The keyboard is mightier than the digicam
The last time I went on vacation, my feet were a casualty. This time, my camera was. Yes, I lost my camera on the very last day of vacation, so I can only rely on my feeble words for the rest of the week. The pictures from Busan came courtesy of Gina, so I have nothing to show for the time after I left her and Jason. Oh well, here we go...
The last time I wrote, I mentioned that I had wavered on the idea of Japan, and it came to full fruition the following day. I decided that I was having a good time in southern South Korea, so I opted to tour a few cities. The first stop would be Geongedo, an island just south of Busan. After a somewhat uneventful day in Busan, I said goodbye to my friends and took the 3:00 ferry to the island. I slept the entire ferry ride, and woke up at Okpo.
Okpo is the island's second largest port, and the third largest shipyard in Korea. When I groggily stepped off the ferry, I had the sudden realization that I knew nothing about the island and that I might have a harder time than normal encountering English speakers. I noticed a restaurant on the port called "London Pub", and thought that I might be able to find some direction at this place. Walking to the pub, I was hoping I could have a cold one and talk to someone about the island and where to go--It was obvious there was little to do in Okpo.
I walked into the pub and was greeted with a warm "hello" from the hostess, which was a good sign (no "an yang hah se yo"). I sat down at a table and ordered a Becks Dark, and was greeted by the manager before the beer arrived. He was warm and friendly, and asked where I was from and where I was going. I told him about Busan and that a Korean friend (Jason) recommended this island. I also told him I had no idea where to go or how to get there. He responded by getting a map and sitting down with me and telling me all about the island, and how to get where I was going. I found out that the island is spread out, and transportation is uncharacteristicly (for Korea) inconvenient.
The Korean gentleman offered to give me a ride to wherever I needed to go, as he was on his break before dinner. He said he would take me down the coast to the nicer beaches, and I happily accepted. As he gave me a tour of the island, we chatted about traveling and my time in Korea. He introduced himself as Mr. Ju. Mr. Ju expressed a fondness for travelers and adventure. He said: "I like the traveling man... he is open minded person." We toured a good half hour down the coast, until we came to a lovely pebble beach, by the name of Hakpo. I wanted to stay here, so he dropped me off. He told me to call him during his break that week if I needed anything, and that he would arrange lodging if I wanted to go back to Okpo. I thanked him, shook his hand, and we parted ways.
I had been lugging a tent around all week, so I decided it was time to put it to use. I pitched and was set up on the beach by 5:00, so I decided to take a dip. This beach was a drastically different scene than Haendai. For one, there was no sand, and the water was very clean. The bigger difference was the fact that hardly anyone (for Korea) was here, and it was very quiet. I took a pleasant swim for an hour, and then changed in the tent to get something to eat. I had no idea where to go, so I walked down the main strip, which was small and quiet. I ended up taking an extended walk when I discovered a nice walkway through the trees down the coast. This was a lit, wooden, railed path that proved to be a serene jaunt.
After walking back, I was really hungry. So I stopped at the first Hof I saw to grab a brewski and a bite. When I looked at the menu, I saw a list of dishes written in Hangul, with no pictures or English translations. I had learned to read Hangul some time ago, but had never really had to rely on it. This week that would change. I can happily say that I was able to decipher the menu, and had a pleasant dinner of kimchi bokum bap (kimchi fried rice--a safe bet).
After dinner, it was dark outside. On the way to the tent, I picked up a beer and some roman candles and figured I'd spend the evening listening to the ocean. After lighting the roman candles, which had 50 shots a piece, I walked back down the path I took earlier to a quieter spot. I should say this about Hakpo Beach: There may not be a finer collection of skipping stones on the planet and the water is reasonably calm. I sat on a rock overlooking the sea and savored the tranquil noise of the small waves gently lifting the pebbles up and carrying them back down the edge of the water. I enjoyed the rare sight of a horizon and a clear dark sky. I also threw about two hundred beautiful, flat, round stones into the sea, with about a thousand collective skips. This night quietly approached the serenity and beauty that I had only seen in Thailand.
Unfortunately, the rocks don't make for such a comfortable bed. I did have a small mat down in the tent, but didn't have the most comfortable sleep. Fortunately, I thought it might be uncomfortable, so I drank a bunch of beer before crashing. I was able to salvage some sleep that evening, but didn't really care knowing that I would spend the next day on a lovely beach.
The last time I wrote, I mentioned that I had wavered on the idea of Japan, and it came to full fruition the following day. I decided that I was having a good time in southern South Korea, so I opted to tour a few cities. The first stop would be Geongedo, an island just south of Busan. After a somewhat uneventful day in Busan, I said goodbye to my friends and took the 3:00 ferry to the island. I slept the entire ferry ride, and woke up at Okpo.
Okpo is the island's second largest port, and the third largest shipyard in Korea. When I groggily stepped off the ferry, I had the sudden realization that I knew nothing about the island and that I might have a harder time than normal encountering English speakers. I noticed a restaurant on the port called "London Pub", and thought that I might be able to find some direction at this place. Walking to the pub, I was hoping I could have a cold one and talk to someone about the island and where to go--It was obvious there was little to do in Okpo.
I walked into the pub and was greeted with a warm "hello" from the hostess, which was a good sign (no "an yang hah se yo"). I sat down at a table and ordered a Becks Dark, and was greeted by the manager before the beer arrived. He was warm and friendly, and asked where I was from and where I was going. I told him about Busan and that a Korean friend (Jason) recommended this island. I also told him I had no idea where to go or how to get there. He responded by getting a map and sitting down with me and telling me all about the island, and how to get where I was going. I found out that the island is spread out, and transportation is uncharacteristicly (for Korea) inconvenient.
The Korean gentleman offered to give me a ride to wherever I needed to go, as he was on his break before dinner. He said he would take me down the coast to the nicer beaches, and I happily accepted. As he gave me a tour of the island, we chatted about traveling and my time in Korea. He introduced himself as Mr. Ju. Mr. Ju expressed a fondness for travelers and adventure. He said: "I like the traveling man... he is open minded person." We toured a good half hour down the coast, until we came to a lovely pebble beach, by the name of Hakpo. I wanted to stay here, so he dropped me off. He told me to call him during his break that week if I needed anything, and that he would arrange lodging if I wanted to go back to Okpo. I thanked him, shook his hand, and we parted ways.
I had been lugging a tent around all week, so I decided it was time to put it to use. I pitched and was set up on the beach by 5:00, so I decided to take a dip. This beach was a drastically different scene than Haendai. For one, there was no sand, and the water was very clean. The bigger difference was the fact that hardly anyone (for Korea) was here, and it was very quiet. I took a pleasant swim for an hour, and then changed in the tent to get something to eat. I had no idea where to go, so I walked down the main strip, which was small and quiet. I ended up taking an extended walk when I discovered a nice walkway through the trees down the coast. This was a lit, wooden, railed path that proved to be a serene jaunt.
After walking back, I was really hungry. So I stopped at the first Hof I saw to grab a brewski and a bite. When I looked at the menu, I saw a list of dishes written in Hangul, with no pictures or English translations. I had learned to read Hangul some time ago, but had never really had to rely on it. This week that would change. I can happily say that I was able to decipher the menu, and had a pleasant dinner of kimchi bokum bap (kimchi fried rice--a safe bet).
After dinner, it was dark outside. On the way to the tent, I picked up a beer and some roman candles and figured I'd spend the evening listening to the ocean. After lighting the roman candles, which had 50 shots a piece, I walked back down the path I took earlier to a quieter spot. I should say this about Hakpo Beach: There may not be a finer collection of skipping stones on the planet and the water is reasonably calm. I sat on a rock overlooking the sea and savored the tranquil noise of the small waves gently lifting the pebbles up and carrying them back down the edge of the water. I enjoyed the rare sight of a horizon and a clear dark sky. I also threw about two hundred beautiful, flat, round stones into the sea, with about a thousand collective skips. This night quietly approached the serenity and beauty that I had only seen in Thailand.
Unfortunately, the rocks don't make for such a comfortable bed. I did have a small mat down in the tent, but didn't have the most comfortable sleep. Fortunately, I thought it might be uncomfortable, so I drank a bunch of beer before crashing. I was able to salvage some sleep that evening, but didn't really care knowing that I would spend the next day on a lovely beach.
posted by Christopher at 6:01 AM
1 Comments:
you're all crazy. i'm with summer. where is the hotel? call room service.
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