korea, the wrap-up

our comments and observations of korea:

• koreans are friendly, helpful and generous people. they are honest too - we were never over-charged or short-changed.
• korea is a very safe country to travel. we never felt threatened or unsafe in any way.
• bus travel in korea is clean, efficient and cheap. we traveled the country by bus for a little over $100 total. one interesting note about bus travel - drivers require all passengers to wear seat belts and even check everyone before departing - unreal!
• korean girls, aged 9-13 are fascinated with david. they stare, point and giggle as they try to get his attention to yell out "hello!"
• korean men, aged 75 and older are fascinated with alina, primarily with her chest… they just stare.
• laundromats seem to be nonexistent in korea - we have washed all of our clothes in the bathtub.
• a good cup of coffee is hard to come by in korea without paying at least $3.50 a cup. instant coffee and cheap tea in convenience stores seem to be the most popular options.
• koreans love doughnuts - bakeries, dunkin' doughnuts and krispy cream line every street - and they always seem to be full (even though, by and far, koreans are thin and fit)
• the tap water in korea is drinkable. not to mention, most motels and guesthouses provide hot and cold filtered water, tea, energy drinks and instant coffee in the room. the later of which is less than inspiring…
• korea is a shopper's paradise. clothes, shoes, jewelry, cell phones - you name it, you can find at least one street dedicated to your particular poison. even in small towns and cities like andong you can find name brand boutiques and electronic stores throughout the city.
• outside of seoul we encountered only 4 other western tourists. chinese and japanese tourists were abundant.
• korean tourist information offices offer an excellent service. they provided maps, made arrangements for motels and ferry tickets, copied and faxed information for us, and kindly answered any questions we had. they speak perfect english, and their services are completely free.
• similar to their japanese neighbor, koreans love things that are "cute".

what things cost in korea:

• one hour shuttle bus from the airport to seoul city center $9.00 per person
• tofu skewer with spicy broth .79
• fast-food bibimbap $3.80
• bibimbap in a nice restaurant $7.00
• large bottled water $1.25
• room at han hung motel in insadong, seoul $43.00 per night
• 20oz cass beer from a convenient store $2.20
• a seoul subway ride $1.10
• fish cake corndog $1.65
• small bottle of soju $1.44
• entry to changdeokgung palace $3.25 per person
• small regular brewed coffee in a coffee shop $3.50
• small can of coffee in a convenience store $0.65
• beef korean barbeque $23.00
• pork korean barbeque $8.00
• entry to haeinsa temple site $2.20 per person
• postcards $0.50 each
• postage to the USA $0.47 per postcard
• gimbap (a california roll) $1.00
• a molten hot goodness $0.70
• mackeral lunch $6.50
• 6oz diet coke $0.75
• the korea mask $34.00
• microfiber socks from the market $1.00 pair
• earrings from a street vendor $6.50
• economy bunk fare for 24 hour ferry ride to china $130.00 per person

what's next?

tomorrow, friday, we are taking a 24 hour ferry across the west (yellow) sea from incheon, korea to tianjin, china. our arrival will be rather late, so we plan to spend our first night in china in tianjin, then move on to beijing on the following day.

onward!

alina