getting out of Okpo for the weekend

Our Busan trip turned out to be great fun. Ken and I took the 5:00 ferry and were picked up by T.Y. and taken to the Lotte Hotel, where we stayed. It is quite an impressive hotel. I know Ken has seen and stayed in numerous hotels in foreign countries, but I was impressed nonetheless. We were on the 29th floor and I took a couple of pictures looking out the window. Keep in mind that most of the tall buildings are apartments.




We then met T.Y., his wife and Mr. Kong, who works with T.Y., for a traditional Korean restaurant meal. It was the first time I have sat on the floor since I have been here. T.Y.'s wife did not speak English, so we did alot of smiling and nodding and sometimes her husband would translate for us. They have 3 children and one of them had just graduated from the university that day.

I cannot adequately describe our meal but I will try. Maybe in time I will be able to explain more of what I ate but it all happened so fast!! They brought us a small plate, along with a cup of tea and beer.

Then the meal began in earnest.

I told Ken that I wished I had counted the many different items they brought out. They are all on small plates and you just help yourself. I guess the Koreans have never heard of "double dipping" because you just take what you want with your chopsticks you are eating with. There were a few things I either didn't get around to or chose not to eat, but I think I ate eel, seaweed, pumpkin soup, soybean paste soup, Korean pancakes, and who knows what else. Poor Ken probably had to try more things than I did because T.Y. kept passing plates to him to try. Of course there was kimchi, different noodles, and vegetables. There also was the spiciest ribs I have ever eaten. They brought some scissors to the table so that it could be cut off the bone to be eaten with your chopsticks. I believe I started sweating after eating that (in addition to the fact that the floor was heated). T.Y.'s wife had begun sweating earlier on with her quick eating and continuous shuffling of plates around the table so I didn't feel so bad. I couldn't imagine being the dishwasher at a place like that. All in all, it was quite a "fulfilling" experience.

Ken met T.Y. in the lobby around 8:00 the next morning and they headed off to play golf for the day. This time in Busan I was prepared with maps and my itinerary for the day. I took the subway to the Gubje Market, or the International Market. Basically there are streets and alleys that have numerous booths set up. Motor scooters come through periodically, so you need to watch out. Some shops are permanent and some aren't. It is sort of divided into areas like stationary, linens, hats, shoes....you get the idea. I had the best time exploring everything. Since we are going to Shanghai this week, I didn't buy too much but I did get some pottery pieces. I am sure I will return to the area many times during my stay here. The only area I didn't venture too far into was the food area. I guess the meal the night before was too fresh in my stomach and the hanging pig heads (really and truly!) weren't on my shopping list. I wish I had taken some pictures, but I will next time.

Speaking of food, my culinary delights for the day were very American. I started in the morning at Starbucks for a muffin and a latte. Price was very comparable to U.S. Starbucks prices.

Then I progressed to McDonald's for a "cheeseburger set" - a small cheeseburger, fries and a diet Coke. It was only 3,000 won ($3) which wasn't too bad.


I met Ken back at the hotel and we elected to go to TGI Fridays for supper. He was quite tired from his day of golf. I will elaborate on golfing in Korea another time.

After an Egg McMuffin (actually 2 for Ken with hash browns) we headed home to Okpo on the ferry after a full weekend.