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.
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
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.
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