Breakfast together with S-I-L and niece in our room. Packing, packing and more packing. The missus checked the train timetable and found that not much was available from Gyeongju to
Busan. It was a public holiday after all -
Hangul Day. We drove to the train station before 11am only to discover that the next train we could get would only having standing "seats" from 2 o'clock for a two hour ride. Not ideal. If we paid a bit extra for the
KTX we would have seats at 12:41 on a much quicker ride. Bit of a no-brainer really. Decided to do that. It did mean that we had to drive 15-20 minutes to the KTX station which was a bit out of town and I found the entry to be confusing - I drove through the taxi entry. Bit of a snack before our 28 minutes, 90 km journey. Two hours of standing my arse. And to think that the three tickets still only cost about $26.
 |
| Gabled roof even at the petrol station in Gyeongju |
 |
| Another very fancy automated ticket machine, i.e. cameras |
 |
| New Gyeongju Station - for KTX only |
 |
| Our KTX |
 |
| KTX from Gyeongju to Busan |
 |
| The landscape is quite striking |
 |
| Small village |
 |
| Village and river - great combination |
Caught a taxi to the Busan Hotel which only cost W3,300. So, not too far away. Lots of Japanese staying in the hotel. The room that we had booked was for two people so we changed it to a three person room for an extra $30/night. We were only able to book for two people online so it was fortunate that the hotel wasn't really busy. The corridors smell of cigarette smoke, the floor wasn't clean, the light and A/C in our room were on all the time our key was in place for room power but the bathroom was pretty good. Even had a bidet.
Went hunting for lunch and settle on Lotte Department Store - bibimbap. MJ, the missus' best friend, joined us.
 |
| What a fantastic name for a shop |
 |
| Stone pot mixed rice and vegetables - dolseot bibimbap |
After lunch everyone else returned to the hotel and I walked to the International Passenger Terminal for some tourist information. A very elderly gentleman assisted me. He is a volunteer translator at the
UN Memorial Cemetery in Korea. Very helpful gentleman but my planned visit there was not going to coincide with his attendance. Back to the hotel for some shut-eye. MJ and the missus talked non-stop. Nearing the oh-my-jaw-hurts non-stop talking.
Out for dinner at a place MJ new well - Seoga and Cook. Some of the best food I have ever eaten. The spaghetti was magnificent and chicken and salad excellent. Couldn't believe each plate for two was only W18,000. Spent the later part of the evening at
Yongdusan Park. MJ bought us ice creams.
 |
| Besties - and fabulous food |
 |
| Seoga and Cook - you must eat here in Busan |
 |
| Yongdusan Park in Busan |
Earlier in the evening the missus and MJ searched for a laundromat and only found a guest house (hostel-like accommodation) and they were prepared to allow us to use the washing machine. Paid them W2,000 instead of the guest fee of W1,000, which is all they wanted. Talk about great hospitality - especially considering that we weren't their guests.
