It's officially a "free day", in that we are free to choose our own activities and there was no guided tour event for today. There are four more guided tours scheduled in the 6 days we have left - Friday was supposed to be a visit to the Pyeong Chang winter Olympics site, but it's a three-hour bus ride, one way, and most of the Olympic venues have already been dismantled so that the resorts could go back to being private skiing and activities resorts. So, the vote was to skip the 6-hour ride, go to another, better mountainous vacation spot called Nami Island in Chuncheon. It's just an hour and a half away, so that saves a lot of time and avoids a lot of traffic headaches.
As I've noted before, the traffic here is UNBELIEVABLE! There is traffic congestion all the time, well, at least when we've been on the road. The exponential explosion of cars, trucks, and other traffic has created a level of congestion that rivals anything in the USA, be it LA or NYC, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, Miami... I've been through those and these are just as or more congested and stress aggravating as any. And, the drivers here have the "All American" attitude - "Me First", "Get out of my way", "Are you F---ing me?", and, of course, the HORN makes you right! Oh Boy!!!
And, in a city of 27 million, with a massive, egotistical car culture (Thanks to America!!!), there are millions of cars on the road and more being added every day! Really good for the car manufacturers and oil/gas companies, but, well, there really is no good side effect that I can think of right now.
The Korean peoples and government really missed a chance to expand public transportation and the options to bring in other modes of mobility. The infrastructure is totally overloaded. All the problems of the Malthusian prophecies of overpopulation are becoming reality right here in Korea.
Well, we, really I chose a trip to Busan, the city of my last memory of my biological/natural Appa, my Father. Each trip is a little more closure of a very deep chasm in my soul and my psyche. This was my fourth trip back. I got to explore a little more of my memories neighborhood, Ami Dong, with each trip.
We booked ourselves "First Class" on the bullet train from Seoul to Busan. First Class? Hey, why not? Better seats, and a few other better accommodations. And, it's far cheaper than a cross-Pacific first class!!!
We had to get up early to make the show time. Thankfully, there is no security check, just a ticket check by the conductor. But, the big event kept me sleeping lightly and we were up early. We got there with plenty of time.
There are special accommodations for service members at nearly every public transportation site. This is the Armed Forces lounge at the Seoul Train Station
There were several breakfasts options. This "Paris Croissant" is an upscale pastry and coffee shop.
We chose McDonalds just for the heck of it since we hadn't had any McD's in awhile.
The train schedule is similar to an airport. Each "flight" is listed, with a track number and departure time. Quite easy overall and a lot less stressful than anticipated. But, heck the first time is always the hardest and most imposing.
There were 18 tracks! Everything from Bullet Trains to local runs.
Waiting for the trains...
In case you don't know where you are!
A sleek machine is ready to go!
Nice seats... had to be, since the trip took over 2 and half hours, even with a train that can go nearly 200 mph in the open stretches. We did hit 186 mph during one stretch. But, there were 5 stops which took more time than expected.
An electronic sign at one of the stops...
The views were interesting, with large, congested cities filled with high rise condos surrounded by open areas of farmlands and rice fields.
A bullet train headed in the opposite direction.
After 2 hours and 47 minutes, we arrived at the Busan Train station.
The station is totally new compared to the one that I knew as a child. Both Seoul and Busan have built modern, state of the art train stations that resemble airports. They get a lot of use. The trip to Busan used to take about 3 hours by car when I was stationed here in the 80's. Now? It takes nearly 5, sometimes 6 hours on "normal" days. During the holidays it could take up to 10 hours! 10 HOURS!!! Wowsers.
Busan is the second largest city in Korea, with between 3.5 to 6 million people, depending on what areas you count into "Busan" proper. The land is mountainous with many little mountains and hills spread out in a haphazardly way. These hills and mini-mountains create channels that force the population and traffic into little valleys and pathways. So, the traffic and congestion here is just as bad as Seoul due to the topography.
Busan has tried to alleviate some of the bottlenecks by building massive bridges and many bridge bypasses. This is one of the giant bridges.
My Sweetheart in front of the memorial photos that cover some new construction in front of the train station. There was construction going on all over the place... as a note, the first President of the Republic of Korea had a Caucasian wife.
Syngman Rhee was a South Korean politician, the first and the last Head of State of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, and President of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. His three-term presidency of South Korea was strongly affected by Cold War tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Wikipedia
Born: April 18, 1875, Pyongsan County, North Korea
Died: July 19, 1965, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Height: 165 cm
Spouse: Franziska Donner (m. 1934–1965), Seungseon Park (m. 1890–1910)
Education: Princeton University (1910), Harvard University (1908), George Washington University (1907)
Some of the traffic on a rainy day...
We got a taxi and he was professional, safe driver who took us to the Ami Dong Elementary School, situated near the top of Seo Gu district. It is a very, very steep hill, or a mini mountain. The climb is arduous even in a car.
We got out of the taxi and began the trek up the hill as we explored the neighborhood.
A public map of the Ami Dong neighborhood.
The photo does not do justice to the 30-degree climb in some areas.
You can see some of the steepness in this photo
A view from a gap over to the other hillside from Ami Dong.
My Darling is such a good trooper... we took frequent breaks, but she made it up and up as we climbed the neighborhood street.
There was a modified Buddhist temple site in the neighborhood.
We came to a mini-park where "Ami Dong" and "Miss Ami Dong" where sitting on a ledge. These two statues honor the scholarship of the local students. Education is the only way out of this tough, poor neighborhood. The people know this and push education for their children.
A view toward the harbor from the mini-park.
This is the view I have remembered all of my life. This is how I know this is my neighborhood, despite many, many passing years. The view is nearly unforgettable. That high rise blocks the view of the Busan harbor, but it's there none the less.
These frozen students will be here long after I'm gone. I hope they pass their university exams!
Some of the local buildings... this is not a very prosperous nor wealthy neighborhood. Poverty is a difficult thing to break out of for anyone, anywhere.
There's that view from near the top of the hill.
There was a memorial wall with some powerful photos to remind the people of their sorrowful past.
After a bit of exploring around Ami Dong streets, we headed back down the hill to downtown Busan
We went to the Busan Tower for a short visit, but the rains, the clouds, the stormy skies all seemed to reflect my inner turmoil swirling through my mind and my soul. The flashes of memories and dreams mix with strong wishes and wistful dreams. The many misty drops drip and drop on our umbrellas as an unsteady rhythm of our hopes.
Then we headed to the Jalgachi fish market on the pier that faces the Busan harbor. I will add more photos later, but this is a place to be seen for sure. Over a kilometer of fish stalls on four floors! That's a lot of fish!
Of course, if you're at one of the largest fish markets in the world, you've just gotta have fresh seafood for lunch. And, so we stopped by one of the many, many seafood restaurants that line the streets along Jalgachi market. Here's my Sweetheart with the beginnings of our meal. There was some great grilled fish on that plate.
Then the fish stew came out, which cooked on a portable gas cooker at the table.
Yep, the fish was fresh and delicious!
Then we walked along the market floor, lined on both sides, on four floors, with seafood, fish, shellfish, and other things most people never get to see... wow!
The view from the fish market towards Yeong Do island.
The front of the fish market
My darling on the quay by the harbor.
A map of the local area.
The Yeong Do bridge with a set of statues that reminds the younger generation of the millions of refugees of refugees who came to Busan from the war up north. The Busan perimeter is a famous military holding line where democracy faced communist aggressors and held them at bay for several desperate and deadly weeks.
This is the Yeongdo Bridge, a drawbridge that used to be the only connection between the mainland and the Yeongdo island, which is now very, very developed now too!
We explored the Nampo underground market and, due to my miscalculation, we walked way too far, but eventually got back to the Busan train station for our trip back to Seoul. The return trip took just 2 hours and 20 minutes, a bit faster at night with one less stop than the southbound trip.
My darling in front of the SK building which has a dramatic light show on the side of the building. We caught a taxi and came back to Yongsan and the safety and comfort of Dragon Hill Lodge.
This was a deeply emotional and moving trip back to my past. I can not thank my Sweet Darling enough for her support, understanding, and acceptance of my wild and weird past.
I have no expectations of ever finding my family or family members. Too many years have passed, too many things have happened, and, most importantly, it is no longer important to me that I reconnect or reunite with any of my family. Still, this trip totally reminded me of how lucky and blessed I am to have had the life that I have had thus far. I have been truly God guided and protected to have lived such an incredible and unbelievable life. From the poverty of Ami Dong, to the nearly 3 years of orphanhood, to the miraculously being found half frozen in the boxcar when I was nearly at the door to death, the unbelievable sequence of events and series of life highlights that took me to America, gave me a solid grounding in the Bible, a total surprise admission to the Naval Academy, surviving the four years of turbulent and trouble-filled life transition that combined military training with some challenging academics, an amorphous graduation, a totally life changing visit back to Korea, return and then some difficult and most challenging flight training, getting my wings, flight duty as an instructor, rescue pilot, ASW pilot, recruiter, joint officer, rescue pilot again, joint officer again, fixed-wing pilot, getting my ATP, retiring and then teaching middle school, becoming an administrator, raising three wonderful kids with a solid partner, opening a restaurant, overcoming or at least surviving disasters of many colors, settling in a wonderful place, retiring from the work world, getting and surviving cancer, and now making each day meaning and memorable with a most wonderful and understanding partner who brings love and light into everyday of my life... my life has been good and I am so looking forward to whatever adventure my God has for us.
Well, that's it for now.
I hope you are all well, healthy in every way, and happy as you can be in all the ways you want to be!
Much love and prayers for all of you!!
Casey
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