John’s Diary – Part 7 Busan
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4th May
The KTX is a genuinely very fast train, reaching speeds of over 300kms/hour, although the highest I personally observed was 296.9 km/hour. The speeds felt more like 80 to 100 km/hour as it was so smooth and the landscape did not appear to blur as we passed by.
So our 4-day holiday in Busan is over and it was delightful. We went to and from Busan on the KTX. We had a comfortable room at the Hotel Riviera in Haeunda Beach, a beachside suburb of Busan with a feel of something like Ocean Grove or Torquay but with big buildings as well as many low ones. This was located 21 underground stations from the centre of Busan, which means it took about 50 minutes by train. (In Korea we have found that we can allow about two and a half minutes per subway station as an estimate of travel time.)
And, yes, there was a beach, a beautiful, sandy ocean beach (one of 3 in the nearby vicinity) with everything except a decent wave. And the weather was fantastic too.
On our first full day a Busan tour bus seemed like a good idea; pay Aus $13, get on and off as often as you like throughout the day at one hour intervals, headphones and a screen at the back of the (comfortable) seat in front of you for basic information in 4 languages and 2 internet computers (with a 10 minute limit per person). After about an hour and a half we got off the bus at a National Park where we took a ride in road carriages (faked to look like a train and costing only Aus$1.50) which toured us around the area (called Taejongdae Park) and got off that ride at several places to walk to the various points of interest (the same rules applied to the ride as to the tour bus – get on and off as often as you like). We saw some beautiful scenery including a spot where on a clear day you can see Japan, which is only 56 km away. Then, back on the “train”, to the bus, to a market or two, on the tour bus yet again and on to our hotel via a local bus service.
We also went to the City Hall where they had a display showing everything of significance that might be of interest in Busan. Between this and the tour bus we were able to decide how we wanted to spend our remaining time. Beaches, parks, the 7.3 km bridge (spectacular, particularly at night) and the Busan Tower (a great view from the 180 metre elevation and many senior citizens, in the garden at its base, playing a range of board games) were some notables. Busan is also famous for its port (5th largest container port in the world) and its seafood (although not for me) and a whole street is dedicated to restaurants that serve fishy things.
The subway system is much smaller than that in Seoul (understandably) but, like in its big brother city, the trains are efficient and clean. The other difference from Seoul is that tickets can only be purchased from a machine and Melbournians know too well the difficulties this can cause. Each subway station has what seem to be retired men, possibly volunteers, to help travellers with this aspect but if you don’t have the exact money and the ticketing machine may be out of change and you are not allowed to overpay and there is a general non-availability of change machines then real service from real people is missed. At least notes are acceptable. Access to the train can only be gained with a ticket (unless you jump the gates) so you won’t be fined for illegal travel, but you may need to exit the station to get change.
26th April
I’ve just had a visit from the Mormons and using two of my few available Koreans words (no, not rude ones) I convinced them that I could not understand Korean language; so they courteously closed my door for me and went away. Of course it could have been the fact that I was only wearing my underwear (shoes are always removed on entering any home, but I was a little further advanced on that) and the two at my door were women. The sight of my (very) white skin, and with so very much of it on display, might have contributed to their wish to not talk with me.
Exams (not in Gail’s subject area) are being held for Gail’s students on Thursday (April 26th), Friday, Monday and Tuesday (1st May) so she was asked if she would like to take some leave for those days.
We will use the 6 days of the extended weekend to travel to Busan, where we originally intended to live but changed our minds. Busan is on the southern coastline and is the Korean city (4.1 million) nearest to Japan (and furthest from North Korea). It will be a sort of a brief holiday – I cannot help feeling a bit strange having a break like this after Gail has worked for less than 4 weeks and I have worked not at all (well, not generating any income anyway).
Gail has been paid, 8 days earlier than expected. How does she get paid? Gail’s E2 (12 months work) visa, which we collected in China, allowed me to apply for an F3 visa here (as her accompanying spouse) and for both of us to apply for alien registration cards (looks like a Victorian drivers licence) which we were able to collect 2 weeks after application. These cards allowed us to open a bank account. So Gail has a bank account and the school paid money into that account which is linked to a cash card (for ATM use) and also linked to the bank’s internet system to allow money to be transferred to a second Korean bank account (which we also opened specifically for this purpose) from which money can be moved to an overseas account (eg Commonwealth Bank in Australia), if we wish. Sounds complicated? Sure is. But it works.
We have finally found a Post Office (2 in fact – it never rains but it pours) so can finally mail a letter. It’s springtime; the weather has been beautiful in the main – cool at night but with mainly warm sunny days with temperatures reaching the high teens or low twenties. There has been some rain but no wind of any consequence. Flowers are bursting out everywhere and the grass is finally showing some signs of being greenish, instead of grey and brown. We travelled to an island (in the river Han –the big river around which the city was founded) in Central Seoul and wandered around the Parklands there – 2.2 km around and very nice.
Oh, on Friday 20th the school had a “science” day – no classes for Gail so she voluntarily assisted with the activities.
And, with exams approaching, teachers want maximum time with their students so Gail had reduced teaching in the week 16th – 19th. And what does John do? I walk the streets and, since this brings in not one cent, I clean and iron (and stuff like that). The school seems to like what Gail does and how she does it. People are really nice to her and she is enjoying her work.
