Town Trips

So I got to go into town today with a friend.  Not just a nearby village.  Not just a nearby town.  No, I went to a big city.  Daegu.

Walked to Namsan, was going to catch a bus to Jain but someone pulled up outside the bus stop and gave us a ride straight to Gyeongsan.  From there took a subway to downtown Daegu.  That was kinda fun.  The ride from the guy knocked down our trip in from 2.5 hours to a lot less.  Don't worry.  He knew us and Linda recognized him.

Still learning the Korean alphabet and just how to say Korean names but less remember them.  So this trip was a learning experience on that end.  It was also a learning experience in being able to get around.

We had stopped at a market in Gyeongsan.  It went on for blocks and blocks with tables and such set up all over.  There was fruits, vegetables, fish and other marine things, footwear, bedding, clothes, toys, bakery goods, and so much more.  A fellow at a bakery stand full of cookies offered us a sample.  I tried one that looked like one type of cookie you can get in a Christmas tin around Christmas at Walmart.  It tasted the same too.  I excitedly bought some, and as a freebie the fellow selling them kindly an extra scoopful of another cookie for us to try.

In Daegu we went to Papa Johns.  The pizza was amazing.  The chicken on it was a tad spicier than I could handle, barely finished the second slice.  Then we slipped into a bookstore where I looked anxiously among the English selection for a favorite author - Mercedes Lackey.  They didn't have her, but they had Lee Child and Nora Roberts.

From there we went underground.  A lot of Daegu can't be seen from the outside because it is under the streets and buildings.  A huge mall.  I was lost in seconds, so depended on the friend who was with me for guidance.  We looked at some neat stores.  The theater is on the top floor... and oh the escalators going up stack above each other floor after floor after floor.  So high up, I about panicked.  The top floor, outside the theater, had coffee shops all the way along the walkway.  No Starbucks surprisingly enough.  There were some arcades on the opposite side and yet more coffee shops.  None of the English movies were playing till later and we didn't want to stick around that long.

So back down the scary escalator paradise.  There we took a break at a favorite store: Krispy Kreme donuts!  I haven't been to one of these in a long time as the ones in the USA are slowly selling out.  Then we headed outside and began walking through downtown.  Wow, block after block of high skyscrapers covered in colorful signs and shops.  Eventually we ended up at ColdStone and took a break.

Then back to the subway where I practiced finding the appropriate track.  Reading the Korean words in the English alphabet is getting easier.  Then we stopped at an E Mart before taking a bus towards the school.  Had to get a taxi the last leg of the way.

Something really cool is a subway card.  You can use it to ride the subway, buses, and supposedly several other things.  It is like a debit card.  You buy it.  You put money on it.  Then you just scan it whenever you go anywhere.  Makes traveling easier, and if you know how to use it right you save money when transferring between buses and the subway.