Wednesday, Day Eight: Train tickets and a movie

Up at 7:15, breakfast of coffee, garlic toast I got a couple days ago at Paris Baguette, cream cheese, sardines, and a banana while reading my mail, and the Post and Times. 

A little after 10:00 I called Lisa and arranged to meet her at East Daegu station tomorrow and have lunch. She sounded sleepy and I asked if I woke her up. She said it was the pollution; her head clears up whenever she gets out of town. I suggested she might want to ride to Seoul Saturday morning with Geoffrey and spend at least part of the day with us. She said she'd like to, and wanted to go to Seoul to visit a friend anyway, but can't afford to now. So it's to be lunch tomorrow. She asked what I like and I said "Korean, or Chinese, or even Japanese; I didn't come all the way over here to eat western." Now I have to go over to the station and get tickets. I'd love to do that on-line but I think I'd need a printer.

Geoffrey, Wayne, and I joke about making a lot of money introducing shower curtains to Korea. After a shower with the hand held shower head (pic: top center) one uses the squeegee to wipe the water off the ceiling, walls, washer (left) and floor, and anything else that got wet. 

After breakfast I fell asleep again and didn't wake up until 1:00.  I caught a cab to Changwon Central station (창원 중앙역) and bought tickets for tomorrow. I then walked around to familiarize myself with the place and bought lunch at the "Coffee Box" in the waiting room. I caught a little girl staring at me. There are enough westerners around that I don't get stared at as much as in the past. 

Looking at the ticket I realized it was earlier that I wanted to go. I think the agent misunderstood when I said about 10:00 and assumed I had to leave by 10:00. I changed it for the 10:13 KTX. The return ticket was fine. 

I then took a cab back. I had thought to go to another temple but Geoffrey said they are all uphill and I'm tired today; maybe when I get back from Seoul. I sat in the coffee shop on YongJi-ro reading Ko Un (I found the poem that inspired what I sent to Phil, "Dayfly" on page 56) and watching people go by. There was even a woman all dressed up in hanbok carrying flowers (pic). One rarely sees hanbok in Changwon, this may be my first time, but as I went out there was another woman walking by in a plain brown hanbok going into what I take to be a woman's center.

When Geoffrey got home we went out to Lotte Cinema at the city hall circle. We got the tickets (assigned seats) and then got dinner at the Lotte Department Store food court. I had omrice, rice wrapped in an omelet which I used to eat years ago, and a cutlet. It was considered western food then but I suspect they have a better idea of western food now. Geoffrey had a noodle dish. When we finished we walked past an automated sushi bar. Dishes moved past on a conveyer belt and you grabed what you wanted. Geoffrey had four dishes and I had one, ikura (rice and salmon row wrapped in seaweed). We then went to see "Looper" with Bruce Willis; interesting premise involving time travel with a couple obvious inconsistencies but a good movie. We got lattes at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, caught a cab on Jungang-daero and came home. 

We called Pat just before bed. She is just home from her aunt Gerry's funeral in New York.