South Crorea by bus. Seoul, Jeju Island. Day and night.
The beginning of the journey in Vladivostok. I must say right away that I went for free. Let's assume that I won the trip, well, or better deserved it.
The meeting with the group was at the international terminal of the Vladivostok airport, which, in addition to wild prices for tea and buns, struck me with peeled linoleum, rusty streaks on the walls and ceiling. Foreign guests of Primorye, I think, also all remain delighted with our region. Customs passed without noise and without dust, the procedure is quite standard.
Flew with Korean Airlines. The food on the plane was a pleasant surprise, the Korean flight attendants are all beauties, they speak Russian perfectly. The flight to Incheon Airport (I didn’t understand Ali Incheon) took about 2.5 hours. Naturally, they did not fly through the territory of the DPRK, so they made a small detour through China.
Inchon struck with its scale. Our guide Sanat met us. His very first phrase made me laugh a little: “My name is Sanat, I am from Uzbekistan. ”
The journey to Seoul by bus was about 40 minutes. They settled us in a hotel called Kobos, I didn’t specify about its star rating, but I think it doesn’t pull more than ***. The rooms are quite comfortable, there is free Internet, mini bar, bathroom-shower and everything is as it should be. Not vyalyas in vain in the hotel, went for a walk. Directly opposite the hotel, through a very narrow street, is the Wabar bar. Pleasant beer establishment, well decorated, with sports TV broadcasts. 0.5l. light live beer costs 3-4 dollars there.
Then Sanat took us to dinner, as he said, where pork is best cooked. We arrive at a small restaurant, the wallpaper is torn off, and not very clean, okay ...Immediately we were asked to take off our shoes, put on aprons and sit on the floor (! ). Okay...Take off your shoes...Put on...Sit down...There is a huge brazier on the table, a plate of kimchi (who doesn't know - this is spicy cabbage, their national food) and some other mini-dishes.
The waitresses bring us large pieces of bacon (this is pork), cut into layers and put on this brazier. The smell, I want to tell you, is so-so, and the boots-shoes taken off by 30 people, which were standing nearby, also did not ozonize the air. They brought more rice, not salty nifiga. We had to fry the salo ourselves, and then eat it, eat it with rice and drink it with water. Well, someone guessed to subtly hint: “What about vodka? ". They brought us vodka under the Korean name sojik (if I made a mistake in spelling or pronunciation, I'm sorry). It is probably 20 degrees, but there is something sincere in it. In order not to touch the topic of food and drink anymore, I will say right away ...During the week that I was in Korea, I was very hungry, but I could not eat either. I am not picky: I lived in a student hostel, served in the Navy, but did not take anything from my stomach except beer. Although, the breakfasts in the hotels where I was, I liked very much nothing and a couple more soups.
And speaking of alcohol… Seoul is a VERY drinker! Maybe they need much less beer or sojik than our brother, but I have never seen such an inhuman condition in my life ...(remember that I lived in a hostel? ). Let's go further...
After spending the night at the hotel, who was lucky with whom))), we boarded the bus and moved on. Our path ran through cities such as Suwon - Guangzhi (not the fact that he wrote correctly) - Gumi. In these cities, we visited the factories of one Korean holding, but none of you are interested. On the way, and it took a whole day, I noticed many interesting things. We passed a lot of orchards: apple, tangerine, etc. As for the roads ...Ideal asphalt and maximum information content for all road users, regardless of their race and religion.
On those sections of the road where repairs are required, discomfort is not felt in any way, there the road is simply being built nearby, the thickness of the asphalt layer being erected was also surprising. Landscapes are all standard Far Eastern… Hills, forests, fields…
We spent the night in the small town of Gumi. They settled us in a hotel called "GUMI HOTEL", by the way, a very wonderful place. On the territory there are fountains, beautifully trimmed trees, curly stones. It was a pity it was dark, I could not see well, and in the morning it was not up to it. The rooms are very decent and clean. And, of course, we went to look for places of ugly appearance. But we didn't find them, we just got lost. The city is very quiet. We found our way with the help of taxi drivers. And taxi drivers in Korea deserve a separate paragraph, which I will write later. Turned around, in general, all is well.
The next morning, after breakfast, we headed back to Seoul. The landscapes are the same. On the way we stopped to eat, drink, go to the toilet.
I bought a fried part of some animal on a stick, I could not eat it. The bus, to put it mildly, zadolbal. 3-4 hours and we are there. We settled in a hotel, sorry, I forgot which one, but also cozy, like the previous ones.
In the afternoon, according to the program, we have EverLand, a la Disneyland. The place after which I forgot about everything. A place where everyone can have fun: both a child and an adult. There is no point in talking about it, it is better to see it for yourself. I would only recommend that you muster up the courage and ride the roller coaster. Yes, even without attractions there is something to see, animals from parrots to polar bears, and it’s just nice to take a walk. I can't tell you the price tag, but I think it's about $30 a day. Wear a paper bracelet on your hand. This is a free pass to any attraction, as well as lunch and dinner. One day was clearly not enough for such a place. In the evening…
And in the evening and at night it was also not boring.
We wanted more, of course, the female half of our group, to some Korean night club. It was decided to get there in two groups: the first, which quickly gathered; the second which is going to long. Although I belonged to the group of the first, I went with the second (was there more of the fair sex? ). Sanat, our guide, went with the first group. I asked to write the name of the club in Korean on a piece of paper to show the taxi driver. We got there without complications. Approaching the entrance of the club, we met an evil security guard who did not let us in and swore at us strongly. To the question “Do you speak English? He didn’t even answer “know”, but grumbled something angrily in Korean. Fortunately, two young Koreans came out of the club to smoke, who spoke English and they explained to us that this club was exclusively for Koreans. Downcast a little, we began to describe to them the members of the first group, who, by all logic, should be there and they weakly pulled on the Koreans.
The answer is the same: a club for Koreans. Okay ...When asked where the other clubs are, the answer was that it was very far away, Seoul is still a metropolis. Having abandoned the idea of going to the club, they decided to return home. And now about the taxi drivers!
Any taxi, both in Seoul and in any small or large Korean city, has GPS facilities, that is, there should be no problem finding the right way from one point to another. But this problem exists! Yes, and the taxi drivers themselves, except for Korean, do not know other languages, so there is no way to communicate with them. So, the group that did not get into the club consisted of ten people, 7 of them were girls. Drunk (to say the least) Koreans, who crawled out of the club to take a sip of cigarette smoke and fresh air, began to pester our ladies. The three of us somehow blocked the way to them, but the situation was heating up.
A decision was hastily made to hail a taxi, and as the most fluent English speaker, I set about this thankless task. I showed the business card of our hotel to more than 10 (ten) taxi drivers, everyone shook their heads and left without listening to my suggestions in English-Russian-swearing. Since the situation near the club was beyond the knees, it was decided to go on foot and quickly. From the hotel to the club, we drove about 10 minutes, so not so far from it, we thought. But not everything is so simple. We got lost again. We walked along a very narrow street lined with drinking establishments. From where the half-sober residents of Seoul also fell out, not disregarding our girls. And the road home was very long and tangled. There were a lot of ideas on how to get to the hotel ...The wisest was this: break the window, the police will come and take us where we need to go ...But the question is “does anyone have a foreign passport with them? "Breaked everything.
))) That's why we decided to finish the taxi drivers. After the next showing of the hotel's business card and another negative waving of the head, the taxi driver felt my hand on his throat, with the finger of the other hand, without fear of breaking, I tapped on the GPS screen. And after the words "take the b * I", he still agreed. The next problem surfaced unexpectedly...It turned out that 10 people in one taxi do not fit. What it cost me to catch a second taxi is unlikely to be described in literary language, so let's leave this behind the scenes. Sitting in the cars, a little reassured, we set off towards new adventures!
We were just beginning to recognize familiar places. Both taxi drivers with us on board caught up with cars, exchanged a couple of phrases, turned off GPS synchronously and rushed in the completely opposite direction. To all persuasions, requests, pleas and crying, the taxi driver only shrugged inquiringly. Only aggression worked.
Having landed in a more or less familiar area, we moved in search of a house. By the way, we paid 200 rubles for each car at the most on the counter. ))) Having circled around the area, we did find a hotel! And in a nearby bar, we healed our spiritual wounds with heavy alcohol.
The next morning we started on a cursory tour of the city. We visited a 63-storey skyscraper, the view from it, I want to tell you, is awesome on all four sides. I could not appreciate the beauty of the emperor's palace, as they literally ran through it. We were in a hurry to get on the plane. Which…
Which was supposed to take us to the wonderful island of Chiju-do. The flight by domestic Korean airlines took no more than an hour. Paradise place this island. About 200 thousand years ago, there was a volcanic eruption here, so parts of the coast with the remnant of coked volcanic lava have been preserved. Very beautiful and unusual, even for a person who grew up on the sea.
Very convenient, sorry I didn't get to use it. From our group, one girl with an oriental appearance barely escaped the clutches of a pimp waiter, so girls, be careful. The second joke happened when I, excuse me, went to help, excuse me, the need. I go out, which means that after this meeting, a decently dressed man is standing at the exit, holding out a wet towel to me, and after I rubbed my hands with them, he gives me a bottle of berry juice. Naturally, I drank it in one gulp. After that, five people of Korean nationality surrounded me and “asked” me for five dollars for these simple services. After looking around and making sure that none of my own could see me, I paid. The next day, my other companions shared the same observation with me. Tourism is an industry! And we were deceived at every turn. But not in a hotel. Our hotel was beyond praise!
A few words about the hotel… It is called the JeJu Grand Hotel.
The rooms are clean, comfortable, friendly staff. In this hotel, for the first time in my life, I was addressed as "sir. " ))))
On the second day we went to the southern part of the island. I fell in love with this place even more ...White sand, azure sea, cleanliness around, a can of beer in my hand ...Isn't this happiness?
I spent only an hour and a half in the Khalim national pack. And did not pass even a third of its territory. I recommend this place to every mortal. Dinner that day was at an exceptional restaurant. This time Sanat did not deceive. Fresh seafood buffet and unlimited beer for only ten dollars. Imagine the state in which we were carried out from there ...Nevertheless, after such an attraction, we managed to visit the “Museum of Love and Health”. More expans there, of course, concerns love ...And not at all platonic ... )))) And the next day you need to fly away ...
Parting with this island was unbearable.
As well as with South Korea, although I really wanted dumplings and borscht with sour cream. This is a wonderful country with its pride, values, with its shortcomings.
Sorry, I'm not fond of shopping, so I can't give advice on this topic.
Conclusion: There are two South Koreas. One is during the day. The second is at night. If you don't have a bullet in your head like I do, limit your movement around Seoul at night. But at least once in your life, visit this country, you will not regret it.