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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Bus, Train, Taxi, Costco

 

A few weeks ago Ryan and I ventured out to find Costco.  We had been in Korea a few weeks at this point and were missing some of the things we use to enjoy at home, for instance peanut butter, cheese, popcorn, salsa, and cranberry juice just to say a few.  

Now I’m sure you are asking yourself why does Costco qualify as “blog worthy” information?  Well for us to get to Costco is I don’t know what you would call it but the words adventure, day trip, experience, and then even some “bad” words come to mind now that it is all said and done. 

So to start the day off we found out where all the nearest Costco’s are and headed out to what we were told was the closet one and what we thought would be the easiest one to get to, the one in Yangjae.  So we got on the bus and headed to the Pyeongtaek Train Station where we found out to get to Yangjae you take the subway for about 42 stops and do 4 transfers.  At this point we are thinking that doesn’t sound too bad, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy and we had set aside the whole day to do this, so we bought the tickets and headed out.  The subway was packed so after about 3 stops we got to thinking that this one may not be the best Costco so we got off to turn around, head back, and catch the train to Daejeon.  We took the subway back to the first train station, bought the last tickets on the next train out to Daejeon and took off trying to find the right track.  Now one of the draw backs to Korean trains is the same draw back there is to all Korean public transportation, lots of Koreans and not a whole lot of seats. So after saying that I will say that there maybe something wrong with me because I found it kind of fun in an “adventuress” kind of way to spend the ride down and back sitting in one of the loading areas of the train car on the steps looking out the window watching the rice fields go by.  Rice fields are amazing to me and just seem calming and peaceful. 

Once we got to Daejeon we decided to try to find the Costco on our own because the website made it look like all we had to do was go out and make a left and you would be there.  This however was not the case but as we walked around we decided we kind of liked Daejeon, minus the smell however all of Korea smells like something strange every now and then.   After a good bit of walking and still no sign of Costco we decided it was time to try to catch a cab that hopefully knew where it was. As we waited to hailed a cab we did get to see quite an interesting thing, the King, yes that is right, the King is alive and not only that but he is Korean.  Sadly this is one of the many times I wish I had my camera out and ready.  Anyways after we hailed a cab and were driven down every random back road I think the drive could find we magically end up in front of Costco, sadly however I still have no clue how to get there on foot or by bus.

Once inside it was a mad house, really I don’t know where all those little Korean people come from.  They were everywhere and they are crazy!  Ryan clearly stands out above the crowd so it is always easy for me to find him if we get separated, and well I am white so it is some what easy for him to find me.  We spent about an hour going up and down all the isles getting only a few things and trying to figure out a better way to get things home on the next trip, for this trip we brought an Adidas duffle bag and a back pack.  This left us room to still carry a few things by hand but made us choose what was really important to us for this trip, like I said earlier cheese, salsa, claim chowder, popcorn, and a few other items made it back. 

A short cab ride back to the train station and we were ready to start our trip home.  Once back at the train station we dragged the bags on and enjoyed having Koreans stare in at the “American” size box of Orville Redenbacher Popcorn and the “jugs” of cranberry juice we carried with us along with a nice view of the countryside once more as we headed back to Pyeongtaek; where we caught the bus back to our apartment and crashed out once inside.  All in all the day was fun, crazy and even maybe something that I look forward to doing again.  Maybe next time I can take the camera in hopes of seeing the King again and try to get some pictures of the day.

6 comments:

Chas said...

I love this story. It sounds like us in Germany! They REALLY make you work to find what you really want. I am glad that you guys were together and you didn't have to venture out all alone to find the costco. I am guessing the Koreans must be small and short ? I would fit it! Gosh, Germans are mostly really tall! They always look at me funny too! I am sure you got ugly stares with your big packages. Germans usually eat big lunches and small dinners and we are the total opposites. I am glad to here you guys made it out alive! Some of the trip sounded like a big headache. At least you didn't give up and you made it. Hopefully, the journey will be easier next time around! :) I liked this story. It was an epic Meghan and Ryan story...Keep them coming!!

Megan said...

Hey girl thanks. I feel like this still doesn't even start to explain the day or how much fun and troble it all was. Yes for the most part Koreans tend to be on the small, short and even skinny side of things. Kids in my class don't feel the need to hold back when they tell me that Ryan teacher is very tall, or that Ryan and Megan teacher are fat. They don't mean to be rude about it, I just think they are stating a fact like anyone would state the fact that an apple is red. It is all very strange however I find myself getting use to most of the things here.

Thanks girl I am trying to catch up on some of the other things we have done here or seen or even what our small town is like, for instance the people at the burger place we eat at once a week saw us walking down the road the other night after work and so they pulled over and started yelling hi out the window. It was really cool and also kind of made us feel like maybe we were starting to fit in or something. However sadly most of these stories all get hung up on the fact that blogging takes time and I am lazy! But I am going to try to work at it a little more and once I get caught up with all our stories try to stay on top of them for next time.

Chas said...

Germans have kind of the same type of personalities. They cannot take a joke - if they can understand your language - they are very serious. Yeah, they state facts too. Sometimes its annoying.

You are welcome! I had a blog for a year before I started using it! How is that for lazy? ha ha! Normally, I write about our adventures. Today I got mad and ranted. So, its not always peachy stuff.

Megan said...

Some how this thing is trying to tell me I have had an account/profile/blog for a few years now...it is saying 2007....yea that would be a no...silly blogger.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a productive day and I understand the need for peanut butter. Glad to hear about the King sighting. Last time I saw him he was in the airport in LA and Hispanic.

Megan said...

Hey!

Its so great to hear from you! Today we went again and I got to see a very Korean Korean looking old man dressed fully in an old kick butt Korean outfit with a hat and stick and everything...the cell phone seemed kind of odd but hey even old ninjas need to send text I guess. The all amazing item of the month from Costco this time I would have to say would be Gummy Bears!