DAY 188 SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 29 THE SWANS!

We planned to use our Pass to go to Jecheon today, so we went to Seoul Station to try our luck in getting tickets.  At the travel centre  we were offered tickets to come back to Seoul, but to get there we would need to show our pass and stand all the way, as there were no unbooked seats. The Central Station was full of people waiting for trains, many of them carrying special boxes with celebratory cakes.  It was a happy atmosphere as these people had grown up with Choseuk and enjoyed it.
We walked around the town for an hour but found most things closed. There was an interesting tiled mural on the wall at Seoul Metro Station.

History of transport in Korea.  We passed a Presbyterian Church.

There was a group of a couple of hundred cyclists going down the main street in a group.

We caught the trains back to Yeoksam and had lunch at the Italian Cafe opposite our hotel.
Settled back in our room in front of the big TV and watched the best AFL Grand Final yet.  Now that Sydney has won Melbourne's number one sport, maybe Melbourne will win Sydney's number one sport tomorrow.  It was amazing to see so many Swans supporters turn up at the MCG.

DAY 187 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28 CHUNCHEON

We caught the metro into Seoul Station again and managed that OK.  We went to the Travel Centre and was passed along the line of three girls, presumably because the last one had the best English.  We were planning a trip to Chuncheon today as it was shown on the Korail Pass map as a short trip we could do.  We were told that trains to Chuncheon were all classified as part of the metro now, and we would have to go to Yeongsan Station to board the appropriate train.  So we delayed the start of our 5day Korail Pass till tomorrow and paid $11 dollars for booked seats on an ITX train today.  We were advised to buy our return tickets when we got there.
We need to get to Busan on Sunday as we booked the Hansung Motel for four nights there,but that presented a big problem.  We have problems regularly with public holidays in foreign countries because they sneak up on us without warning.  Moreover, we had been warned several times not to try travelling in Korea on festival days as that usually meant standing room only.  Sure enough this weekend is CHUSEOK, when people return to their family towns for celebrations.  Our ticket lady tried a number of trains to Busan and found two seats on some but these were in separate carriages.  We said "What about first class?" Luckily there were two seats together still on one train, so we said "Whew!" and paid the extra 20,000 ($16) supplement.  We found our way to Yeongsan Station but needed assistance from a kind man to find the right platform.  We sat down to wait for the train and two girls sitting next to us with some jewellery on display introduced themselves as University students who mad necklaces to supplement their income.  We purchased one for $12.  The train we caught was an ITX which had some doubledeck carriages and our seats were upstairs so we had a good view of the country as the track pushed through the mountains along the main river from Seoul.

 We gathered that this train was brand new and had only been running since February, but we still do not understand why it is no longer available on our pass.  It was the certainly the cleanest train we have been on, and very comfortable.  Many farms along the river were growing vegetables under wire frames covered in plastic. There were a couple of dams.

When we got to Chuncheon we went to the Information Office and found that there were plenty of places to visit in the area, but nothing much in the town centre
There was a bell

and the City Hall.

 We wandered for two hours, had some Cold Stone Icecream for lunch including another Red Bean Icy Flake and used the normal metro trains to get home at half the cost.
We have now tried the underground in about six cities and conclude that London is the most complicated and difficult to work out, while Seoul is the most clearly mapped and marked, and we have had very little problem, in spite of the major language problem.  We like the little tunes they play on the loudspeakers to let you know a train or station is near.  If we look confused there is always a Korean person willing to help. 

DAY 186 THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 27 GANGNAM

Today ended up being quiet, not venturing far.  We wanted to secure a hotel room in Busan that was as close as possible to the Railway Station and saved us money.  To do this we needed to hop back and forwards between booking.com and google maps, neither of which do a passable job of locating railway stations.  We booked a room in the Hansung Motel for AUD35 per night, and it is hopefully only 300 meters from the station.  We will check in on Sunday and contact the shipping agent for Salzburg on Monday.
Yesterday we went to the hotel reception and booked ourselves into a Korean Folk Village Tour for this afternoon.  We went down at 12.40 to be picked up for a 1pm tour, but no one turned up.  Either it was cancelled or they booked us for the wrong day.  Never mind, it was very expensive compared to Incheon so we did our own walking tour of the local area Gangnam.  The main streets have the office towers of all the big corporations and the fancy shops, while the back lanes are full of small eating places: Korean, Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian, American and German.

 There must be a hundred Starbucks in Seoul.  And of course there is always an authentic Irish Pub.

We found the taxi rank where we gave up our search for the hotel on our first day here and it took us 4 minutes to walk from there back to the hotel.  How does the hotel have a street number of 642, when it is located in a short back lane?  They must use an address system like the Japanese one.
For a big city Seoul is ahead of most others we have been to.  The streets are clean and the traffic jams are not too long. Car horns are heard only occasionally. Every large building has fire hydrants poking out of the front and these are all polished.

DAY 185 WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 26 NAMSAN PARK

We caught the train from Yeoksam to Seoul Central, again without seeing any other nonkoreans.  A couple of people offered assistance and a man sat next to us and announced he was 87.  Seems to be the icebreaker here. He had a hiking stick and told us he walks 3 hours every day in the mountains. We explored the central station and received more helpful advice, including where and how to catch the KTX fast train to Busan. Morning Tea was a plate of honey monkey bread.

 After our experience in Incheon with bus tours we looked for the City Tour bus stop, but gave up after searching around the station for a long time.  We did find a big marquee in the Station Square which was the location of a Revival Meeting and we recorded the soprano singer.  We did our own walking tour by following the city wall (in immaculate condition like most things here.)

On the way up we saw a memorial to the first Vice-President of Korea.

They like tigers in their statuary here.
We climbed slowly up to the top of Namsan Park (265 meters above sea level) and surveyed the city.

  The  N Seoul Tower was situated there and a large school group was on an excursion there.

There were lots and lots of lovers' locks again with warning signs not to throw the keys over the rail.  They might injure someone below.

There were some girls in traditional dress.

And some soldiers practising swordplay
We walked back down a different way, then sauntered through the crowded Namsan Markets.

 They were so extensive it would have taken all day to go through all the streets.  Bundles of clothes are everywhere and we got the impression of a glut of Chinese imports.  We cannot imagine how they will all be sold.  We went through the wrong gate at  Seoul station which messed up our ticketing again.  Lyn bought a new ticket but Malcolm just climbed over the barrier. These ticket systems never allow for dummies like us. When we got back to Yeoksam we found there were 12 exits to the station and had trouble finding one which emerged at a spot we could recognise to find our way back to the hotel.  We bought a nice salad at Paris Baguette across the road and ate it in our room. 

DAY 184 TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 25 SEOUL

No food, no money and due to check out of the Hotel Paradise today. So we crossed the road to the bank which was now open and a friendly staff man pointed us in the direction of the Korean Exchange Bank which was a 25 minute walk.  There we found two "Global" ATMs and walked out with 700,000KRW ($560) which may last till we get on the ship.  Nearby we found another French Bakery outlet called Tous Les Jours (every day).  This was very similar to Paris Baguette so we loaded up a tray with breakfast, morning tea and lunch.  Malcolm ordered a Red Bean Flaked Ice which turned out to be a supersize version of the Ice Kachings we enjoyed in Malaysia.  Too much temptation here.

On the way back we became acquainted with a sculpture outside an art gallery.

There wer several small shops specialising in fishing nets and gear.

 We managed to make a little progress on the internet before leaving the hotel at noon.  We had used booking.com to reserve a room for 5 nights at the Mercure Ambassador Hotel.  We recognised that Incheon Station was actually a terminus for a Seoul metro line, so we planned a transfer along the line to take us to Gangnam Station, which we hoped was near the hotel.  As usual we messed up the plastic ticket procedure, but the trains were quite easy to use; probably the best metro we have used.  All stations have a number displayed as well as the name in English and Korean script. Video screens show the stations and a recorded voice announces in both languages. The carriage are clean, quiet and fast. We emerged from the station and wandered back and forth looking for the name of the street on the hotel address without success.  We were in the Business Area, surrounded by skyscrapers with no evidence of a hotel.  We asked some young men who pointed us along the main street.  After walking about a kilometer we came to a taxi rank so gave up and showed the driver our hotel's address.  He drove us through traffic for over 10 minutes before we asked him to check the address again.  He made two phone calls and realised he was taking us to the wrong Ambassador Hotel.  There seems to be at least three in Seoul.  When he dropped us off we were only about 200 meters from where he started, so he just charged us $25.  The hotel was huge but only 5 months old and in a side street so awkward to find.  Check-in was done very efficiently, the room is great and the wifi is excellent.  We found that the hotel is right next to the Metro station after the one we used to get off.  Happy here.

DAY 183 MONDAY SEPTEMBER 24 CHINA TOWN

First priority today was to lighten our load for the rest of the trip by posting excess stuff home.  Many times we have been told that it would be cold in Russia, Mongolia, China and Korea.  Our experience has been that the only cold days we have had were in the United Kingdom in May and June.  So we packed our thermals and jumpers and some souvenirs into the suitcase and walked to the Post Office. As usual the staff could not manage any English but organised us very swiftly and we packed over 7kg into a strong box and paid AUD60 for presumably air mail delivery.  We emerged relieved in two senses.  We grabbed a map and followed a walking tour up the hill through China Town.

Even the street drains have a dragon pattern to emphasise the Chinese influence.

One restaurant was guarded by warriors imported from Xi'an.

We climbed a steep street and into the large park that overlooks the town.

 This is a favourite hang out for retirees keeping fit and groups having picnics.  There was a memorial to General Macarthur right at the top.

They are very aware of the American contribution in the war.

The sacrifices of the local senior schoolchildren was wel lremembered.

The horrors of war seem to haunt every country we have visited.
 The weather was quite warm so we bought a drink and watched the locals, including a group of handicapped adults on an outing.  We passed a large church on the way down the other side of the hill

and continued through China Town where we saw more dragons

and another church.

  Had dinner in the same Chinese restaurant, which was very nice but this time cost twice as much for no reason we could find, but still good value.  That left us with no local money so went to the ATM at the hotel but found it only accepted local cards. Tried the ATMs in the bank across the road with the same result.  Went to bed penniless.

DAY 182 SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 23 NORTH KOREA.

Breakfast again at the Paris Baguette.  Could become a bad habit.  Too much "wicked" food.
Today's tour was of the "Wendy Wu" style with a full busload following a well-trained guide with a portable loudspeaker.  In this case our guide spoke Korean all day, nonstop, and we found it hard to shut out, but she was a very nice lady and did her best to talk to us in limited English when she had a spare moment.  There was a good spread of ages on board and everyone was well behaved and enjoyed their day.  Once again only two nonKoreans in the mix.
We drove quite a long way north up to Ganghwa district on another day of lovely sunny weather. We did the rounds of the Goryeo Palace Site

 and the Yongheungung Palace which was quite modest by European Royalty standards. We went next door to look at an Anglican Church built in traditional Korean style. It was 12 noon and the service was still in progress.  As we looked through the door they began singing a hymn set to the tune of "A mighty fortress is our God"".  Seemed appropriate to the location.

There were numerous other churches in the town.

We stopped at a restaurant in town for lunch and this statue of a family was outside.

After lunch we passed through rice fields.

We drove up to the river which separates North and South at this point and noted the gun towers and razor wire fences.

  We were very moved by our visit to the Ganghwa Peace Observatory where we were able to look across the river to villages 1500 meters away in North Korea. We just could not comprehend the strength of the conflict and division which still existed across the DMZ which had been part of our daily lives when we were 10,11,12 years old reading the Australian newspapers.

A lady was giving a lecture to the tourists.

There were binoculars everywhere in the building.  The emotions of the citizens could be seen in this room

This simple memorial said a lot about the war.

There was a special sign for Australians.

Was this General Macarthur?

After that we took a look further back in history as we learned about the hundreds of Dolmens that had been built in this area.  These were rock structures comparable in size to the Easter Island and Stonehenge ones.

We went inside the history museum.

 In the history museum we learned about the early humans of the area and saw comparisons with the ones in Xi'an in China. They showed us how a Dolmen was built.

We finished with a quick look at the ginseng market

 and a slow drive in the Sunday afternoon traffic back to Incheon.
Korea is getting better every day.