Recently I have been performing a rather interesting social experiment. For whatever reasons I constantly kept sitting next to people on the train only to find that two things would happen. First, except on rare occasion nobody would occupy the side next to me and if they did they were older women. Second, if someone moved and left available space the person next to me would move at least one seat over and then I would have two seats next to me . Normally I wouldn't take it to heart but this happens all the time and I began to wonder if I had a smell or some glaring disease I didn't know about. Well, my Dr thinks I'm fine and my wife assures me I normally smell ok. Therefore it must be something about being a foreigner that has them perplexed. Therefore I have decided to run with it. I have begun sitting in seats with openings on both sides of me. I am looking to see if it's an attire thing and mostly to see how long an how busy a train must be until I lose my comfortable seating. Will post results in the upcoming days.
KT
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Busan Day 4
March 22, 2012
Ah, can't wait to get home! We get up early and get ready to head out. We check out of the hotel (thank goodness) and the man at the desk called us a taxi. We get get to the ferry port and I laughed because the taxi fee was only 2700 won compared to the first one at 20,000 won. Haha! Ah, totally jipped but whatever! We get there so early that the windows are not even opened yet. Ugh! Just the thought of it being all crowded with pushy people was already irritating me. I will go in detail later about Busan, the people and their culture.
Fast forward to the windows finally opening. Good lord these people. Well as I'm giving my personal information to the teller, there was this Korean lady standing behind me so close that she's breathing on my neck. It's funny how when you move, they move freaking closer. Hello, personal space? The worst part was I was already against the counter so I couldn't mi e anymore. Ah, I checked our tickets and noticed two thing wrong. One, omg we are sitting on the 1st Floor which is far worst and two, all three of us have totally separate seats? Who the heck does that? They wouldn't let us change it either. Eww! Terrible huh? Whatever. I'm just ready to get back to the quiet and clean Japan that I'm use to. Whether its getting on or off, these people are pushing and shoving. It's So terrible. Right after we walk through customs we take out meds for seasickness and get ready to board.
As a worried mother, I check to make sure the little one is ok since she is not sitting next to me (more like two rows behind me) but Kevin a a seat in front of her. Anyways, Kevin and Kaitlyn both get to sit next to the Japanese men. I get to sit next to a Korean lady who instead letting me get up so she can get in and out, she keeps stepping over me. Ok. We are getting ready to move and my eyelids are getting heavy. After the safety video, I turn back to see the little one somewhat napping already. I put on my earphone and pump up the music. And... IM OUT! 2 hours later I open my eyes to check the little one. We start snacking a bit and I doze back out. Man, the ferry ride is not bad at all as long as you have meds that help with the motion. It's not so bad now. Yeah, I'd get back on the ferry as long as I have meds to keep me from losing my cookies!
It's funny because we still have about 10 minutes to go before the ferry will even arrive at the port, but you see all the people getting up, getting their luggage and lining up at the door already! No patience. It's so funny. You can really tell who is foreign, who is Japanese and who is Korean. Don't get me wrong. I have Korean friends and I know plenty of Korean people here in Japan. It's just so different from what I'm use to! These people are just so rude! Anyways, you see all the Koreans trying to each get to the front of the line. We sit and wait. There is no where to go and we are not in a rush. We look at the Japanese people we are patiently waiting. I turn around and I see KK pushed to the side while a old Korean lady decides to take her seat because it's a aisle seat near the front. I just shook my head. I can't believe it.
Oh, I just can't wait to get off the ferry at this point. Finally, I can almost kiss the clean ground! Haha! We get to customs and HA!!! We get to go through our special line as Residents while all those people who were rushing to get out wait in the lines. HA!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, I just had to say that! AHAHAHhAH! Oh I'm so evil. Hey, a few days of being pushed and shoved, I'm being nice by just saying HA! to them. LOL!!!! One thing I learned about living in Japan is: Patience.
Oh, but I'll leave you with this: McDonald's delivers in Busan! AHAHHAHa!!!!
Overview and comments:
Overall, it was a really nice break for us to have since it has been stressful and tiring with work/school. We got a great deal to go to Busan, so we went. Next year, we will go somewhere tropical and warm. It was cold just like Fukuoka. I'm done with the cold.
As for South Korea, I guess there were goods and bads. The area we were in was not that nice, so it's hard to say. When we went to Haeundae it was really nice. We wanted to go up north to check out some temples, but we didn't have enough time. It's true, it takes a long time to get to certain destinations. However, it's still good that they have public transportation. There were a variety of foods that Japan does not have and they are a lot more westernized than I expected. The architecture is western and there were plenty of other things that were westernized. I enjoyed shopping there since it was affordable compared to Japan. Well, it depends also what you are wanting to buy and where you are buying from too.
I didn't like how it wasn't as clean as Japan. We had the discussion that we will probably have that problem going back to the States since it's the same way. We do treasure the cleaning ladies that go around cleaning all day long here. They are AWESOME! Appearance does make a difference in cleanliness. I also didn't like how the people were just so rude and pushy. I can't even count how many times I was pushed and/or shoved. At least in the States people will apologize or say excuse me... in Busan? Nope. They walk off like it was my fault that I was in their way. Maybe I'm just getting soft living here. Again, I learned: Patience. If it was me a year ago, the South Sac will come out and my hair will be up in a pony tail. Hahaha!!! Besides, we are on vacation. I can't let others try to ruin our vacation. Plus, it was my birthday! Kevin did warn me about the people. He really, really didn't want to go back to South Korea. Poor Hubby. If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have gone. But! He did have fun and we may go back again. I want to visit Seoul to do some SHOPPING! Oh yeah!
Ah, can't wait to get home! We get up early and get ready to head out. We check out of the hotel (thank goodness) and the man at the desk called us a taxi. We get get to the ferry port and I laughed because the taxi fee was only 2700 won compared to the first one at 20,000 won. Haha! Ah, totally jipped but whatever! We get there so early that the windows are not even opened yet. Ugh! Just the thought of it being all crowded with pushy people was already irritating me. I will go in detail later about Busan, the people and their culture.
Fast forward to the windows finally opening. Good lord these people. Well as I'm giving my personal information to the teller, there was this Korean lady standing behind me so close that she's breathing on my neck. It's funny how when you move, they move freaking closer. Hello, personal space? The worst part was I was already against the counter so I couldn't mi e anymore. Ah, I checked our tickets and noticed two thing wrong. One, omg we are sitting on the 1st Floor which is far worst and two, all three of us have totally separate seats? Who the heck does that? They wouldn't let us change it either. Eww! Terrible huh? Whatever. I'm just ready to get back to the quiet and clean Japan that I'm use to. Whether its getting on or off, these people are pushing and shoving. It's So terrible. Right after we walk through customs we take out meds for seasickness and get ready to board.
As a worried mother, I check to make sure the little one is ok since she is not sitting next to me (more like two rows behind me) but Kevin a a seat in front of her. Anyways, Kevin and Kaitlyn both get to sit next to the Japanese men. I get to sit next to a Korean lady who instead letting me get up so she can get in and out, she keeps stepping over me. Ok. We are getting ready to move and my eyelids are getting heavy. After the safety video, I turn back to see the little one somewhat napping already. I put on my earphone and pump up the music. And... IM OUT! 2 hours later I open my eyes to check the little one. We start snacking a bit and I doze back out. Man, the ferry ride is not bad at all as long as you have meds that help with the motion. It's not so bad now. Yeah, I'd get back on the ferry as long as I have meds to keep me from losing my cookies!
It's funny because we still have about 10 minutes to go before the ferry will even arrive at the port, but you see all the people getting up, getting their luggage and lining up at the door already! No patience. It's so funny. You can really tell who is foreign, who is Japanese and who is Korean. Don't get me wrong. I have Korean friends and I know plenty of Korean people here in Japan. It's just so different from what I'm use to! These people are just so rude! Anyways, you see all the Koreans trying to each get to the front of the line. We sit and wait. There is no where to go and we are not in a rush. We look at the Japanese people we are patiently waiting. I turn around and I see KK pushed to the side while a old Korean lady decides to take her seat because it's a aisle seat near the front. I just shook my head. I can't believe it.
Oh, I just can't wait to get off the ferry at this point. Finally, I can almost kiss the clean ground! Haha! We get to customs and HA!!! We get to go through our special line as Residents while all those people who were rushing to get out wait in the lines. HA!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, I just had to say that! AHAHAHhAH! Oh I'm so evil. Hey, a few days of being pushed and shoved, I'm being nice by just saying HA! to them. LOL!!!! One thing I learned about living in Japan is: Patience.
Oh, but I'll leave you with this: McDonald's delivers in Busan! AHAHHAHa!!!!
Overview and comments:
Overall, it was a really nice break for us to have since it has been stressful and tiring with work/school. We got a great deal to go to Busan, so we went. Next year, we will go somewhere tropical and warm. It was cold just like Fukuoka. I'm done with the cold.
As for South Korea, I guess there were goods and bads. The area we were in was not that nice, so it's hard to say. When we went to Haeundae it was really nice. We wanted to go up north to check out some temples, but we didn't have enough time. It's true, it takes a long time to get to certain destinations. However, it's still good that they have public transportation. There were a variety of foods that Japan does not have and they are a lot more westernized than I expected. The architecture is western and there were plenty of other things that were westernized. I enjoyed shopping there since it was affordable compared to Japan. Well, it depends also what you are wanting to buy and where you are buying from too.
I didn't like how it wasn't as clean as Japan. We had the discussion that we will probably have that problem going back to the States since it's the same way. We do treasure the cleaning ladies that go around cleaning all day long here. They are AWESOME! Appearance does make a difference in cleanliness. I also didn't like how the people were just so rude and pushy. I can't even count how many times I was pushed and/or shoved. At least in the States people will apologize or say excuse me... in Busan? Nope. They walk off like it was my fault that I was in their way. Maybe I'm just getting soft living here. Again, I learned: Patience. If it was me a year ago, the South Sac will come out and my hair will be up in a pony tail. Hahaha!!! Besides, we are on vacation. I can't let others try to ruin our vacation. Plus, it was my birthday! Kevin did warn me about the people. He really, really didn't want to go back to South Korea. Poor Hubby. If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have gone. But! He did have fun and we may go back again. I want to visit Seoul to do some SHOPPING! Oh yeah!
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| Egg Tarts! |
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| Giant Piano @ Centum City |
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| View from Busan Tower |
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Busan Day 3
March 21, 2012
Happy Birthday to me!
It was a late start for us today. KK slept in since she didn't get to bed until midnight last night.
We hopped in the subway and road over to Haeundae. We stopped at Fuzzy Navel for some texmex. Yes, texmex. Lol! I have to admit that it hey served some really good chimis! After lunch, we walked over to Haeundae Beach and walked around. I think because we've been to so many nice beaches and growing up in California that it really didn't impress me at all. They had the Busan Aquarium there too. Kevin spotted the Paradise Hotel &Casino. It's the only casino in the area. Kevin is gambling my shopping money right now. Double it baby! Momma can buy that Chanel bag she was eyeing. Lol! Figured Kevin can look around while KK And I can spend some time looking at the shops. Eh, instead I'm blogging and resting my feet for more walking when we arrive in Centum City for shopping!!
We hop back on the subway and two stops over we arrive at Centum City. It's the Largest Department Store in the world. It's huge! Its a beautiful shopping mall with 14 stories (that's what KK was telling us). There is a whole floor that sells only foods, sweets and wine! That's my kind of store!!! Honestly, this place is made for the rich. They sell products that are more that double the regular US price! For Korea, that's super expensive! I walked around shopping alone while Kevin took the kid for a smoothie and to check out the indoor ice skating rink. I met up with them later and hung out a bit. We walked around a bit and decided to go back to the hotel to rest so we can go back out to Biff Square for me to shop at the Fashion District before we leave.
At the hotel, the kids clown around while I try to look up the medication we bought at the pharmacies for seasickness. everything is written in Korean, so we need to double check if it is what they say it is especially if the little one was taking it too.
We head out to Biff Square to check out all the food stands. KK wanted the candied strawberries, but the lady wasn't there. How sad. They were yummy. The kids got waffles, BBQ chicken in a stick and I got the Korean rice cake things cooked in spices? If anyone knows what they ate called, please let me know. I always see people eating it in Korean Dramas, so I had to try it. It was pretty good! Not what I had expected by looking at it. The lady gave a lot in a bowl and it really filled me up. KK wanted to try, so she took a bite and enjoyed it. She said "look mommy, I'm double fisting! I have waffles in one hand and Korean rice cake in the other!" ah, this is my kid. Haha!!! Kevin wanders around for more food. After a bit we went to the shopping section for me to check out all the beauty stores I wanted to check out. First stop was Holika Holika. I love their products and even better that one of my favorite bands, CNBLUE, is the endorser. I buy a few things and checked out all the different face masks too. I like how they give you free samples(but they are normal sized) products. The gal threw in a picture of CNBLUE for me too. How cute. KK was laughing. I was happy. Next door was TONY MOLY. They also have many products that I like. I bought a cute lip balm set there and of course more face masks along with other things. As I was looking, the gals were showing KK products too. Lol! They were grooming her hair and spraying stuff. In the end, I have to admit she smelled really good. I almost turned back to buy whatever they used on her! Off to ITS SKIN and THE FACE SHOP for more masks and facial products. I ended my beauty spree with ÉTUDE HOUSE. They have the pretty and cute products. I almost wished I was a bit fairer in color to sport all the pinks and peach colors. The "pretty and cute" girls would totally live these products. If you seen 2NE1's Dara's commercials for ÉTUDE HOUSE , you can see it's cutesy. I think I bought makeup remover from every shop. I haven't tried them all yet, but so far none has beaten my favorite Shiseido ELIXIR Lifting Make Off Ex Oil I bought in Japan. We will see how the others turn out.
At this point, I'm high as a kite being able to go shopping. I have to admit that it's so affordable!!! Especially coming from Japan! After shopping, Kevin is hungry. We grab a burger and hailed a taxi to head back to the hotel. We have to be up super early to catch the stupid ferry.
Time to pack!
Happy Birthday to me!
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| Lunch at Fuzzy Navel @ Haeundae |
We hopped in the subway and road over to Haeundae. We stopped at Fuzzy Navel for some texmex. Yes, texmex. Lol! I have to admit that it hey served some really good chimis! After lunch, we walked over to Haeundae Beach and walked around. I think because we've been to so many nice beaches and growing up in California that it really didn't impress me at all. They had the Busan Aquarium there too. Kevin spotted the Paradise Hotel &Casino. It's the only casino in the area. Kevin is gambling my shopping money right now. Double it baby! Momma can buy that Chanel bag she was eyeing. Lol! Figured Kevin can look around while KK And I can spend some time looking at the shops. Eh, instead I'm blogging and resting my feet for more walking when we arrive in Centum City for shopping!!
We hop back on the subway and two stops over we arrive at Centum City. It's the Largest Department Store in the world. It's huge! Its a beautiful shopping mall with 14 stories (that's what KK was telling us). There is a whole floor that sells only foods, sweets and wine! That's my kind of store!!! Honestly, this place is made for the rich. They sell products that are more that double the regular US price! For Korea, that's super expensive! I walked around shopping alone while Kevin took the kid for a smoothie and to check out the indoor ice skating rink. I met up with them later and hung out a bit. We walked around a bit and decided to go back to the hotel to rest so we can go back out to Biff Square for me to shop at the Fashion District before we leave.
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| Korean spicy rice cake: Ddukbokkie |
At the hotel, the kids clown around while I try to look up the medication we bought at the pharmacies for seasickness. everything is written in Korean, so we need to double check if it is what they say it is especially if the little one was taking it too.
 |
| Gwangbok-ro Shopping & Fashion Street |
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| Gwangbok-ro Shopping & Fashion Street |
We head out to Biff Square to check out all the food stands. KK wanted the candied strawberries, but the lady wasn't there. How sad. They were yummy. The kids got waffles, BBQ chicken in a stick and I got the Korean rice cake things cooked in spices? If anyone knows what they ate called, please let me know. I always see people eating it in Korean Dramas, so I had to try it. It was pretty good! Not what I had expected by looking at it. The lady gave a lot in a bowl and it really filled me up. KK wanted to try, so she took a bite and enjoyed it. She said "look mommy, I'm double fisting! I have waffles in one hand and Korean rice cake in the other!" ah, this is my kid. Haha!!! Kevin wanders around for more food. After a bit we went to the shopping section for me to check out all the beauty stores I wanted to check out. First stop was Holika Holika. I love their products and even better that one of my favorite bands, CNBLUE, is the endorser. I buy a few things and checked out all the different face masks too. I like how they give you free samples(but they are normal sized) products. The gal threw in a picture of CNBLUE for me too. How cute. KK was laughing. I was happy. Next door was TONY MOLY. They also have many products that I like. I bought a cute lip balm set there and of course more face masks along with other things. As I was looking, the gals were showing KK products too. Lol! They were grooming her hair and spraying stuff. In the end, I have to admit she smelled really good. I almost turned back to buy whatever they used on her! Off to ITS SKIN and THE FACE SHOP for more masks and facial products. I ended my beauty spree with ÉTUDE HOUSE. They have the pretty and cute products. I almost wished I was a bit fairer in color to sport all the pinks and peach colors. The "pretty and cute" girls would totally live these products. If you seen 2NE1's Dara's commercials for ÉTUDE HOUSE , you can see it's cutesy. I think I bought makeup remover from every shop. I haven't tried them all yet, but so far none has beaten my favorite Shiseido ELIXIR Lifting Make Off Ex Oil I bought in Japan. We will see how the others turn out.
At this point, I'm high as a kite being able to go shopping. I have to admit that it's so affordable!!! Especially coming from Japan! After shopping, Kevin is hungry. We grab a burger and hailed a taxi to head back to the hotel. We have to be up super early to catch the stupid ferry.
Time to pack!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Busan Day 2
March 20, 2012
After yesterday's experience, I really hoped for a good nights sleep and start exploring. The sleep was ok except the little one was tossing and turning all night long. She woke up tired. In all the hotels I've stayed in most have blackout curtains. Here, not so much. Our window view was also where the sun rises. At the crack of dawn our room was bright orange. I really thought it was like 10am! It felt really late, but it was only 8am. I've been up before that but was trapped in between kk and Kevin. I didn't want to wake them, so I stayed put. We get up and get ready. It's time to explore.
We started by walking around and exploring the Yongdusan-Jagalchi areas. We are looking for food! We first headed over to the Jagalchi Fish Market, which I believe is the largest fish market there is. It was amazing to see how much fish and seafood there was! The had large clams, mussels, prawns, crab, lobster, king crab and of course fish! We are able to pick out what we wanted and some had restaurants attached to cook them for you. One place had large king crab and large lobster. Kevin says that the large lobster will look good on his plate. Maybe come back for dinner?
We keep walking in search for food. We get into the Gwangbokro Shopping-Fashion street. There were plenty of shops. But we saw Juuwong's Bibimbap. Uh yeah, we are in Korea so we must have Bibimbap. Mmmm... It was so good. After eating we walked some more in the Fashion street. We started heading over to Yongdusan Park and Busan Tower. In the area we were at, they had what I called the stairway to the sun escalators. Three sets of escalators going up up up, but thing about the walk down down down was not looking good. We get up to some great views. We enjoyed the area and walked up to the Busan Tower area. I came here knowing the history , but Kevin had no idea about all the locks. Couples would go up to the towers and write their names and love notes on their licks and attach the locks on the rails at the Busan Tower. Aww yeah so cheesy. So cheesy that I made Kevin take a picture with me in this cheesy lovers bench with a large heart around it. I even made him smile. I did say I was going to lock him up here in Korea and leave him here. He was afraid. He behaved. LoL! I love my hubby.
After the tower we hopped on the Metro towards the Busan Station and to me to the motherland Which was Chinatown! Uh yeah, I was happy to see a Chinatown. The have a foreigners shopping area. We wondered the shops, but alot were not even opened yet. We saw a big sign that says "Welcome US Navy" I immediately thought of my little brother. I bet you that he has been here. They have so many bars and clubs that were catered to these soldiers. Later, we walked over to the Busan Station to check out what it had. We stopped at Dunkin Donuts for some coffee and donuts as we relaxed and discussed what to do next. Most of the time in vacation I would make a plan for everything. However, because we have a short time here and I just wanted to not stress and relax... I was ready to do anything at any moment. No plans, just go and do it.
Time to go and funny how we saw Filipino food and immediately I wanted Lumpia. Lol! We got some Lumpia, pancit and sinigang baboy. Holy cow, the dishes were made for soldiers. I just wanted a snack and we got a giant meal! It was delicious tho. It's time to take the kid back to rest up before heading back out to town at night. Remember that Korean snack stall I wanted to try in Biff Square? I got to try some and ooh it was yummy! It was like a Korea pancake filled with brown sugar and sun flower seeds and other nuts? Not sure but it's so good we are going back. I will be trying all the other food snacks too. Most women want to go shopping to buy things, me? Neh, I love the experience through food. I love it. I told Kevin I'm happy. Lol! We still want to try the Korean BBQ and that seafood place in Jagalchi market. Tomorrow we are off to the Haeundae Beach area. It's suppose to be very nice. I'm looking forward to checking out Centum City the largest department store in the world! Keven wants to go to the beach and the casino. I didn't know Koreans were not allowed to gamble. The Paradise Casino hotel caters to all the international travelers.
After resting for about an hour, kk watched Terminator 2 while Kevin took a short nap. We all get back up to head out to Biff Square for some yummy snacks. Kevin was craving some Korean pancakes while kk and I tried the cream waffles. The waffles were good by the way. It wasn't overly sweet and the crunchy yet soft waffles were just perfect. I turn around and noticed that Kevin was lining up in the "wrong" pancake line. It wasn't the same cart we bought from earlier, but Kevin thought it was all the same. Of course, little did he knew he got harassed in a jokingly way that their pancakes were better. They were actually really cool and always had the long lines... For a reason. We walked around looking at other food stalls. We saw one with candied apples AND candied strawberries on a stick. Kk wanted to try it, so we buy one for her. It was actually really good! The candied strawberries we by far Kevin's favorite snack here. After walking around checking all the stalls, Kevin still felt a bit hungry so we looked around and we ended up at the BBQ beef grill place. We kept wanting to try it, but the problem was that we were not way hungry and they charged by person. Kk made the decision and said "lets stay and eat since you guys have been wanting to try this place. If you don't try now, you guys probably won't." We listened to our daughter and stayed. Man, the side dishes started coming out. I thought, don't let your food beat you Di. It's kinda a motto in my family. It was really cool since we were the only customers at the moment, the guy prepared everything for us and grilled the meat for us. He served us and showed us what to do as far as wrapping the meat with lettuce or grape leaf or just dipping in the different sauces. It was a great experience for me at least because I've seen this in Korean shows and always wanted to try. Well, today I did. Happy Birthday Di! :-)
We head back to the hotel in total food coma. Before calling it a night we stopped by George and Corina's to wish Corina a happy birthday. Her birthday is just one day before mine. We had a slice of cake and chatted about our days here in Busan. Happy birthday to our friend Corina!
After yesterday's experience, I really hoped for a good nights sleep and start exploring. The sleep was ok except the little one was tossing and turning all night long. She woke up tired. In all the hotels I've stayed in most have blackout curtains. Here, not so much. Our window view was also where the sun rises. At the crack of dawn our room was bright orange. I really thought it was like 10am! It felt really late, but it was only 8am. I've been up before that but was trapped in between kk and Kevin. I didn't want to wake them, so I stayed put. We get up and get ready. It's time to explore.
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| Jagalchi Fish Market |
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| Locks couple left at the Busan Tower |
After the tower we hopped on the Metro towards the Busan Station and to me to the motherland Which was Chinatown! Uh yeah, I was happy to see a Chinatown. The have a foreigners shopping area. We wondered the shops, but alot were not even opened yet. We saw a big sign that says "Welcome US Navy" I immediately thought of my little brother. I bet you that he has been here. They have so many bars and clubs that were catered to these soldiers. Later, we walked over to the Busan Station to check out what it had. We stopped at Dunkin Donuts for some coffee and donuts as we relaxed and discussed what to do next. Most of the time in vacation I would make a plan for everything. However, because we have a short time here and I just wanted to not stress and relax... I was ready to do anything at any moment. No plans, just go and do it. Time to go and funny how we saw Filipino food and immediately I wanted Lumpia. Lol! We got some Lumpia, pancit and sinigang baboy. Holy cow, the dishes were made for soldiers. I just wanted a snack and we got a giant meal! It was delicious tho. It's time to take the kid back to rest up before heading back out to town at night. Remember that Korean snack stall I wanted to try in Biff Square? I got to try some and ooh it was yummy! It was like a Korea pancake filled with brown sugar and sun flower seeds and other nuts? Not sure but it's so good we are going back. I will be trying all the other food snacks too. Most women want to go shopping to buy things, me? Neh, I love the experience through food. I love it. I told Kevin I'm happy. Lol! We still want to try the Korean BBQ and that seafood place in Jagalchi market. Tomorrow we are off to the Haeundae Beach area. It's suppose to be very nice. I'm looking forward to checking out Centum City the largest department store in the world! Keven wants to go to the beach and the casino. I didn't know Koreans were not allowed to gamble. The Paradise Casino hotel caters to all the international travelers.
After resting for about an hour, kk watched Terminator 2 while Kevin took a short nap. We all get back up to head out to Biff Square for some yummy snacks. Kevin was craving some Korean pancakes while kk and I tried the cream waffles. The waffles were good by the way. It wasn't overly sweet and the crunchy yet soft waffles were just perfect. I turn around and noticed that Kevin was lining up in the "wrong" pancake line. It wasn't the same cart we bought from earlier, but Kevin thought it was all the same. Of course, little did he knew he got harassed in a jokingly way that their pancakes were better. They were actually really cool and always had the long lines... For a reason. We walked around looking at other food stalls. We saw one with candied apples AND candied strawberries on a stick. Kk wanted to try it, so we buy one for her. It was actually really good! The candied strawberries we by far Kevin's favorite snack here. After walking around checking all the stalls, Kevin still felt a bit hungry so we looked around and we ended up at the BBQ beef grill place. We kept wanting to try it, but the problem was that we were not way hungry and they charged by person. Kk made the decision and said "lets stay and eat since you guys have been wanting to try this place. If you don't try now, you guys probably won't." We listened to our daughter and stayed. Man, the side dishes started coming out. I thought, don't let your food beat you Di. It's kinda a motto in my family. It was really cool since we were the only customers at the moment, the guy prepared everything for us and grilled the meat for us. He served us and showed us what to do as far as wrapping the meat with lettuce or grape leaf or just dipping in the different sauces. It was a great experience for me at least because I've seen this in Korean shows and always wanted to try. Well, today I did. Happy Birthday Di! :-)We head back to the hotel in total food coma. Before calling it a night we stopped by George and Corina's to wish Corina a happy birthday. Her birthday is just one day before mine. We had a slice of cake and chatted about our days here in Busan. Happy birthday to our friend Corina!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Busan Day 1
March 19, 2012
The morning started off nice and we were ready to start our Spring Break vacation to Busan, South Korea. I went out to run a few quick errands and we were ready to go. As we get in to the subway heading to the Hakata International Port, we see George, Corina and Irene. We are all heading to the same spot. Finding out where to go and getting around here in Fukuoka is not a problem for us. We check in and grab some food. We get ready to board and the excitement was still there. We are on board the DREAM Ferry to Busan. This is a 3hr 25mins ride. 15 minutes of rolling in the water and our little one loses her cookies. Literally, bye bye Oreos. I walked her down to the toilet, but it's down the stairs of the stupid rocking boat! Of course, you put me and stairs together I am bound to fumble. And I did. I fell down the friggin' stairs and they were steep stairs too! The look on the service attendants face was priceless tho. Kaitlyn said she had the fear on her face that read "emergency". I got up and asked toilet? She directed me and KK and we ran into the stalls. Here we go! The 1st floor is far worst too! We spent close to two hours in the toilet puking our guts out. I know TMI! I finally worked up the strength to crawl back to my seat. KK joins me a bit after Kevin finds her in the men's toilet stall. It's ok because all the toilets are in the same spot so it's kinda like a huge unisex bathroom. She comes back and sits next to me, I'm breaking in cold sweat feeling like I was going to die, she pukes again!!! It made me sick, so both our faces are in seasick puke bags. Kevin buys a 7up to calm our tummies and moves a couple aisles away from our area. Sorry TMI, no one wants to read about our seasick experience. I will tell you that I am already dreading the stupid ride back. I will dose up on seasick pills. I will never go on boat travels even if you paid me! It's ok if you have your sea legs, but half the ferry passengers were in the toilet stalls with us. LOL!!!
Ok, yay! We arrive in the Busan International Port. There were not really any English signs anywhere. We just followed the people up the stairs which led us to immigration. Not too bad and we encountered no problems. They were pretty laxed. I would walk thru metal detectors beeping and I get the it's ok keep going wave. Go, go.
As we get thru customs you see Kevin running out to secure a spot in the taxi line. It was weird how this man was talking to us and asking us about location. We thought, ok he must be calling us a taxi? No, he was the taxi driver!!! He was going to have two taxis take us since there were 6ppl. He saw me shivering and cold, so I guess he just piled us all in and took us to our location. I saw that he didn't have his meter on. I read that taxi drivers will rip tourists off and it was easy to spot us with half our party was not Asian. Lol!! I read that the usual base is 2200won and 200-400won per so so meters and time depending on traffic. It was rush hour too. We paid 20,000won and I was like we totally got jipppppped! However, our hotel was a bit of a ways. It's like a 30min walk to the nearest metro station. If I wasn't so sick. Ooh! That man. Oh whatever, it was like $15.
We get to the hotel and Kevin was asking about what kinda place did I take him to. LOL! It was funny because it looked so terrible outside. We are next to the harbor so it smells like fish! When we finally get to our room, it was really nice. The hotel is really nice inside, but ugly on the outside. We have a great view of the harbor and bridge tho. Downsides, staff speaks no English, I requested two beds and they gave us one, we have burnt marks on the ground but they are heated floors. Internet is super slow too. Everything is written in Korean and KK couldn't figure out the tv. Oh and btw, NO shower towels? Many hand towels. No full body shower towels? Wth? Asian people are not that small! Come on now! We think it is a "Love Hotel" because they keep leaving us the "live products" if you know what I mean. The little one thought it was soap with a heart on the package. She was confused why I keep hiding the soap in the desk. Oh, child. Haha!!
We roam the streets on our first night here in search for food. There are many bright lights and buildings. One thing I am put off by coming from Japan is how dirty it is. Well it's normal for the outside world compared to Japan and probably Singapore. There were plenty of shops, markets and food stalls! Oh many snacks and stuff everywhere!
We settled for Pizza Hut. Yes, of all things Pizza Hut. The rest of our vacation will strictly be local/Korean food tho. Specialty foods are expensive. I can get the at normal price when I fly home over the summer. It was so good.
As we walk out, I check out all the snack stalls. There was one in particular that was super popular, so I will have to try it tomorrow. There was a sweet smell and I see waffles! Yes, waffles! Kevin says he knows what he wants for breakfast. Lol!!!!
We all still feel queeeeesy, so I didn't feel like anything. Grab me a powerade and give me some sleep!
Let's call it a night. The stupid ferry ride took a lot out of me. Good night Busan!
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| DREAM Ferry |
Ok, yay! We arrive in the Busan International Port. There were not really any English signs anywhere. We just followed the people up the stairs which led us to immigration. Not too bad and we encountered no problems. They were pretty laxed. I would walk thru metal detectors beeping and I get the it's ok keep going wave. Go, go.
As we get thru customs you see Kevin running out to secure a spot in the taxi line. It was weird how this man was talking to us and asking us about location. We thought, ok he must be calling us a taxi? No, he was the taxi driver!!! He was going to have two taxis take us since there were 6ppl. He saw me shivering and cold, so I guess he just piled us all in and took us to our location. I saw that he didn't have his meter on. I read that taxi drivers will rip tourists off and it was easy to spot us with half our party was not Asian. Lol!! I read that the usual base is 2200won and 200-400won per so so meters and time depending on traffic. It was rush hour too. We paid 20,000won and I was like we totally got jipppppped! However, our hotel was a bit of a ways. It's like a 30min walk to the nearest metro station. If I wasn't so sick. Ooh! That man. Oh whatever, it was like $15.
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| Hotel over looking the Hamhang Bridge |
We settled for Pizza Hut. Yes, of all things Pizza Hut. The rest of our vacation will strictly be local/Korean food tho. Specialty foods are expensive. I can get the at normal price when I fly home over the summer. It was so good. As we walk out, I check out all the snack stalls. There was one in particular that was super popular, so I will have to try it tomorrow. There was a sweet smell and I see waffles! Yes, waffles! Kevin says he knows what he wants for breakfast. Lol!!!!
We all still feel queeeeesy, so I didn't feel like anything. Grab me a powerade and give me some sleep!
Let's call it a night. The stupid ferry ride took a lot out of me. Good night Busan!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
The Kyushu Sumo Basho (Practice)
Date: November 13 (Sun) - November 27 (Sun) (15 days)
When flags line the entry to the Fukuoka Convention Center in November,
you know it’s time to welcome the November Grand Sumo Tournament to
town! This year all eyes are on yokozuna Hakuho, who recently achieved
his 20th tournament victory, becoming one of only six wrestlers in
history to do so. We’ll also be watching Kotoshogiku of Yanagawa City,
who has defeated Hakuho in the past, and who will be formally promoted
to ozeki rank for the tournament. Competitors come from a wide range of
international backgrounds- Mongolia, Bulgaria, Russia, Czech Republic
and Japan are just some of the nations represented in the tournament.
Witness the dynamic, traditional sport of sumo with your own eyes!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
UN DAY (United Nations)
Friday, November 4, 2011
Halloween in Fukuoka
The little one always asked the question, "Do the Japanese celebrate Halloween in Japan?" It also made me wonder. Well, before we moved here Kevin spent his first Halloween here in Japan without us. He told us that there were some that do celebrate Halloween. Of course, the little one was excited to know that.However, their choices of Halloween costumes were very limited. You can always go to Donqui, which sells all kinds of random things, but we are looking at the "sexy" costumes. This is a no-go for us since we are looking for children's costumes. Every year I would either buy a costume of KK's choice or make one. It was quite difficult for me to make one since I have yet to find a really good craft store. A couple of weeks before the big day, I go off wandering when I don't have work to search for fabrics and crafts. What to do? It was a bit frustrating. This year, KK decides that she wants to be something scary for Halloween. Hmm.. scary? What is scary to KK? A SPIDER. Yes. A spider. But everywhere we went were selling "witch" costumes!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Hola Hong Kong!
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| Hong Kong Skyline |
To put it succinctly Hong Kong is a living contrast. A former western colony now steeped in the east communist Chinese control and it shows. Unlike Japan where conformity is the norm, Hong Kong is loud and in your face.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Imported Goods Festival at Sumiyoshi Shrine
I sat in front of the laptop (my pc is on its death bed waiting for surgery) searching for Halloween ideas. Apparently, KK wants to be a spider this year and I haven't found any great craft stores here. No Michael's here. Who better to ask for a craft store than our Art Teacher, Ms. Toyama. She actually gave KK a list and even drew out a map for her. She's so sweet. As I search for Halloween ideas, I thought of things we haven't done yet that we wanted to do. Ah ha! There is the Fukuoka Municipal Zoo & Botanical Garden~! I think we can go there! I map out the place and looked up all the admission information and even calculated all costs for the trip to and from. I turn to the little one and asked her if she wants to go. I get a "Sure." I look at her and girl is still in her chones!
Saturday, October 15, 2011
しゃぶしゃぶ with friends~!
Shabu-shabu (しゃぶしゃぶ , also spelled syabu-syabu?) is a Japanese variant of hot pot. The name Shabu Shabu is derived from the "swish swish" sound of cooking the meat in the pot. The dish is related to sukiyaki in style, in that both use thinly sliced meat and vegetables and are usually served with dipping sauces, but it is considered to be more savory and less sweet than sukiyaki. It is considered a winter dish but is eaten year-round. (--Wikipedia)
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Sayonara Social Networks?
I've made a decision to stop using social networks for the time being. This meant that I have deactivated my Facebook account and Google+ account. As you can see, I still have Twitter, but I don't tweet. I just like to read posting and keep up with my "current events" on twitter ha-ha!With that said, please don't think I unfriended you or blocked you in any way. I actually unfriended EVERYONE, I didn't want to discriminate you know?
Decisions on why I decided you to say Sayonara? Well, one is that I don't feel bad about not responding to posts when I'm busy. Two, I don't have to deal with drama from other people who are 5000mi away. Three, I don't have to feel bad about wanting to unfriend people I don't want in my business (my personal business). But the main thing was to focus on myself and my family and not be on my iPhone all the time.
I want to make more effort to calling, skyping and FaceTime-ing my family.
If you want to keep up with my life, read my blogs and view my pictures. If you are really that concerned, email, Skype or FaceTime me. This day and age, there are plenty of ways to keep in touch.
So, sayonara social networks!!!
Nokonoshima
One of the places I opted out of trying last year was Nokonoshima, a small island about 10 minutes by ferry from Fukuoka. The major draw at Nokonoshima seems to be the park and flower gardens but it is a place with much more to offer. We started out with a quick walk from our house near fujisaki station down the river and across the bridge to Atago beach where the ferry terminal dits at the end. A trip that is about 2.5 km from my jogging experience. Once there it is simply laid out in English how much to pay to get to Nokonoshima which is 220 yen for an adult and 110 for a child one way. Double that for round trip. No discounts here. Once you have your tickets in hand it's a simple matter of waiting for the ferry to arrive. We met an interesting guy from Madrid named Guillermo or william as he used for his English name. Apparently he and his buddy take trips every year and they separated so he could check out Fukuoka. His buddy Tokyo. Having not spoke Spanish for some time I attempted to speak in Spanish only for him to reply in English. I quickly got the hint that while I wanted to work on my Spanish he wanted to work on his English.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
A new set of goals
O.K. , so normally I've been a bit of a blogger but that hasn't really happened much in the last year or so. For instance doing a quick lookup I've blogged about 8 times in about 64 weeks. That makes me a once every 8 week blogger. Not much for the folks at home to consume. I heard when I was younger a saying something akin to "dreams are exactly that until you write them down then they become goals". That said, I have a new goal(and no it isn't grammar): To blog at least once a week. It may not be fun, it may be crazy, but it's written down and we are now accountable for it. Why "we" you ask? Because Di is also an editor and will be holding down some blogging duties least of which is picture taker extraordinaire. She will also handle ALL complaints.
Given the fact that she takes more self portraits in a month than I do pictures in a year lends to her being a good photo blogger. I've also taken steps to make the blog a bit more child friendly in terms of the title. While I thought my previous blog title to be perhaps the funniest most obvious joke about living in Fukuoka. What the Fukuoka(abbreviated) is apparently not the most friendly of titles. My Mom in particular was not the biggest fan of the title. Being the good son that I am I took only one year to change it to the more tame yet, in my opinion, less funny Tracy Travels until said time as I think of something a bit more funny.
Given the fact that she takes more self portraits in a month than I do pictures in a year lends to her being a good photo blogger. I've also taken steps to make the blog a bit more child friendly in terms of the title. While I thought my previous blog title to be perhaps the funniest most obvious joke about living in Fukuoka. What the Fukuoka(abbreviated) is apparently not the most friendly of titles. My Mom in particular was not the biggest fan of the title. Being the good son that I am I took only one year to change it to the more tame yet, in my opinion, less funny Tracy Travels until said time as I think of something a bit more funny.
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