Traveling Back

October 31, 2019-Traveling Back

It must be Groundhog Day. We left Korea on October 31, at 7:30 pm and arrived in Mnpls on October 31 at 5pm. In fact, according to our air tickets, we arrived before we left. We actually almost didn’t leave. We had plenty of time to walk around different markets shopping for last minute items. It was fun trying out chestnuts and brown sugar filled donuts. After all the healthy Asian foods and vegetables, a few fried sugary bites couldn’t hurt. We had no trouble finding the market but must have taken a wrong turn going back to our hotel. By the time we realized we’d walked to far, we were waaaay too far. We asked for directions to Hotel Lotte and were given help. We asked twice receiving concurring information . We did make it to Hotel 

Lotte, but it was the wrong one. Luckily the doorman recognized our dilemma and sent us off to the Lotte City Hotel. We were back in time to meet our car to the airport, but it was an emotionally and physically challenging way to start our return trip.

As we approached the airport, visibility got worse. The yellow dust had moved in from China in earnest and we could barely see the planes landing and taking off. Security went smoothly except that our fingerprints are hard for the computer to read. Once that was organized , we were good to go. Three movies, four meals, and 11 hour later, we were in Mnpls. Amazing how easy an eleven hour flight is after a 14 hour one.

Our rental car was waiting and we headed for Hinckley. We made good time and didn’t have to contend with rush hour traffic. An hour and a half later we were at Wendy’s and Julian’s. There has been progress made on the house renovation and Julian has taken more steps towards independence. 

Tomorrow there will be backhoes at work. Uncle Mike and a neighbor will be enlarging the pond and breaking up a beaver dam. Evidently, the beavers weren’t discouraged after last year’s demolition and have erected a major complex. We all are sad about D-day, but the dam causes road and driveway flooding. In this case, I don’t think the beavers were there first. The dam is in a man built culvert.

Toby

Seoul Return

October 30, 2019-Seoul Return

We were almost held captive in a shoe shine booth. David needed a shine and noticed several walk in booths along the sidewalk in Seoul. Yes, we flew back this morning. We entered and were seated. The nice gentleman remarked on the size of David’s feet. That’s a guess since he only spoke Korean. He chatted away as he polished, buffed, and waterproofed. He offered us candy, newspapers, a heater to warm us on this 70-degree day, and tv to pass the time. He spilled water on the shoes to show us how well they were protected. He held up what we thought were two 1,000 Won bills so that’s what David offered in payment. Au contraire. It was 20,000 Won he expected. That’s almost $20. David balked and offered 5,000. The guy settled for 10,000, and we beat a hasty retreat. We’re back in our hotel room, so I guess he didn’t call the police. 

But I digress. We awoke in Jeju to another glorious day. Our weather karma has held with the exception of one rainy day, and no one has gotten sick. Considering what we’ve been eating, it’s nothing short of amazing. All the raw veggies, fruit, and seafood must have been clean and fresh. The food handling stellar. 

We flew into Seoul and by the time we got our luggage and bussed the hour-long trip from airport to hotel, it was lunchee time. It was the usual buffet with lovely green tea and/or coconut soft ice cream for dessert. 

I thought we’d missed seeing the Myeong -dong Cathedral, but Jinny, a Catholic, was anxious for us to go in. Built in 1898 by Franciscans, the structure is unusual for Korea as it is brick. The interior is simple for a Catholic churchee.

Our hotel is in the Gangnam district of Seoul known for its cuisine both street and haute. The only familiarity I had with Gangnam was from Gangnam style Korean pop music. Now we are where it originated.

Here’s an interesting tidbit about Korean culture. Funeral tradition was to bury or cremate. There was either a three-day preparation for the funeral meal or three days of meals. Jinny strikes again. In any case, as we passed a hospital, she told us that hospitals now offer funeral services. They will prepare the body and cater the funeral meal in the funeral parlor. One stop shopping.

Dinner was in part of the palace of what Jinny may have said belonged to the fourth emperor of Korea. That seems really old unless lots of restoration work was done. The menu was elaborate starting with an array of vegetables to be placed in mini buckwheat crepes. What followed was a blur of pumpkin soup, meat patty, veggies, fried stuff, grilled stuff (eel this time) more soup, bulgogi, and sweets. We waddled back to the bus, rode to the hotel, said our goodbyes pledging to call if we came to their town, and went to bed. There are three groups going to the airport tomorrow. Some have to leave the hotel at 6 AM, some around noon, and our group that leaves at 2:30 PM. We have a four hour wait at the airport. That’s an earlier arrival before a flight than eeven David likes. We’re flying home by way of Minneapolis and will spend time with Wendy and Julian. We’ll be home November 5. 

I’ve mentioned the congeniality of our group. Here are some examples. One woman is hard of hearing and has short term memory issues. We all look out for her. We search for items others are on the hunt for. There have been successful safaris for a hippo, peanut butter, and Magnum ice cream bars. The intelligence level is high with graduate degrees, careers for both men and women in IT since it’s early days, world-wide industry and business, and education. Everyone has had challenges. One has two profoundly autistic children. A few ad hdivorces, remarriages, and tragic losses. Then there are those celebrating their lgbtq children and grandchildren. I guess when the ages range from 53 to 83, life happens.

Toby 

Churchee

Shoe Shine Guy

Jeju in slow motion

October 29, 2019- Jeju in slow motion

Today was not one of my favorite days. I found it tedious. Most found it relaxing. I must admit I did nap on several of our longer bus rides.

What can I say about a waterfall except that it was wet, high, crowded, and noisy. And there were two of them. We competed for viewing space with busloads of Korean high school kids over from the mainland. Jeongbang waterfall was down 110 steps, but the better view was midway. We opted for that. 

As long as we were doing water, why not include a bridge? Seyeongyo Bridge was there for us. We walked across to a small island where birds were known to winter. It’s not winter yet, so no birds. We circled the island on the ¾-mile path and that was that. David calls it the bridge to nowhere.

I wasn’t looking forward to lunch. It was grilled mackerel. It’s usually served whole, which turns me off. David asked if ours could be minus head and tail. The others thought that was a fine idea. The fish had a smoky taste, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was served with the usual sides and soup. No one expected the soup to be ice cold, but again we really enjoyed it. There was a Korean pear floating among greens with half a hard-boiled egg staring up at us. The broth was clear, mildly sweet, and satisfying. At first, I thought there were sea urchins floating in it, but it turned out to be thin, clumped buckwheat noodles. Lunch wasn’t photogenic, so no pix.

What we needed to see was more water. The Jusangjeolli Pillars awaited. When lava flows reached the sea, they formed black basalt columns. They were impressive, but so were the many we’ve seen elsewhere. Fortunately, the 310 steps down were under construction at the ¼- way point, so we escaped that climb.

The day wouldn’t have been complete without seeing the Spirited Gardens. It was a collection of bonsai trees gathered by a farmer on his land. The park he created was peaceful and lovely, but I didn’t need an hour there. Several people were into that and grateful for the time. I must admit I was impressed by the 150-year old mini tree. On the way out there was a display of close to life sized stone African animals; why I do not know. Among them was a hippo. I’m glad I have one already. The stone one was way too heavy to take home.

I had a talk with Jinny this morning about how unsatisfactory the lack of guidance was regarding dinner last night. She asked what we wanted, and we said, pizza. With the help of the local guide she came up with Mr. Pizza. Several in our group were relieved and decided to join us. But when we met Jinny in the lobby, she said she’d checked out Mr. Pizza, and it was not a good place. She took us in hand and led us to Roost Place. It was fine. The crust was super thin so we didn’t feel stuffed and the prices were embarrassingly cheap. Pizza was $7 and beer was 70 cents for a large glass. We each ordered different toppings. Ours was bulgogi, one was Gorgonzola, and one pepperoni. Adequate. We’ve learned that the way to get the server’s attention is to push the button on the table. It sounds like a doorbell. It’s fun to do, but the sound of doorbells ringing accompanies each meal.

Evidently Jinny told one of the group that because of his heavy Jeju dialect she can only understand 60% of what our local guide says. That’s better than we’re doing. We probably get 40% of what she says.

David is the most enthusiastic traveler. It pained me when he said he wouldn’t recommend this trip. I think the guides were inept and there was too much down time, but, with the right travel company, it could be a better experience. Our fellow travelers were most compatible and a pleasure to be with.

Tomorrow morning we fly back to Seoul where there is a warning about invisible yellow dust from China. We brought our own dust masks.

Toby

High Schoolers

At Waterfall #2

Vertical Jeju

October 28, 2019- Vertical Jeju 

Our hotel is the Maison Garden, the most exclusive on the island. It’s a casino hotel and you have to trek from the lobby past the casino to the elevators. The rooms are black. The walls are painted black; the floors are stained black; the furniture is black. Have you ever tried to find black shoes, a black backpack, or a black carry-on in such a place? To brighten it up, they installed a frosted glass pocket door for the bathroom. So much for privacy.

Our local guide’s in laws live on an orange grove and grow tangerines for a living. The guide brought us samples to taste. They were the size of golf balls and not all that sweet. The ones at the hotel are larger and delicious. The fruit is sized with the medium sized ones exported and smaller and larger ones kept for local use.

Today’s agenda began with a trip to the Stone Museum. It’s a collection of natural lava formations some of which resemble animals and humans. There was a wonderful view of Mt Halla as it intermittently appeared from behind the clouds. 

The Sangumburi Crater was our next challenge. There were three ways to reach the top. Each path had a different level of difficulty. We chose poorly, although we made it. The hardest part was running the gauntlet of people taking pictures of each other with pampas grass waving in the background. There is a large crater lake at the apex, but it only has water seasonally. This wasn’t the wet season. I dutifully took a picture of the lake bed.

Lunch was a feast of shabu shabu. It’s like yaki tori with a twist. Here they make it with the famous Jeju black pork. Ours was made with beef. The meat is thinly shaved and quickly cooked in a broth where scads of different mushrooms are simmering. There is no flavor, so soy dipping sauce with a dollop of hot mustard is necessary. Assembly is definitely required. Just when you think the meal is over, there’s a twist. Remaining vegetables are lifted from the leftover broth, set aside, and a raw egg, cooked rice, dried seaweed,,and scallions are added. The result is a delicious porridge of which I overindulged. 

Just when we thought it would get easier, we were off to Seonsan Sunrise Park to see the women divers’ performance. There used to be around 30,000, of them, but they number closer to 4,000, now with their ages being in the fifties and sixties. Because abalone and other exotic seafood was demanded by royalty, this women’s work was much valued creating somewhat of a matriarchy. Men stayed home to care for children while the women earned a living. The unintended consequence was that men had time on their hands and turned to drinking and gambling. And yes, I walked down 150 steps to see the demonstration. David viewed it from above. Of course, I had to walk up those steps again. We had an option to climb yet higher to the top of the mountain. We opted to drink iced coffee and shop.

Seongup Village was calling our name, so off we went. It’s a living 500-year old village. The occupants may only alter the interior of their house. A stone wall surrounds the village guarded by phallic, maoi like stone grandfathers. Houses are built of rock and mud with thatched roofs of pampas grass. The roofs are held down by pampas grass ropes so they don’t blow away in the prevalent strong winds and typhoons. 

How can I leave out another industry brought to Jeju by the Mongols? Horse breeding is common and we passed several riding stables. In 1276, Mongols invaded Jeju. Why not. Their horses bred with Jeju horses which had distinct DNA. Where the original Jeju horse came from is unclear. Not only are horses valued for the work they do, but also for their meat and hair. They still eat horse meat. I saw a bag of horse jerky today. Didn’t buy it.

Dinner was pathetic. No one wanted to go out. We braved littered streets alone facing down motorcycle delivery guys on the sidewalk only to end up at a 7/11. We bought what was likely days old fried chicken, chips, and cream cheese caramel popcorn. Not that we didn’t try, but none of the restaurants we passed had English translations. We were too tired to fend for ourselves. Most tourists here are Chinese. Jeju doesn’t require visas and many Chinese come to buy in bulk at duty free shops then go home to sell the goods. Dinner isn’t included tomorrow either. Hopefully, we’ll get some direction from Jinny.

Tomorrow we see more Jeju nature: two waterfalls and pillars. The young guy on our trip is going to climb Mt. Halla instead. Waterfalls are too tame for him.

Toby

Woman Diver

Updated Instructions

Sabu Sabu

Grandfather Stone

Jeju Island

October 27, 2019-Jeju Island

Our forty-minute flight to Jeju was smooth and scenic. I didn’t realize how many islands there were off the Korean peninsula and coast of Jeju. The island is volcanic with Halla Mt. being the most obvious. None is active.

Our local guide met us at the airport and hopes were high for his language ability. He is an improvement over Jinny, but marginally so. He tends to repeat himself, which is helpful. At one point he realized we weren’t understanding Jinny and he re-translated. 

Jeju has a subtropical climate so there are palm trees. They do have some snow in winter, and the wind blows constantly. Buildings are lower and not as up to date as the mainland. With a population of 690,000 and ten typhoons a year, they seem to be winning the battle for survival and rebirth. 

Their history has been even more chaotic than the rest of the country. They’re so close to Japan that it was a major Japanese military installation during WWII. After the war, the US moved in and hired Jeju citizens who had been Japanese collaborators. To say the least, things went poorly. There were protests, shots fired on the crowds, miscommunication, strikes, political divisions between those who wanted a united Korea or not, arrests, torture, and massacre. The 4,3 Memorial we visited commemorated the 30,000, killed in a seven-year long battle starting April 3, 1948. There was to be no peace. The Korean War followed heightening the divisions on Jeju Island. To this day, there is subtle bias against those whose relatives were on the “wrong” side.

Our day rounded out with a trip to the Folklore and Natural History Museum. It was the basic flora and fauna plus displays of scenes depicting life in the old days. It was interesting to see how the industry evolved from supplying tangerines and abalone to the emperors to tourism today.

It was a long day with lunch and dinner being a blur. Lunch was yet another buffet where we saw a unique mixture of canned fruit cocktail and sliced canned black olives. Don’t knock it until you’re hungry and trying to avoid pork and fiery spicy food.

Dinner was Korean BBQ featuring kalbi, marinated beef rib meat. We sat at tables with recessed coal pits and cooked our own dinner. Ventilation hoses sucked most of the smoke up. I did start coughing, and they adjusted the hose. It was delicious and a fun activity.

Tomorrow we head east to see lava rock formations and, if the weather holds and the seas are calm, a demonstration of traditional female divers.

Toby 

Bathroom instructions

Cooking Kalbi

Busan 2

October 26, 2019- Busan 2

We have a hippo . Duncan wandered around on her own last night and found one. Picture attached.

My brain has developed an auto-correct. This morning Jinny was telling us something about important colors. I immediately knew it was important scholars. Yeah!

The argument between S. Koreans about whether the US military should stay or not may be moot. We passed an enormous building with a gold sign “Trump World “glaring at us. The entire bus booed. If he has business interests here, he’ll protect them.

The weather was sunny and warmer than expected. It helped lighten the solemnity of our visit to the UN Memorial Park. The orientation video started with a quote, “they gave their lives today for the tomorrow of Korea.” It ended with words we use in our memorial (yizkor) service, “in the rising of the sun and in it’s going down, we remember them.” Fort- one thousand people from twenty one countries died. The US tends to bring its dead home, so there were only a few American graves. It’s a beautiful burial park and moving site.

Traffic caused Jinny to change our schedule. At least she’s flexible when needed. We headed for the Busan Tower to look down on the modern construction of which Koreans are so proud. Another elevator ride to another view. We had coffee in the sun and bussed to lunchee.

Lunch presented us with cart after cart of platters until our table and stomachs could hold no more. Among the offerings were acorn jelly (tasteless), frozen ahi wrapped in dried seaweed, duck, baby ginseng root dipped in sweet sauce, and whole fish which I cannot abide looking at let alone eat. We were given time to walk off our meal in the surrounding market where American pop blared from shops. We wanted to cap off lunch with a sweet, but passed up turkey ice cream. We did try what they call S’more ice cream. It’s chocolate ice cream surrounded with frozen marshmallow meringue that is blow torched. It was pretty good although the ice cream was too frozen to have a bold flavor.

We walked to the nearby fish market. We had an hour there, but, number one, we’d been to many such markets, and, number two, David couldn’t stand the smell. The custom there is interesting, though. You can buy your fish on the first floor and take it upstairs where they’ll cook it for a fee and give you the all- important Korean side dishes.

Onward we went up to the Gamcheon Cultual Village. It’s an older and less desirable area where the elderly people have remained. Younger ones prefer to live lower down, in newer apartments closer to work. The village is now a tourist destination lined with shops and cafes. The view is lovely with pastel houses cascading down the hillside. It reminded me of the favellas in Brazil only cleaner and drug free.

Our group dinner was within walking distance of our hotel. Belinda and Kent, the newly-married youngsters (50’s) brought the rice wine they’d purchased at the brewery. It was a hoot watching them shake then try to open the bottle without having it explode. Imagine trying that with champagne. They poured, we toasted, and the meal began. This was a raw fish restaurant, but four of us didn’t eat raw. Platters of cooked salmon and rock fish (aka ocean perch or redfish) were distributed...enough to feed twice our number. As the raw fish was paraded to our table, one platter seemed to squirm. When I realized it was recently hacked up live baby octopus, I squirmed, yelped, and took a photo. I didn’t post it since I couldn’t capture the movement or sound of people gasping. Other than Jinny, some of the group tried it...after it was still. As for the rock fish, although it was headless it was butterflied and had the tail. I didn’t eat it and could not wait for it to be cleared.

Tomorrow we take off for Jeju Island.

Toby

Hippo

Street Restaurant

S'more Ice-Cream

Busan

October 25, 2019-Busan

After a week, Jinny decided that she would clue us in about seatbelt laws. Evidently, they’re required. We put them on for her to check then most removed them. Rebellion!

I actually understood a story she was telling. She and her husband have a graduated marriage. I googled it, and marriage graduation is a status of a couple who have lived together as man and wife for decades but have nothing in common anymore. Children are raised and they are looking for “more.” They agree to live separately and seek the fulfillment they never could have when they had more responsibilities.

It was the first time many of us toured an auto factory, and our visit to the Hyundai plant in Ulsan was greatly anticipated. On tours of candy factories or distilleries we’ve been given samples. I was assured that on this tour we would not. Hyundai has factories throughout the world, and at this plant alone, they employ 35,000 workers. They have their own half mile long port with room for three cargo ships that hold 7,000, cars each. We watched as some of the 500 drivers sped up the loading ramps to park the cars 4 inches apart. 

Learning is interesting, but sometimes we learn upsetting information. There were no women on the factory floor. I asked and was told it is a more suitable job for men.  They prefer women to work in the offices. I asked if there were women at the executive level. There are none. I don’t see a Hyundai in our future. Fortunately, our guide there spoke clearly. I hate to make fun of Jinny, but a professional guide should be understandable even with an accent. 

And now it was time for fun. We went to a rice wine brewery and saw that Korean rice wine is nothing like sake. We were each given a tray with the ingredients and shown how to mix the partially cooked rice stirring it by hand. We added yeast and water and mixed well. After fermentation, the wine is clear but has a milky sediment. When served, the bottle is first shaken to mix the sediment. The cap has to be released slowly and in stages so the carbonation can escape. Yes, it’s fizzy. It is mild and has a lovely citrusy taste. Unfortunately, it must be refrigerated, so I don’t know if we can bring any home. David is bringing the instructions home for Daniel to make it himself.

Lunch was bi bim bop. It’s rice in a bowl with meat. Vegetables are added and mixed with kimchi or spices. I prefer when it’s served in a hot pot with an egg on top, but this filled the bill. We’re pros at finding spoons, chop sticks, and napkins in a drawer under the table so lose no time chowing down.

Our destination was the seaside city of Busan. Our hotel, the Haeundae Grand Hotel, is across from the beach. As an illustration of how Jinny doesn’t really answer our questions, someone asked about a statue in the water across from the hotel. Her answer was a soliloquy about what I thought was Amelia Island. We later found out that it was Camellia Island when we took a walk there. We circled the island/park climbing many steps along the boardwalk and ended up on the beach. Unable to resist, three of us waded into the East Sea (Sea of Japan to some) and acted like fools as the water rushed in with the tide. The beach is clean and the sand is soft, but there was the issue of how to clean our feet. Ingenious as they are, Koreans don’t have water spigots for foot washing. They have high powered air hoses. It’s amazing! You end up with the sand blown away and your feet dried at the same time. By the way, the statue is of a man with a spyglass and is a submerged lighthouse.

The same group of adventurous souls who took a dip in the sea met for dinner. We strolled to a populous area hoping to find something other than Asian food. I would have compromised with pizza topped with bulgogi. We tried a place that had American food, but they only had one chef tonight and it would be a 40- minute wait. We thanked them for their honesty and ventured along. I saw a sign with pictures of Indian food and Namaste beckoned. We ate to our heart’s content and are quite proud we didn’t succumb to MacDonald’s.

Tomorrow we’ll visit the UN cemetery among other sites. It will be a full day with dinner included.  Don’t worry if I don’t write. I may be too tired.

Toby 

Us with Busan in Background

On the Beach

Lighthouse Statue

Wet and Wild in Gyeongju

October 24, 2019- Wet and Wild in Gyeongju 

It rained all day. That made interesting surfaces to navigate. We went to a village and temple where we faced ramps and steps galore. A combination of wet sand on stone caused us to move slowly. At one point most of us were juggling a receiver and headphones so we could hear Jinny, an umbrella, and camera/phone. Some also contended with a cane or walking sticks. 

True to form we had no idea where we were or what we were seeing. On the bus going somewhere, Jinny talked at length about fishees , frogs, clouds, and hidden monks. Actually, the monks weren’t hiding but were hitting objects shaped like fishees. When asked what the fishees were made of, she said it was oodoo. I was among the first to realize that was wood. Duncan, our troublemaker, kept asking about fishees parroting Jinny’s pronunciation. 

We ended up at Gyochon Village where we had dinner last night. There was a school and rich man Choe’s house to see. We also had time for coffee and relaxation. The school was closed, and in typical Korean style, the house was unfurnished. It began pouring, so several of us ducked into a cafe only to find it was an ice cream parlor. The youngest couple here (Kent and Belinda, ages 55 & 53), ordered ice cream. The rest of us camped out. When the rain abated, we went to the bus. The driver was nice enough to pull it closer to the entrance and rush out with umbrellas for those with none. He got ticketed for his trouble. What Jinny didn’t tell us to check out in the village was a drumming school. One of our group found it and had fun. 

Bulgogi is a typical Korean dish. It means fire meat referring to the meat being cooked over a flame. Our next stop was a cooking lesson where Chef Andrew put us through our paces. He did a demo then supervised our progress. We followed his lesson closely since our bulgogi would be our lunch. It was delicious. We compared our dish to his and there was little difference. Perhaps ours was sweeter. He then introduced us to green apricot vinegar which is good enough to drink. An explanation of how he makes soy sauce followed with a reluctant endorsement of Kikoman if you absolutely had to stoop to store bought.

Our temple complex of the day was the Bulguksa where printing plates of clay were found pre-dating Gutenberg. The setting was stunning with bridges, waterways, soaring staircases, and waterfalls. We dutifully followed Jinny like lemmings from temple to temple oohing and aahing at each representation of the Buddha. She consistently directed those with mobility issues to steps without railings instead of ramps or to slippery ramps instead of less hazardous steps. She asked me if David could go up one flight in particular and I told her to ask him. One of the younger people was having a bad knee day, but Jinny tried to drag her over to steps instead of a route with easier access. 

We hung out in the rain for an hour until it was tea time. We met with a monk in a traditional tea house on the temple grounds and enjoyed tea, sweet cakes, and a lively  discussion translated by Jinny. There was a translator there who might have been a student of the monk, but Jinny jumped in and preempted her. You could see the tension build. At one point, Jinny asked how many of us were Christian. Only one person’s hand went up. The score was 1 Presbyterian, 3 Jews, 1 Catholic (Jinny) and 6 of no religion. Surprised us all. By the way, the main discussion was trying to understand Jinny’s interpretation of the monk’s philosophy of life and meditation. She went on about how we know a cup is white or a flower is pink to something about picture frames. David clarified it by saying that It boiled down to “think outside the box.” We also discussed his view of prayer as introspective and a tool to help improve ourselves as well as pray for others. He was clear that the Buddha was not a god. We took a group photo at the end and got a kick out of their version of saying “cheese” to encourage a smile. They say, “ kimchi.”

Dinner was on our own again. The bus stopped at a small grocery store and we bought supplies. Some of us met in the hotel lounge to “dine” on cheese, crackers, chips, and candy, but my ramen bowl wasn’t permitted by hotel policy. Only snacks. After one taste of the broth, I had no problem tossing it. It was too spicy for me, although Jinny had assured me it was mild. We later found out there was a bar menu of burgers and pizza which, although expensive, was lots less than the hotel restaurants. Obviously, Jinny wasn’t aware if it when we arrived or she would have suggested it when we balked at $70 hotel restaurant dinners. 

Tomorrow we have an early departure time. We have to be in Busan to tour the Hyundai factory.

Toby

Ice cream Sundae

Monk at Tea Ceremony

Chef Andrew

Hiking Gyeongju

October 23, 2019- Hiking Gyeongju

It’s ibuprofen time. One of our group has a Fitbit. It said we walked six miles today and climbed eleven flights of stairs. This trip was rated maximum activity. Now we know why. I’m happy to report that all survived and are tucked in for the night.

We’re at a fancy Hilton. There are several monks staying here. I didn’t know they indulged in luxuries. As we left our room this morning, a woman in a robe was ahead of us in the hallway. I thought she was a monk until she turned around. There was a huge Mickey Mouse covering the front of the robe.

It seems that fire is a great fear in S. Korea. Every hotel room has fire evacuation equipment including an extinguisher, a ladder and fire-retardant masks. Fire extinguishers are prominently displayed in all public buildings. I wonder if it’s a holdover from the days when buildings were wooden. Until I almost got locked in a stall, I didn’t understand the reason for emergency call buttons in each public restroom cubicle. By the way, the majority are western style.  Then there is the use of clear plastic trash bags. They want to see if there might be a bomb inside. This is a security conscious place. I guess you have to be when your enemy is so close.

Aside from hippo quest, we were charged with finding peanut butter for the couple who eat it for breakfast. Today the hotel breakfast buffet had a tub near the pancake syrup. David and I emptied a butter container, filled it with peanut butter, and presented it to the couple with a two-handed bow.

We’re an on-time bunch of veteran travelers and were raring to go this morning. Jinny started with an orientation for the day’s adventures. We were going to a tomb and museum. When she was finished, I asked David what leprechauns had to do with it. He said she was talking about replicas. I feel like Roseanne Rossanna Danna from the old Saturday Night Live show. The word of the day every day is “what?”

Persimmon trees are everywhere. They still have bright orange fruit hanging and look as if they’ve been decorated for Halloween. Whether it’s the Hilton or a hovel, there’s a persimmon tree. There are also countless coffee houses. Starbucks is represented but vastly outnumbered by generic cafes. What happened to tea? 

Today was devoted to the Silla Kingdom. The tombs resemble our Indian mounds and contained the royal body laid out in a wood coffin. Outfitted in gold and buried with a servant, they were ready for their journey. The tombs were ingenious examples of engineering ingenuity. They were domed and built of carefully balanced rocks using timber for the interiors. 

The museum had original gold pieces, steeles, bowls, weapons, etc; no leprechauns. It was clear that the Silla Kingdom traded with other countries by way of the Silk Road, other land routes, and sea. They learned much from China including diplomacy. That led to the unification of the three Korean kingdoms. Jinny cautioned us that there was no freshee allowed. You figure it out. Give up? Flash, as in photograpy.

Our Korean lunch buffet was sumptuous. Jinny has mixed up Harvey and David. She addresses each by the correct names, but, at lunch, she took Harvey around explaining what food was pork and what he could eat, Harvey just went along with it. After circling the tables several times, I found marvelous veggie dumplings, acorn pancakes, and yummy pumpkin whipped like potatoes.

With full stomachs we headed for a steep climb and several flights of steps to a temple for a demonstration of Korean martial arts called sunmudo. I joined in for a mini lesson and was pleased I didn’t fall over. It’s much different than the gentle tai chi I do. 

There was a debate as to whether we’d stick to our itinerary and visit a place to try on Korean costumes and make bulgoggi or visit the Golgosa Grotto to see the Seokguram Buddha. Duncan, who is well read on Korea and has visited on business was surprised the grotto wasn’t on our schedule. We convinced Jinny it was worth a call to her company for permission. We all had to sign a document that we agreed to the change so there could be no repercussions when we wrote our reviews. Even though Jinny was explaining it, she veered into Buddhist philosophy and how far we were from the hotel. We still didn’t know where we were going. The bus barreled through the mountain curves and David cracked us up saying, “I don’t know if we’re going to the grotto, the hotel, or hell.” It was the grotto. We didn’t know what we were in for. Fortunately, the weather has ranged in the high 60s so no one got overheated. We walked over a quarter of a mile uphill and climbed several flights to see the granite Buddha. Then there was down.

Not finished yet. Jinny had to fit in a video of the Silla palace complex which did turn out to be informative. That’s how we learned that, when faced with no male successor, the king’s daughter was allowed to take the throne. She ruled well and was instrumental in building the observatory, which we’ll see tomorrow, and an 80-meter-tall pagoda that still baffles today’s architects.

But the day wasn’t over yet. We had to see the park on a manmade lake where several pavilions were illuminated. Paths weren’t lit and footing was sketchy, but Jinny didn’t warn us. Although David left his hiking poles on the bus, he emerged unscathed. 

Still not over. We had dinner included. We bussed to our restaurant not realizing we were in for another long walk. This time it was across a replica of the royal bridge. The 300-year-old building housed a Korean style tea house. As with the Japanese style, we sat on the floor. Climbing up to the actual room was awkward at best. Sitting on cushions with nowhere to put our feet was beyond most. They provided low plastic stools which made it manageable, but created a hazard when we tried to stand up in our socks on a slippery floor. Before food arrived, David grumbled that they’d probably serve pork. He was wrong. it was pork and squid pancakes. There was other food and we did feast. In the end, it was delicious.

Tomorrow we have a later start and it will be more lowkey. We’ll lick our wounds, down our Advil, and recharge.

Toby

 

Royal Bridge

Burial Mound

Sunmodo Master

Sunmodo Students and Me

Gyeongju

October 22, 2019-Gyeongju 

We don’t have porterage service which means we have to wrangle our bags to and from our rooms. Today we had to outwit crowded elevators and, despite a fifteen minute wait for one, get ourselves and recalcitrant bags to our bus. We were transferring to the high-speed train and Jinny was stressed. I was struck by the fact that it’s the first time we’ve been on a tour in a city with churches and we hadn’t visited a one.

I can only tell you that the train was somewhat worn looking. I fell asleep as we pulled out of the station and woke up two hours later in Gyeongju. That’s the way to travel. I was told there were many tunnels as we cut through the mountains. The topography here consists of small mountains interspersed with small farms. Autumn is rice harvesting time and they’re busy mowing rice grass for animal feed.

We had our first taste of Korean food here with bulgogi. It’s thinly sliced, grilled meat presented in a broth with mushrooms, cellophane noodles, and sprouts. It was accompanied with several small dishes of pickled vegetables. Dessert was sliced Korean pear. It’s a huge relative of our Bartlett variety. The texture is crisp and the flavor is mildly sweet. David had a chance to try Korean beer. He found it light but flavorful. 

This area of S. Korea was the capital of the Silla Kingdom (57 BCE-935CE). The landscape is littered with royal tombs hidden under grass covered mounds. Silla rule was during the golden age of Buddhism. 

But this afternoon was devoted to the Yangdong Village. At first, I thought it was a model town for tourists, but soon learned that it is a 500-year-old (1392-1897) UNESCO site of the royal city for the Joseon Kingdom. Enter Confucianism. It is a living town now occupied by descendants of the original families. Built to make the most of the rules of fung shui and Confucianism, the royal homes were higher up the hills than the peasants’ and separation of sexes meant the king and queen slept in separate houses. Servants had to haul the royals up the roads on palanquins. We trekked up hills to check out the royal digs and servant housing. These were no longer occupied nor were they furnished. David thought the threshold for becoming a UNESCO World Heritage site was very low. 

The last “happening” was watching a woman beat the daylights out of plants to retrieve black sesame seeds. Three of us were over it and walked ahead of the group sending Jinny into a panic. She was convinced we were lost and wanted to go back to look for us. David convinced her that we knew our way back. Besides, all we had to do was keep going downhill.

What would an email be without a Jinny tale? Today she decided that the water bottle a man was carrying in his jacket pocket was too heavy for him. She reached into said pocket, removed the bottle, and poured half its contents on the ground. It’s part of the issue we have with her helpfulness bordering on condescension, and lack of boundaries. As to the conversation Duncan had with the travel company representative about Jinny’s poor English speaking ability, evidently, the company knows.

Few meals are included and Jinny is vague on suggestions. I showed her a photo of the sign at the restaurant where we ate last night. She said it specialized in pork dishes. The joke was on us. That’s why we had trouble finding chicken on the menu. 

We’re staying at a Hilton resort hotel well outside the city here. Jinny was again vague about where we could eat dinner. She waved her hand indicating that somewhere out to the right of the hotel were a few shops, a local market, and a 7-11. As for the hotel, the buffet was $90 and the Chinese restaurant ran around $70/person. There was a sweet shop in the lobby and someone said there were sandwiches.  We bought the last two bagel and lox offerings and a friend, Diana, bought the last cheese and salami. 

Tomorrow we walk the city and climb up, up, up to tombs.

Toby 

Yangdong Village

Sesame Beater

Seoul Delights

October 21,2019-Seoul Delights 

A representative of the Road Scholar tour company was at the lecture yesterday  afternoon. Duncan, a woman in our group, spoke to her about our guide, Jinny. Today, Jinny spoke more slowly, but was still hard to understand most of the time. She’s also impatient. I asked about what looked like a memorial as we hustled past a tent with photos and an English sign, “they starved to death.” She was visibly annoyed and curtly said they were N. Koreans. We continued walking to the Museum of Contemporary History and came upon what looked like a panel discussion with an audience and media coverage. We spoke to a man who explained they agreed with the USA and S. Korea working together, but the present government did not. Pretty soon tv cameras came over. I think we’ll be on the news tonight. Jinny said that such debates should be in the legislature. The pro USA man told us she was for the other side. 

We finally got to the museum and were turned loose with audio guides. Frankly, contemporary history was about the war. Most displays were of documents. We found it tedious and redundant. The museum visit was a last minute replacement for the cancelled trip to the DMZ. There was one “diorama” of our troops evacuating N. Koreans to the South in 1950. A cargo ship made 7600 trips to rescue as many families as possible.

We stopped at a lovely Buddhist temple to “chill” and take photos of the stunning and colorful mum displays. We wandered about enjoying the site, however, it was anything but tranquil. Visitors posed and accidentally photo bombed each other in the melee. Just across the street was our lunch stop. Food prepared by monks was served in artfully presented yet simple arrangements. The monks prefer bland food and that’s what we ate. Some of it was more flavorful than others. I added kim chee water to the tasteless pumpkin soup, but nothing could save the eggplant jelly.

David and I weren’t satisfied. When we were taken around the corner to a shopping-street we found an ice cream stand and indulged. Koreans make good ice cream even though cows and dairy products were late coming here. The area was a blend of gift shops and fashionable clothing stores. Still no hama (hippo).

Jinny asked us not to tell her company that she was taking us up to the “tall tower.” David corrected me and said it’s the Seoul tower. He’s right. Another example of her English-speaking ability. Tomorrow we’ll take a survey to see what others heard. Jinny said it was too dangerous for elderly travelers and they were afraid of someone falling. She then went into an explanation of how her mother-in-law broke her hip. I understood most of it. In any case, we had to climb a steep though paved incline to the mountain top. The distance wasn’t far, but a few of us were slow. Jinny got behind a couple of them and leaned on their backs in order to push them along and help support them. I thought it was dangerous and one woman said she almost fell backwards when Jinny let go without warning. When she approached David, I told her not to touch him. He was doing just fine with his hiking poles. When we finally topped the crest, the views of Seoul and the Han River were worth it. 

Our lecture this afternoon was on Korean Buddhism. I learned two things. Dim sum means “to lightly touch your heart between lunch and dinner.” Also, Korean families pray for up to 100 days for their child to do well on the SAT test. The woman who spoke read us the power point word for word. Even Jinny found it tedious and uninformative. Afterwards she asked us if she should recommend the company drop that talk. We voted that they should. Worse than walking through one temple after another is seeing 68 slides of them. Yes, I counted.

We were on our own for dinner. Jinny had no specific restaurant suggestions so we winged it. Any street here has oodles of places to eat. We started walking, found a place crowded with young folks, and hoped for the best. We ended up in a simple Japanese place where the “English” menu consisted of post-it notes on the Korean language menu explaining the dishes. I had fried chicken soup and David had fried chicken. My meal was basically David’s chicken dumped in a broth. Good but salty. There was a strange but tasty sauce for the shredded cabbage and rice sides. No one had enough English to tell us what it was. No Korean food yet.

We leave Seoul tomorrow by high speed rail. It will be two hours to Gyeongju. Our luggage will take four hours to arrive since it will go by truck. 

Toby

School boys on roof of Contemporary Museum

David in a tangle of wires from head set, audio guide, phone

At Buddhist Temple

Buddhist lunch