No hassle this morning as our West Coast Wilderness Railway ride wasn't until 10:15 am. Yu-Jin and I walked to IGA to buy food for breakfast - pancakes. Took forever to cook without butter didn't taste very good. Played a bit of totem tennis and then I realised that my booking was made but I still had to collect the tickets and get to the station. Upon collection of the tickets I was informed that we had to be there at 9:45 so we still had a bit of time.
The lady giving the tour had only been doing it for three weeks and it was her first day with the whistle and flag. Her commentary was a bit muddled and she wasn't really confident in her delivery. Give her time though.
The stories that were told made the journey better. Train ride was OK, lunch was nice but the photo opportunities were few and far between. Quite difficult to obtain a decent photo at times. It is the case that the pollutants from the Mt Lyell Mine contaminated the Queen River and then the King River. No fish or wildlife can live in either river. Perhaps in 100 years time, after rehabilitation, the wildlife may return.
We had 40 minutes to wander around Queenstown until the coach left so wander we did. Not a great town to see either. The coach took 50 minutes for the journey, which took me 33 by car, and we watched a DVD entitled the West Coasters.
After the drive back to the railway station I visited Peoples Park and took the short walk to Hogarth Falls. Quite nice and I learnt that ferns only unfurl one new frond each year. Not really productive then.
Back at the YHA we went for a walk with Vince (co-owner) and Finn (his dog) around the area and past the beach. Best way to learn about the place is to take a walk with a local. The Boy and I played a few more games of pool and I had a chat with a South Korean who had trained in Melbourne to become a pilot. He was travelling around Tasmania by bus.
The Boy and I had dinner at the tavern. Schnitzels, veal, not too flash. Veggies left a lot to be desired.
Melbourne-Tassie Trip 2011 Photo Album No.3 - Photos 1-40.
Showing posts with label train. Show all posts
Showing posts with label train. Show all posts
Monday, January 02, 2012
Monday, March 29, 2010
Trip to Hong Kong, Macau and South Korea - Jan 31st 2010
Breakfast at 8am. Shops wouldn't be open until 10 o'clock and we had to check out at 12 so The Boy and I played two games of pool and a couple of games of chess. At 10 The Boy and I went shopping for souvenirs - t-shirts, bookmarks, etc. I'm amazed that the shop owners have no problem changing between Korean, English and Japanese to service their customers. The amusement arcade was open so we played a couple games. Soon enough it was time to head back to the hotel to check out and say goodbye to Keiko. We even bumped into her in the souvenir shops.
No 3rd or 4th floors in the elevator.
Restaurants everywhere in Insa-dong.
Great Korean food on offer.
Souvenir shop in Insa-dong.
Quality pottery available in Insa-dong and not just cheap souvenirs.
You can buy almost any souvenir here.
Bit risque woodwork in Insa-dong. It is the suburb for artisans.
View from our hotel room.
Somerset Palace Hotel is a much awarded residence.
Grabbed a taxi to Seoul Station after checking out. The food hall at the station was pretty good and the menu had some funny Konglish items. Miky's best friend, Mi-ja, had booked KTX tickets for us from Seoul to Daejeon. An adult ticket was W32,100 and that for a child was W22,700. About A$32 and A$22.50 respectively. The reduced prices, for Korail members, were W22,900 and W11,400. It's good to have friends who can save you money. The journey took 58 minutes and we reached a top speed of 303 km/h.
Couple Rried Rice.
Noodles with Hot sause.
Hot soup.
300 km/h on the KTX.
The Boy is quiet when he sits next to a stranger.
Miky's sister, Ju-min, was a bit late to pick us up from the train station which gave me the opportunity to hound the tourist information lady who had a great deal of difficulty understanding the word "attraction". Apparently there aren't a lot of tourist attractions in Daejeon. When Ju-min arrived she took us to the apartment. A short while later Miky turned up with Mi-ja. They talked for a while before we went out for dinner. There were a lot of people waiting for a table and we had a 15 minute wait. But the wait was worth it as the meal was incredible. Porridge, fish, kimchi, sashimi, seaweed, rice, dweng jang jiggae, rice in bamboo with red beans, etc. The food just kept coming and there were six of us. I couldn't believe that the total was only W51,000 (A$51). Miky's sister drove us to Baskin Robbins and we all sat and enjoyed ice cream. Mi-ja gave some money to The Boy to play a machine for picking up toys and he picked up a huge gun which dropped just before he could collect it.
The restaurant in Daejeon.
Special meal 1.
Special meal 2.
Special meal 3.
Special meal 4.
Korean-style parking - grab any vacant spot.
Baskin Robbins.
The Cousins.
Dropped Mi-ja off at Daejeon Station and returned to the apartment. Went through a random breath test which was a bit unusual. The police officer waved a rectangular device about 5cm in front of Ju-min and she just had to blow in the air. I wouldn't have thought that would be too accurate.
F Floor - superstitious people.
No 3rd or 4th floors in the elevator.
Restaurants everywhere in Insa-dong.
Great Korean food on offer.
Souvenir shop in Insa-dong.
Quality pottery available in Insa-dong and not just cheap souvenirs.
You can buy almost any souvenir here.
Bit risque woodwork in Insa-dong. It is the suburb for artisans.
View from our hotel room.
Somerset Palace Hotel is a much awarded residence.Grabbed a taxi to Seoul Station after checking out. The food hall at the station was pretty good and the menu had some funny Konglish items. Miky's best friend, Mi-ja, had booked KTX tickets for us from Seoul to Daejeon. An adult ticket was W32,100 and that for a child was W22,700. About A$32 and A$22.50 respectively. The reduced prices, for Korail members, were W22,900 and W11,400. It's good to have friends who can save you money. The journey took 58 minutes and we reached a top speed of 303 km/h.
Couple Rried Rice.
Noodles with Hot sause.
Hot soup.
300 km/h on the KTX.
The Boy is quiet when he sits next to a stranger.Miky's sister, Ju-min, was a bit late to pick us up from the train station which gave me the opportunity to hound the tourist information lady who had a great deal of difficulty understanding the word "attraction". Apparently there aren't a lot of tourist attractions in Daejeon. When Ju-min arrived she took us to the apartment. A short while later Miky turned up with Mi-ja. They talked for a while before we went out for dinner. There were a lot of people waiting for a table and we had a 15 minute wait. But the wait was worth it as the meal was incredible. Porridge, fish, kimchi, sashimi, seaweed, rice, dweng jang jiggae, rice in bamboo with red beans, etc. The food just kept coming and there were six of us. I couldn't believe that the total was only W51,000 (A$51). Miky's sister drove us to Baskin Robbins and we all sat and enjoyed ice cream. Mi-ja gave some money to The Boy to play a machine for picking up toys and he picked up a huge gun which dropped just before he could collect it.
The restaurant in Daejeon.
Special meal 1.
Special meal 2.
Special meal 3.
Special meal 4.
Korean-style parking - grab any vacant spot.
Baskin Robbins.
The Cousins.Dropped Mi-ja off at Daejeon Station and returned to the apartment. Went through a random breath test which was a bit unusual. The police officer waved a rectangular device about 5cm in front of Ju-min and she just had to blow in the air. I wouldn't have thought that would be too accurate.
F Floor - superstitious people.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Perth To Mandurah Rail Opening
The Perth To Mandurah railway line has finally opened. Oddly enough, it links Perth, the largest city in Western Australia, with Mandurah, the second largest city in Western Australia. The project, costing A$1.6 billion, was $250 million over budget and a year late. But it should have been done years ago so it's a relief to see it.
Mandurah-bound Train Going Along the Kwinana Freeway.
Train Pulling Into Mandurah Station.
Mandurah-bound Train Pulling Into Esplanade Station.
Just a few grizzles. The air conditioners were leaking, all of the windows (and I mean ALL) had graffiti on them, and the toilets/facilities at Mandurah Station (65000 people here) were limited to two toilets and one urinal for men and three toilets for women.
The ride was quite smooth however and rather pleasant. It's not quite the TGV, the Shinkansen or the ICE though. But it's not designed to be either. It should make a heck of a difference to the number of cars on the freeway and make it much easier to go south. Nice to get out of the house too.
Did I mention that all public transport that day was in celebration of the opening of the Perth to Mandurah rail line? One of my workmates took the train up to Perth and back and one of my uni friends caught the same train as us to Mandurah. Great minds think alike. Fools never differ.
The Perth To Mandurah railway line has finally opened. Oddly enough, it links Perth, the largest city in Western Australia, with Mandurah, the second largest city in Western Australia. The project, costing A$1.6 billion, was $250 million over budget and a year late. But it should have been done years ago so it's a relief to see it.
Mandurah-bound Train Going Along the Kwinana Freeway.
Train Pulling Into Mandurah Station.
Mandurah-bound Train Pulling Into Esplanade Station.
Just a few grizzles. The air conditioners were leaking, all of the windows (and I mean ALL) had graffiti on them, and the toilets/facilities at Mandurah Station (65000 people here) were limited to two toilets and one urinal for men and three toilets for women.
The ride was quite smooth however and rather pleasant. It's not quite the TGV, the Shinkansen or the ICE though. But it's not designed to be either. It should make a heck of a difference to the number of cars on the freeway and make it much easier to go south. Nice to get out of the house too.
Did I mention that all public transport that day was in celebration of the opening of the Perth to Mandurah rail line? One of my workmates took the train up to Perth and back and one of my uni friends caught the same train as us to Mandurah. Great minds think alike. Fools never differ.
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