MandyMcGregor.co.nz

28, Aug, 2009

My body is going up and down like the minimal turbulence we had, I cant wait to be rid of that nauseating feeling!

We got picked up at the airport by what can only be described as an Asian Party Bus. It was so cool, it had a full DJ set in there, a huge Samsun telly, mirrors and lighting (effectis I imagine for the evenings). The seats were all covered in some pretty fabric and it was really all decked out - dare I say double-decked bus?  We passed the Hyundai Factory which stretched for blocks and blocks.

Archery is a big thing in Korea, and as we drove thru the streets we noticed that every second lamp post had flags up advertsiing it, something you would only see for a triathlon type series in New Plymouth.  We arrived at Good Morning Ulsan hotel and lodgings are adequate. Shaun & Steve have blood on their carpet and an fantastic view of someones washing.  Lucky we arent here for the views!  No pool either so should we be dipping ourselves into the yellow sea?

We got ourselves sorted and headed down to the Hyundai Department Store for some food, and discovered the supermarket.  That was an experience! The crabs and mussels were still alive waiting for their destiny, and that freaked me out as much as the other colourful food that was piled into heaps with all signs being in Korean, and few if any koreans speaking english.

The foodcourt was interesting, some Korean lady sitting down took one look at me & said 'hello - come sit, come sit' but there wasnt any room so we headed off in another direction. Sushi train, deep fried veges, and dumplings were on offer along with the usual burger king etc, and a great bakery - uh-oh!

I managed to purchase for $2000 won ($2.50) two flat packed pork dumplings. she explained to me 'this side hot, this site not-hot' so i decided on one of each and they were fabulous. And it was hot!! My eyes were watering and I was cracking up, determined to eat it & get a sample of Korean food.  The rest was pretty illegible so maybe will venture there tomorrow for more.  Brought some grapes, bananas and water for $6000 won and headed back.

Team meeting provided us some tasks to do before we head off for unofficial practise tomorrow, 8am start, hopefully before the heat really kicks in!