Only a Glimpse
Well, South Korea certainly isn’t cowering under the shadow of North Korea. Busan, the second biggest city in the country, is an active port city full of large industries The beaches aren’t bad either. If you remember, we met two fine South Korean boys in Laos who carefully prepared a list of what we should do. We hired a taxi drive who spoke no English but had the trusted google-like translator and off we went. We found the beaches, the sky walk and more. The beaches were quite pretty and I’m sure packed in the summer. On this cold winter day, it is deserted. The sky walk was a glass pier reaching out over the water giving glimpses of the mountains above. We visited their market district and George had fun in the small mom/pop hardware stores. These markets are more like our city markets in the US and there wasn’t much negotiating to be done. As has become routine in some of these cities, we landed in a local coffee shop where we drank our hot drinks, dried off from the rain, and watched the passer-bys. The weather and our colds have kept us from doing this city justice. Who knows? Maybe there will be another opportunity. Our taxi ride back to the ship gave me real insight into the kindness of the South Korean people. Like the boys we met in Laos, this gentleman wanted us to enjoy his country. At the end of the ride, he couldn’t find the last turn into the cruise terminal and he was quite frustrated and embarrassed. We got out, paid our fare and started walking the one-mile path back. Suddenly, a man, yes, the taxi driver, comes running down our path yelling in his language and waving his arms. He had found the way! He put us back in his car and drove us the remainder of the distance to the boat.
A couple of observations:
Another oddity about taxis here is the way you enter and exit. The left back door opens automatically. We are NOT to open or close the door ourselves. Oops. I got a glare once in Japan. Who knew? We are trying to do better!
You never forget the day of the week on the cruise ship. Why? The carpet in every elevator displays the day of the week. We found that so humorous during the first week but now, into week four, we are appreciative. Lol.
