4 April 2026
Bus driver says no
Seoul to Changwon on the bullet train
Now I am in Changwon. It takes about 2.5 hours from Seoul. The train was full at first but emptied out at about Daegu as I continued on into the scarier parts of the country to what appears to be the entirely brand new city of Changwon.
As is often the case, the bullet train (KTX) station is not actually in the city centre of Changwon, so I had to take a bus. There are a lot of bus choices, I decided on the red express bus that clearly goes to the city centre where I am staying, I waited around for 15 minutes as some other normal busses went past that also probably go to the city, but via a less direct route. So me and a few others with similar sized bags were all waiting for this express bus, I was polite and let them on first, and then the bus driver decided to wave his hands at me, starts shaking his head, closes the doors and drive off. Perplexing. So then I just decided to jump on the next bus that came along, and sure enough it took me to the city centre in about 10 minutes.
Hotel pics follow, try and remain calm.
Before heading to the train station I took one last stroll along the stream. This is my equivalent to the excitement others feel when they see photos of hotel rooms.
Last stream photo. The woman down there is either weeding the grass or foraging for food, I noticed thistle soup on the menu of some traditional Korean places.
The inside of the Seoul station is very familiar to me.
Lots of trains leave from here to every corner of the country.
Here comes my train.
The inside is a 2x2 layout. This is economy class. I have some first class bookings later in the trip. It is very very cheap compared to Japan, probably 1/5th the cost.
Before too long I arrived at Changwon Jungang station, on the northern edge of town, with medium sized small mountains on all sides - yes, medium sized small mountains. I am stading at the bus stop with the bus that did not like me.
Here is the inside of my hotel room. A Toyoko Inn - yes the same Japanese brand that famously cancelled my Seoul booking a couple of years ago. It is much the same as all Toyoko Inn hotels in Korea, my next stop is one too, and I have stayed with them in both Daegu and Busan previously. The rooms are slightly bigger than in Japan, there is a small table and two soft stools where I am standing.
If you have been to Japan, you have seen this bathroom.
My room has a view... shot through glass, although the window does open. Lots of very modern looking buildings. Now to work out what I am supposed to do while I am here.