This past weekend I went to Daegu, South Korea. It is the fourth largest city in Korea after Seoul, Busan and Incheon. The 2.5 million population really blows away my Gochang's ~78,000 people. I had to take a 1 hour bus to Gwangju, then a 3.5 hour bus to Daegu.
It was nice to visit James' family and some ETAs that were in Daegu.
The bus was really, really nice. Wide red leather seats and plenty of room to lean back for the small price of ~$19 one way. It wasn't too shabby at all. My one possible complaint is that it doesn't have a bathroom on board, but it does make 1 stop along the way for a bathroom break.
I got into the city around 8:00 pm on Friday. The first thing that hit me was the smell. Hot weather + urban setting + lots of trash + tons of people + a lot of traffic = the smell. I couldn't really take a deep breath (though this may be an isolated incident, it was the first thing I realized).
I went to Lotteria, a Korean version of McDonald's, and grabbed the crappiest burger I have ever eaten in my life. Afterwards, I met up with James coming back from Busan and we headed to his uncle's house. I met his grandma again and I think she vaguely recognized me. She made some comment about how James and I used to GAME HARD when we were little. Some Sega game where u have to recapture animals. Haha. We went and watched a Korean Movie, The Ultimate Weapon 활 (arrow). It was about revenge. A lot of Korean movies are about revenge/justice. A good theme if not slightly overplayed. I was talking to James about the movie and about how a lot of people could be saved if they just went home. The soldiers kept needlessly chasing one another when they could have just gone home.
The next day James' uncle took us hiking to some famous temple in Daegu. It had a huge Buddha. Your run of the mill hike. Though there were two funny episodes. 1st - I had to muster up a lot of courage to take one of those sitting on the edge pictures. James was too scurred. 2nd - James was rendered immobile by a bee on his shoe. The guy is deathly afraid of bees. He said that he never had been stung ever, and that he might have an allergic reaction and die. Goddang drama queen...
Somehow doing the course of the hike we got lost, but trail blazed our way back to the right trail and back down the lift.
That night, I had dinner with Art, Lauren, James, Sarah D and Sarah L for her birthday. Nice Italian place. I got the curry :D.
Daegu was a really big city. It also shocked me that I couldn't really understand what the people were saying. Their accent was really thick. It was like somebody killed my comprehension ability for the weekend. I also realized that most grandma's are the same. James' grandma repeatedly woke us up because she thought we were hungry. She also tried to give us money and when we refused she gave us grapes instead. I guess if you're old school your show your love through reckless feeding. I thought it was really funny.
I got back home Sunday and bought some running shoes. They were mad expensive but I have found them to be really comfortable.
Here are some pictures from the weekend and the past. Enjoy.
It was nice to visit James' family and some ETAs that were in Daegu.
The bus was really, really nice. Wide red leather seats and plenty of room to lean back for the small price of ~$19 one way. It wasn't too shabby at all. My one possible complaint is that it doesn't have a bathroom on board, but it does make 1 stop along the way for a bathroom break.
I got into the city around 8:00 pm on Friday. The first thing that hit me was the smell. Hot weather + urban setting + lots of trash + tons of people + a lot of traffic = the smell. I couldn't really take a deep breath (though this may be an isolated incident, it was the first thing I realized).
I went to Lotteria, a Korean version of McDonald's, and grabbed the crappiest burger I have ever eaten in my life. Afterwards, I met up with James coming back from Busan and we headed to his uncle's house. I met his grandma again and I think she vaguely recognized me. She made some comment about how James and I used to GAME HARD when we were little. Some Sega game where u have to recapture animals. Haha. We went and watched a Korean Movie, The Ultimate Weapon 활 (arrow). It was about revenge. A lot of Korean movies are about revenge/justice. A good theme if not slightly overplayed. I was talking to James about the movie and about how a lot of people could be saved if they just went home. The soldiers kept needlessly chasing one another when they could have just gone home.
The next day James' uncle took us hiking to some famous temple in Daegu. It had a huge Buddha. Your run of the mill hike. Though there were two funny episodes. 1st - I had to muster up a lot of courage to take one of those sitting on the edge pictures. James was too scurred. 2nd - James was rendered immobile by a bee on his shoe. The guy is deathly afraid of bees. He said that he never had been stung ever, and that he might have an allergic reaction and die. Goddang drama queen...
Somehow doing the course of the hike we got lost, but trail blazed our way back to the right trail and back down the lift.
That night, I had dinner with Art, Lauren, James, Sarah D and Sarah L for her birthday. Nice Italian place. I got the curry :D.
Daegu was a really big city. It also shocked me that I couldn't really understand what the people were saying. Their accent was really thick. It was like somebody killed my comprehension ability for the weekend. I also realized that most grandma's are the same. James' grandma repeatedly woke us up because she thought we were hungry. She also tried to give us money and when we refused she gave us grapes instead. I guess if you're old school your show your love through reckless feeding. I thought it was really funny.
I got back home Sunday and bought some running shoes. They were mad expensive but I have found them to be really comfortable.
Here are some pictures from the weekend and the past. Enjoy.
View of the Gwangju - Daegu bus
Luxurious seats on the bus
The rest stop along the way
Very mountainous terrain
Um... this ain't me
Cable car front
Cable car back
Tauros would be proud.
The cable car itself
Nice lil mountain shot
Even better mountain shot
The pensive mountain thinker
Summoning my courage to sit on the edge
Looks stupid, but if I fell backwards, I would die. This was a courageous shot.
Mountain house at the cable car station
Other side
Sign for the mountain
Big temple
I think these were dragon eggs
Lanterns by monks
Same lanterns, different angle
Relaxation pond for monks
Huge Buddha
Huge Buddha up close
I took this picture because the last character on the bottom is 'Woon'
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