Sunday, May 23, 2004
Nanda's Day Out.
I must say, today has been one of the most enjoyable days I have spent uptil now in Korea...
The Grand Lunch
It started off as a lazy sunday morning with me getting up at 12:00 in the noon (I was watching some crappy movie till 3 last night). I had been invited by Ganeshan over for lunch at his apartment. Ganeshan is a pass out from IIT Chennai doing his post doc research here in POSTECH. He's living in the Nakwan Apartments (the married students apartments - much like the SBRA Hostel we have in IITK).
So, at about 1:00 PM I go over to his place. Joshi and Ganeshan had put all their culinary skills together and churned out sambhar-chawal and raita, though Joshi was insisting that it wasnt sambhar but some Marathi dish made out of besan. Whatever - it was food - Indian food - and without beef or pork! In short - it was heaven!
After the sumptious meal, we walked back to our dorm and I went out searched for Ankur Dhamija (yes - he's here with me in POSTECH too). So, all three of us - Joshi, Dhamija and me the great - get our act together and plan an evening out - Bukbu beach, and then downtown for fried chicken.
The Beach
Off to Bukbu beach - on Bus #105 from the POSTECH gate. It was my first outing, first ride on the public buses here in Pohang - actually a lot of firsts today :-)
On the beach side we're greeted by rows and rows of boats/ferries/small ships - call it what you may. It was looking more like a harbour or dock - I was disappointed. But then we walked around and hit the right spot - the Bukbu beach! It was rather small - and right off the road. The beach must've been about 100 metres wide - between the road and the sea. I was not impressed - but I was in for a pleasent surprise ;-)
We walked around the beach - and to my dismay there were not girls in bikinis and no beach volleyball :-(. The beach was beautiful though - we could see HUGE ships on the horizon. Flanked by small hills on both the sides, with an overcast sky and the vast expanse of the ocean in front of us - it was a beautiful sight. All this scenic & poetic beauty was suddenly shattered by the loud sound of motors. There were some people on water scooters skidding on the water.
We went knee deep into the sea for a pic and came out yelping in icy cold pain. The water was frrrreezing. It must've been beloe 5 degrees celcius. Walked towards the gang with water scooterd with our bare, numb feet.
Yeeehaw!!
"We can do this?", I asked one of the fellows who looked incharge. (Don't ask me about the grammar - that'll be on some other post). With my past experience in Rishikesh, I thought that these were some tour agents/operators who organized such adventure sports. I was exepcting him to quote a hefty price for that water scooter. I was in for a surprise.
"Yes. You can do this. But water too cold. You get all wet", he said.
"How many Won?", I poked.
"No. No. No pay. Korean men very good." And yes - they indeed were.
So before we knew it, Joshi and I were wearing life jackets with our jeans folded till our knees we were ready to ride that water scooter! One of the Koreans took the wheel (or handle bars, if you wish) with me and Joshi in the rear. After the scooter started - all I know I was holding onto the Korean for my life and was shouting on the top of my voice. It was sheer excitement. More than any freaking Appu Ghar or Essel World ride. The way the scooter banked when he used to turn it - we used to be almost touching the water! I really cant describe it - it was one helluvan experience!
Going Bananas
We got out alive - and thanked them profusely. And then we were in for more!! There was this big banana shaped inflated boat - one big banana in the middle and two small ones on the side (photographs due). You had to ride it cowboy style - five people on one banana - pulled by that water scooter. There was absolutely NO WAY - I was gonna go on that thing. I dont know what made me agree to do it - and I really thank god that I went there. I had the time of my freaking life!
On that banana, Joshi, me and two other Korean. I was bang in the front. Riding the damn thing while the scooter whirred along at what seemed like insane speed at that time. The turns on this were even more life threatening. And to top it off - the one thing I was praying for not to happen - happened. The whole damn thing tipped before we knew it - and bam - we were in that chilled water in the middle of the ocean. For a second I lost all control - I was shocked! And then almost on an impulse I started swimming towards the shore and so did Joshi. And these Koreans were shouting "Stop! Stop!"
We finally did stop - the life jackets kept us afloat. But not without getting mouthfuls of that awfully salty water right down our throats. Anyways, another scooter came for the rescue. It pulled the banana back upright - and I tried to mount it - toppling it off again! These Koreans got on top first and pulled us up. And we hit the shore after that!
I've never ever had so much fun in my whole freaking Korean life. Anyways, we came out all drenched in that water - shivering like hell - but enjoying every moment of it. These folks then offered water melon - which neutralized the pathetic salty taste in our mouths. We caught a cab and came right back to our dorms and took a hot bath and off again... downtown :-)
Bad Boys Downtown
Back onto Bus #105 and off at downtown. We were just looking around. The markets here are pretty good. All American brands. Nice showrooms. Nice footpath shops just like in India.
There was this promotional thing going on at one of the crossings, stupid games a huge inflated cartoon characted. Nothing interesting until we got back after completing one round of window shopping. Man - it was great! 4 scantily dressed girls gyrating to some cheesy song - "Yo baby! Yo Baby! Yo!" - yeah right! Yo, baby! [Ed: I know you're dying for pics to this one - dont worry I've clicked one ;-)]
Had PFC (Pelican Fried Chicken - yeah, I know) - freaking HUGE chicken these Koreans have. That was one kind of meat I had eaten before and I was actually relishing and not forcing down my throat.
After the chicken and the chicks - we got our asses back home.
Well, as they say - That's all folks!!
The Grand Lunch
It started off as a lazy sunday morning with me getting up at 12:00 in the noon (I was watching some crappy movie till 3 last night). I had been invited by Ganeshan over for lunch at his apartment. Ganeshan is a pass out from IIT Chennai doing his post doc research here in POSTECH. He's living in the Nakwan Apartments (the married students apartments - much like the SBRA Hostel we have in IITK).
So, at about 1:00 PM I go over to his place. Joshi and Ganeshan had put all their culinary skills together and churned out sambhar-chawal and raita, though Joshi was insisting that it wasnt sambhar but some Marathi dish made out of besan. Whatever - it was food - Indian food - and without beef or pork! In short - it was heaven!
After the sumptious meal, we walked back to our dorm and I went out searched for Ankur Dhamija (yes - he's here with me in POSTECH too). So, all three of us - Joshi, Dhamija and me the great - get our act together and plan an evening out - Bukbu beach, and then downtown for fried chicken.
The Beach
Off to Bukbu beach - on Bus #105 from the POSTECH gate. It was my first outing, first ride on the public buses here in Pohang - actually a lot of firsts today :-)
On the beach side we're greeted by rows and rows of boats/ferries/small ships - call it what you may. It was looking more like a harbour or dock - I was disappointed. But then we walked around and hit the right spot - the Bukbu beach! It was rather small - and right off the road. The beach must've been about 100 metres wide - between the road and the sea. I was not impressed - but I was in for a pleasent surprise ;-)
We walked around the beach - and to my dismay there were not girls in bikinis and no beach volleyball :-(. The beach was beautiful though - we could see HUGE ships on the horizon. Flanked by small hills on both the sides, with an overcast sky and the vast expanse of the ocean in front of us - it was a beautiful sight. All this scenic & poetic beauty was suddenly shattered by the loud sound of motors. There were some people on water scooters skidding on the water.
We went knee deep into the sea for a pic and came out yelping in icy cold pain. The water was frrrreezing. It must've been beloe 5 degrees celcius. Walked towards the gang with water scooterd with our bare, numb feet.
Yeeehaw!!
"We can do this?", I asked one of the fellows who looked incharge. (Don't ask me about the grammar - that'll be on some other post). With my past experience in Rishikesh, I thought that these were some tour agents/operators who organized such adventure sports. I was exepcting him to quote a hefty price for that water scooter. I was in for a surprise.
"Yes. You can do this. But water too cold. You get all wet", he said.
"How many Won?", I poked.
"No. No. No pay. Korean men very good." And yes - they indeed were.
So before we knew it, Joshi and I were wearing life jackets with our jeans folded till our knees we were ready to ride that water scooter! One of the Koreans took the wheel (or handle bars, if you wish) with me and Joshi in the rear. After the scooter started - all I know I was holding onto the Korean for my life and was shouting on the top of my voice. It was sheer excitement. More than any freaking Appu Ghar or Essel World ride. The way the scooter banked when he used to turn it - we used to be almost touching the water! I really cant describe it - it was one helluvan experience!
Going Bananas
We got out alive - and thanked them profusely. And then we were in for more!! There was this big banana shaped inflated boat - one big banana in the middle and two small ones on the side (photographs due). You had to ride it cowboy style - five people on one banana - pulled by that water scooter. There was absolutely NO WAY - I was gonna go on that thing. I dont know what made me agree to do it - and I really thank god that I went there. I had the time of my freaking life!
On that banana, Joshi, me and two other Korean. I was bang in the front. Riding the damn thing while the scooter whirred along at what seemed like insane speed at that time. The turns on this were even more life threatening. And to top it off - the one thing I was praying for not to happen - happened. The whole damn thing tipped before we knew it - and bam - we were in that chilled water in the middle of the ocean. For a second I lost all control - I was shocked! And then almost on an impulse I started swimming towards the shore and so did Joshi. And these Koreans were shouting "Stop! Stop!"
We finally did stop - the life jackets kept us afloat. But not without getting mouthfuls of that awfully salty water right down our throats. Anyways, another scooter came for the rescue. It pulled the banana back upright - and I tried to mount it - toppling it off again! These Koreans got on top first and pulled us up. And we hit the shore after that!
I've never ever had so much fun in my whole freaking Korean life. Anyways, we came out all drenched in that water - shivering like hell - but enjoying every moment of it. These folks then offered water melon - which neutralized the pathetic salty taste in our mouths. We caught a cab and came right back to our dorms and took a hot bath and off again... downtown :-)
Bad Boys Downtown
Back onto Bus #105 and off at downtown. We were just looking around. The markets here are pretty good. All American brands. Nice showrooms. Nice footpath shops just like in India.
There was this promotional thing going on at one of the crossings, stupid games a huge inflated cartoon characted. Nothing interesting until we got back after completing one round of window shopping. Man - it was great! 4 scantily dressed girls gyrating to some cheesy song - "Yo baby! Yo Baby! Yo!" - yeah right! Yo, baby! [Ed: I know you're dying for pics to this one - dont worry I've clicked one ;-)]
Had PFC (Pelican Fried Chicken - yeah, I know) - freaking HUGE chicken these Koreans have. That was one kind of meat I had eaten before and I was actually relishing and not forcing down my throat.
After the chicken and the chicks - we got our asses back home.
Well, as they say - That's all folks!!
