Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Gangneung Part 2

Where was I?
Oh yeah . . .
I'm just at Saturday afternoon. Walking around.


It was drizzling a bit.


Cafe Paul & Mary's


Hotel Soo?
No Way!
(I've got a student called "Sooway")


I couldn't get a burger at Cafe Paul & Mary's, but I got one at Ziodano's!
Shew, this was a monster burger! I'd say the 8,000 Won I paid for it was reasonable, if not cheap.


Now, the bridge at night . . .
















Yeah, I like this bridge.




The reason for the different colored lights.


Along the beach, these colored towers also displayed their colors.


Wow, I guess you can still rent them at night. And they have lights! Good thinking.


Where the funky electric trees are--at night.


One of said funky tree.


Even at night, the Olympics light up the place.


The pavilion in the middle of the lake.


Those trees do come in handy, as well as are aesthetically pleasing and practical.


Yeap, they change colors too.


What's a beach without fireworks?


Oh! I saw these when I was in Daegu but never had the chance to try!
Redemption!


Here's the store keeper filling the cone up.


Here I am in a timed selfie.
The cone was like that puffed rice snack that Koreans love (no wonder, it's good).
The combination wasn't so bad. I knew I had to walk a lot to burn it all off, though.


The bridge at the park along the lake (where I saw the swan boats).



It's now Sunday morning.



My guesthouse in the light of day.


Oh, I just noticed this sign.
Ok, good to know.


Clouds ever looming over the sea.


Whoa, and this area in particular as well.


The lake again.
The sky had cleared up a bit, but it was still threatening with precipitation.


The pavilion in the middle of the lake, with my next destination: the Charmsori Gramophone and Edision Science Museums.



Now, a few snapshots from within the museums.
I asked if I could and I was told "no" then "yes." I even saw others taking pictures. So I guess I can .  .  . maybe . . .










 Edison's Electric Battery Car.
See, there's nothing new under the sun.


 Gramophone and lamp in one!


 Like 6-CD changers, but with gramophones.



This psychedelic Mickey Mouse disturbs me.


8-tracks!


This place has those trees too.


Oh, and this new establishment they haven't finished yet.


Mostly pensions where you can stay at.



I asked the guy at the guesthouse where the ice rink for the Olympics will be. He told me and showed it to me on a map online. So I went to look for it.



You see, coming to town, they want you to know the Olympics will be held here.


 You see these signs everywhere, just like the "We love having you here!" signs all over Jeju City.


I can't help but think this looks like a photo-shopped picture, even though it's not.
(I don't have PhotoShop, nor know how to use it).



I've got exciting and not-so-exciting news.

Exciting news: I found it!
It will be held in 관동대학교 (Gwandong University).

Not-so-exciting news: It's not built yet.



This is where the ice rink for the Olympics will be built.


This is to give an idea of how it will look when it's complete.
Just to be sure, there's the PyeongChang 2018 icon in the bottom right corner.


Here's another angle of the site.


This is the map of the university campus. The ice rink is at the campus' entrance.


Here's the entrance/exit.
See the spot of pines at the right side of the gate, on the other side? That's where the ice rink is being built.



 Ok, mission accomplished. This calls for a reward.



Cafe!


Cherry-ade and churros!


Yeap, this cafe is called "Clarinet." Nice for the musically inclined.
The restaurant beside it is one of my favorite chains in Korea.


So this is Gangneung Train Station . . . 
. . . I'm very unimpressed.


You know this is Korea, when you can lay a bunch of garlic on the sidewalk in a city--and no one steals a single clove.


Coming back to the bus terminals.


Espress bus? Cross the street and go left.
Intercity bus? Cross the street and go right.
I went left.


So there's my weekend in Gangneung. I want to go back 'cause there were a few things I wasn't able to see this time around. We'll see when I can go.
By the way, I still need to wait, but I think I will have VERY exciting news in about 2 weeks.