Sunday, August 18, 2013

PhotoBlog #8: To Powhang See with love

A good friend of mine invited me over to join the Presbyterian Church Community's outing to Powhang See last week (August 15) during the SK's Independence Day. Liezel initially said it was just an outing by the river and the name was a mystery to both her and me. I accepted the invitation not only because it was a way of escaping the heat. But more than that, I took it as a sign of meeting new Filipinos.. or friends and expand my experience here the country.

I packed my bags a night before but still felt like to doing the last minute recheck of my stuff the next day (which is what I have exactly done). I left for the Yeongyongsil Bus Stop at 7:30 in the morning and got at the meeting place (Filipino Community Catholic Center) on time. Liezel picked me up from the center and ushered me to a small street where the Presbyterian Church was located. There I met a number of Filipinas together with their children, some Koreans and the pastor himself.

There was a special for our trip and the lead pastor made sure we were comfortable and provided us both food for the stomach and soul. Our bus rolled at 9am, the sun already beating hard. If anything, it only made us even more eager to be in the water and have the time of our lives.
 
I with the fellow attendees

Taking picture is a fad here.

one of the Presbyterian Churches in
Daegu


Would this be the continuation of the river at the area where we live?

Our bus stop is an mecca for expensive stuff lol.
My friend Liezel and her son, Soohyun in stripped shrit.


Present!

the good ol' pastor of the community

 The morning snack (left  provided by the church) and egg that Liezel bought from the bus stop. 

This is what I like.. sight seeing.


This is what you call color coordination.  We got off the bus after an hours drive to have lunch at the canteen near the factory. The food was plenty and absolutely delicious.


lunch served. I took a handful of every food they served, including kimchi. We boarded back to our bus after our lunch. Pohwang Beach here we go


The Powhang See Beach. Crowded and people just enjoying the water.

and what a better way to curve the heat is the lovely and succulent watermelon

Good ol' pastor rendering us a song

Powhang See to remember
 It was pretty hot when we got to the beach. We settled in one of the cottages and waited until the sun was a little bit more friendly. Most opted to let their children have fun. Liezel and I on the other hand though enjoyed ourselves in the water. The Powhang See faces towards the Pacific, the water was about the color of sand. There are a number of things you can do especially if you are a big money spender. You can either ride a banana boat, ski or flying fish. As for Liezel and me, we simply enjoyed what Mother Sea had to offer and that was soaking ourselves in a very cool and refreshing water. 


 



Riding with Style in SK

These past few weeks have kept me from writing my experiences here in SK (I've been trying to faithfully stick with my morning exercises, hanging out with friends, daily house chores and more.. which also includes reading books and studying).

Without batting an eyelash, let's talk about public (land) transportation system of this country and why it is whole lot better than in the Philippines. Here are the reasons why:

Old train model on display which is just right in front of Seoul Museum.
Getting around in the country can be done either by buses, subway system and trains. They are very reliable, dependable and run on schedule.

There are two train systems in Korea- the KTX and Korail which are managed by Korail company I guess you can say.

If you are into long distance, slow travel with a little bit of country sight seeing, then Korea Light Rail or Korail is for you.It runs on a regular speed (pretty much like our train system in the Philippines, only that SK's look absolutely much much better). I and my husband took a ride once together when we went to Gumi. The tickets can be purchased online or if you are not a tech savvy, you can simply get it from the station itself. Our tickets altogether cost about 8k (4k a piece) for a one way ride. The receipts we got (which is also true as with any other Korail passengers) bear the train number and ride schedule. The trains here are very precise so you'll need to wait at the designated platform area otherwise, you'd miss the ride and say goodbye to your won.

Korail station and a lot of walk in passengers purchasing KTX tickets

On the other hand, if you just want to cut the long hours of travel short, then you should take the KTX. Like with Korail, you can make reservations online or purchase it at the station. My husband got ours online and we boarded the train from Seoul to Chilgok.

Both KTX and Korail have information bulletin board which let you know your train number's arrival and departure. There are also plenty of benches and vendo machined installed within the station and on the platforms. There is also a number of small fast food and some classy restaurants in case you really want to have a heavy set of meal.


Here are some snippets of our KTX from Seoul to place of destination (not Busan though). 

Televisions mounted on the trains' ceilings for everyone to see.
These show the train schedule for a few minutes then switches back to some TV shows
or movies. If you are wondering whether you'd be obliged to listen to it, don't worry. Each seat is equipped with headset socket where you can plug yours in case you want to listen to the show or what not.
 
 We were the first passengers to board train 353 so we basically took our time to take pictures of here and there.


I demanded to sit by the window (lol). There are still no other passengers yet.

And there we were.. we decided to take our touristy shot and incidentally block the entrance way. hehe. Do you see the lady in blue uniform? That is the KTX (Korail has it too) stewardess. They assist passengers boarding the train, count the number of people inside and like in an airplane, sell food and refreshment on trolley.


 We headed back to our seats and got ourselves settled. There were few magazines at the backseat pouch right in front of me ..so I just fiddled with it around. Few more minutes after, we felt our KTX rev up and head towards its point of destination.





The other mode of transportation are buses. They are everywhere and have designated bus stops. If you can't read Hanggul and want to ride one for your point destination, you can just go by the number. There are some stops that are shared by a number of buses. Each bus stops has its own bulletin information routes (which is written in Korean..but there are some stops though that are printed in English) and led bus stop schedules which announces their arrivals. How cool is that?

Just beside the driver's window (inside the bus) is a bus card scanner.  Passengers can opt for a convenient way of traveling by purchasing bus cards and have it scanned on that small machine. A voice prompt will let you know if your payment for the fare went through. If you missed it or don't speak Korean, you can read the balance on the small tick above the scanning machine. On the other hand, if you want to pay cash, just tell the driver your point of destination, put your money in the change box which is right in front of the entrance way and get your change. Harry yourself to any of the seats and voila, you're on a roll.



I'm not sure if you can see it, there is a lit button on the window where the two guys just across my husband's are sitting. You can press the button to let the driver know you are getting off at the next or coming station. It's a whole convenient rather than what we do in the Philippines where you tap the roof or knock the railing etc. All buses in SK are airconditioned and the coolest place to be in during summer (lol).


 The yellow cards are we use to get around here in Daegu by bus. You have to pay about 2500 won (I think) as deposit and extra cash for your bus fares. You can also use the cards supposedly to pay your taxi or KTX rides or even make a phone call using it. Quite honestly, we haven't tried that ... just yet.

In case you have to take two bus rides in order to get to your point of destination while at the same try as much to save money, just be sure you swipe the card before you get off the bus. Doing so will allow you to ride the next bus for free. You would have to do this within the limited time (more or less 15 minutes) otherwise, you would have to pay another 1100 won for the fare.


The subways i also popular among the natives and foreigners alike. Like buses and trains, they are very convenient and easy to use. They have bulletin boards which let you know which bus to take. You can also do connecting trips quite easily. The subway station is equipped with almost everything from bazaar, fast food shops, music, parlor... everything! 

This is the bus card that my husband purchased in Seoul. You can load it up and if you're done using it, return the card to any station within the city and then get your deposit back.

 If you still can't get the hang of these transportation systems, you can just might as well use taxis. Taxis in SK are classy in a sense that their very clean, drivers dressed nicely and there is a meter to guarantee the exact fare you ought to pay. The flag down rate is 2500 won (I think) and that is for good for the first 5 (10? I'll have to check that again) or so minutes. Since most Korean taxi drivers don't speak English, be sure you have printed out the address both in English and Korean as well. That will help you get a smoother and comfortable ride rather than motioning your arms and hands to driver just to spell out where you are suppose to go.

(there's always room for editing.. will update soon)




Sunday, August 4, 2013

Anna meets Kabayan

I've finally forced myself to take a Korean class in a Filipino community which was 20 minutes from where I live. The first time I went, I was all too surprised that the room was empty save from a Korean guy who would be my teacher. I was initially disappointed since I thought there would be more of us i n the room. But didn't let it bother me as much. My main goal after all was to learn the language.

The second time I went in, I peered through the glass window and saw my teacher writing on the white board. I knew I was late but didn't think it would be that much. He was already halfway with the lesson with a Filipina sitting on the second row. I naturally apologized and sat opposite to her.  

The class continued and I tried as much to catch up. Liezel, my classmate knows fairly a lot of Korean words. Whenever my teacher said something in Korean, I would look at her and she would try as best as she could to explain it to me. We did that throughout the session, helping each out. It made the class even more interesting I have to say.  I think that gave me the enthusiasm to be more focused with the language. (I might even try to condition myself later today to browse the text book that my teacher provided me).

After class, Liezel and I exchanged our contact numbers and chatted a little bit more. It was very nice actually to have a fellow to talk with. Without beating an eyelash, she invited me to come with her and attend a mass at a church not far from the Filipino Community Center (FCC). She explained that a number of Filipinos go there and the mass itself was actually.. delivered in English ..and it's fun and enjoyable. I said yes to her being that she was so kind to me plus the fact I didn't have anything else much to do.

The church community Liezel talked about was within a walking distance. The church itself (I think it's called Presbyterian-- sorry, I left the pamphlet I was meaning to bring with me home) was huge in comparison to some I've seen so far here in Daegu. Even though it's hidden a little bit away from the main street, it is still very accessible either by bus, car or even subway.

Liezel took the lead and brought us down to the basement (or first floor) of the church. The pastor (a Korean woman) was sitting on a bench with a Filipina. She immediately recognized my classmate and they had a chitchat for a bit and then she introduced me to the pastor. We exchanged pleasantries and I've to say her English was very commendable.

The good ol' pastor lead us to the hall which was beaming with the chorale's voices. We sat not far from the door and waited for the ceremony to start. There were a lot of Filipinos and all of them were friendly. My classmate introduced me to some and then we settled ourselves until the mass started.


The mass began at 1:00. Few more Filipinos plus English speakers came in. I felt both happy and sad at the same time when the worship song was being sang by everyone. I mean, it's one of those things I've done before with my mum back in the days when we were quite active with El Shaddai... moving on..



After the mass, all the new comers, including yours truly were called in to come in front. Liezel explained to me that we were supposed to introduce ourselves and that's what we did. Afterwards, we all received a welcoming gift from the church (isn't that cool or what?). Then the hall was fired up with another very warm and friendly singing from the regulars while they marched towards us and shook our hands.


The next thing we did was to set the tables for lunch (and I believe the Presbyterian church does that every Sunday). How many churches can actually do that for their parishioners in the Philippines?

Everyone was busy. They volunteered themselves to prep up the table with plates, spoons and chopsticks while others handled the food and more. My classmate followed suit. She busied herself laying the plates on the table while at the same time checked on me if I felt comfortable or what. She motioned me to take a chair next to hers and her family. The whole preparation was done very fast because of the collective effort.


I sat next to my classmate and her family (who were already at the church by the time we arrived). We sat and conversed over a very hearty and sumptuous meal. The next thing happened was that everyone was taking pictures of friends, of other people, of food, etc. I.. not wanting to be left behind, did the same thing.

No man is an island.

Everyone had a role to play and they did this not because they were obliged
or what have you. They helped because that's what their hearts said.

Food for the body after you have fed your soul.

Meeting new friends. Moi with my classmate Liezel, another fellow kabayan and Jonathan.
I found another friend in the name of Liezel.
What an eventful day. I went out to learn the language. I came home having met a lot of people and found a friend.

Photo Blog #7:A quick escape from the city

Moi and our dear friend, Sunny at Unam Lake, Chilgok
Living in the city for some months now is quite tiring indeed. Fortunately, Daegu is practically embraced and neighbored with numerous mountains and lakes. These are quick escape from the literally hot (summer season) city. Our friend Sunny, as always, graciously brought us to one of a popular destinations in Chilgok (a neighboring town from ours) called Unam Lake.


 There are a number of ways to get to Unam Lake (but I have to ask Sunny though). We went there by car right from the restaurant where we had our sumptuous lunch. It was quite an adventure though, I have to say. One of the entrance ways to Unam Lake was off the main road and the road itself towards the lake was so narrow and pretty much beat up. Sunny had to drive real slow lest she scathe her car.

Mini amphitheater
It was however late in the day when we got there and the sun was just lashing its tremendous sweltering heat. We walked towards the amphitheater fronting the lake. There was a little bit of shade near the stage but they were good enough to ward off the heat.

The lake, Sunny explained, was a natural made environment. A lot of people, young and old come to this area to relax. The trees, especially along the slopes of the neighboring mountain become even more majestic when spring or autumn comes.




Photo Express

Visitors can walk along the board walk or way towards the food of the mountain. The lake itself is patted on the surface with water grasses (for lack of a better term to describe them)and lotuses.

Dancing water (fountains lol) shot up in the air and spews the living flying organism with gentle taps on their wings.

Opposite of the lake is the mini amphitheater and far beyond benches shaded by the trees for everyone. You wouldn't have to worry about food and refreshment as the park has numerous mini food and refreshment stalls.

Us donning a Korean look. ^^

Finally relented our fingers do peace signs.

The pigeons love to stay as well away from the sun.


Captured moment with the love of my life. (kilig kilig)


and this is how it looks like without us in the way. 

We finally went to a hut which was at the foot of the hill.
The adjumas didn't seem to mind us barging in.

Us in a playful mode.

My take of the lake.




Staying cool in the hut.
 Hubby and moi with a beautiful background. Thanks Unam Lake.


In the not so distant reverie...
is a wonderful nature for you and me.
dragon flies dance.. the lotuses bloom..
visitors entranced..
to that not so distant reverie.