On the boardwalk in Gangneung
Just as most traveling adventures start, we started ours in a bus terminal in Seoul. Even though we can recognize some of it, we still haven't learned how to read all of the Korean letters, so trying to find the right place to buy tickets and getting on the right bus was a little more challenging than usual. Fortunately at the bus ticket stand, there was a booth just for ignorant foreigners like us, labeled "Foreigners".
Ummm...where?
The buses themselves are pretty nice, equipped with TV screens showing live TV and chairs that lean back and have adjustable foot rests. We also found out on the way back that there is also a cooler on the bus that gives passengers free drinking water. I wonder if there is one stocked with beer...
Unfortunately for us, when we arrived in Gangneung, the weather was a bit chilly and cloudy. It's not the ideal beach weather, but the fresh air and lack of people bumping into you is a nice change from Seoul. In fact, compared to Seoul, Gangneung is downright sleepy even though it is the 5th largest city in South Korea. But, everyone needs sleep now and then, so it's a welcome change.
Speaking of sleep, the hotel that we found was awesomely decorated. And by awesome, I mean it must have been decorated by a pre-teen girl. A pre-teen girl in the 70's, that is. It was only missing a poster of Danny Partridge to complete the 70s teeny bopper feel.
So, what is there to really do in Gangneung? Foremost there is the beach. It is a pretty decent white sand beach that must be super crowded when the weather is nicer outside. Judging by some of the pictures of the town, it might be one of the most crowded beaches in South Korea on those days. We didn't have to deal with the fair weather folks, so we had much of the beach to ourselves.
There is also no shortage of seafood restaurants along the beach. And they're not your "Salmon Filet with a Side of Rice" restaurant, either. They are more of a "We Killed This Fish 5 Minutes Ago and Didn't Cook It" kind of places. You know, manly seafood. So, as they say, "When in Rome..."; here is our own seafood platter. More to come on this in a later post...
Mmmm...Sliced Raw Fish Restaurant Town
For the culturally minded folks, Gangneung offers some traditional Korean buildings. There wasn't much history explained, but I'm assuming that they were basically residences by some high ranking Confucian officials back in the day. They sure do know how to pick the scenic spots.
Lastly, there is the Edison Gramophone Museum which we are told is world famous. I'm guessing it has to be because how many gramophone museums are there in the world? We didn't go it as we couldn't stomach the 7 bucks to get in (we're cheap) but I'm sure some hours looking at old gramophones is compelling. In fact, I'm thinking of opening a Ballpoint Pen museum next door. That one could be world famous, too!
The "World Famous" Gramophone Museum
All in all, it was a pleasant trip and it was nice to see what the world looks like outside of a cosmopolitan city. We're going to try to make this a monthly habit of ours, so stay tuned, and we'll try to fill you in on some other parts of this world known as Korea.
A sleepy shop in Gangneung
We're silly and adventurous, computer geeks and yoga peeps.
June 10, 2009
Susan
June 14, 2009
Kyle
June 10, 2009
DADDIO
June 11, 2009
Melissa
Never have seen decor like that. Wonder of wonders!
June 14, 2009
Kyle
June 18, 2009
Bessie
June 11, 2009
Linda
June 14, 2009
Kyle
June 18, 2009
Bessie
June 12, 2009
Rose P.
June 18, 2009
Bessie
July 03, 2009
Julian