Mokpo to Wando - eventually, and 701 again!

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Getting from Mokpo to Haenam was the original plan. Had a very late start from room 701 down there at the ferry terminal (blame that blog, folks). Got a taxi to the inter-city bus terminal which was about 5-6 km away, getting there at about 12:45 PM, confidently expecting seven buses a day or something. However either the schedule is nothing like that any more (LP, pls explain?), or six had already gone, but the next one was not until 6 PM! (exclamation mark indeed). Although I had been considering going to Haenam, which is only an hour away, simply to fill in the time until the ferry from Wando to Jeju Island, as it is on the same bus route decided I might as well go all the way to Wando (2 hrs) then. So bought the bus ticket.

Hmm, what and how to fill in five hours. The one thing I had not found out was exactly what exact fare the local buses take. According to the five-year-old information I had in the LP it was 850Krw. I asked at the information desk and fortunately she was able to understand sufficiently and tell me that it was now 1100Krw. I generally walk everywhere because of precisely this problem, not being able to communicate effectively with bus drivers and so on. However as one always has a 1000 won note in one's pocket, not to mention a 100 won coin, this was easy peasy. The other problem was of course what to do with my large bag while I was gallivanting all over town. Fortunately there was a big locker which would (just) hold it but as the instructions for locking them were all in Korean had to ask a young guy who spoke quite good English. It seems that you simply enter the number of the locker, pay the money (3000Krw=$2.70) and then place a finger on a reader to supposedly open it later (told you there were uses for such technology, other than border security). That all went fine (I thought) -- of course until I returned and found the locker not locked! Fortunately the bag completely filled the locker so you would have been keen to steal the whole thing.

Then got a bus downtown to the shops so to speak -- checked out a couple of CD shops in the hopes of getting some sort of Kmart K-pop compilation to minimise the risk of only one artist . However there seemed to be only only single artist albums that I could see, and not being up with the latest this would make it risky. And one place had 3 old InXS albums from their "world domination" period! The only CD I have bought was at the National Museum in Seoul where they had a very good dedicated headphone station to listen to about five different albums. So bought one with a female playing piri (Korean bamboo flute) with varied modern accompaniment. I had the previous day also bought one of the action-man type high-tech tops at a 30% reduction - these are fairly distinctive with multi-panel and contrasting stitching -- in my case yellow. People wear pants of the same material here as well so that they always look like they are about to go for an action man hike in the local forest (which they apparently really do on weekends and it can get quite busy). The national parks look really good on paper but access with virtually zero Korean on local buses etc has made it impossible for me to do this.

Got another bus 1 which runs all the way past the ferry terminals and my old hotel to Yudal Bay, which is not surprisingly below Yudalsan, the mountain I had climbed the previous night. I actually went a little too far and effectively ended up at the National Maritime University. Wandered in there for a bit of a peek and saw cadets playing soccer not to mention lots in white uniforms, later boarding a training ship no doubt. The backdrop is the rather spectacular bridge across the harbour, which it seems is not quite open yet. Wandered along to what passes for the small Yudal beach and watched locals messing around with a polystyrene crate as a floatie. Then back to the terminal to await the 6 PM bus.

After a just under two hour trip we arrived in Wando. I found the choice of hotel reasonably easily as it was on the waterfront. And yes for some reason it is called the Sydney Motel - must attempt to ask the bloke why. It was almost 9 PM when I went out to see what I could get to eat. There were plenty of empty seafood restaurants along the promenade (it was late after all) of the trad floor-bendy knees variety (hate it - cannot do that really anymore) and decided that I could do without the hassle of attempting to order fish not raw (maybe with a local). So as I had had an octopus stone bowl bibimbap in Mokpo for late lunch decided on simply some packet noodles (boiling water in my room from dispenser) and bought a packet of Dr You Diget choco (pic attached) "as good for you today as it's always been" says the slogan -- a reasonable copy of McVities.

I should mention that when I checked in I indicated pointing towards the front that I wanted a seaview room (not too sure I would have got one otherwise). Anyway blow me down if I am not in room 701 as in Mokpo - a quieter harbour, but in a strange coincidence there was some welding going on across the street, the same as in Mokpo. Otherwise the room is huge - do not believe that Korean motel rooms are tiny cos they ain't.

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Photos

Mokpo Yudalsan vue
climbed at dusk

Mokpo Yudalsan nite vue
size of crane, + bridge!

another nite vue fr.Yudalsan
my hotel is 3rd fr.left opp. big aptmt blocks

yes its a pink bike
with yellow tyres as well

since my baby left me...
I am reduced to busking outside Mokpo cafes

Maritime Uni cadets lining up
to board training ship?

that rather large bridge
from Maritime Uni

Yudal Beach 7-11
the boy was half asleep under the brollies

yes its the Sydney Motel
(in Wando that is)

Wando nite fishing boats
nite shots can be interesting

Wando room 701 vue
for about $36 with internet

room 701 aint that small either
even if it is a wide angle lens (bigger than my lounge room)

Comments

[Barbara]

a bridge too far
Looks like the Anzac Bridge in Sydney - must be a favourite of bridge builders.

[Huddo]

Elvis and Sydney.
Hi Mike, 701 twice! not that is pretty unreal on the road. Those rooms are big size, great value as well. Great snaps of "The King" and that massive bridge. Sydney motel cool, and the Diget bickies looked yummy! Huddo.