Asia Trip 2012 - 24 hours in Busan

Hae Dong Yong Gung Temple

We left the house early enough to join the sea of commuters headed to work and school.  Business-suited and uniform-clad Fukuokans sped past us on bicycles as we walked to the bus stop with our luggage on our backs -- big packs that would make us struggle like turtles if we were ever to fall over backwards.

We parted with Brian and Nathan at Hakata Port and caught a 3-hour ferry ride on The Beetle to Busan, South Korea.  After settling into our hotel room that overlooked the beautiful Haeundae Beach, we headed out for some sightseeing.  Our first stop: Hae Dong Yong Gung Temple along the eastern coast, where Buddha and Goddess of Mercy statues in serene poses gazed down at violently crashing waves below.  Our nice taxi driver, whom we had asked to wait with the meter running, surprised us by appearing with an umbrella for us when it started drizzling during our visit!  He must have looked high and low in the maze of temple staircases before finding us.

Matching "couples shirts" and cherry blossoms

Next, we were dropped off at Dalmaji, a pleasant beachside community of coffee shops and cherry blossoms in peak bloom, which seemed to be a popular spot for smitten couples -- including a pair we spotted wearing identical “couples shirts” that, we later learned from local friends, is all the rage these days.  (I cruelly joked to Abe that it’d be nice to do the same.)

Our evening in Busan ended with a fabulous feast, thanks to our hotel bell captain (and Abe’s new found friend) Harley.  After intently considering our restaurant criteria of "simple, casual, and within walking distance" and scanning a list of hotel-approved restaurant recommendations, he exclaimed "Ah!", pulled out his personal iPhone, and retrieved the address of a sam gyup sal (grilled pork belly) place owned by a high school friend.  (He couldn’t help but proudly show off a photo of his infant son in the process.)  We were so pleased with his recommendation.  A brisk 10-minute walk brought us to an unassuming-looking place that served up an amazing meal, which we agreed with the waiter’s suggestion that it would be "better with soju."

Jagalchi Fish Market

The next morning, we visited the Nurimaru APEC House, where leaders from 21 countries (including then President George W. Bush and Condoleeza Rice from the U.S. and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong from Singapore) met for an economic summit in 2005.  We then headed to Busan Gyuk (train station), where we stuffed our big packs in a locker and enjoyed a tasty fast food Korean lunch at Kim Bahp Chang Guk (or Kim Bahp Heaven).  We checked out the traditional fish market in Jagalchi, a fascinating and bustling place with endless stalls selling fish and other marine life of all shapes and sizes, like wriggling eels in tanks and bright orange sea squirts in aerated tubs.  We had planned to grab a seafood snack while at the market, due to the freshness of the catch, but the intense sights and smells were… enough to satisfy our appetites.  We headed back to the station in time to catch our late afternoon KTX train to Daejeon.

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Photo credit: Abe

Asia Trip 2012 - Special Photo Edition

Here are some photos from our adventures so far...

Hong Kong
1. Victoria Peak tram.
2. Monk on phone in Tsim Sha Tsui.
3. Junk boat in South China Sea.
4. Lamma Island restaurants and boats.
5. Bamboo clams at Rainbow Restaurant.
6. Kopi luwak beans at Bright Sun Coffee.

Fukuoka
1. Breakfast at Mr. Donut.
2. Ramen mini bowl at Raumen Stadium.
3. Ramen mini bowl at Raumen Stadium.
4. Wash ladles at Tenmangu shrine.
5. Lost in translation.
6. Nishijin street scene.

Asia Trip 2012 - Day 3 in Fukuoka

Our last full day in Fukuoka.  We tagged along with Brian to the Seinan campus, where he's taking intensive Japanese.  Grabbed a gourmet spicy noodle lunch for 350 yen (about US$4) at the university cafeteria, then headed out for some sightseeing while he went to Kanji class.  Nathan brought us to the landmark Fukuoka Tower for a sweeping view of the city and sea; and RoboSquare, where we met Paro, the fluffy robot seal pup that has lifted the spirits of many senior home residents; AIBO the dog that eagerly responds to greetings and commands; and an impressive Samurai-bot that performs a complicated sword dance to traditional music.

In the afternoon, the four of us made a stop at Ohori-koen (Ohori Park) to relax at the lake, gaze at beautiful Sakura (cherry blossoms) in bloom, and chuckle at couples struggling to control their Swan-shaped paddle boats.  On our way back home, we picked up some takoyaki (fried batter stuffed with octopus) and crunchy melt-in-your-mouth croquettes for a tea time snack.

We hung out with two of Brian's friend that evening -- cheery young ladies, English majors -- over homemade avocado burgers.  It was cool to hear about their plans for the future with their English skills and learn about their lives: one comes from a family that owns a rice and potato farm, and works part-time as the Helen Hawk mascot for the local South Bank Hawks baseball team.  Cool folks!  Enriching interactions like these continue to motivate me to try and connect with locals everywhere we travel.

Asia Trip 2012 - Day 2 in Fukuoka

Our host, BT, enticed us out of our room this morning with the tantalizing aroma of bread being toasted and sausages being fried -- some of which, we soon discovered, he had sliced to resemble octopuses with crispy tentacle tips.  What a great way to start off this special day, Easter Sunday, in Fukuoka.  There was a spring in my step as we strolled leisurely to church.  Although the worship service was conducted entirely in Japanese, I felt a strong sense of comfort and familiarity being in the company of others who share the same faith.  We were warmly welcomed into their midst and easily joined lunchtime conversations afterwards with the few who were able to speak English.

We spent the latter part of the afternoon in Dazaifu, a pleasant community around Tenmangu shrine -- where apparently many go with pleas for success with schooling -- about a half hour out of Fukuoka.  Our train pass included a tea time treat of a baked (then fried?) red-bean-filled mochi and a lovely cup of emerald green tea.  Our visit to the shrine itself was a hasty one, due to closing time at dusk; then we continued our cultural adventure via our taste buds for the rest of the evening:

- Tonkatsu around the corner from Dazaifu Station, served with bottomless servings of shredded cabbage salad and miso soup.  The meal was enhanced by the fact that we got to grind up our own sesame seeds for the dipping sauce with a mortar and pestle!
- Yakitori (meat on skewers) from a small roadside stall where BT knew the cooks, who were wonderfully friendly and boisterous.  We ordered probably the two most artery-clogging but tastiest options: thick bacon and chicken skin yakitori.
- Sushi from a sushi boat place, where A and I tried natto (fermented soy bean) for the first (and hopefully last) time.  Think snotty mush.  The rest of the dishes were excellent, though!

En route back home, we detoured to Book Off, a used CD/DVD store, where we picked up discount AKB48, Boa, Gorillaz, and Bon Jovi CDs.  Yes, it's weird that we traveled so far to get the latter two, but not quite as puzzling as why anyone would sell back a Bon Jovi album...

Asia Trip 2012 - Day 1 in Fukuoka

A long and exhausting day, but I wouldn't trade it in for anything.  It was the first in Japan for both of us, so we were big wide-eyed sponges, ready to soak in the new experiences that awaited us.  Even our breakfast stop at Mr. Donuts was an exciting cultural foray for us, most notably the mochi-esque chewiness of the ringed glazed donut.  

On our bus ride to Tenjin, Fukuoka's downtown, we observed how folks boarded the bus through the middle doors and exited -- and paid, based on distance traveled -- via the front.  Bus drivers cut the engine at extended traffic lights instead of idling, presumably to reduce air pollution.  Love it.

We spent our lunchtime with BT's English teacher friend and her three 12-year old students - a great opportunity to hang out with locals.  Two of the three youngsters had studied English for 6 years already, and through their coy shyness, they let us coaxed a few conversational phrases out of them.  We soon discovered the trigger points that got them talking: manga and anime characters for the boys, and J-Pop idols (like AKB48, a 48-member girl band from Tokyo) and "purikura" (photo booth pics) for the young lady.  Adorable.

After buying our Beetle Ferry tickets at Hakata Station for our upcoming one-way trip to Busan, we headed to the Nakasu-Kawabata, where we explored and ate the rest of the day:
- Kushida shrine, where tourists and worshippers intermingled.
- A museum of traditional merchant's house, or machiya.
- Ramen Stadium, where we sampled "mini" portions of three different kinds of ramen noodles, including the distinctively local Hakata Ramen, with its thinner noodles and pork bone (tonkotsu) broth.
- Canal City, with its long hallways and multiple stories of mall shops, including ones that specifically featured Domo, Totoro, Sanrio (of course!), and other Japanese creations.
- Yatai, or an outdoor food stall, where we spent too much on ramen that was better in the Stadium, but was worth the one-time experience.

Awesomely tuckered out.

Asia Trip 2012 - Hong Kong-Fukuoka Travel Day

Hong Kong has the most efficient flight check-in process that I've ever experienced.  They let you check bags and get your boarding pass at selected MTR subway stations on the day of travel, which means you can squeeze in some last-minute sightseeing, shopping -- or in our case, eating -- without needing to drag your luggage around or tip a bellhop to watch over them before heading to the airport.  We took full advantage of this service by dropping off our bags and securing our boarding passes at the airline counters at Kowloon Station and heading into Hong Kong Island for lunch at Asian Twist at IFC Mall -- which featured a Singaporean menu; yay, laksa! -- before catching the Airport Express to HK International Airport on Lantau Island.  Coincidentally, as a perfect precursor to the next leg of our Asia Trip 2012 tour, the train ride included a video of Japanese Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto sharing tips on how to properly eat nigiri sushi:

1. Do not mix wasabi in soy sauce.  The wasabi that the chef places on the sushi should be sufficient, requiring at most a quick dip in soy sauce; otherwise, the extra wasabi should be added directly on the sushi and then dipped in the soy sauce.
2. Use fresh, not powdered wasabi.  Fresh wasabi isn't as potent and allows more of the natural fish taste to come through.
3. Expect to use more wasabi on fattier fish.  (Didn't catch the reason behind this one.)

After a smooth 4-hour flight via Taipei to Fukuoka, Japan, we went through an elaborate immigration process that required scans of both index fingers and a mug shot.  We were relieved to finally emerge from customs almost an hour later to see BT and NW's familiar faces.  We headed to BT's apartment via the Kuko then Nanakuma subway lines, then on foot through a quiet neighborhood where we sheepishly grimaced at each bump that our rattling roller bag encountered.  We ended this day with a tasty midnight snack of tonkatsu (breaded deep-fried pork cutlet) over rice and then turned in for the night with peaceful smiles on our faces.

Asia Trip 2012 - Day 4 in Hong Kong

Despite the fact that we awoke to overcast skies and got ready for the day with NHK Channel News Asia in the background assuring us of rain today, we strutted out of our hotel confidently sans raincoat or umbrella.  The next scene in our Asia 2012 filmstrip showed us huddled under a glass pavilion in Stanley Plaza, along with dozens of other travelers to the southern coast of Hong Kong Island, as a thunderous storm passed overhead.  It was actually quite fun, sitting on the stone steps and people-watching while strong winds billowed and  huge rain drops pounded around us.  Reminded me of my childhood in Singapore when daily thunderstorms cleared the humid afternoons, leaving the air crisp and refreshing afterwards.

While we enjoyed our visit to Stanley, known for its bustling street market; and the scenic bus rides through the posh neighborhoods and scenic beaches of Repulse Bay, the highlight of the day was seeing our friend WW in Aberdeen.  We visited him at his family business, Bright Sun Coffee, which is known for producing Kopi Luwak, or Palm Civet ("cat poo") coffee beans.  He treated us to a crash course on coffee-making -- from the plain, khaki-colored raw beans to the beautiful roasted product that were cooling in the gunny sacks -- and brewed up tasty samples of coffee, including the coveted Kopi Luwak.  We arrived as non-coffee-drinkers but, in less than 2 hours, I do believe WW made converts out of us!

Asia Trip 2012 - Day 3 in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has an energetic vibe that awakes at around 10:30 and sleeps past midnight.  At least that's what we learned when we left our hotel at 9 and found the nocturnal shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui just starting to yawn and rub sleep from her eyes.  Its denser areas are very visitor-friendly, with directional signs pointing to landmarks and useful orientation maps liberally posted at intersections and in the MTR stations.  If crowds bother you, avoid the Central district during peak periods, like commuting hours and lunchtime, and hit tourist spots like Victoria Peak earlier in the day before the queues get long.  Getting "caught up" in the current of commuters can be quite invigorating, though -- remembering to zip up all pockets and bags -- as you move along with the organism that is HK's working population.

It was Tomb Sweeping Day today, so after sleeping in, locals in casual dress and immigrant workers flooded the streets and malls on this public holiday.  Besides pleasant morning and afternoon strolls through various parts of Tsim Sha Tsui -- along the main drags of Canton and Nathan roads and the harborfront -- our focus was on food today.  And what a wonderful theme that was!  

We enjoyed dim sum with Oklahoma friends WL and KC at Jasmine Place in Jardin House; and caught a choppy but worthwhile boat ride with family for a scrumptious dinner at Rainbow Seafood Restaurant on Lamma Island, 40-minutes from HK Island.  I tasted (and loved) the oddly elongated bamboo clams for the first time, while overlooking floating homes of fishermen that didn't appear to have any electricity.  Dozed off intermittently as the boat skimmed the waves past sparsely populated islands back to the more congested part of the country.

Asia Trip 2012 - Day 2 in Hong Kong

Up at 8 am, and ready to go!  Weather forecast predicted a high of 30 degrees Celsius (86 deg Fahrenheit), but I still packed a pullover in our day pack in anticipation of chilly air conditioning indoors.  We enjoyed a leisurely and filling noodle soup breakfast at Three Sixty, a supermarket with a food court, then ventured out.

First tourist destination of the day: Victoria Peak.  We caught the MTR subway, which brought us from Kowloon to Hong Kong station in 8 minutes; then walked 10 minutes to Exit J-2, the closest outlet to the Peak Tram terminal.  Although we joined the tram queue early enough (10 am-ish) to miss the huge crowds, it was our initiation to being "packed like sardines" that would characterize our visit to every busy area we visited around town.  Our ascent to the peak was fast and fun -- roller-coaster-like -- on the 150-year old tram, which thankfully replaced the grueling "travel up the steep mountain by sedan chair" practice of the late 1800s.  

We descended after soaking in the impressive (but hazy) view, in time to miss the lunchtime rush. I was feeling a little congested from the pollution by then,  but not enough to don the surgical masks that we brought with us.  Even though the light blue nose coverings are a common sight around here -- understandably so, considering the persistent haze -- I couldn't bring myself to wear one.  We walked westward on busy Queen's Road to the Central - mid-levels escalators, which took us up the Soho district for lunch at Soho Spices, a Thai-Vietnamese place that we'd recommend on Elgin Street.

Other places we explored that day:
Man Mo Temple, which helped fund the first free schools for underprivileged children in the country.
The antique district along Hollywood Road and its side streets, with fascinating dynasty-era wood and wood carvings, and Communist period memorabilia, including Chairman Mao's red book.
Tsim Sha Tsui on Kowloon, where we savored awesome Peking duck at Peking Garden with family, then ooh'd and aah'd at the Symphony of Lights and strolled through the Avenue of Stars along the waterfront.

A good full day!

Asia Trip 2012 - Day 1 in Hong Kong

We arrived in HK after our 14-hour flight surprisingly alert, thanks to three entertaining films (The Iron Lady, Hugo, and The Muppets); an excerpt from the audio book, The Happiness Advantage; a Berlitz Word Traveler review of Cantonese phrases; and tasty eats highlighted by the pan-seared salmon filet and raspberry ice cream covered with a dark chocolate crust.

Smartly- dressed airport agents, some wearing surgical masks, directed us to the temperature checkpoint (remnant of SARS; hats off, please), then through immigration (where Inspector Chan with a cool thick thumb ring granted us passage), and onwards to baggage claim.  We emerged into the Arrivals Hall to be welcomed by WW with hugs and a "care tote" bag filled with useful survival items (fruit juices, pears, tissue packs, and wet wipes)!

A red Urban Taxi took us from the airport on Lantau Island to our hotel on Kowloon in 25 minutes, crossing two impressive and modern-looking bridges along the way.  We unpacked, dined at Xi Yan (Flavor) in the adjacent mall, scouted out our MTR subway options in the basement, and turned in by 11 pm local time, determined to overcome jet lag and awake at a decent hour the next day.  We're ready for you, HK!