackers. This turned out the be the nicest, most modern hostel I’ve ever stayed in. It was on the 21st floor of a highrise, and was totally brand spankin' new. Complete with a skype-ready computer, free breakfast, free laundry, a giant tv for chill-out time, and a cool roof you could sneak up to. All of the highrises in that area had helicopter landing pads on the roof, a great place for a quick beer and a fantastic view.

I spent the next day getting used to the idea that I was now in Korea. Went for a few shorts walks, checked out the cuisine, and got a feel for how the ordering of the food would go. Did lots of catching up on skype that first day too. One interesting thing I noticed was the dancing girls in front of certain stores with sales going on. One particular store had two girls dancing in sync, half naked but balancing it out with big warm fuzzy boots, because, after all, it was the dead of winter. They were also occasionally mentioning whatever they were selling into a PA.....I think it was shoes.

I spent about 4 days in Busan, the 2nd biggest city in South Korea, and saw many a cool thing, such as temples (including a cliff side temple, which is one of a kind or at the least very rare), a temple hike along a mini great wall of china studded with amazing glimpses of the city, the biggest indoor fish market in korea, some more hikes down sheer cliffsides, and several very different but very tasty dinners. At one point I tried a cup of juice from a roadside stand that was made from some sort of root. That one tasted like wood.

I got to meet several cool people during my stay here, including an American army couple now teaching high school math in Seoul, and 2 girls on a student exchange program from Russia. Downed quite a few beers with the former, which led to an intense game of flip cup with a gang of teachers, and a few tear jerking songs at the karaoke rooms, and spent a day wandering around with my new russian friend Natalya and her schoolmate. I also had my second couchsurfing.com experience here...not quite the same as I wasn’t staying with anyone this time, but rather just meeting up for a coffee. We ended up catching a movie afterwards too. Made for a great afternoon/evening of conversation. Met an Australian brother and sister duo as well that I hope to catch up with later on during this trip.

Bazzu was a reoccurring character throughout my time there as well, sometimes there, sometimes not. I was never sure when he’d pop up, but he was always up for whatever I was doing. This wasn’t always a good thing, because being 80 years old he was a bit of a slower walker than I was. Also, he met and surpassed his quota on saliva production, which almost made me vom a couple of times. But he always had an interesting story to tell.

From here it was an hour bus ride to Gyeongju, which is the cultural center of South Korea, much as Kyoto was the place to be for temples in Japan. I had been told of a famous hostel with a traditional korean atmosphere, so I followed through with this tip, and it turned out the be a great decision. My room was very simple, straight to the point, but very comfortable, and the hostel grounds were straight out of an asian movie. My sliding door was made of paper with a wood trim, and my mattress laid directly on the heated floor, with nothing more than an end table and a mirror in the room. The courtyard was enclosed by tropical looking trees, and korea bbqs were had most nights out on the picnic tables. The owners were, I’m sure, some of the nicest people on the planet. The husband demonstrated his musical stylings with a korean flute type instrument, and then showed me the hostel water well, which seemed to be his pride and joy because of how deep and clear it was (the green light he had installed added to the effect too), and his wife pretty much planned out my 3 days there for me.

I met 2 soldiers on break from their service (south korea has a mandatory 2 years military service), and they introduced me to the real Korean bbq experience. I had thought I knew all about it because I had tried it a few times in Canada, but this was totally different. Big slabs of ‘bacon’ (really just big slabs of pork) are cut up with scissors on the portable grill, mushrooms are grilled up, kimchi is served (spicy cabbage in sauce), and you eat this all wrapped in lettuce leaves or this very pungent herb leave, and dip the whole in a delicious sauce red sauce. This is all washed down with beer served glasses ('Cass' or 'Hite'). So good. Kimchi would become my obsession for the rest of my time in Korea. The guys spoke very little English, but managed to invite me over with a “Hello! You like food?”. With a little help from a translation website later on, one of them explained to me that he was training to be a paratrooper. He had completed 8 solo skydives so far, and he was only 18 years old.

Continued....