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  • TravelerSouth Korea
    1
    Day 10

    Jeonju Day 2

    October 7, 2017 in South Korea ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    It's Saturday, so you know what that means - yep, thousands of people out and about. Jeonju has a population of around 650,000 people. Its public transport consists of an aging bus fleet and taxis - no subway. Consequently the city's main roads are clogged on Saturdays, requiring the police to bring some order to what is chaotic.

    There's a traditional village (or mauel) in the middle of the city that I want to look at. So I take the bus and find what looks to be 90% of Jeonju's population had a similar idea.

    Next to the village is Jeondong Catholic Church. Catholicism has had a troubled past in Korea with martyrdoms during the Joseon dynasty. In tribute, French priests arranged for the construction of this church a little over 100 years ago. There's a service going on when I look inside, I took a photo (discreetly).

    In the village itself there are many street stalls selling food, beverages and ice cream. Lots of hanbok and men's traditional clothing in view, apparently the thing to do during Chuseok.

    I walk through the Wine Museum. Disappointingly it has no English descriptions of its displays (most museums here do) so I spend less time than I woud like. It's possible to buy product here as well, but what are you buying?    Read more

  • TravelerSouth Korea
    1
    1
    Day 9

    The Hotel Box, Jeonju

    October 6, 2017 in South Korea ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Leaving Suwon, it takes me an age to transfer between the subway and main train station. I sit on my luggage near the ticket office, watching the departures board. As it's not quite 11:30, my 12:02 service doesn't show up for some time. When it does, it shows Track 5, which is where I head.

    My ticket is for car #6 and, like Japan, there are indicators on the platform for each car. There's barely anyone around the area for car #6, so I'm able to sit. After a couple of trains pass by I realize that, not like Japan, car #6 of these trains is back towards the middle of the platform. With a couple of minutes to go I move back to the middle of the platform

    Sure enough, my train arrives and car #6 is not far from where I am now. On board, a man is standing in an area that would make perfect storage for my megaluggage. He magnanimously gives up the space to me. This allows to sit on my luggage for much of the time, so it works out OK.

    On arrival at Jeonju, I join the taxi line outside the station and catch one within 10 minutes. This is the beginning of a new recurring theme where taxi drivers have NO FRIGGING IDEA WHERE MY HOTEL IS. This guy doesn't have a GPS so we resort to Google Maps. It turns out OK, eventually 😡

    So it looks like my hotel is in the middle of what passes for Jeonju's red light district. I present photographic evidence. Panther condoms, "Love Gel" wtf. Anyway it's not exactly the Reeperbahn 😉

    Not a lot of English spoken at the hotel, but they do my laundry for free which is great. I have a black garbage bag for dirty clothes, so when my laundry was returned in a clear plastic bag I asked them (via Google Translate) to find my black bag. Some time later my room phone rings - "black bag, black bag" on the other end, so I head downstairs and trade bags 😄    Read more

  • TravelerSouth Korea
    1
    Day 8

    Hwaseong in Suwon

    October 5, 2017 in South Korea ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Suwon is most famous for its World Heritage listed fortress wall. While it's no Dubrovnik, it is in good condition and its elevated position affords special views of Suwon on a fine day, as today is fortuitously.

    I took 30 photos (that's a lot for me), then whittled these down to 12 (sorry, selfie-lovers, my selfies didn't make the cut). So it was hard to choose just 6 to post.

    I started out catching a bus and alighted once I saw the Padalmun gate. It's in the middle of a large roundabout. I firstly went through the Hanggeung Palace complex, built for King Jeongjo in the late 18th century (thanks, Lonely Planet).

    After this I backtrack to the Padalmun gate and walk up many, many stairs to the top. It's worth it though, as the views of Suwon are magnificent. The fortress walls and watchtower are in excellent condition, I highly recommend this activity to all travellers.

    After all this, I trudge to the train station to buy a ticket to Jeonju. I want to take the 12:02 service there tomorrow, which gets in a bit before 3. I'm told that only standing tickets are available, the first service with seats is at 3:30 pm. This is the big mistake I alluded to previously. I should have bought the ticket on arrival at Suwon previously. Travelling during Chuseok 😓. So I buy a standing ticket for the 12:02 service.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth Korea
    2
    Day 7

    Suwon parks

    October 4, 2017 in South Korea ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    I'm staying at the Hotel Bon, which is a curious combination of 1950s furniture and state of the art furniture. There is one (Korean language) remote control, to work the lights, A/C and TV. No light switches except for the bathroom. The key is also from the 1950s, being pretty chunky, but has a chip in it meaning it has to be inserted into a controller (like modern hotel cards).

    Anyway it all gets sorted out and I head out for an afternoon stroll. There are 2 parks close by that I pass through. The first (northern) park is a family park that is well patronized (being Chuseok) and has some outdoor gym equipment. Even chin up bars, one which I use. The first 3 photos come from this park, I found the animal hedges cute.

    The second park houses an Arts complex including an outdoor stage. It is a more "artsy" park, as shown by the last 3 photos.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth Korea
    Day 7

    Train to Suwon

    October 4, 2017 in South Korea ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    So I'm at Seoul Station. I need to find my train on the departure board, no problem. My destination, Suwon, is only 30 minutes by train and can be reached by subway. It's much easier to store my luggage on the train and I have a guaranteed seat.

    The departure information is shown and I head for the platform. I pass through no machines to check my ticket. On the train, nobody asks to look at my ticket. I exit at Suwon after 30 minutes, once again no ticket check. Bit of an "honour" system in play, it costs less to administer if everyone plays the same game.

    It is an absolute crush exiting at Suwon with a horde trying to board. As far as I know, my megaluggage didn't crush anyone, although it got a bit crazy there. Travelling during Chuseok is apparently like that.

    Suwon has a subway system that connects with the train network. This is where I make a big mistake, as will be apparent later. My Pop card (travelcard) can be used on the subway and buses here. I find the subway track and go 2 stops to get close to where I'm staying.

    Exiting the subway station, I unfortunately don't spy the lift that would take me to street level. So I take the stairs ... with over 20 kg of luggage (see photos, taken halfway). If it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger, right? Anyway I take the lift on subsequent days 😀    Read more

  • TravelerSouth Korea
    Day 7

    Namsangol Hanok Village

    October 4, 2017 in South Korea ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    It's my last day in Seoul. I have a ticket for the 12:45 train to Suwon - bought online and kindly printed by hotel reception. This means that I have some hours to go before I leave for Seoul station.

    The Namsangol Hanok Village is around 2km due south of my hotel so it's a reasonable walk to get to it. Still Chuseok, plenty of tourists in the village (why are they not at home with their families?). Lots of hanbok out today, shops like the one in the last photo must do a roaring trade!

    There are stalls set up selling souvenirs, also traditional Chuseok activities. A person might wield a large hammer and pound dough on a wooden board. There's also a type of hacky sack involving a tinsel-like object and spinning tops by using a whip to generate rotation.

    I'm taking the subway to Seoul Station so I need to give myself enough time to navigate the maze that connects the subway station to the main train station.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth Korea
    111
    Day 6

    Hiking in the Bukhansan National Park

    October 3, 2017 in South Korea ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    This was a fun morning. So it's the Chuseok holiday and lots of places are closed. The weather's great so I decide to do some hiking.

    Seoul is blessed with numerous hiking trails given it's built around 4 mountains. The trail I want to follow is in the Bukhansan National Park, to the NW of my hotel.

    This entails taking the subway to Dokbawi station and proceeding from there. There are a few fellow hikers in the area when I disembark. They're all kitted out similarly, hiking boots, long hiking pants, colourful hiking jacket and 2 hiking poles. I look nothing like this, of course, the only thing I have in common are the boots.

    I reach the start of the hiking trail (1st photo). The trail I choose is the red arrowed one, bottom left signpost. The "peaks" are Jokduribong and Bibong. It starts off fine but soon becomes more "scrambly", if I can say that. Three men my age or older are following me. They power up the rocks with their hiking poles. However the views over Seoul are epic so I take photos when the trail reaches a clearing. All 5 subsequent photos were taken at this time.

    There is a camaraderie amongst hikers, so I receive (and give) more greetings than would be the case just walking in a park. One hiker talks to me for some time in Korean, while he catches his breath. We're both enjoying the view at the time.

    As I have no hiking poles it does limit me to less difficult ascents. The poles aren't a huge asset ascending but I find them invaluable in descending as they reduce the weight going through the knees. I considered buying poles to bring with me but they would have been too difficult to pack. So I rented 2 for the Mt Fuji hike, none since. I reach the point at which I know it will be painful descending ...

    I backtrack to the signposts shown in the first photo and take the Seoul trail. This seems to run along the southern edge of the park and through some of suburbia before going back into the park. People of all ages are enjoying the trail. It's not as strenuous as the first trail, until I decide to take one uphill that I subsequently find also leads to Jokduribong.

    Back down to thd road there is a park where you can stretch (outdoor gym) as well as clean your boots. From there it is a trudge back to Dokbawi station, tired but well exercised.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth Korea
    1
    Day 5

    Namsan Park

    October 2, 2017 in South Korea ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    The day has warmed up nicely. The sky is mostly cloudless unlike yesterday with its occasional drizzle. I want to take advantage of the weather by going to the N Seoul Tower observatory.

    The tower is in Namsan Park, which in itself has some elevation. Some people walk uphill to the park from lower Namsan, but owing to the heat I opt to take the cable car up and walk back down later.

    Anyway it looks like half of Seoul have a similar idea. I'm in a queue for the ticket line. Fortunately there's shade and a place to rest my daypack, albeit a tad close to the electrified fence, as the queue moves from outside the building to inside. Then I pay 6000 won ($6.50) for the one way trip and walk upstairs to the boarding area, also known as queue number 2.

    Eventually we all cram into a cable car. As I'm not one of the first to board I don't have any photo ops going up. We disembark, it has taken at least an hour from go to whoa. I walk over to the Tower Observatory ticket booth and see that it's another half hour wait to go up to the observatory. I'm all queued out for the time being, maybe another day.

    So I walk around Namsan Park for a while, then go inside the shopping area for some refreshment. There's a cafe selling frappucinos and I'm lucky enough to find a seat nearby. First rest I've taken since walking to Gyeongbokgung Palace earlier this morning. I take my time enjoying the frappucino.

    After half an hour or so I decide to walk back down. There are a number of people walking both up and down, I'm sort of envious of those walking up as they've avoided the queuing experience. On the downside, some of them look absolutely knackered.

    There's a mother and young son walking down, the boy is counting the steps in English (as far as 10 anyway, after that he's back to 1). I compliment him on his English.

    It's a fair way downhill to get back to the subway. There's more shopping around this area (both Hoehyeon and Myeongdong underground) than where I'm staying.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth Korea
    111
    Day 5

    Gyeongbokgung Palace

    October 2, 2017 in South Korea ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    It's the beginning of 8 days of public holidays. Normally it costs 3,000 won ($3.30) to enter the royal palaces, but it's free on public holidays. Downside is that there are no English guided tours, so I'm on my own.

    There are performances reenacting traditional palace rituals. I take some video as one is going on and then a photo of the protagonists at the end.

    There are of course some gardens in the palace vicinity. I watch the activities of some squirrels (irresistibly cute) and take a photo of a Korean magpie. They are the dominant bird species in Seoul and are much smaller than their Australian cousins. Their birdcall is an endearing chuckling noise, making a refreshing change from the crows in Hokkaido.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth Korea
    4
    Day 4

    The War Memorial of Korea

    October 1, 2017 in South Korea ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Seoul is very quiet on a Sunday morning. There's also drizzle around so it won't be a good day for outdoors. I'm an early riser, I figure I should visit a museum that opens around 9am. The War Memorial of Korea fits the bill nicely.

    There are a couple of statues and monuments at the front of the complex. There's a display discussing the genesis of the modern ROK armed forces (all after 1948) and displays discussing the battles fought by various battalions. All very compelling.

    Closer to the entrance is a "United Nations" commemoration of all countries that contributed troops and/or medical staff to the war. Far flung countries such as the Philippines and Colombia were contributors as well as the usual suspects (I'm not being critical here, it's just a saying).

    Inside I'm able to join an English guided tour, much detail about the background to the Korean War and how countries lined up behind the protagonists.

    There's so much to see but I'm extremely hungry so I make tracks for a Mexican restaurant called Gusto Taco. The owner (Aaron) is a 50 year old New Yorker who understands GF and recommends a bowl of slow cooked pork burritos. I duly comply and he comes over for more conversation while I'm eating. Turns out he spent 20 years in IT on Wall Street and is still interested in the field. We chat about quantum computing and blockchain, as you do. He tells me a lot of Westerners struggle with Korean food because they want to try everything. Really enjoyable experience.    Read more

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