Steve and Chris' Travel Blog

Actually its day 12 and I’m sitting in the lounge at Gimpo Airport waiting to get on a (delayed) flight to Tokyo. Despite yesterday being a very easy day by the time Chris and I got back to the hotel all we wanted to do was relax and get to bed really early.

Picked up from the hotel yesterday to go to our Korean cookery class. Boy did the driver have some difficulty in finding the place as it was in a warren of backstreets and up a set of nondescript stairs. But the door opened into a lovely space and we were warmly greeted by Heeyong. Heeyong is a trained chef but has worked in all sorts of places including Buddhist monasteries but she specialises in traditional Korean methods of cooking. Her english is very good and we are soon having a great conversation about.. FOOD..

The first thing she does is to introduce us to some of the basics for Korean food, Soy, soy bean paste and chilli paste by asking us to compare the ones she makes with shop bought ones. Well considering it takes a year to make soy and soy bean paste it’s no real surprise that the home made versions are streets and away better than store bought ones.

First thing to get going is the broth for some soup. Its simply dried anchovies and seaweed boiled for a while in a nice little saucepan which has a cage for the anchovies.

While thats bubbling away we’re busy preparing the ingredients for the other two dishes (I can’t remember the Korean names 🥴) a spicy chicken dish and a seafood pancake, or in Chris’ case a non seafood pancake.

The chicken dish is the first to get underway. The chicken is cooked in whole pieces first to brown it then it is cut into smaller pieces with scissors. This actually is a better way of cooking as it is possible to see how well the chicken is cooked and it ends up nice and juicy.

The final thing to get going is the pancakes. The batter is simply flour and water and made very thin. The chopped green onions and in my case squid and prawns and then fried for a little. Then an egg and some chilli’s are added to the top and the whole thing flipped over, well sort of in my case.

Add a few things to the soup and dinner is ready

And I have to say it was all delicious so I think that Korean food will suddenly start appearinbg on our table.

As I said we headed back to the hotel and just chilled for a while. I think that we have to realise that the heat, jetlag and age are perhaps catching up with us and a full on itinerary like we have will have an effect.

There will not be a separate blog for today as its really just a travel day with built in 3 hour delay 🤣 so in order to fill a bit of the time let me give you some impressions on Korea.

While I was working out here I knew less about Korea than any other country. Mr Kim the IT guy did not really speak English and was not really interested in showing me Korea so all I really saw was the airports, factories and hotels so this trip has meant that I can actually see some of the day to day Korea. A little bit of statistics first. In 1960 the GDP per capita in Korea was about US$100 per annum and the country was struggling to emerge from 35 years of Japanese occupation and the devastation of the Korean war. Today the GDP per capita is over US$ 32,000 per annum and Korea is an industrial and financial giant in Asia and globally. The standard of living seems very high and everyone we have met has been cheerful, happy and invariably polite. The trains work, there is amazing public transport system but the traffic in major cities is something else and long delays seem to be the norm but the road network is astonishing. The food is quite unique and everything we have had has been delicious.

It seems to be a country which has pulled itself out of a pit and really changed in what is a very short period of time. Is it perfect? Of course not, there have been demonstrations especially after the last PM declared marshal law and there is tremendous pressures on young people to learn and achieve and I’m sure that there are things which we are unaware of but on the whole it seems to be a place with a high satisfaction index.

Travel Update Well there are days where things just don’t seem to go to plan. The first thing was that I had booked in on line the night before but they would not let me go through security as my eboarding card did not have my middle name on, so its back to the line at the check-in desk wait till its free and get two printed boarding cards. Mine still had no middle name so its was simply written on with a chop to signify it was proper. The flight was delayed by 3 hours but we got handed an envelope with 40,000 Won in compensation. The flight was even later getting off the ground and then when we landed at Haneda we were way out on the tarmac and have to struggle with a bus transfer. Now I spent a lot of time yesterday getting our elanding cards sorted out so we head to the automated passport scanners and lo and behold after scanning our passports and taking our pictures say we need to fill in a paper card. Now I need to point out that this is not being selective as it seems that everyone is asked to do this. So we join the queue, write out our cards and eventually get through immigration only to find out that we also need to fill out a customs declaration card. More duplication of data and delay but we eventually get through and find that the person from Trailfinders is there to greet us with a whole bag full of train tickets etc. Now we were expecting to be pointed towards a bus and told to get on with it but our guide popped to the counter and came back with two tickets. On the plus side it now seems that the bus goes right to our hotel. On the down side it doesn’t leave for over an hour. Chance of a beer this evening is now looking dodgy. Ten minutes before the bus is due to depart we head down to the bus stop only to be greeted by somebody who tells us that we have the wrong tickets and we need to catch a later bus which does not go to the hotel but to the nearest train station. We’re not really sure where the trouble is but hey ho. A one hour journey to Shinjuku station and were on the street. I manage to flag down a taxi and we eventually get to our hotel at 8:45. We both need a shower so I think that a couple of beers on room service is in order……No room service. Oh well at least we are here now.

Alleluia today is a balmy 26c 🤣 not quite jumper time but a whole lot more comfortable than it has been. Nami and Mr Kim are waiting for us in the lobby and we head off to the Yonggungsa Temple built in a rocky cove right by the sea which, according to Wikipedia might have been built around 1376. According to Nami it was probably built around 1976 😇. To be honest it is a bit of a tourist trap but the setting is amazing and if you were there when it was not very busy I could imagine that it would be a very tranquil place.

As you enter the temple the 12 characters of the year are lined up. Interestingly the Tiger and the Rabbit are next to each other.

At the entrance to the temple is a Pagoda dedicated to Traffic Safety. Turns out Korea has one of the worst traffic accident statistics. I find that a bit difficult to believe as the traffic seems very controlled and polite.

Buddhas not monkeys

The temple actually represents a dragon curled around the inlet with its head pointing out to sea and the temple buildings are arranged around that.

this is the laughing Buddha. Rub his belly and you will have a boy. We decided it was a bit late for that.

look at all the lanterns

Here is the dragon and he is not complete unless he has a dragon ball

Now there are 108 steps from top to bottom of the temple but we hardly broke a sweat climbing back up. Just a few degrees makes all the difference. (Japan however looks to be even hotter at 36c 🥴)

Next stop id a cable car ride over to what was once an island but is now joined to the mainland with a bridge. The cable care ride gives you a great view back to Busan and across all the ships lying at anchor waiting to go into Busan harbour.

Its an interesting ride and Nami has made the right decision to come early as the weather is closing in and it is really starting to rain.

Next comes (for me) the highlight of the day, a visit to Jagalchi fish market. It is huge there are multiple areas and each one is way way bigger than a football pitch. Now we are used to seeing our fish dressed and neatly laid out on ice, perhaps a full one looking reproachfully at you. What we are not used to is seeing them swimming around. Given that you can buy a fish (or anything else) and take it to the restaurant upstairs and have it cooked you can’t possibly get any fresher than that.

This is one isle of four in just one of the markets

Will you look at the size of those mussels. They must be at least 4 inches long. YUM YUM

I can’t remember what these worm things were called but even I have limits 🤢

Note the nets to stop the octopus escaping 🤣

Squid/cuttle fish flashing and changing colour

And finally hanging out the fish to dry.

Next stop is another market, like markets we are used to selling a whole lot of different things from doodhads to thingummies and all things in between including lots of very nice looking food.

However this place is absolutely massive. It’s hard to convey the size as it seems yo go on for ever and ever.

however you do have to query the provenance for Suntory Whisky when its in a 4l plastic bottle 🤪

Time for an Ah Ah (iced americano) so we head to a hotel whose cafe is on the 28th floor and has amazing views over Busan harbour. The views include the ship maintenance and building area which show that this is actually a working harbour and not just a parking place for expensive toys.

These are the fishing boats that go out once a day, fish and bring the live fish back to market.

Last visit of the day is to Gamchemeon Village. This is a village which was built by refugees after the Korean war. It’s built in a very steep valley and the houses are by nature very very close but this was all that was available.The village thrived and for years fought hard to keep the developers out and preserve what they had built. In the main they were successful and the village managed to keep its character, however now lots of the young people have left to find work and it’s only the old folk who are still living there and it has become a bit of an arty touristy place but you can’t help but admire people who had lost everything making such a remarkable place from scratch.

Time to head back to the hotel and bid farewell to Nami who has been an amazing guide for the last three days. Grab a quick Ah Ah and a cheeky slice of cake before writing this blog. off tomorrow to a Korean cookery class. I can’t wait.

Another early (?) start with a 9:00 pickup after checking out of the hotel and a 30min drive to Yandong Village which has been around in the same families for over 500 years with the descendants of the original founders still living there. The village is in a little valley and there are two types of houses. Those roofed with tiles which are high status anf those roofed with rice straw which are not. We make our way to the Songs house which as the highest ranking family and is the highest house in the valley. In fact while we are there Mr Song who is the current owner came out of the house to tidy up.

This Juniper tree is over 500 years old and was planted at the time the village was started.

The only house that is allowed to be higher than Mr Songs is his ancestors house

Despite the fact that it is still early in the morning the heat is really oppressive and there is very little shade in the village so we decide that the prudent thing to do is to call it quits rather than try to walk up hill and down dale in the full sun.

On the way down we see one of the houses has a neat stack of firewood under the eaves. As people live in these houses all year round and rely on the traditional forms of heating i.e. wood fires, and that it snows a great deal here in winter it’s no wonder that laying in a load of firewood is a really good idea.

Given that this is a real village with real people living in it, it really is a remarkable place. Slowly melting we head back to the car and a 1 1/2 hour drive to Busan. Originally we were supposed to go for a 3 hour hike in the mountains but that would have simply been suicide so we’ve organised with our guide Nami to visit the UN memorial gardens in Busan.

Now think back to 1950 and Mash (the film and the TV series). North Korea has invaded South Korea and has pushed south almost to Busan. The United Nations call upon members to supply troops to fight the invasion and about 1.5m from 22 countries head to Korea, a place they probably had never heard of before to fight for a people whose culture and history they knew nothing about. Over 40,000 of them paid with their lives including 1,177 from the UK. All of the dead, known and unknown, are remembered here by an ever grateful Korean people. If this bears an uncommon similarity to today you have to ask the question will we never learn.

The settings are simple and somber

Its really good to remember that lot of people have, in one conflict or another, have died to ensure that we have the ability to live as free a life as we do.

Time then to head to another Korean restaurant for lunch. This time it’s pork bone soup with blood pudding and of course all the trimmings and I have to say its another really nice meal.

After a leisurely meal we go to our hotel, have a shower, sort out our dirty washing to get washed tomorrow and then head to the bar for a quick beer and a snack. I had calamari but it was like no calamari I’ve ever had as it was enormous and really tasty but then Busan is renown for its sea food. Chris has a fish cake so you tell me how this is a fish cake.

The view out of the window is amazing looking out over the Gwangan Bridge.

We get chatting to a group of three Koreans (two ladies and a gent) at the next table. It was an animated conversation as they were well through their second bottle of Tequila but was fun while it lasted. Blog time and Bed. Catch you tomorrow.

OK here we go again with yet another Asian buffet but and there is a big but here this hotel is obviously a vacation hotel, think Butlins by Busan, as we are the only Caucasians in a packed breakfast hall with loads of children running around. Anyway nice breakfast and meet Nami our guide in the lobby at 9:00.

Its another full day and the temperature is set to be in the mid 30c which to be honest is getting to be a little tiresome. Still the first stop is the Seokguram Grotto which is a Buddhist temple high in the mountains. Today is a special day for remembering lost ancestors and there are people praying so it does not seem respectful to take photographs. The nice thing is that if you get in the right spot there are some cooling breezes the downside is that it is hot trudging up the mountain.

GyeongJu is really spread out as it is built in a number of very narrow valleys which means that its often quite a car ride from on location to the next but the car is nicely air conditioned so nobody is complaining

The next stop is the Bulguska temple a UNESCO heritage site. Again because of the day there are lots of people praying and there are lots of lanterns all over the site. If you want to make a request to Buddha you can write it on a label and attach it to a lantern (your choice of colour unless it is for an ancestor when it will be white) make a donation to the monks and it will be displayed by the temples.

There is a little garden as you enter the temple which despite the heat is an oasis of tranquility and we sit for a while watching the dragonflies and the biggest tadpoles I have ever seen.

We wander around the temple site looking at the various Buddhas and the incredible temple architecture but after a while the heat begins to take its toll and the ability to retain facts disapears so just some random pictures to give you an idea of the place.

these are the lanterns I was talking about

see what I mean….

couldn’t resist taking a photo of this fungus on a tree stump

We decided to call it quits for the morning and head for lunch. Another typical Korean lunch which was superb and came in at the massive cost of 11 quid per person

All around GyeongJu are grassy mounds and it was not until recently that they were found to be tombs. One was excavated in the 70s and it is now possible to go inside and see what it was like. It really was fascinating and showed that there was a very ancient Korean history.

replicas of just some of the artefacts found in the tomb

We headed to the National museum but it was very crowded and for me not that interesting so we sloped off to a coffee shop and spent an hour chatting to our guide Nami about all sorts of things Korean and English. To be honest more beneficial than wandering around the museum.

We headed back to the hotel stopping off to wander across a rebuilt bridge to a traditional village (now a tourist trap) before calling it a day and getting a welcome shower.

Another really early start today with a 7:00am pickup. We’re off to see North Korea or to be more accuratley the DMZ (demilitarised zone). Now the first thing is that it is an active military area and you need your passport to get into and out of it which is a bit weird. Also there is a lot of restrictions on what you can can can’t photograph which basically puts us out of the picture as the only real thing you can snap is yourself.

The recent history of Korea is rather sad. Invaded by the Japanese in the 1920s they endured some horrific mistreatment. The worst of which were the “comfort women” and I’ll let you figure that one out. Liberated after the second world war and then arbitrarily divided in two by the allies with Russia getting the North and USA the south. This divided families as travel between the two regions was restricted and eventually morphed into the Korean war in the 1950 which caused even more destruction as the front line wavered forward and backwards up the peninsular only to end up where is started at the 18th parallel. 

The fact that the south has become a cosmopolitan, democratic and highly successful country while the north is a cruel dictatorship and spends most of the cash it has on weapons while its population starves says something.

There is a monument to the comfort women, and displaced families as well as a shrine where people still pray that their family will be reunited.

This is the freedom bridge where the first exchange of over 12,000 prisoners took place in 1953.

The next stop is the third invasion tunnel. The NORTH Koreans dug a number of tunnels under the DMZ to move massive numbers of troops into South Korea to invade the country. Its 73m under the surface and 350m down a ramp built by the South Koreans when the discovered the tunnel. It’s a long way down and an even longer way up. At the bottom is some of the original North Korean tunnel. Now Chris can walk upright in it but I’m constantly banging my head on the roof despite crouching. Good job I’m wearing a hard hat. Not allowed to take photos in the tunnel.

Next stop is the observation outlook. Definitely not allowed to take pictures here now as the relationship between North and South has deteriorated and if seen may result it the North Koreans taking a pot shot. However our guide shared a picture she had taken some time ago while it was still allowed.

You can just see the DMZ fence in the foreground. You have to ask why is such a peaceful looking country torn it two like this.

The final stop is a farmers market/tourist trap. Lots of local specialities but nothing we would want to carry around Japan so its back on the bus and into Seoul and it’s horrendous traffic.

Now we know it’s hot but….

We have a 15min walk back to the hotel to grab our bags and head for the train station so decide to stop off in a nice coffee shop for a cold drink and a sandwich.

It had to be really 🤣

Back to the hotel, pick up the bags and head down to the train station for a two+ hour trip to GyongJu. The train is super long, super packed and super efficient. At no time did we have to show our tickets although there were ticket inspectors on the train they obviously knew which seats we booked and paid for. Every seat was assigned and as people got off more got on and were assigned those seats. It really worked. Arrive at GyeongJu picked up by a taxi and driven to our hotel where we got into our room, showered blogged a bit (still got some tech issues) and crashed, sleeping the sleep of the dead. See you all tomorrow

Well groundhog day and off to a new Asian buffet breakfast. It’s right in the basement of the hotel so we’re not really expecting very much. How wrong can you be! First of all its massive and its actually easy enough to get lost trying to find your way back from the juice counter. Second it is not your pile it high and fill them up kind of buffet but more a tastes of the world kind of buffet with multiple chefs cooking to order. Unfortunately I’m feeling really under the weather so it was a very subdued breakfast for me. Interestingly a lot of the floor was glass because when they were digging the foundations for the hotel they found the ruins of a very high status house.

Rose was waiting for us in the lobby and I’m wondering just how long I might be able to last before calling it quits. It turns out that there are 5 separate palaces in Seoul and we are scheduled to go to two. The first is the Gyeongbokgung Palace which was the main palace of the Joseon Dynasty. We arrive just in time to see a rehearsal for the changing of the guard. Well actually its a reenactment which is a good thing really as there are some seriously dodgy beards around the place.

Now a way to get into the palace without paying is to arrive in National dress which seems quite popular especially amongst what I can only suppose is the TicTok and Instagram set as there seem to be massive numbers of phones on tripods while their owners strike dramatic poses with the Palace as the backdrop.

There a lot to see and do but to be honest I’m just concentrating on keeping it together so here’s a few photos.

Right I’m having some serious tech issues so I’m going to stop here, try to publish this and sort out the rest of it when I can

All of the ridges have little figures on them. If you look closely you can see that the first one is a monk and the others are his followers.

After a good look around the palace we head into town and the first real “Asian” street we have seen in Seoul. Its full of little shops but Chris is immediately drawn to the calligraphy shops which are full of paintbrushes of all shapes and sizes.

Theres a familiar name just down the road

I know that you laughed when we went to Starbucks in HK, but at least they try in Korea 🤣

Lunch is in a tiny little back street restaurant and is a typical Korean meal with lots of little dishes, some rice and some soup. Just to bad that I’m still not 100% but what I have is really tasty.

Oh and if you are a bigger party this is what your table looks like when you are finished.

We head to another palace after lunch. This one is a Unesco Heritage site and to be brutally honest we are just about palaced out however there is a really nice secret garden there.

Hot sticky and knackered we head back to the hotel. A quick beer and club sandwich, try and fail to finish the blog and off to bed early as we have another really early start tomorrow.