3rd city, 2nd country!! Also my 3rd time going to Japan, starting in Okinawa this time! So the reason I wanted to visit Okinawa was because this would be my only shot at seeing some of the cherry blossom in Japan! You see, because of Okinawa's location, the cherry blossom starts blooming at the end of January and should be in full bloom in mid February. Fingers crossed!! My flight here was great, nobody next to me and nobody behind me (lots of empty rows). I was in row 38 and so I expected to be in the back but the first row was 28 haha.
Got to Japan and, as usual, started following the signs. I knew I had to take a monorail and then walk for a bit. And so I bought my ticket and off I went. I was staying in a 'cabin' hotel, meaning I was sleeping in a pod with a curtain. It was a very thin mattress, Japanese style but I haven't slept this good since I got here (not that I didn't sleep before). It was dead quiet, and actually really comfortable! And you got to love them toilets! Heated seats I remembered but this one started making ocean sounds when you sat down so nobody could hear your business.
I arrived with rain and didnt't see much nature in the area I was staying at. Just a 2km strip of souvenir shops, restaurants, tax free shops and drug stores. Tax free heaven. I also saw a lot (well compared to South Korea) of foreigners and not Asian ones. I walked around for a bit but as I didn't bring waterproof shoes with me I soon went back and did my sudoku (thanks again mom for that 2019 calendar I'm still working on and no I don't want another one haha) and watched a few shows.
The next day I went to a few places that I read should have cherry blossom trees! First stop was Shuri Castle. It was a very hot day and I walked a lot today. On my way to the castle I saw a cherry blossom tree with only a few flowers but I got my hopes up! It turned out there was a big fire at the castle last year and they were still rebuilding it, so it was a lot of walking around and enjoying the views mostly. And unfortunately, no cherry blossom trees...
I then took the monorail back for a few stops and walked another 20min or so to get to Yogi park, another place that should have cherry blossom trees. Well, one thing I learned was what a cherry blossom tree looked like without any flowers. What a dissapointment and then there it was, the beginning of the season!! I found a few trees wíth flowers!!! They were beautiful and even though it was only a few, I loved every second of looking at it (and of course did a little selfie photo shoot)!
I then walked back to that 2km strip, which was right around the corner from where I was staying. I love my ability to navigate without online maps! Oh yeah and another thing about Japan, there's machines everwhere on the street to get a drink/soda/coffee from. Sometimes it's 4 or more in a row. I've seen this before in Japan but just wanted to mention it again! Depending on where you are in Japan, you can get pretty much anything from a machine. I decided to do a bustour the next day because everything is so far away and hard to get to by public transport.
The bustour started at Nago Pineapple Park, oh yes, only in Asia! I got into a self driving pineapple car through the park and afterwards walked around for myself. Besides the pineapple plants and other plants, there was also a Dinosour Adventure walk through. Now, most of you know I LOVEEEE dinosaurs and so I enjoyed this very much :)!!
After that we went to the aquarium, to be said the only one in the world where they have whalesharks with the purpose of breeding them. Anyways, it was beautifully done and again I saw sea creatures I hadn't seen before. When I saw the whalesharks, I just stood there thinking...I can't believe I swam with that there!! Holy crap!
Next stop was Kouri island, something about a boy and a girl made from his bone and ricecakes falling from the sky until it was so much the boy and girl started 'hoarding' them and the gods never let it rain ricecakes again..and so the boy and girl had to learn how to catch fish and grow fruits and veggies, I dozed off a few times on the bus haha. I did see cherry blossom trees on the way there :)!!
We also went to a big duty free shop..people went nuts, I guess that's what this island is for mostly, duty free shopping. Our last stop was the rock that looked like the elephant. It was a long day and after getting some food and packing my stuff, I went to bed. I now do know how Asian bustours work, you get off, they tell you; ok, 20min, 3:00 back in the bus. We do not wait, if you are late, take a taxi to the next stop, sayonara. Haha, fair enough.
Okay, gotta fly! Next stop; Hiroshima!
Cheers,
T.
Yup, just like the movie. I hadn't seen the movie but I remember seeing the title somewhere once. Then they told me what it was about at the hostel.., zombies on the train...to Busan. Well, luckily for me I got to Busan without seeing any. Although the way some people looked at their phone sometimes...
Compared to where I was in Seoul, the area I was staying in was very busy. I didn't do much that first day since it was raining. I just walked around for a bit and found a Japanese restaurant where I had my first decent meal since I got to South Korea and actually sat down for it as well. It even came with a little salad and soup, nom nom nom! I would later also return here on my last day!
The area I was staying in was close to Jagalchi, the fish market and not just that, there were shops and markets everywhere around me. Every turn I made, big street or smaller ones, shops shops shops. There was also a lot of food, fish, chicken, sweets, kebab, nuts, etc. I walked around the area a few times during my stay here. Also walked through the fishmarket one day, most of the sea creatures were dead and nicely displayed. Some used a stick to show you the inside of the fish. And there were live small octopus too, some would crawl out and wonder off a bit until catched and put back.
I visited some of the highlights of Busan; Gamcheon Culture Village, Haedong Yonggungsa Temple and Haeundae Beach. The village was also refered to as the Machu Picchu of South Korea. Not sure why, it reminded me more of some of the South American neighborhoods. Lots of steps, narrow alleys, colorfull houses. This was also the first day I took the bus here, since that was the only way to get there. There's not much English in Souh Korea (signs or spoken by locals), so this was quite the adventure. I also liked how the busstop would have a sign with Bus Information in English but then everything else was in Korean haha. So another bus that I had taken required me to really pay attention of where I was getting off. And really, all I was looking for was a subway station. Luckily for me it was the one near the beach and so I decided to take a look. It was really nice to be at a beach, especially because it was sunny! It wasn't hot, but I did get to walk around barefoot :)!
Before I went to the beach, I visited the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, temple by the sea. The views were nice and again, lots of steps and lots of walking. But all in all another nice day.
That was pretty much all I did in Busan, which was enough. I also had to arrange some stuff back home and planned a few things for the rest of my trip! And I got messages from friends and family from all over the world about the Corona virus outbreak. Also received an emergency message on my phone. And whilst I'm finishing typing this at the airport, I just heard an announcement about it. As I read it, there's been cases in all the countries I'm traveling to in the next few months. And yes, I'll take good care of myself :)!
4:13am...woke up just before my alarm would go off. Flying to Okinawa, Japan today!!
Cheers,
T.
A few weeks before I left, uncontrolable thoughts came into my head...why am I doing this? I didn't get it as I've never had it before. My friend told me she wished she could leave all this shit behind and I guess that's it. There was no 'shit' to leave behind, yet I would be leaving something behind this time. Everything was going well, friends, family, appartment, job. Living a comfortable life, which was why this was the best time to leave. Getting away from the herd and my daily routines. And besides, it will all still be there when I come back. And so when the trip got closer, I actually felt more and more relaxed. People asked me if I was ready? And it wasn't as if I really 'got ready' but yeah sure, bring it on, I'm ready!
My mom waved me off at the station, 'surprise!'. I know her too well to know she would come to say farewell :). And met my sister and best friend at the airport, okay bye bye now, take care. And off I went. I never really realize leaving until I actually arrive at the destination itself. Smile on my face and go time!
The flight was exhausting, but I entertained myself watching movies as usual. I had also decided to not drink until at least the end of february, quite the challenge when everyone around you is drinking and they stopped by regularly with wine, beer and even baileys!
I took a bus to Hapjeong station and walked to the hostel, they had given me directions on how to get there. The owners were super nice and I had a comfy bed in a 4p dorm. I soon found out that Seoul is also known as the city that never sleeps and that I was close to Club street, sigh. But I kept quiet and exhausted myself during the day! The latter wasn't too hard to do as you walk miles and miles and miles, even just in the subway stations. One of the hostel owners told me she doesn't know streets, only subway exits which told me how important they were. You could end up somewhere totally different if you took another exit! Other than that, the subway station was very easy to use. Made up out of colors and numbers, just like in Japan, Paris and London. Only difference was the happy tune that was being played when the train was approaching, or the announcement tune for the next station. Those really made my day!
Even though people told me Seoul (or actually all of South Korea) would dissapoint after Japan, I enjoyed my time in Seoul. Yes it was similar to Japan, but also to China, Hong Kong. And the people are very friendly, they all looked so different too, which shows how mixed the culture is. One thing they all had in common was the love of their phone. No matter what age, games, videos, messaging, calling, music. Amongst both locals and foreigners, I was probably the only one without data and using paper maps. One subway map and a few city maps and I always found my way, as long as I used the right exit :).
On my first few days, I visited a few hotspots, starting with a palace and a traditional village (residential area). A lot of people were dressed in local Hanbok clothing, giving them free entrance to the palace(s) but also an(other) excuse to take hundreds of photos/selfies. I also visited some of the 'only in Asia' places, like the unique cafes here; Harry Potter Pub, 221B Cafe (Sherlock Holmes) and a Meerkat Cafe. At the last one I cuddled and played with meerkats, with them ending up on my lap asleep (allowed time was 10-15min max). But I felt sad for the other animals there and left soon after. I also went to the biggest aquarium there and wow our Ocean World (at Burgers Zoo) is tiny compared to that! Every corner you turned was a new world and so well put together! They had sea animals I had never seen or heard of and even did a mermaid show (which was dissapointing). They also had a touching lab, which is such a bad idea! Seafood is so big in this country and so kids were tossing starfish around, poking and catching fish and throwing them back and nobody seemed to care.
Speaking of food, seafood isn't the only popular food here. Food in general is pretty important. Lots of restaurants and streetfood, some of the weirdest things you will ever see. They also love their sweets, desserts, cakes, etc. And mixtures of flavors. Why just have salt, when you can add sugar haha. Everything needed sugar..fresh strawberries? Add a sugar coating. Breadstick? Add sugar. Not my type of food but interesting to see. And also a lot of fried stuff, also some with sugar! The only 'food'-goal I had coming here, was to find (and of course eat) a 30cm soft serve ice cream, mission accomplished!!!
Cheers,
T.
Ps; totally forgot we had snow one day haha!!!
