Advertisement
Published: January 23rd 2010
Edit Blog Post
For financial reasons we decided that the best way to get to Korea was a 15 hour over night ferry as oppose to flying or the expensive 3 hour crossing. 2 hours into our journey this appeared to be a very large mistake. Leaving the port in Japan everything was very calm giving us no warning of the conditions to come. We had just finished our meal in the restaurant when it started to get a bit rocky. Valentina doesn't have a particularly high tolerance to any kind of motion sickness and was immediately suggesting we return to our cabin. By the time we had got to our sleeping quarters it was really getting very rough. Things continued to deteriorate quite rapidly with the boat being bashed about from all sides. The worst part was that we could feel the boat as the front went over a big wave and then plunged down behind it and back up the next one. I was feeling pretty queasy by this point, Valentina meanwhile was positively green and was also suffering from the fact that she believed her days to be numbered and we would soon find ourselves bobbing up and down in the
freezing waters of the Sea of Japan.
Our frugality meant that we got the cheapest cabin available which was a shared room with up to 6 other people. The 'beds' were mats on the floor with blankets and bricks for pillows but we did fortunately have it to ourselves. The basic sleeping arrangements and very choppy seas for most of the night all made for a pretty uncomfortable journey so we were very pleased to arrive in Busan.
We spent a few days in Busan (South Korea's second city) visiting their fish market which was even smellier than the one in Tokyo. I kept a safe distance from all of the wares on this occasion. The highlight of this excursion was watching three octopus make their break for freedom after escaping their tank. We also spent quite a bit of time searching the shops and markets for extra clothes to deal with the decreasing temperatures.
Our first meal in Korea was at a noodle bar where we pointed at what looked to be a fairly run-of-the-mill dish. The waitress however explained that this was very spicy. I'd read in a guide book that Korean food is characterised
by massive amounts of chili so was about to select something else from the menu when she offered to reduce the level of heat the chef would add. We foolishly agreed to this proposition. Once it arrived first thoughts were that it's cold, still tasted quite nice so we tucked in. Shortly after a couple of mouthfuls the heat started to kick in unleashing what can best be described as an inferno of pain inside our mouths. The fact that it was cold meant it took longer for us to realise quite how spicy it was, so by the time we had it was too late. Not wanting offend anyone I attempted to eat as much as physically possible with predictable effects. The lowest point was when I had my head against the wall, sweat pouring out of me and tears running down my face. Valentina meanwhile was suffering from the shakes, it really was quite a scene. Our evening meal was a Big Mac meal each - I couldn't face anything remotely Korean.
From here we moved north to Gyeongju which was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (wikipedia informs me). The area as a result
has quite a lot to see including the Korean version of the Pyramids in the shape of grassy mounds where royalty were buried along with various symbols of their wealth. After more culture at the Bulguska temple we headed further North to Cheongju. From here we visited the Songnisan National Park which contains the worlds tallest Buddha statue (33 metres). Next stop was Seoul.
Since arriving in Korea it had been getting progressively colder, not helped by us moving northwards. By the time we reached Soul though it was pretty unbearable. The highest temperature on our first day there was -12C and once the sun went down it must have been a fair bit lower. Unsurprisingly my converse trainers were not standing up to these temperatures particularly well, so i took the drastic step of investing in some snow boots. Despite their hideous appearance I'd go as far as to say it's the best 12 pounds I've spent in years.
With the correct footwear we began exploring Seoul which is enormous. We took in most of the main sights including the Palace district and their 24 hour markets which are the size of towns themselves. From Seoul we
also went on a tour to the Demilitarized Zone. This gave us the chance to look into North Korea. It is easy to work out where the border is because there are no trees in the North as people there can't afford gas or oil for heating so use any wood they can find for fuel. Part of the tour also took us down one of the 4 invasion tunnels the South have discovered. They believe there may be up to 25 of these which have been built by the North since the 50's. The one we saw has black marks against the rock in places which is where the North Koreans tried to disguise the tunnel as a coal mine once they realised they were about to be discovered.
Our fortunes with food improved throughout our stay in Korea. One incident is worth mentioning though. When in restaurants we had to often choose food based on pictures. This was the case on one particular occasion when I selected a meat soup based on a postage stamp sized picture. My soup arrived and I tucked in, it was quite nice. About half way through though, unsure of what meat
was in my dish I gave it a closer inspection. This provided me with a horrible flashback to when I'd read the 'Dog Meat' section of our guidebook which describes the canine delicacy as being stringy in texture and often served in a soup. Both conditions applied to my meal. The book went onto say (which was why my guard was down in the first place) that you have to try very hard to find the stuff. You may be thinking that the dogs used are some poor Labradors stolen from a loving family. Not so. The breed favoured by Koreans is a mongrel known as the 'shit dog' due to it's tendency to eat anything it finds. Add to the fact that the poor shitters (as I've dubbed them) are not slaughtered in the most humane manner, I was quite concerned. Still I soldiered on and finished the lot but refused to allow Valentina to ask the waiter what it actually was. Having weighed up all this evidence, I'd rate my chances of having eaten dog around about 70/30 against. However, Valentina is still finding it amusing to bark in my direction.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.197s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 13; qc: 91; dbt: 0.0939s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb
Peter lewis
non-member comment
Hi there travelling tootlers! So glad to hear of your new adventures, so sad we are not there too! Well now you have overcome your crossing from Japan you can relax on terra firma. We had to wait at Helsinki airport for 45mins due to only one runway working at Manchester, suffice it to say it was sub zero and with plenty of snow at Helsinki and they were coping fine! Dan didn't get his poisonous fish delicacy in Japan but he got a real delight in Korea, can recommend the St. Bernard! Don't go on about smog in China we got plenty in Bolton! The weather is apparently demanding some serious fashion challenges for Dan, the boots are quite retro looking but after the Karaoke his street cred is at rock bottom now, so only one way to go! Happy to see you on Skype today look forward to more escapades - keep wearing the johnsons!!!!!! Love dadxx