Buses and Trains from Masan/Changwon (or anywhere in Korea)

I took a few pictures of different bus and train times and prices for personal future reference.

Why not add them here?

First off, the trains from Masan Station (마산역):

Timetable to Masan Station

Timetable from Masan Station

Rates for trains and destinations

Any other train-related travel in Korea, Korail is the one you need. You will find all the information you need there. If it's not there, they should have where you can find it.

At Masan's Express Bus Terminal (마산 고속 버스 터미널)

Schedule

Prices

Sorry, I know these pictures are not the best. For any other express bus travel in Korea, go to this website (you'll constantly be closing pop-ups that come up as soon as you get on the site, but at least it's got everything you need--in English, Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin(?))

At Masan's Intercity Bus Terminal (마산 시외 버스 터미널), there are a plethora of buses that run all over the country. Here's the website--but it's in Korean.
However, here is one website that can help you with most buses in English. It might not have all bus routes, but at least it can give you a better idea.

I'll show you a few destinations and their timetables:

Busan is the 2nd largest city in Korea.

Besides "Gwangyang" is "Jinju"/"Jeonju."

Gimhae is where Busan's International Airport is located.

I visited the German Village there.

Incheon Airport is THE major international airport outside Seoul.

Glorified Daycare where English is used--aka, "English Summer Camp" (31. July - 18. Aug.'17)

As of today, I'm back in school, starting the second semester of the year.

My summer was quite busy with 2 summer English camps, one at each of my schools, and my week-long summer vacation.

I'll focus on the summer camps here.

My first summer camp was in my main school. It lasted 2 weeks at the school from 9 am - 12:10 pm. So you see, that was not so bad. We taught 3rd-4th graders the 1st week, and 5th-6th graders the 2nd week. Therefore, we taught the same thing twice; only we made the grammar more challenging for the older students. My co-teacher and I taught one grade for 2 hours, and another English teacher taught the other grade for 2 hours. When we finished, we switched grades and taught the same thing to the 2nd batch of students that we taught the first. Pretty easy, eh?

The camp theme was "The Five Senses." We took on one sense each day of the week from Monday - Friday. We went over vocabulary, sentences, and comparisons (for 5th & 6th graders). The plan went as follows:

Monday - Smell (activity: potpourri sachets/air fresheners) 

Tuesday - Sight (activity: draw 3-D hand)

Wednesday - Sound (activity: Bim Bam/Orchestra Song/(much simpler version of) Pentatonix' "White Winter Hymnal" clapping sequence)

Thursday - Taste (activity: make bingsu)

Friday - Touch (activity: Guess the object & Ultimate Review of the week)

There was a kind of guessing game each day. For Monday, we had a few paper cups with different food stuff, and the students had to guess what it was just by the smell (cups were covered by another cup with a small hole or with toilet paper and small holes).

For Tuesday, I introduced them to optical illusions. They had to say what they say.

On Wednesday, I had a few sound clips, and they had to guess what the sounds were.

On Thursday, each group of students was given 4 clear plastic cups, 3 different flavors of ice tea powder, and a small cup of soy sauce. They had to mix each in a separate cup, add water, and try to make them all look alike. They then went to another team's cups and played a safe(r) version of Russian Roulette. The lucky 3 kept their ice teas (lemon, peach, or blueberry) while the unlucky soy sauce "tea" drinker was not made to drink the entire cup. Then we made bingsu (a summer dessert made of shaved ice and whatever you wanna put on it. This case, the kit we had included red bean paste, strawberry syrup, canned fruit, some tiny rice cakes, and corn flakes). I have only seen this in Korea. Is it popular elsewhere too?

4th graders taking videos of a recording of them.

That was my first summer camp.

The second summer camp was just like it (same theme, hours, and grades), but for 3 days and 3 hours per day, instead of the 2 hours in the other school. We made several adjustments, and it all went well. Yes, there was inadequate communication and we did not necessarily have everything we needed, but it all turned out alright in the end.

My "Friday School" Gapo Elementary (가포초등학교)

Ah, random fact: even though the students left at 12:10 or 20 pm every day, I had to stay until 16:40. Doing what? Whatever. This is what we NETs (Native English Teachers) call "desk warming."

Next post will be on my summer vacation. That will be a series of posts since it's too long for just one.

Peaceful day in Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do/광양, 전라남도 (5. Aug.'17)

This past weekend (over a month since I returned to Korea) was the first time I went to a church. I can't believe it's been that long. It was actually really nice to be in an SDA church again, even though I didn't understand most of what was said (everything was in Korean).

It was a very early start for me. I had to catch the bus to Jinju (진주) at 7:35 am from Masan Intercity Bus Terminal (마산 시외 버스 터미널)--which was about a 30 min. bus ride away.

My friend Amy (that's her English name) and her husband picked me up and took me to their church in Gwangyang (광양). I met Amy back when we both worked in Jeju, and we've kept in touch ever since.

Their church is tiny, but also as friendly and welcoming as it is small. The rooms were just remodeled this Spring. There was wood everywhere, and it smelled like fresh-cut timber--one of my favorite scents ever.

Looking towards the pulpit (front)

Looking towards the back.

Special Music (don't know the title in English)

After the church was done, we all enjoyed lunch across the hall from the sanctuary. Amy and I got a little more caught up. After a while, we said "bye" to everyone and left.

Food coma's result? Lay activities!

Before going to her in-law's house, they decided to give me a mini-field trip to the longest bridge in Korea, that happened to be nearby: Yi Sun-Shin Bridge.
After crossing said bridge, we went to the visitor's information center.

Welcome

The family checking out the cables inside the main cable.

There she is.

The actual bridge (from the observatory in the center's 4th floor)

Never saw that before (Could Engrish.com accept this?)

Interactive activity to show how they built the bridge.

Yi Sun-Shin Bridge, from the Yeosu/West side.

I like bridges, and this was too cool on so many levels.

Alright, field trip over.
Off to the in-laws'!

From the car window. I love this kind of scenery.

We arrived. Wow, what a house! What a place!
The house sat on the side of a mountain, overlooking Jirisan National Park and the valley we crossed to reach it. We made our way through a narrow, one-car-wide paved road. There were a few sharp turns and steep climbs, but nothing a good driver couldn't handle.
A rice field grew to the left of the house. The house had its own small garden/farm, complete with 2 dogs.
Sounds like country-living at its best--Korean style!

The view from the house's central balcony.

Inside the house, looking at the balcony from the previous photo.

Said "2 dogs."

After watching "Hicksaw Ridge," we had dinner.

Dinner: make your own spring roll with rice paper, veggies, and other ingredients! 

A while later, it was off to the guest cottage right beside the house. After a shower, I went to bed. It was early, but I had gotten up quite early to make it there, plus I hadn't slept so well the previous week.

Out in the country, on a mountainside. A rooster crows in the distance around 4:30 am. A few cows join in the chorus an hour later. Crisp, clean, fresh air.
That was my best morning since returning to Korea.

The rice fields in the morning.

Morning view from that balcony.

I just couldn't stop looking at this view!

As much as I was fascinated by this place, I had to leave. It was another early morning, but at least I had some good-quality sleep. With that, I felt ready to take on whatever.

The nicest birthday weekend I've had so far

So I turned 31 last month. 

That's kinda sobering.

This was one of the few times I've celebrated my birthday with a couple of friends.

It was not the first time I was with friends on my birthday, but it was one of the few in which we celebrated my birthday together--at least, from what I can remember. I'm getting older, so my memory is not like it used to be.

I went up to Seoul on Friday after school. Once in Seoul, I went straight to my friend's apartment in northern Seoul. This friend was my Religion student my first term in Korea, 7 years ago . . . She was in her third trimester of her pregnancy at that time. That baby will start going to school in March . . . Whoa.

So my friend, her husband, and I took a few hours to catch up. Afterwards, the accumulated fatigue from the week kicked in, and we went to sleep in our respective rooms.

In the morning, I saw their girls. Oh. My. Word. Have they grown!
So while the dad spent the day with his kids as an ideal father, my friend joined me as we went to meet a mutual friend who was visiting from The States. We met in Sinchon, ate and caught up in a vegan bakery/cafe, then went out for a walk. We were going to explore a flea market they usually have during the weekends, but we were met with something different . . .

You are entering the Water Festival!

Entrance to the Festival

Apparently, there was a water festival going on. Considering how hot it's been getting here (ridiculous), that was a genius idea. We decided to wander around and get a feel for it--while trying to not get (very) wet.
Utter craziness.

They agreed this was a good idea.

About a half-kilometer of the street was completely blocked off for the people to dance, get wet, and get others wet. There was a narrow passage to the side where regular pedestrians could pass amidst threats of water. We got a few drops, so we did not escape untouched.

At the middle was a DJ (or 2?) pumping the masses and keeping the hype going.

The live DJ on his high altar, surrounded by speakers and water cannons.

To get an idea of how it was.

None of us knew about this. The one friend was taking it all in. The other was getting into it without wanting to get wet. I was shocked and felt completely out of place. I'm sure it was a lot of fun, but I just wasn't mentally prepared for it--especially the music's volume! I don't remember being so close to music that sounded that loudly. Remember, I'm a quite person who treasures my privacy and peace. Yet here I was, in the middle of loud chaos I did not expect. I'm actually surprised I stayed for as long as I did.

Shew, I'm really getting old.

Two wonderful friends and I.

Ah, in said vegan bakery/cafe, the topic of birthdays came up, and that was when my friends discovered my birthday was the next day. Then the friend I stayed with contacted her husband and prepared a surprise celebration for me at their home that night.

It was so sweet (literally)!
They ordered fried chicken (as any true carnivore friend would) and as things were dying down, the husband brought out an ice cream cake--and the family started singing "Happy Birthday" to me (including the 2 cute little girls)! I felt so loved!
This was also my first ice cream cake. Ever, if I'm not mistaken (remember what I wrote about my memory at the beginning of the post?). That moment was precious.


Come Sunday, my birthday.
Just like the day before, friend and I go to spend more time with visiting friend. Getting off at Konkuk Station/건대입구역 (Konkuk University Station) exit 3, we found this interesting set-up...

Welcome to Common Ground

So this is the largest shopping mall in the world--made of shipping containers.
Interesting, it truly was.

Panoramic view from the open air area on the third floor. 

After walking around a bit, we ended up having lunch there. We ate at "Sobang Life" on the 3rd floor. Here's the website for more info (unfortunately, only in Korean).

We all ordered the same thing. Truly a good--and healthy decision.

Walking through the 1st floor, making our way to Dore Dore cake cafe, we spotted a DJ in a smaller shipping container.

Seriously, I kid thee not. See for yourself.

Dore Dore cafe is at the bottom left of the picture.

Both friends agreed to treat me, so they let me choose and you can see it below.

My red-velvet cake with legit Oreos.

That was huge!
I really liked that the frosting wasn't so sweet. It also had the consistency of whipped cream, very light. That's EXACTLY how I like my cake frosting.

Hi there.

Unfortunately, both had to leave and I had 3 hours to kill before catching my bus back home. I looked desperately for a water pitcher with filter (like Brita), but in vain. At least I was able to pass by Lotte World Tower, the tallest building in South Korea, at Jamsil Station.
It is 555 meters (123 floors) tall. It's the tallest building in the OECD countries and the 5th tallest in the world. Their official website offers more info, or you could always check out what Wikipedia says.
I just regret not going up to the observatory somewhere up there.
On second thought, maybe it's better that I didn't go. There were literally hundreds of people there. I'm not claustrophobic, but conditions were ripe to drag me to that point.
I'll try again someday. Hopefully, soon.

Lotte World Tower

"Hello Asia" -- Taste of Indonesia (Halal!) in Changwon (창원)

The entrance and sign

A word about the meat . . .

It's all halal. No pork--but they do have seafood!

It all started with a random meeting in an elevator.

I had just returned to Korea. I walked down memory lane as I went through Emart's aisles, LotteMart's crowds, and LotteMall's escalators in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do. I had enough and wanted to rest a bit in my Namsun Hotel room about 4 or 5 blocks away. Said hotel was on the 4th - 6th floors of a building that has several other businesses occupying its other floors.

A lady and I enter the elevator. She starts speaking to me in English. Not so strange. I'm obviously not Korean/Asian, so by default I must be an English-speaking foreigner--which just happens to be true.

She told me about her restaurant and that I should check it out. I had other dinner plans that day, so I couldn't. However, I did tell her I would visit her restaurant. I had already seen the sign. Just the fact that it was in English was enough to make me consider it further--even become curious.

Fast-forward over a month later, and I finally get to follow through with my word. I must have come in at the perfect time. It was empty. I don't like crowds, so for me, this is a good thing. I was told this place gets busier on the weekends and was relatively active during the week as well--just that day/moment when I entered, it just happened to be empty. Perfect timing, if you ask me.

180 degrees from my seat.

My table

The tables right beside the door.

She gave me a menu to browse and told me about the drinks. One drink, in particular, caught my eye. Let me show you the picture.

Guess which one made me do a double-take...

Did the drink that caught my eye catch yours?

If you were quasi-startled with "Avocodo juice," then yes.

I've never heard of this before--and we eat a lot of avocados in my family. I had to try this. Those of you who know me, know I'm an overall explorer--with countries as well as food.

My glass of avocado juice!

At first, it was a little weird. Then again, with each sip, it got better and better. There was a bit of chocolate in it, which helped with the sweetness (as well as other ingredients I couldn't taste). My sense of taste is not that good, so I would be a pathetic food critic. However, I did enjoy it.

Positive reviews from me!

While I waited for my dish, I took pictures of the decoration. I thought it was well done. Let me show you what I mean...

I liked this map of Indonesia (with a few other countries)

Felt somewhat rich, in a not-so-rich way.

Game of pool, anyone?

So you know what time it is in these countries.

Some of the loveliest flowers are the hidden ones.

Oh, I didn't expect this.

Adds to the already exotic atmosphere.

Colorful wall lamp from up-close.

More of the same clocks with a TV, if that's your thing.

And behold, my dinner!

Nasi Goreng + Sate Kambing for less than $10!

Close-ups!

Skewered lamb (spicy)

Fried rice with vegetables and beef.

So "Before."

Food and juice

And "After."

Clean-up, Joann-style.

I was happy with my meal. I'll definitely come back to explore the menu some more--while sipping on another glass of avocado juice.

The address to this place and where it is can be found here (some of the pictures must be a bit old, or my menu looked different, just to let you know).

I hope you get the chance to check it out!

One more look, as I leave.