Ugh, I’m stuck w/ so many Japanese coins because foreign exchange desk on the ship won't take anything but paper bills, and those racist slot machines only take American quarters.
View of Busan Seaport from the ship
Our first stop in South Korea was Busan. We weren’t able to reserve Shore Excursion tickets on time, so we went off on our own. Good thing the shuttle bus was free, but it’s strange how having over a dozen Pinoys dropped off in the middle of downtown Busan at 9 in the morning doesn’t seem to faze anyone anymore. Lord knows what everyone else did after we split up, but E, E, and I went inside the nearby Phoenix Hotel to ask for directions to the subway, and from there we rode from Jagalchi (got on the wrong lane at first, but thankfully the senior citizens on duty let us cross over w/o a fuss) to Dongbaek. That was an unpleasant 45-50 minute experience, since the inside of the train smelled like old people. And were some of the commuters staring at us because we looked out of place, or because we were seated in the handicapped/ senior citizen section? Took some pix of them for archiving.
Asking for directions to the Busan Aquarium was an adventure in itself, as English wasn’t the locals’ second language, and each person we asked (or we map we read) had ideas contrary to ours as to what constituted a “10-minute walk.” I figure guesstimated the time for foreigners w/ longer legs or strides (aka White people).
So while wandering the streets of the Hauendae Area we stopped by Haeundae Beach and took pix and made a mini dance video, something I never promised myself I’d do at a beach in a foreign country, but at least the girls were game. (Dance video to be posted upon request.)
When we finally found the Aquarium we only stayed for an hour (w/c doesn’t justify our paying 1600Won a ticket, sans IMAX movie option) looking at fish and watching scuba diving magicians pull long rubber wands out of a wet hat ('kay, that sounded dirtier than I intended). Afterwards there still a train to catch, then run like hell, lest we miss the final 3:30pm shuttle bus back to the ship. We had hotdogs for lunch (a quick carbs boost for that aforementioned running-like-hell thing).As it was still early in the day when we got back I got in some gym, sauna and Jacuzzi time (it’s good to be on vacation). At the sauna (ditched the trunks this time), I made accidental eye contact and got into a conversation w/ an Indonesian businessman.
The accidental contact our freshly baked birthday suits made when he bumped into me at the lockers was awkward enough, but to chat while trying to get dressed was pushing it. Still, I kept my latent paranoid homophobia in check. Why couldn’t this have happened in the buffet line or anywhere else on the ship where nudity wasn’t an option? He said he was on the cruise acting as guide and middleman for some clients who wanted to travel. Contact info could not be exchanged, as I had no phone/calling card at the time. Just as well, as I don’t think I could’ve done so if it turns out that he was making a pass at me.
Day 8 (April 29, 2008) JEJU
As we arrived at Jeju we had to transfer to a mini-boat (called a Tender) because the Port Terminal was on the north side of the island, but we were touring the south. We were welcomed w/ complimentary bottled water and chocolates and greeted by 1 of the only 4 (or 7, I forget) English-speaking tour guides on the island.
First stop was the Jusang Jeollidae Cliffs. The black, hexagonal pillars bunched up together reminded of that kryptonite island in Superman Returns. We kinda lost Ma for awhile during the photo-ops. Turns out she wandered in the opposite direction of where we were.
Next stop was Yakcheonsa Temple, “The Largest Buddhist Temple of Zen Buddhism in Asia.” Didn't go inside to kowtow, but I did take a sip from their all-healing spring fountain, w/c claims to cure all that ails you, provided you “clear your mind 100% of all negative and impure thoughts/energies.” There’s always a catch…
Then were off to the Yeomiji Botanical Gardens. One path to the outer gardens was “guarded” by trees that were custom-cut for a corkscrew effect. The central arboretum had an elevator leading up to the observation tower, but the lines were too long, so forget that. The entire structure combined w/ the greenhouses made it look like the Triskelion in The Ultimates, w/ a green-thumbed touch. We looked at all the indoor themed gardens (saw my first giant barrel cactus, strawberry and lemon guava, and a sausage tree seriously lacking in sausages, plantlike or otherwise), but lacked time to explore the outer ones. Oh, well, they were being renovated, anyway.
Lunch was in the form of an international buffet at the Jeju International Convention Center. Loved the salmon sashimi, but my first taste of caviar was also likely to be my last. (Salty mothers…) Same deal w/ the imitation Sprite they served.
We spent the most amount of time at our penultimate stop, the duty free shop at the Lotte Hotel. Not sure how one goes from making chewing gum to having your own 4-star hotel, but business must be really, really good. Got G a passport bag, while the ‘Rents bought on some ginko root.
Our final (quick)stop was at the Cheonjeyeon Waterfall, whose height was probably comparable to that of the one in Hidden Valley. Not that I had time to make proper measurements, since we could stick around for 30 minutes before riding the bus back to the tender and back to the ship. While on the tender I got to chat w/ one the crewmembers (Korean lady who visited her family in Busan when we docked there), and from her I found out that that, w/ the exception of Kobe, all of our ports-of-call were supposed to be for less than a day. Ship in ship out w/n a 24-hour period. That might explain why the Ship Excursion tours today were scheduled so early.
We spent the rest of the evening sorting out all the pix we’ve taken so far. One more day, then we’re back in Shanghai. Gotta go pack and place our luggage outside before midnight. (No-one better call for a fire drill right now.)
Day 9 (April 30, 2008) SHANGHAI
Forgot to turn my watch back by an hour, so I woke up an hour too early. All the TV channels on the ship were showing nothing but the ship advisories and particularly glaring was when it said, “kindly vacate your stateroom by 8am.” So much for sneaking in some extra Z's. Still had to line up at deck 6 to get our passports. Afterwards we were out of our staterooms by 8 and out of the ship 2 hours later.
After disembarking we got on a bus headed for Putong (the “New” Shanghai), where we drove around the city w/ a new tour guide, who took us to lunch and to the ZhouZhuang Water Village, w/c looked like a cross between Vietnam and Venice. After catching bits of a live stage opera, we stopped by some “Old Money” residences and courtyards, were men’s and women’s rooms were not limited to separation of toilets. Entire quarters were gender specific, w/ women getting the short-end of the size stick when it came for furniture.
The star home we visited belonged to Ye Cu Cang, a rich businessman from yore who popularized Chinese Boiled Pork Leg, ZhouZhuang’s answer to Beijing’s Kao Ya. Every other food stall we saw here sold this shiny, bronze colored piece of pork, much to the dismay of the local’s arteries. Didn’t stop Elyssa from buying one to bring home, though.Dinner was a return to the commercial Shanghai cuisine I’ve come to appreciate (read: juicy pork dumplings) before we took that 1+ hour ride to Shanghai International Airport. Dang, it’s HUGE.
The new section was only a few months old, but the already-humongous-to-begin-with old section looked barely used. I envy how has this country has so much space to waste. The number of seemingly crisscrossing bridges around the place makes you want to come in several hours before your scheduled flight in case you get lost while trying to look for the departure area. On the minus side the size of this place made boarding gate changes a really tiring experience, walking-wise. Worse still, our flight leaves past 1am; on another no-frills-nor-thrills Cebu Pacific flight. Crowded. Smelly. Unhygienic. God Almighty, I’m riding a local commuter bus w/ wings.And to top if all off, what’s there to greet us in Manila past 4am but 37 degree Celsius weather. Not even a morning chill, for crying out loud! Once we made it home I went for the A/C and a shower before going to bed.
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