When I went to Andong

I had an extra week of vacation after I returned from Japan. I had this grand scheme of going somewhere new every day and exploring the country. But then it was cold. And I sent a lot of money home. And then I booked a ski trip. So I went to Andong. Andong is in my province and about 2 hours away by bus. They are known for their mask festival (Which was canceled this year because of the flu), and well preserved traditional villages. They even shoot tv shows and movies there because the houses are so well looked after. Book in hand I was ready to sight see while spending as little money as possible. I made it to the bus station 2 hours later than planned, bought my ticket and sat down to wait for my bus. Upon closer inspection I noticed my ticket was actually for Angong. I have been there, and aside from the lovely EPIK teachers who live there, there isn't much to see. Back to the window I went for a "who's on first?" style conversation to get my ticket changed. Thankfully I noticed just in time and managed to make it onto the bus just before departure.

I got to Andong much later than intended but it was fine, as I only had my own schedule to deal with. After a quick trip to the tourist office, where I was greeted by a woman who looked thrilled to see me, I went off on foot to see the 7 story brick pagoda and traditional village. Did you know that a 7 story brick pagoda isn't as big as it sounds? It was nice but a little underwhelming. The best part was a stone carving that looked eerily like Buddha Yoda. After reaching my goal of the village I sight saw for about 30 minutes before hail came to ruin all my fun. "No problem," thought I, "I will just cab it back to the city center." Except no cabs would stop for me. This is something I notice in Korea. If a lot of my face is showing, and it is obvious I am white, I often have a hard time getting a cab. It sucks. Back through the hail I travelled, finally getting to the city center. I had packed extra clothes in my purse, in case I wanted to stay the night and continue looking around the next day, but by that time I was sick of Andong and just wanted to go home to warm up.

At the bus terminal I bought my ticket back to Pohang and sat down to wait the 1.5 hours until my bus arrived. Now, given the ticket buying experience on the way to Andong, you would have though I double checked my ticket before leaving the window. I didn't. I just sat there, eating gimbap, waiting for my bus watching Korean tv. About 45 minutes later I heard Pohang announced and though, "Huh?" I went out to investigate, and that is when I noticed my ticket was for Pohwai. I thought it seemed cheap. I played charades with the bus driver to hold the bus, ran back in, fixed my ticket, and jumped on the bus. I was one of only two people on that bus, and the other guy could not stop farting. I was quite pleased to get off in Pohang, go home, and crawl under the covers of my warm bed.