Results tagged “Museums” from East Asia 2017
Had a bit of a broken night's sleep on account of not being able to breathe.
At 6:20 the alarm went off to wake up.
Arrival in Incheon was pretty boring. I missed coming under the bridge, but then we docked at a new terminal area in the middle of nowhere (they haven't even built the terminal yet). Downloaded the GPS log since Busan.
Had some breakfast at Kings Court around 8:00.
At 8:45 we went into the Royal Court Theatre to check in to our tour. Where we then had to wait and wait and wait. This time the Korean immigrations had setup laptops in the Queens Room to process everyone. So we had to collect our passports, walk past the temperature sensor, then get our passports stamped. Then we dropped off our passports and got a shore card. They had a truck setup outside with a portable gangway, but it was *very* steep getting up it. We could have really just gone straight off the ship onto the wharf, rather than up and over, but apparently the tides change quite a lot and they were going to have to rearrange things during the day. It was after 10:00 before our coach left the wharf.
So then it was the really long drive into Seoul.
Our first stop was the National Museum. We lasted about five minutes with the crowds and our tour guide before we went off and wandered the place on our own. Sure we probably missed out on hearing about some things in more detail, but we did get a nice long look at all the celadon (a green glazed ceramic), and an amazing exhibition of items recovered in 1975 from a shipwreck.
Entrance of the National Museum of Korea
Gold Crown and Girdle, National Treasure #191 and #192
Gold Crown Ornament, National Treasure #630
Ten Story Pagoda, National Treasure #86
Dragon shaped ewer celadon, National Treasure #61
Ewer celadon
Celadon plate
Objects from the Sinan shipwreck
Objects from the Sinan shipwreck
Coins from the Sinan shipwreck
Then it was off to lunch at a place in the city. There was about fifteen different courses!! It was pretty insane. And I was having fun until I was eating all the green vegetables in a cold "porridge" when I got a huge slice of raw green chili. My mouth exploded. I should have spat it out, but I was on a table full of strangers. So that was super painful (I was in tears) and kinda ruined the rest of the meal. And our tour guide didn't seem to understand that people need to use the bathroom, and so we had to try and find it ourselves when we should have been going out to get back on the coach.
Han Jeongsik traditional lunch at Jinjinbara
Han Jeongsik traditional lunch at Jinjinbara. That green chili sunk in with the rest of the vegetables and my mouth exploded when I ate it :(
Han Jeongsik traditional lunch at Jinjinbara
After lunch it started raining. Yay. We went to Bukchon village next, a line of houses built in the 1930s by a dude who wanted to preserve houses built in traditional Korean style. But it's a residential street and I think the people that live there hate the fact that it's a huge tourist destination.
Sungnyemun Gate
Bukchon Hanok Village
Bukchon Hanok Village
Bukchon Hanok Village
Bukchon Hanok Village
Traditional dress store
Girls in traditional dress
Still raining. We drove past the presidential "blue house" and got one or two photos through foggy and rain-smeared windows.
The Blue House
Then into the royal palace next door. Still raining on and off. Had a decent wander around there which was pretty cool.
Gwanghwamun Gate
Heungnyemun Gate
Geunjeongjeon hall
Inside Geunjeongjeon hall
Courtyard of Geunjeongjeon hall and Bukhansan Mountain
Gargoyle at Geunjeongjeon hall
Covered walkway on west side of Geunjeongjeon hall
Covered walkway on west side of Geunjeongjeon hall
Gyeonghoeru pavilion
Bukhansan Mountain
Locals in traditional dress
Decorative roof at Gyeongbokgung Palace
Gangnyeongjeon hall
Inside Gangnyeongjeon hall
Locals in traditional dress
Looking towards Gwanghwamun Gate from Heungnyemun Gate
Gargoyle at Gyeongbokgung Palace
Asian women need instructions on how to use the toilets
Girls toilets at Gyeongbokgung Palace
So a reasonably decent tour. Shame about the weather.
Finally a very long drive back to the ship.
Banghwa Bridge
Queen Mary 2 docked at Incheon Port International Passenger Terminal
Queen Mary 2 docked at Incheon Port International Passenger Terminal
Incheon Bridge, connecting Yeongjong Island and the mainland of Incheon
Sunset aboard the Queen Mary 2
Queen Mary 2 bell
19:30 the usual pub for drinks/music/trivia (we got 16/20 this time - would have gotten a couple more if we'd joined with the table that marked ours - they knew two that we didn't heh). Really must join ranks with some English people as the questions do tend to be a bit British-centric.
When we got to dinner we found two new people on our table (Bruce and Maria from Sydney). They'd been on board since Sydney and were going all the way to Southampton. But they kept on being at a table by themselves and asked to join someone else. We'd had two seats free since Virginia and Bob got off in Shanghai so that was quite nice. Stu had chicken consomme, Korean chicken and chocolate volcano cake. I had smoked duck, penne, and wasn't going to have dessert because I was so full, but got tempted by the key lime pie heh.
I really feel like we don't belong on this cruise. Bruce and David spent most of the evening talking about travelling business class and comparing airlines, and the sizes of their apartments. Bruce and Maria live in one of the toasters in Circular Quay, and at one point I think I overheard it was 192 square metres (although only heard a snatch of that conversation I could be wrong). Various British couples we've met have summer homes in Europe. We're too young and not rich enough to belong on this cruise...
Slept in til 06:38!
Got ready and watched our arrival into Nagasaki from the top deck. We passed under the Megami Ohashi bridge on the way in, which apparently was built around the same time as the Queen Mary 2, and was built high enough to allow tall ships such as the Queen Mary 2 to pass underneath. Apparently there's only a six metre clearance! Lots of people were on the bridge, and we honked at them a few times :)
Crowds gathered on Magamio Bridge to welcome Queen Mary 2
Megami Ohashi Bridge and Queen Mary 2
Dry docks in Nagasaki bay
Kite flying over Nagasaki bay
Nagasaki
Looking up to Glover Garden
As we were pulling up to the dock on our port side, a little troupe of dancers and a full brass band came out to welcome us. They went for quite a while, it was pretty awesome.
Welcoming committee at Nagasaki
Welcoming committee at Nagasaki
Breakfast was a little more relaxed as we didn't have to rush for any tours. As it was a cruise terminal, they have it setup inside to deal with the cruise ships. There was quite a lot of people, but it all flowed fairly quickly. In the terminal they were also setup with an information stand giving out maps, a place selling the all day tram tickets (500 yen), and an ATM. So we were all set for the day really quickly. We didn't go on a tour in Nagasaki. We'd originally tried to get on one, but it was booked out and we were put on a wait list. So I did a bunch of my own research and decided we could have a better day doing things ourselves. So when a spot came up on the tour I didn't bother to accept it.
So after getting off the ship we headed for the nearest station on the blue line and took a tram up to Hamaguchi-Machi station to look at the peace memorial hall.
Queen Mary 2 at Nagasaki
Nagasaki manhole cover
Pool above the Memorial Hall and Nagasaki History and Folklore Museum
Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims
Paper crane I made and added to the collection
Then next door to the Atomic Bomb museum. Not a very big museum but problematic with flow because there's tv screens with lots of information but take quite a while to cycle through so people bunch up watching them and don't keep moving. And of course there were several Cunard tour groups passing through, so the place was quite cramped. But very interesting and focussing on the effects of the bomb in Nagasaki followed by a hall on the current state of nuclear weapons in the world.
Spiral entrance to the Atomic Bomb Museum
Paper cranes in the Atomic Bomb Museum
Wall clock found in a house near Sanno Shinto Shrine, about 800 metres from the hypocentre
Molten beads of stained glass from Urakami Cathedral
Our legs were hurting quite a bit at this point so we stopped in the cafe for a bit.
Instructions on how to use the toilet
Then we headed down the hill to the hypocentre. I've now been to both hypocentres for both nuclear blasts.
Sadako Sasaki statue
Canal where people tried to find water to relieve their burns
Hypocenter Cenotaph
Sun directly overhead the hypocenter
Wall remnant of Urakami Cathedral
And then up the hill to the peace park, which is in the location of a former prison that was reduced to its foundations in the blast.
Nagasaki Peace Statue through the Fountain of Peace
Fountain of Peace
Fountain of Peace
Remnants of the prison blocks
Paper cranes in Nagasaki Peace Park
Nagasaki Peace Statue
Took a red line tram back into town (Kokaido-Mae) to have a look at the Megane-bashi "spectacles" bridge. And we continued to wander down the channel looking at all the stone bridges across it.
Tram we took at Kokaido-mea tram station
Megane Bridge (Spectacles Bridge)
People crossing the Nakashima River
Then at random we wandered into this covered-street shopping area. We were just looking at the map when some locals asked if we needed help. We didn't really as we were just looking at it, but then we asked if there was any local Nagasaki dishes that they could recommend. She said we should try the "turkish rice" at a famous nearby cafe - the Olympic Cafe. So she took us there to show us where it was. Turns out it's just a pork katsudon on flavoured rice, with spaghetti and a bit of cabbage on the side. We also ordered a "cheeseburger" which was just a hamburger patty topped with cheese, also on the same rice and spaghetti. Quite an odd meal, but quite nice. It seems the cafe is quite famous for its 120cm high dessert towers. Amazing to see. But we were too full from lunch to attempt to eat one (and it was 15:00 by this point). We never would have even gone in there if it hadn't been for the local telling us where to go. As is the case in Japan, many restaurants are hidden away at the top of tiny little staircases, so if you didn't know they were there, you'd never think to go.
After lunch we continued walking south and went and had a good long wander around Dejima, which for a couple of hundred years was the only place which could do any western trade with Japan. Interesting stuff, and lots and lots of buildings with different things in them.
Dejima island next to the Nakashima River from the Dejima bridge
Old Dejima Seminary
Local Japanese guy who posed for me
Scale model of Dejima Dutch trading post
Scale model of Dejima Dutch trading post
Next we took a blue line tram to Takara-machi and hiked the kilometre to the base of the Inasa ropeway. I'd have done this earlier in the day if the weather had been better, but since it was grey all day I decided we could do this is as the last thing while it was still daylight, then hang around and wait til it got dark. Because apparently this was once voted the third best night view after Hong Kong and Monaco.
Stu under at tori at Mt Inasa
Our cable car at the Nagasaki Ropeway
Lookout building on Mt Inasa
View of Nagasaki from Mt Inasa
Queen Mary 2 from Mt Inasa
Nagasaki Harbour Bridge
So after getting our daytime photos, we sat in the foyer for a bit and had a drink and waited an hour or so for it to get dark. The problem with this place is it's tiny. And lots of people want to come and see the third best night view in the world. And most people that go there aren't satisfied with having a look and taking a few photos and then moving on. No, most of them are setup with with tripods and are there for the long haul and will. not. budge. I was getting so pissed off that I couldn't get anywhere near the fence to take a few photos. I actually leaned on a few of them at one point. Eventually after ages I was able to get some photos but it was a very frustrating experience. I think a bunch of them were waiting for the Queen Mary 2 to depart, but that was two and a half hours away.
Transmission towers on Mt Inasa
Crowds at Mt Inasa (that wouldn't MOVE)
View of Nagasaki from Mt Inasa by night
Queen Mary 2 from Mt Inasa by night
Nagasaki Harbour Bridge from Mt Inasa by night
So about 19:15 we headed back. We were able to get on a cable car fairly quickly which was good. Walked back to the tram, then two trams back to the ship (blue line to Tsuki-Machi, and a green line to Ouratenshudoshita, although it took so long to arrive we could have walked the two stops quicker heh).
Tunnel of Light
So it was a pretty full-on day (over 20000 steps!), but we got to do the things that we wanted to do, and at our own pace.
Stu went aboard first so I could get a definitive location on our room. Then I went on board. Getting through the terminal was super easy - just handed in my photocopied passport with the entry card stuck on it, and through I went. Slight queue at ship-board security.
Queen Mary 2 docked at Nagasaki International Cruise Ship Terminal by night
Looking into the Purser's Office on deck 2
Stu on our balcony showing the location of our room
Oura Church by night
Even though we'd (just) made it back to the ship by 20:30, we really didn't feel like dressing up for dinner, so we just grabbed a light dinner in the Kings Court. I wasn't going to have any dessert but they had a white chocolate fountain! So dipped a chocolate cake ball in that. Also took a bread roll and some butter for breakfast.
White chocolate fountain in Kings Court
I went up to deck 13 to watch the departure. Nagasaki's big suspension bridge is not lit up like Busan's, so it was a little boring heh.
Back in the room I heard something loud outside so went to see what it was. It was the pilot's boat, so watched it come alongside, and watched two guys jump off the Queen Mary 2 onto it. That was pretty cool.
Pilot boat which came to pick up the harbour pilot
Then it was wash hair and go to bed, after setting *everything* up to charge.
Some time overnight the phone moved forward an hour. Possibly late yesterday afternoon when we got in mobile range of Korea. Moved the Canon forward an hour. But turns out Stu's random camera had been an hour out for the Hong Kong and Shanghai part of the trip. Because it automatically changed itself in Busan to be another hour forward. Had to turn summertime off, but need to remember that the times on it may need adjusting.
We arrived in Busan at a container terminal out of town, and it was on our port side, so I was able to watch the arrival from our balcony.
Coaches lined up waiting to take tourists on their tours
ATM van at Gamman container terminal
Finally got eggs benedict for breakfast, but felt too stressed to enjoy it (we had to get ready for our tour shortly afterwards).
Due to arriving at a container terminal, there's nothing setup for customs and immigration, so officials came onto the ship and setup in the Queens Room. But after queuing for ages, all we did was walk from one side of the room to the other and get a port card on the way out. All very odd, don't know what that was about. Unless they had temperature sensors setup that I didn't notice (I was trying to catch up with our group, as we'd got from second last to last when another couple pushed in to go in front of us, and another group merged with us and also had people get in front of us. I really really didn't want the last seats in the coach as they're a lot harder to see out of). Then it was down to deck 1 and we walked straight off the ship onto the wharf. Pretty cool. They had a small welcoming troupe there which was also pretty cool. We managed to catch up with the group and even get ahead, as some others delayed in figuring out where to go to get to deck 1, and some then had to wander all the way up the wharf to go to the bathroom, so we actually got reasonable seats on the coach.
The coach ride for the morning was a one and a half hour drive to the Gyeongju area.
Trump World tower
Our first stop was the Bulguksa Temple complex which was quite a nice place. The structure on the 10 won coin is at this temple which is cool. I was worried leaving this place that we'd be last back to the bus but we were actually first back on the bus. (I had to find a bathroom - this one had toilet paper on a roll as you go in, but I had to use half of it to wipe down the seat :( Seriously, what is it with Asian women who feel the need to pee all over the seats?? If you're going to piss all over the seat, why don't you lift the damned lid and piss all over the rim, and not where I have to sit next?!?! It was like that in Shanghai the other day too. I did have an extra roll of toilet paper with me, but was able to make do, but was very unimpressed).
Map of Bulguksa Temple area
Lake and bridge at Bulguksa Temple
Gwangmok Cheonwang inside the gate
Cherry blossoms at Bulguksa - really the only cherry blossoms we saw the whole trip
Bulguksa Temple
Paper flowers in Bulguksa Temple
Decorated temple roof
Dabotap Pagoda as featured on the 10 won coin
Dabotap Pagoda
One of the lions at Dabotap Pagoda. Another is in the British Museum, the other two are missing
Daeungjeon Hall
Seokgatap (Sakyamuni Pagoda)
Museoljeon Hall at Bulguksa Temple
Paper flowers leading to Birojeon Hall at Bulguksa Temple
Vairocana Buddha in Birojeon Hall, National Treasure No.26
Magnolias at Bulguksa Temple
Gwaneumjeon Hall
Stone Garden at Bulguksa
Stone Garden at Bulguksa
Sakyamuni Buddha and his sixteen disciples in Nahanjeon Hall
Lanterns at beophwajeon - site of stone foundation
Wooden carved pig at Geuknakjeon
Good luck pig at Geuknakjeon
Large bell pavilion
Sadly we're a little too early for all the cherry blossoms in this part of the world, but the magnolias are in full bloom at the moment and they're very pretty.
We stopped for lunch at the nearby Commodore Hotel. Three coachfulls of people in one of their function rooms. So was a little chaotic. Meal was decent enough though. And it wasn't seated on the floor like it said it would be in the guide heh. After lunch there was a performance by local Korean girls - with fans, drums etc. That was quite nice. The table we sat at was pretty odd though. There was a single guy, a couple from possibly Germany, a single lady, and two Japanese ladies. And noone talked to each other. Very odd.
Gyeongju Tower
Joongdo Tower
Korean dancers who performed for us after lunch at the Commodore Hotel
Korean dancers who performed for us after lunch at the Commodore Hotel
Korean dancers who performed for us after lunch at the Commodore Hotel
Korean dancers who performed for us after lunch at the Commodore Hotel
It was around this point that I knew I was getting sick. That telltale throat feeling and start of a cough. This made me very grunty with all the hundreds of other sick people on this cruise.
After lunch we went to Cheonmachong tomb (the flying horse tomb), in a park containing many royal tombs from the Silla dynasty. That was quite cool (although the artifacts are all replicas as the originals are kept in storage). What's amazing is that they've found any in tact tombs in recent times at all. I'd have thought they'd have all long been raided over the last millennium.
Magnolias
Royal burial mounds
Inside Cheonmachong tomb
Cheonmachong tomb
Cheonmachong tomb exterior
Finally we went to the Gyeongju National Museum to see the Divine Bell of King Songdok and quite a few "national treasures" including some of the artifacts found in the royal tombs.
Bell of King Seongdeok
Crown ornament, one of Korea's National Treasures
Gold mounted dish, National treasure No. 626
Crown and belt, National treasures No. 188-190
Model of the Gyeongju area
And then the hour and a half long trip back to the container terminal.
Me and the Queen Mary 2
Queen Mary 2 at Gamman container terminal
Queen Mary 2 at Gamman container terminal
Looking aft along the Queen Mary 2
Overall quite a good tour, and we quite enjoyed the day. Except for getting sick of course.
I went up to the top deck for a bit, but then watched the departure from our balcony (18:44 pushback from the wharf). The lights of Busan were all on by this point and the Busan Harbor Bridge is lit up with multi-coloured LEDs which cycle through the rainbow which made the bridge look amazing.
Busan Harbour Bridge lit up
Before dinner we ordered a copy of one of the photos we'd had taken before the previous night's formal dinner. For dinner we both had deep fried brie for entree. Stu had a seafood spaghetti and rum cake, and I had chicken cordon bleu (a tad dry) and a white chocolate panna cotta (a repeat! gasp!).
Then collapsed into bed.