A little set back but back on track

After a week of early starts Gav was in desperate need of a "lie in"- sleeping-in in my English. I was opposed until we woke up and realized it was 10. The nice woman at Dream Motel ran up the street with us to put us on a bus that was supposed to take us to the "Train Station", however, in our haste we jumped off too soon. We got off and jumped on the tube the rest of the way, 21 stops, to the train station. When we got to the train station we were told, sorry, no train to Danyang, take a bus. Frustrated, we decided to gather our thought and have lunch at Burger King, something I had not seen in Korea until now. I sat in front of the city listings copying down all of the different places we could go...three hours there, four hours here...we would have to change there....lets just take a bus. Back on the tube, 23 stops in the other direction, yes, two from where we started, we got to the bus station, aggravated and ready to get out of Pusan. Frustrated we saw in the distance, bright on the second floor, BK! I am not a fan, however, after eating next to nothing, wandering around in frustration, it was the perfect thing. We realized our best bet was to head to the Express Bus terminal. It was there that I realized that my frustrations with Korea all stem from their bathroom situation.

Public Restrooms, all over the world, are not clean, they are dirty and smelly and require sanitation after using, however, in Korea this takes on new meaning. They are not toilets, they are basins in the floor which do not properly flush. In many restrooms, there is no toilet paper, so on top of having to squat, I now have no toilet paper. However, the kind woman in the Pusan bus terminal, when I asked her or charades her for toilet paper, led me into the hall and pointed to a box where I could purchase toilet paper for 200won. It isn't the fact that I had to pay for it, it was actually similar to a travel size Kleenex package, it was that it was located outside the bathroom, 30 feet into the middle of the main terminal, that there were no signs saying "buy toilet paper outside before you pee." More frustration.

To our surprise there was no direct bus to Danyang. The Korean bus system is amazing. For 30,000 won you can go from the south to north of the country. The buses are clean, they leave and arrive on time, and offer reclining seats and foot rests. Many bus stations offer Internet access and restaurants. Like with all things there are also downsides. Sometimes there are no clerks working behind the counter, only machines from which to purchase your tickets. A challenge to say the least. There are express buses, direct buses, non-stop buses...so many choices. I did figure this out, non-stop is the way to go when traveling outside of major cities, otherwise you stop at all bus stations in between picking up passengers along the way.

So we purchased tickets to Yeongju figuring that if we got there and like the city we could always spend the night there. Arriving in Yeongju the driver left us off on the side of the road and we immediatly knew this was not a place we wanted to be in all night. We purchased our tickets to Danyang where were landed in the quietest city in South Korea.

Danyang, a seaside town surrounded by a large man made lake, most bulidings only 20 years old due to the man induced flooding of the old city back in the 80's. The lakeside road has the feeling of the Hampton strip minus the scantly clothed teenagers perusing up and down the road. Love Motels line the road split up by traditional Korean restaurants.

The main road, or upper road, lined with storefronts selling the latest fashions was deserted at 8pm. At first disappointed, we came to enjoy the solitude we found here. There is something to be said for being the only foreigners around. We saw very few English speaking people in Pusan and have not seen a single "Waygook" since. In Suncheon I found myself frustrated by this and longed for the companionship of someone from the western world. However, now, it is refreshing and reminds me of what my first days here were like, the feeling of hopelessness at times, the feeling that I am, indeed in a foreign land.

Bringing me right back home was the "Rock and Roll Bar". A small bar, again, deserted, along the strip. We tried ordering a Long Island Iced Tea, she didnt understand. A madras, "BODKA", there was a bottle of Absolute in the well, of course it was empty. And o, seeing their extensive beer collection, grabbed a bud light. We sat and talked about the world while listening to great music signed contracts we made like school children and egarly anticipated the rest of our trip.

We were not unlucky again in our search for exiting sleeping accommodations, this time ending up on the other end with a not very clean room in Motel SBS. Most fascinating were our pillows, oddly enough filled with little cut up drinking straws, all yellow and one pink for good luck. Who would think of such a thing, I understand that running a motel may be exspensive, but come on, straws to lay your head on...ridiculous...only in korea!

It was also on our visit to Danyang that we stumbled across our first "Dog Resturant". Although not open, the sign explains it all. Also seen, the first Ford I have seen thus far!