Skip to main content

South Korea to Japan

I was thinking of  attempting to do some travel writing, as my frequent backpacking ventures have taken me to quiet a few peculiar places..


Spring of 2023, Seoul International Airport. waiting for bus towards Pohang. Walking up to the food-court through the waterflowing gardens and past the airport temple. Having lunch at a small street-food joint (99 % in Korean). Food is good, simple and cheap. Two elderly ladies are cooking, mostly noodle soup with dumplings of all sorts. The broth is amazing- not too spicy. Kimchi and fruit in the side (dip it ?) The English translation board reminds customers how to clean up after oneself in the school lunch hall. 


On the bus the seats are mastodon (chunky) and there is much legroom. We are maybe 10 on the bus, having another 5 hour journey. We have a break at a rest stop near Gumi, all in Korean but a fellow passenger informs me that the break is 15 min. I walk outside- have a exhibition tour of the toy vending machines. When I get back to the bus the old lady next to me is eating a ground meat pop-stickle before she tucks herself in for a nap. 

My journey through rural and coastal South- Korea, following by a ferry ride across to Japan and then up to the middle, has officially begun. Around 2 weeks in total. 

Gyeongju temples, some old, some restored, are glowing in the dark. I just checked in at my nautical themed hostel, we are inland with no harbor in sight. I have some cup noodles in the hostel kitchen before bed. 

Quirky sweets, Pokemon bread, and bug shaped and colored tourist train runs through the nearby park. I have a smoothie at a nearby cafe, chocolate cookies and friendly made fried chicken, we love you they say as they chatter away, this adorable bubbly mama, happy translation, excitement, the Korean way. 

The sanctuary of the Tripitaka Koreana is nestled up on a hill, I take a few busses to get here. If you want to travel like a local, but lack the language skills, prepare in advance, draw maps on your phone and paper, ask for guidance when possible, learn to use body language- and you can get there still. Trust your intuition, learn to see yourself as someone who can. 
I had a lavender coffee in the temple cafe and walked many steps, sat with the sounds of peace and saw the colorful flags wave in the light breeze. Oh how I love places like these. I think I may be Buddhist, 40 % at least, no congregation- just a feeling, that sets me at ease. 

Back in Gyeongju I was time for my final dinner. I walked into a popular local diner. Most things were sold out, but broth with some mixed pork and veggies was an option, spicy, warm Gamjatang, add your pieces from the plate in to the soup. By following the locals I knew what to do. 

The next morning I checked out. With my backpack on my shoulder I headed for the farmers market, fish cakes and fruits, and salty store bought snacks. I catched the bus and train, arrived in Busan, a daytrip with a guide awaited at the station, me and a couple of girls, gardens, fishing house lunch on the floor, castles and a windmill right out of a anime fairytale. I arrived to the hostel tired, it was empty, but so were my batteries. I called it a night as my mattress electricity kept on humming. 

Continue..





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In a year

Do things feel like they are not going anywhere, like you are stomping your feet on the same piece of ground ? Has your heart just been broken ? Are you asking yourself; will I ever get over this.. does this pattern just repeat itself. I feel this way sometimes... stuck... in pain... in an emotional rut.. you name it....sniffling and incapable to see the light, although to be fair.. that light.. even in the darkest of times does, in small glimpses, a little here and there, make it through to reach my receptive self. But seeing the small pieces can sometimes be an exhausting process....in this piece I wanted to concentrate on something else, something bigger. The Magic in a Year. If you think back on last year.. how much has changed, how many bigger or minor heartbreaks have you concurred (and yes.. not still faced..) and how has your view on the world broadened ? How many adventures (some more sudden) has the past year taken you on ? How has your life changed within that year ? ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Life observations

I decided to make a list of observations I made here in my little London life the past month. - Here on Stroud Green Road, Next to the Big Yellow car-wash  there was an injured pigeon walking the street, a cat was chasing it. The bird could not fly and had no chance, a man came and picked up the pigeon and moved him to a safe location, my faith in humanity was restored. - I explained to the fire-alarm, (as it went off) not to worry- it was only burned toast. - If you observe me you will find that I always apologies to furniture I bump into. As I hit my toe I will most likely say something along these lines; "I'm sorry.. Ouuch.. &%#?, Ouuch.. And then I laugh or cry depending on the damage. I wonder how I would react if the door suddenly replied with a British politeness, - I am starting to realize that I am a little bit of Ted Mosby, Bridget Jones and the foxes that scream outside my window at night, non of them never give up on whatever they are fighting for. - ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Short texts on our tilting world

  Calling my bank back home in another European country to pass through SEPA payment for my public transport card here in the new but also safe and functional country where I despite the ever whispering inflation and grey employment market have managed to get some dream career related volunteership. This life is unpaid- but I have my "trustfund" (my own savings I worked for), a set of modern tools for any western situation and free libraries/workspaces for writing and life admin, free hostel leftover food and a keep-cup to sip my morning coffee from as a stroll around the city canals, its artwork and flowers. This life is safe. Be grateful for that. I try to numb myself for sanity and focus on that, as the bombs go off in other lands, as children are crying over the bodies of their loved ones, cradeling themselves with the last two limbs they have left, I try, for my own sanity, to turn off the images, focus on my coffee flavoured ice-cream from the small family busines...
Post a Comment
Read more