Last day in Seoul so I wanted it to be a good one!
The last day in a location is always a rush as its time to do everything I have not got round to doing yet.
First got up early and went to Noryangjin fish market where all different types of fish can be found in tanks. The stall owners day starts at 1am when trade people gets there. At 8:30 am I was one of the first tourists.
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I noticed a number of seafood which I had not seen before including this variety of sea cucumbers |
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| sea pineapples |
After looking round the fish market for a couple of hours I ventured upstairs to the restaurant area and ate a plate of spicy octopus with rice, seaweed and kimchi. It was delicious! I had to send the wasabi back however the kimchi was ok and I am getting used to eating it with every meal now (shock horror). Walking around further I discovered a green tea latte, which again was surprisingly good considering I don't normally like green tea. Its made with powdered tea and added to milk.
I decided to venture over to Gangnam area for the afternoon. This is an up and coming district within Seoul and it is frequented by the rich and famous. It is often compared to Beverley Hills in the US.
I sat and ate an icecream (Ghana double choc) and during that time I was passed by two ferraris, a porsche, jaguar and numerous 4 x 4 bmws. All the top designer brands are available here. The galleria mall which had secondary designer brands in had a beautiful iridescent colour fascia. Still not in my price range though..
Learning from today is that Koreans are in such a hurry, they don't wait at lights and I witnessed a 4x4 porsche go through a red light and whilst trying to turn right almost caused an accident. They are crazy. Some drive at night without lights on, not sure if they have forgotten or just don't want to put them on but no one is flashing them to let them know.
I decided to spend my last night down by the river Hangang edge. No sooner had I arrived an announcement came over the tannoy that the bridge water display would be starting in 5 minutes. It is in the guiness book of records for being the longest in the world. Sounds amazing however it was ok did not see many of the lights promised. The area it was located in was great, all th locals had taken pop up tents and the like and were chilling out for the day on the waters edge so the atmosphere was one not to miss.
Dinner was in the Gangnam underground shopping area where I tried Sushi which was also very good, something I don't like at home. No kimchi in sight this time..... I did spy a rice ball with Spam but by the time I had gone back to buy one they had closed up. Spam is huge in Korea and in supermarkets you can buy Spam gift sets and individual cans are in every convenience store and supermarket. Not one really high on my agenda to seek out just if see it in passing.
5th September - On the bullet train to Busan
Today I moved locations from Seoul to the south of the Island, Busan which is the second largest city in South Korea. It is located by the sea and as such the vibe is very different.
Breakfast was on the hoof, I bought it from the local dumpling take out shop near the hostel and also bought an egg pancake which came with soup. In order to have it as a take away a plastic bag filled with the soup and egg is placed in a polystyrene bowl and then tied. Coffee was bought at a fancy coffee shop which there are several within a 2 minute radius. Coffee is the latest crazy along with american fast food joints and European patisserie stores for breakfast
I was offered three trains from a slow 5 hours to the bullet train 2.5 hours. no contest really. As with everything in Korea the train left on time 10am and sailed through the countryside at speed but slow enough still to watch the landscape as we went through. This country is so green and lush so plenty to see and watch people at work in the fields as well as in large corporations. People tend to live in high rise flats and they dominate the towns skylines.
Nobody comes round and checks your tickets which is refreshing instead the guards only stopped at seats where they do not have tickets purchased for and got the person to pay. Drinks and snacks are served throughout the journey however I had come prepared and brought sushi with me after yesterdays enjoyable meal. It is something that is easily portable and does not take up much room which is useful considering the size of my bags.
Two and a half hours later and I was in Busan (formally known as Pusan) train station looking for the metro. I was pleased to see that my T Money card which I had purchased in Seoul worked in Busan. These are topped up in convenience stores of which there are many on every street. A trip generally costs about 1250 won which is less than a pound. As with an oyster card you need to remember to swipe in and out. The card can even be used to pay for goods at convenience stores.
The rest of my day can be read on my next post.