My Saturday started leisurely as the alarm rang and I turned it off while rolling my head inside my pillow. With a sight, I remained with my eyes closed, clutching that moment of non awareness given by sleepy head. Instead of 5min to leisurely regain consciousness, I woke up in panic 1h later, realizing I slept through what should have been a shower and breakfast.
So with sticky eyes and empty stomach, I drank 2 glasses of water from the breakfast room, unable to grab bread and jam available, and bid farewell to the host in a rush. He advised me to go to jongno3ga station instead of Anguk to get back to Seoul station, so I dragged my suitcase along that southbound road again, enjoying the relatively fresh morning air. There was not much traffic at 8am but my footsteps and the rolling of my suitcase echoed strangely among the silent streets and antique shops.
After much stress hurrying up to transfer in the metro, I finally arrived at Seoul station around 8:32am to catch the 9:00am KTX train to Dongdaegu station. I still even had time to grab breakfast (juice and milk coffee and maybe a donut?) while mimicking the other passengers queuing up in front of the train doors. In Japan people queue up along the platform, but in Seoul the line is in front of the train doors, perpendicular to the train tracks.
The KTX train was not as sophisticated as Shinkansen trains (no reversible seats), but was much welcome as it had FREE wifi! So I could at least empty my email spam and feel connected to the far away known world. In less than 2hours, we got to Daegu (a bit late, 10:53 instead of 10:47). It was hot and humid outside the trains but the station main hall was quite large with high ceiling, letting air circulate.I missed the bus 521 and 156 to the hotel. T-Money card could not be charged in Daegu as they use another system, So I thought about getting the tour bus directly and hop off near the hotel. Unfortunately the tourism office booth outside the station indicated that the next bus was in 2h.
So I tried to take a taxi. Interestingly, no cab at the taxi station seemed interested in my destination. After asking where I was trying to go, they were pointing at each other like I was the plague to be avoided. Eventually I was shoved into a black cab, which was very spacious inside, and realized I took a "deluxe taxi" instead of normal taxi. So maybe I didn't look deluxe enough or my destination was not either! In any case, after driving through many empty streets the driver dropped me at the Novotel Daegu, taking away some precious 847KRW in cash.
Reception of the hotel was on the 8th floor, with the ground floor reception being dedicated to Medical tourism, redirecting travelers to their respective hospitals and clinics. It seemed the city was quite a popular destination for its healthcare infrastructure and was cashing on its reputation. My hotel room had a great view on the restaurant and shopping street below, as well as the park across the street. I was meant to meet a couchsurfer for the evening but cancelled as I needed to travel to Haeinsa site and wasn't sure when I would be back.
Outside the hotel by11:30 and in the sun again to find the Seobu bus terminal, I got lost and had to be ask for help to a kind big red mascot. Another young woman pointed a the right direction and walked me to the entrance of Prim Mall, a huge underground shopping mall with A/C..It was much easier to navigate underground with all the signs pointing to the entrance of the metro. I had to use my small change to get a round paper coin as a ticket. It was devoured by the entrance gate and I rode the metro to the bus terminal without any further stress. I managed to buy a ticket at 12:38 and catch the 12:40 bus for Haeinsa.
So with sticky eyes and empty stomach, I drank 2 glasses of water from the breakfast room, unable to grab bread and jam available, and bid farewell to the host in a rush. He advised me to go to jongno3ga station instead of Anguk to get back to Seoul station, so I dragged my suitcase along that southbound road again, enjoying the relatively fresh morning air. There was not much traffic at 8am but my footsteps and the rolling of my suitcase echoed strangely among the silent streets and antique shops.
After much stress hurrying up to transfer in the metro, I finally arrived at Seoul station around 8:32am to catch the 9:00am KTX train to Dongdaegu station. I still even had time to grab breakfast (juice and milk coffee and maybe a donut?) while mimicking the other passengers queuing up in front of the train doors. In Japan people queue up along the platform, but in Seoul the line is in front of the train doors, perpendicular to the train tracks.
The KTX train was not as sophisticated as Shinkansen trains (no reversible seats), but was much welcome as it had FREE wifi! So I could at least empty my email spam and feel connected to the far away known world. In less than 2hours, we got to Daegu (a bit late, 10:53 instead of 10:47). It was hot and humid outside the trains but the station main hall was quite large with high ceiling, letting air circulate.I missed the bus 521 and 156 to the hotel. T-Money card could not be charged in Daegu as they use another system, So I thought about getting the tour bus directly and hop off near the hotel. Unfortunately the tourism office booth outside the station indicated that the next bus was in 2h.
So I tried to take a taxi. Interestingly, no cab at the taxi station seemed interested in my destination. After asking where I was trying to go, they were pointing at each other like I was the plague to be avoided. Eventually I was shoved into a black cab, which was very spacious inside, and realized I took a "deluxe taxi" instead of normal taxi. So maybe I didn't look deluxe enough or my destination was not either! In any case, after driving through many empty streets the driver dropped me at the Novotel Daegu, taking away some precious 847KRW in cash.
Reception of the hotel was on the 8th floor, with the ground floor reception being dedicated to Medical tourism, redirecting travelers to their respective hospitals and clinics. It seemed the city was quite a popular destination for its healthcare infrastructure and was cashing on its reputation. My hotel room had a great view on the restaurant and shopping street below, as well as the park across the street. I was meant to meet a couchsurfer for the evening but cancelled as I needed to travel to Haeinsa site and wasn't sure when I would be back.
Outside the hotel by11:30 and in the sun again to find the Seobu bus terminal, I got lost and had to be ask for help to a kind big red mascot. Another young woman pointed a the right direction and walked me to the entrance of Prim Mall, a huge underground shopping mall with A/C..It was much easier to navigate underground with all the signs pointing to the entrance of the metro. I had to use my small change to get a round paper coin as a ticket. It was devoured by the entrance gate and I rode the metro to the bus terminal without any further stress. I managed to buy a ticket at 12:38 and catch the 12:40 bus for Haeinsa.
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