Humming bug

Yesterday I visited the Busan Museum. Half of it is closed for renovation, naturally. The other half tells about the invasion by the Japanese in the late 1400's and their demand for trading rites in the late 1500's. it seems that history repeats itself, although that wasn't mentioned at the Modern History Museum, that I could see. 
Next door is the Cultural Centre set in handsome gardens with classical music playing. There I spotted a tiny (3/4 ins) hummingbird feeding on the P. virginiana nectar. But when I looked closer, it had antennae so must be a moth or butterfly. But it had the blurringly fast wing, the upright pose, the tilted up tail of a hummingbird. There was a larger version working the zinnias. I will have to ask the "what bug is that" blog to identify them.

The CC has a great view over the city and the UN Memorial Cemetery of Korea.

 I walked down to look at the UN sculpture garden and discovered a delightful botanic gardens with every thing neatly labelled in Latin and Korean. No English signs anywhere or on the map but this is it:

Fisheries Science Museum

I wonder if there is such a museum in Australia. Unfortunately the one here didn't have information in English. We struggled along by looking at the displays and wanting more detail. They farm sea weed, as well as fish and shellfish, at various sites around the country. We weren't the only people in the museum. There were hordes of little school kids having a lovely time and behaving more or less well (depending on the group.)

We also visited a temple on the edge of the sea. 

Modern History Museum

I spent the morning in the museum which is in the centre of town, and there was just one other visitor. Signs were in Korean, Japanese and English so there was a lot to learn about Busan from the time when the Japanese demanded trading rights in 1877 and the present day. It is housed in the building the Japanese built for their organisation that took over farming land here. After WWII the US used it as the American Culture centre until a patriot burned it in 1982. . . an appropriate building for the purpose.

As an antidote, I wandered around endless markets. I found the fish markets which are huge. This city of 2million eats heaps more fish than we do in all of Oz, I suspect.

Jo is taking the day off from the conference, so he will join my rambles.

Fabric heaven

It is always fascinating to wander around the food hall of an upmarket department store. I found these outraged fish:

Outside on the street was this superhero pigeon on every fire truck:

I found the textile market. There are four floors filled will all kinds of finery goodness. No wonder I couldn't find the haberdashery dpt in the fancy department store. If only we had one of their floorsfull!

Lots  of traditional costumes and in bits so you could design your own. With so mich choice, how do they manage.

Flying noodle bowl

Yesterday I caught the local bus to Taejongdae with is a peninsular which guards the Busan harbour. It is a nature reserve/recreation area. Considering the number of people that it serves, it is very unspoiled.

On the way I had lunch and chose by pointing at a reasonable price. I got a delicious soup with a little beef and lots of vegetables including seaweeds and ferns in a spicy, garlicky broth. It came with four different pickles, rice and kim chi, of course. I didn't notice the garlic chunks until I got to the bottom of the bowl.

The walk around the park must be heaven in spring when the azaleas, cherry blossom, camellias, etc are in flower. The camellias have seed buds as big as plums.

This was the first time I have looked down on a lighthouse.

On the bus trip I noticed this noodle bowl of o building beside a cruise liner berth. It is the   National Maritime Museum. I am tempted to visit just to see the building up close.

Sorting day, Monday

Yesterday we started our Busan routine: Jo at his conference and me wandering around.

We tried to organise a special combined ticket deal that includes Korean trains, the ferry to Japan and Japanese trains. It was introduced when there was football in Korea some years ago. But you can only buy it in country, for cash, in time for a travel agent to mail the tickets to you. We weren't prepared to risk the mail from Seoul to a hotel that doesn't speak English well enough to read their own guest register. (Jo's co-author, Farhat was told last night that we had not checked in.)

We found the conference venue. It is a huge place in the middle of a new high rise area which reminds me of the smarter suburbs around Washington DC. I cannot imagine how such a place could be squeezed into Darling Harbour. As it is about an hour from our hotel, by metro, we decided to hang around for the opening ceremonies in the evening. (So that dress won't get worn.) To fill the time, I visited the Busan Art Museum which was just across the road but still I missed it. It was empty. The next exhibition will open on August 31. It has 11 exhibition halls which makes you wonder what kind of shows get installed.

At the opening we were entertained by the Korean Angels who did that glide in the lovely,  long robes and flashed their fans in a way that would drive a butterfly to distraction.

Our way home was enlivened by my leaping over turnstyles. We couldn't decide which track we should be on and I, stupidly, fed my ticket into the gate. Farewell ticket. Several nice staff ladies waved us through with their magic cards. We got to the right place in the long run but there was no nice lady. So I jumped over. After my last visit to Seoul in winter, I was rather dreading the smell of garlic in the subway. But either I am part of the smell by now or the air conditioning really works well.

Temples and tombs

We took the bus to Bulguksa temple. To was soon out of the town zipping past rice paddies rimmed with very healthy chilli plants. Each temple in the complex had a monk chanting and a man whose job was to keep visitors shoes neatly lined up at the side doors.

I couldn't decide if this was an aardvark or a pig.

This was definitely a camera hog.

We waited for almost an hour at the place the incoming driver had pointed at to catch the bus back to town. The bus that arrived whisked us off to the top of the mountain. I should have suspected something was different when he put on driving gloves. There is a large statue of Buddha further up the path. We didn't get off the bus. Just enjoyed the drive back down and caught the right bus back to town. Travel is full of adventures.

Next we visited a site that has some restored pavilions around a pond. All sorts of things have been salvaged from the mud at the bottom of the pond. A great place for a party.

The area is studded with burial mounds. We found one you can walk into. The king was buried in a wooden room with all his best goods and the lot had stones piled all over. Grass, and trees eventually, grew on top. Strangely enough, many survive intact, treasure and all. The Buddhists introduced cremation and the aristocracy got wealthy because all that stuff got shared around instead of being buried every generation. And that is my theory of the fall if the Silla empire.

Gyeongju

Well, I seem to be able to add photos. I am not quite sure how I manage it. For ages (years) I have had a Picassa account for a reason never understood. I think the option to accept it appeared when I was running out of free band width on the old cattery blog. It was a way to get more space. So I did it, and promptly forgot about it because it didn't affect the blog. 
Now, when I want to add photos, one option is from my Picassa account. Somehow I can upload photos to it from the iPad. And hence to Blogspot. Marvellous. But it still doesn't make me at all geeky.
Today we flew to Busan, Korea and caught the bus from the airport to this rural city which is a world heritage site because it was the centre of the Silla culture (early Korea) for a almost a thousand years.
There is a huge bell in its own pavilion in the grounds that they ring.

 And the Koreans made bird shaped vessels because they thought birds facilitated the transport of souls. Why did the South Americans make them? Because they were relatives?

We saw the museum this evening because it is open until 10pm on Saturday nights. And already we have seen too many Buddhas for Jo. Those old Korean kings sure could wear some sparkle. . . gold, gold and more gold.
So far the hotel is the most interesting thing today. I suspect that we are in the red light district. The hotel is called the Sugar Motel. It has a two person spa bath, a skylight above the bed with an electronic blind, all the lights turn off from the TV remote, there is an air purifier and a "glass/cup" steriliser! I won't describe the wallpaper. I will just say it is red, and has stripes.

Narita

I took this photo as soon as we got to our room. And that cloud is now pouring rain down. So much for my swim in the outdoor pool. Never mind, there is an indoor pool for after a nap.
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Narital airport is looking tired and old but very well secured with barbed wire fences all around. The staff was very nice though. Our bags weren't on the round about and a nice bloke disappeared with our stub and soon can back with the bags. I was relieved to see my brand new bag!

I tried to add that photo but couldn't work out how despite searching the internet: sometimes wonder just what a geek is. But I sure can recognise geek speak when I try to find out how to do stuff.

Now Apple says that somebody in Japan is using my account and asked me security questions that even I didn't know the answer to! but I will either figure it out or figure a way around the problem. You may have to come back to see the photos.

So off to the hotel gym to distress but found that they charge you to sweat. I asked them for a map and went for a walk instead. Now, the map was made for jiggers. They can't read maps the same way a walker does. I got a bit lost and walked much further than 3.5miles. I asked a driver where the  Radisson is . . That much Japanese I can remember. I couldn't understand his answer in words but got his gestures. I was almost there. Lost confidence in the last quarter of a mile as usual.

I walked by lots of very tidy farms. The tidy farmers like their chocolate coloured soil flat. The growth is so rampant it must take a lot of work but I saw nobody in the fields.

There was a field of marigolds

A mini tea plantation, perhaps.

Some clever farmers harvest sunshine with fields of solar panels

And I got a blister.

We are off

On Tuesday I felt so crook that I cancelled tennis and dinner out with the Manly girls. I was cold, tired, sore all over, my tummy felt unhappy. So I put myself to bed with a couple of Aspros. And a hot water bottle that probably did more good. The following day, yesterday, Jo had the same symptoms. We dragged ourselves around and rested. 

This morning we both felt better. It seems there has been a virus going around and we got off lightly. Today neither of us was full steam ahead but, as we had all day to pack our bags, etc (including voting) we managed. 

I did walk my beach because it is my Thursday ritual. But I drove to the beach instead of walking there to conserve my strength. The sand is high at both ends of Avalon beach and the water temperature low (16 deg C.)

I will add a photo later. This trip will be an iPad trip. I left the laptop at home. . . on purpose.

Skiing 2013

We are just back from a week at Cosela Lodge at Falls Creek. This is my lodge and the decision was made very early that there were to be no pets and no TV. This has been updated to "no internet." Most folk have 4G or whatever on their iPhones or laptops so there is a lot of sitting around consulting devices but, I don't have that. I am too mean to pay for it. So these travels have a late report.
The trip there and back was uneventful. The only town you drive through on the way to Albury is Holbrook. And that bypass should be finished soon. So it only takes 8 hours from Avalon to Mt Beauty. We caught the bus up the hill so that Charlotte could rest in the secure car park during the week. Her wheels are too slender to be trusted in snow and ice even with chains on (if chains are made that thin.)
Wattle was in bloom all the way down from Syndey which is strange because the trees in my yard aren't out yet.

The weather was foggy when we got there so the first day was recovery from getting there. The next three days were fine and sunny which made for icy skiing in the morning followed by slush in the afternoon. The last three days were fog, snow, ice, rain and zero visibility. That is, typical Falls Creek weather. We had about 20cm of snow which should set them up well for the rest of the season.

Cosela Lodge

Lounge room

I took lots of shots on the way down the hill in the bus to use as alternative screen savers to the one that I took a couple of work parties ago.

screen saver shot

While we were away the grass tree started to grow a flower spike. I will take a photo each day until we leave for Korea so that I can practice blogging on the iPad.

blackboy in bloom