The big change this year is that I have my own transportation in the form of a stylish and super fast Daelim Magma...okay, so I may have overstated things a little. It's more like a lawnmower with a vinyl seat. Still, it's fun to bomb around on it, and get to see places I'd never see, were I to rely on public transportation.
A couple of weeks ago I had half a day off thanks to the ministry sending me to a conference "Educating Green Cities"...which they mistakenly thought was about education. In reality, it was about eco-friendly initiatives in cities. Oops. There were about 8 of us teachers there lost in a sea of local and international delegates, pretty much all of them mayors and city planners. Oh well, we had to sit through 90 minutes of lectures a day for two days (on stuff that has nothing to do with anything in our lives...we're thinking it was either a mistake because of the word "education" or a deliberate attempt to boost the international attendance numbers of the conference), then we buggered off and did our own thing.
So I headed south of Masan to the Gapo area, one I have heard much about but have only been once (and even then I had no idea where I was, as it was pretty early on in my stay in Korea).
To my great surprise, I found a restaurant that had views that could have passed for a tropical resort:
Same place, different view...toward the big famous bridge in Masan:
A good spot for a drink and a snack:
Later on in the same ride, I found something cool...a trio of Samsung electric cars!! ...they even had Samsung tape decks. So I took a picture of them with my Samsung phone...oh Korea! But yeah, these things were TINY! And - interestingly enough - they had windows at the BOTTOM of the doors - but the real side windows were zip-up plastic dealios. Makes sense, right?
This guy had three (I've never seen them anywhere else, he may have the only ones left in existence)...I'd totally rock one!! I haven't been able to find any info on these on the interwebs...so, if anyone knows anything about these, please let me know!
More Korean stuff. Yesterday, Anthony (my new riding buddy, and fellow proud Daelim owner) and I headed up to Uiryeong to hang out with Lynda and Evan at the (are you ready for this?) Uiryeong Watermelon Festival! That's right. I couldn't make this stuff up.
They had all the usual stuff you would expect at such an event. Watermelons. Watermelon carving contest. Watermelon jam. Bull fighting. Yellow watermelons. Wait...what? Yeah, you read that right. Bull fighting. No family event celebrating a large fruit is complete without two two-thousand-pound hairy beasts going at it.
The match is considered finished when one of the bulls runs away, crying like a little girl, presumably to complain in the locker room that if he didn't have a cold, he could have, like, totally kicked the other bull's ass.
Check it...yellow watermelon...it was pretty good, kind of like a normal watermelon with a hint of cantaloupe.
Another "must" for all Korean gatherings are couples wearing matching clothing. They're usually pretty boring, but every now again you find gems. Like these two with their obviously knockoff Adidas sweaters...please note the matching fans. The only thing missing from this perfect, happy Korean couple is the girl's purse hanging from the man's shoulder (another favourite around here):
Later that night, we headed back to Samgye (by the way, I live there now, new apartment!!! I'll have a video of it one of these days)...where Nick and Sarah hosted another one of their awesome potlucks, followed by bowling (I rolled a 101 or something like that - I broke 100, that's all I know haha. Pretty sure I'm going to turn professional any day now!!!). Among other things, I also demonstrated the proper way to use your helmet as a purse (there's a waterbottle, a pair of gloves, and other random stuff stashed away in there, using the chin strap as a convenient carry handle):
Today, Anthony and I saddled up again, intent on finding a way to get from Masan to Haeundae Beach in Busan. But, we gave up as soon as we got into Busan and took a wrong turn that took us up a massively steep dead-end road on a mountain. Not ones to be discouraged we decided to ride around Gimhae to see what we could find. Both of us being nerds, we were elated to find the Observatory...so up we rode (on a wickedly fun twisty road!)
This one's for my dad :)
The view from the top was breathtaking, but sadly it was an overcast day, so it doesn't really show it...we're definitely going back on a sunny day...the view, with one of the buildings (this building was hollow with a bunch of catwalks on 4 or 5 levels running around inside, where kids could go and check out all sorts of educational stations). The protruding thing on the top was a cool little viewing platform!
Of course no roadtrip is complete unless you have to stop a few times with a map/GPS and scratch your head trying to figure out where you took a wrong turn and just how far off-course you are. Anthony with the Daelims (his in the front, the blue one in the back is mine)...he rides a ferocious fire-breathing 140cc Daystar II, which annihilates my 125cc Magma.
By the way...riding to Busan is totally not worth it. It's more expensive than the bus and it takes longer, since the bus is a straight-shot on the express highway (no motorbikes allowed), where the Kia coaches do something like 280 km/h, or at least that's what it seems like. The Magma is happy if it can sustain 90 km/h on flat ground. Uphills are an exercise in frustration, though the dropping note of the struggling engine as the RPMs drop with each metre of hard-earned altitude can be used as an accurate altimeter. However, I am proud to report that it can break 100. Downhill. On a good day. If I haven't had a big breakfast. But hey...speed is not why I bought this thing...it's an absolute blast to cruise around on twisty back roads or for going into town!
Other random junk. I've also started gathering stuff for the upcoming cycling season!
A couple of pink Bontrager bottle cages (they look dead sexy), a Bontrager under-saddle bag (fits basic tools and my camera), Bontrager bike computer (that displays the temperature rather accurately!), Park Tools (ahhh...love those guys!) patches, and perhaps the coolest thing: CO2 tire inflation. The red/white/gold silver thing is an adjustable valve for using CO2 cartridges (same as you'd find in compressed air-powered BB guns) to inflate tires in an emergency. I also got two canisters of CO2 with a mount that lets me attach up to 4 canisters to the frame...no more carrying stupid pumps!
I've been riding my bike to work pretty much every day, and it's an awesome way to kick off my day! Random...how's this for a clash of worlds? (Went shopping and didn't have any more room in my backpack...)
What else? Oh yeah...last month they were holding federal elections in Korea...and people were campaigning everywhere, including most major intersections. They went all out, including these whose truck was outfitted with a gigantic LCD screen, a huge LED display and a concert venue-sized stereo. They were blasting music you could hear literally a block and a half away...at 6:45 a.m. Right next to a MASSIVE apartment complex (we're talking 10 buildings of 12+ floors each). That would be reason enough for me not to vote for them; I can't imagine how many thousands of people they woke up that morning.
What else? Right...my hard-working co-teacher. Asleep at the back of the class. Ugh...so utterly useless. Although, I should give her lazy ass credit, at least she showed up this time. This is, sadly enough, the most she has ever done in class.
Also. Don't mess with pine trees in Korea. I'm serious. Their pinecones are ridiculously strong. This one bent a 1/4" thick steel grate!!!
That's it from me. Thanks for reading, and I'll be back again soon...two more things. Musical suggestion: if you like hard rock with a touch of crazy and a whole lot of originality, check out System of a Down's "Radio / Video"...I've had it on repeat for a week or two.
Finally...a picture...skyscraper in Busan.
Cheerio!
T
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