Pohang to Daegu to Seoul

Normally, buses aren’t much to write about, four wheels, lots of seats, and an engine. But, the bus from Pohang to Daegu was noteworthy. Intercity buses in the States, or Greyhounds, leave a lot to be desired; in my only experience, a driver who knew the route would have been helpful. Buses in China vary in quality, from acceptable to downright disgusting and frightful. Normally there are people sitting in the aisles, it’s either hot or cold (in the summer and winter, respectively) and the bus will stop at every intersection to solicit more passengers until fully packed. Oh, and sometimes they drop you off on the side of the highway. South Korea, in contrast, seems to be the paragon of intercity bus excellence. The seats weren’t so much seats as La-Z-Boy recliners. Each seat was given its own armrest, so the passive aggressive armrest struggle was not to be had. The bus was quite comfortable, and although not full, we didn’t stop once to pick anyone up.

We had an afternoon in Daegu before our train back to Seoul, and the only thing really notable in the guidebook was the traditional medicine market. It wasn’t all that impressive, as it was not an open-air market, but rather just a line of shops. Their products were things that would decidedly not be found at a Hy-Vee pharmacy. If you’re in the market for ginseng, dried fungi, or reindeer antlers, then Daegu is your place. Much more fun was the Korean Traditional Medicine museum. It was full of (in my opinion) outrageous traditional medicine displays, all touting ways I could mystically heal my body. Now, I am sure that some Korean Traditional Medicine is effective and useful, but this museum went a little beyond the generally accepted medicines. I was very happy to learn my traditional oriental medicine body type (via an interactive display). It warned me that to maintain my body’s balance I should not be consuming pork, black beans, red beans, cold water, beer, ice, or Vitamin E. Oops, I think I have had every one of those since then, and am still feel pretty balanced. The funniest thing was the video about how Korean Traditional Medicine is now being accepted into the mainstream medical field, after passing tests and experiments…oh, how modernly scientific. After our brief education in traditional medicine, we took the KTX express train back to Seoul in the evening and went back to the same hostel. It’s pretty crazy, after growing up in America and living in China this past year, to take a four-hour train and essentially cross a country.