Walking a lap of Yeosu via Odongdo island
As predicted yesterday, today I walked a big lap of Yeosu.
30,000 steps right on the money for those playing the old persons how many steps game from home.
On my way I made a sizeable detour and did a lap of Odongdo island, probably the main natural attraction of Yeosu. It is a pretty small island, nice enough, but not as nice as the Taejongdae walk I did near Busan the other day.
On my trip around the island I was asked by no less than 4 family groups of Koreans to take their photo. I was happy to oblige, but a bit surprised, I was as sweaty and scruffy as ever, wearing my oldest t-shirt, partially stained by last nights dinner. They were all very young families, spoke English well enough, one guy was not happy with the way I framed the photo, so he gave me very specific instructions and made me take it twice more before he was satisfied.
After the island I ascended a small hill to the cable car departure point. Of course, being the massive tightarse that I am, there was no way I was paying the $15 fine to go on it, instead I descended over the hill and walked across the bridge. I may have been the only person in weeks to walk across this bridge, cars were blowing their horns at me.
This took me to the end of the other end of the cable car, which I of course climbed up and mocked all the people getting off, explaining to them that I walked down a hill, across the bridge and up a hill for free, and all you did was sit on your ass for 10 minutes for $15.
That just left another bridge and another hill to navigate and 30,000 steps were completed.
Lots of photos again today, sunshine and clear skies would have been better, oh well.
The journey from my hotel to the island took me all around the main harbour, under the bridges again that I went under before but would later go over. I appreciated the ship building yards once more.
Grey day today, mostly, here is a view of ye olde Yeosu. Osu is the Korean word for old.
Brief sun lit up the shore.
This was a weird bit, I am on an elevated boardwalk that goes all the way to that headland, and then stops at a dead end. No way to get off, you just have to turn back and walk a few hundred metres to where it rejoins the road. Also note the concrete things in the water, a common feature in all Asian countries.
After walking back and then back and then back again, I went through this tunnel, a few Ferrari's came through and did the stick it in neutral and rev the crap out of it thing.
Upon exiting the tunnel, here is the elevator (lift) to the cable car. Hmm, I hope I do not have to use this later.
I think this is the nicest hotel in Yeosu, no doubt built for the famous World Expo Yeosu 2012 all Korea Yeosu international exposition expo that was held in 2012.
Now I will walk over to the island. Thankfully you can walk, although there is a fake train thing which is a truck towing trailers to take you too.
View of the expo area, now largely a ghost town from what I have seen. Busan is building all kinds of stuff to do the same thing in 2030, it seems like an expensive thing to do. Brisbane did it in 1988, who remembers that? No one.
The path around the island looked mainly like this. There were roughly 50 public toilets. Periodically you walk down a couple of hundred stairs to look at a view, then come back up again.
Here is a view, lighthouse and ships. The lighthouse here probably still functions.
Apparently, a dragon lives in this cave. I threw a few rocks in there but he did not come out to say hello.
Well well well, we meet again.
This is not the penis tree.
This is the penis tree, I was very disappointed. Although as I came around a corner grandmas were being photographed stroking it. They scurried off.
A bit more view, lots of ships, medium density pollution.
Last shot of the island.
As I crossed back over the causeway, it was apparent that I would not have to use the cable car lift tower thing, there is a beautiful staircase to climb instead! I started skipping ahead with increased glee.
I was at the top in no time, hurling obscenities at the people who took the lift (elevator).
Here are some of those lazy people, trying to ignore my ongoing insults.
I tried to make the wire snap with my mind. To the best of my knowledge I failed.
Above the cable car station is a nice park, with many sculptures such as this.
Time for me to climb down and find the start of that bridge.
OK, it was easy enough to find the start of the bridge, but it is covered in rubbish, and cars were blowing (honking) their horns at me, so I do not think very many people walk over the bridge. Having said that, cars often blow their horns at me wherever I am in the world.
View of cable car and city. Not a lot of breeze today.
Now I am at the end of the cable car, you can see the bridge I walked over if you squint.
The upper cable car station, it has a mini shopping mall inside of it.
There is a viewing deck at the top of the cable car station, which gives a great view of the car park.
More bridge and cable cars.
More monuments, this one has a woman with her BOSOMS showing.
Now I just need to find a way down to bridge #2 for the day, FINAL BRIDGE.
That was easy enough. This one has no rubbish, I suspect it gets some pedestrian use.
View from bridge #2. A bit hard to see, but there is a floating platform with white igloos on it. There are a few such platforms anchored along the coast in other spots. I suspect these are for fishing adventures, the igloos are your tent, they tow you out to the middle of the ocean somewhere and drop anchor. Of course, I could be wrong.
I saved the best pic for last, a local drain! I feel as though I have seen a lot of Yeosu in a couple of days.
Looking at boats in Yeosu
As this is the ancient naval capital of Korea and in my honorary self appointed role of Grand Rear Admiral (retired), I thought it best that I go examine the fleet.
I took a short walk along the shore in the opposite direction of the town. There were thousands of boats. Do they all come back for the weekend? This was not something I allowed back in my day.
There were so many boats I wondered how they actually get them out again, they are not in individual berths, they are all tied to each other, it would take half a day to coordinate getting everyone back out to sea.
In addition to fishing boats I also inspected a ferry. There are a lot of ferries that go to the hundreds of islands, but finding info on where they go, when and where to get on seems hard to come by. There is an actual ferry terminal in town, I have been past it 4 times, and there is a sign at the roped off doors, and never has there been a ferry there at all. I have a theory that is probably wrong, there is a trucking strike in Korea at the moment, the union is called 'The cargo truckers solidarity union', so I am wondering if the ferry operators are part of that union. There are party boats running around, but nothing that looks like an official passenger commuter service.
After all that, I finally also inspected the police fleet. Very well appointed, but needs more guns.
Tomorrow, all the way back to Seoul. All fast trains but I do have to change at Iksan in the middle of the country.
About 1 block from my hotel is the only thing resembling a department store in Yeosu. I had not been in there yet, that would change tonight. Yes I know the photo is crooked, only way I could fit it in.
Down at the fishing port, food trucks are setting up. Actually this is interesting, behind me along the waterfront there are some rather sad looking parks. I can see them out of my hotel window. There has been no one there the last couple of days but now a band has set up, and people are setting up tents. The park extends into the water. I think this is all a setup for people to go fishing all night, with food, music and camping. Lots of kids running around.
Here is the only ferry I have seen the whole time I have been here. Scabs! It is arriving at an unmarked boat ramp.
And the impressive police fleet. The gun looking things are just water cannons.
I walked across all these boats back to the shore.
Some time later and I am doing a few laps of the running track. This is actually the local university, very small. But it is open for old people to entertain themselves on a Saturday night. They were getting in the way of me setting a fast time.
Now for the local Lotte mall. No basement! The 1st level is just a huge supermarket. The 3 levels above it are individual stores like this, in a grid layout more like a factory outlet or market than what we tend to call a mall these days.
Before going to the food court, I went up to the roof car parking for a couple more view shots. I have seen the view of Yeosu enought times now.
OK one more. Quite a few solar cells.
The mall has a little food court with about 6 places to eat. One is Lotteria which is Korean Mcdonalds, over to the right is a shabu shabu, but I would have neither of those....
When Koreans think of Chinese food, this is what they think of. This and ONLY this. If you ever go to Incheon Chinatown, the largest in Korea, there are 200 places serving ONLY this. Actually it is often served with noodles, but the sauce which my research tells me was actually invented in Incheon by a Chinese immigrant, is what Koreans understand is 'Chinese food'. It is a black bean based sauce, with larger bits of bean in it, and probably some pork, and this being Yeosu, probably leftover bits of octopus.