Thursday, 16 August 2012 Dong Hae, South Korea (0 miles) Total Trip Miles – 4723. 0 hour

Weather Temps in the upper 80’s with clouds and rain

As I mentioned yesterday in my blog, I had a very interesting evening at dinner after stoping at a local restaurant in downtown Dong Hae. As I walked in to the rather large open room, there were about dozen people eating and enjoying their company with all sitting on the floor…nothing I haven’t seen in other Asian restaurants…as customary, I removed my shoes and said, “one for dinner”.

That’s when they responded, “2 people only” or something close to that…I answered that I was alone and just wanted something to eat in my best English of course. We were at a bit of an impasse when a man got up and explained I was alone and to serve me. The host rather reluctantly seated me and brought water and utensils along with lighting a propane burner. Felt like Bob Seger’s song “Turn the Page” with every eye upon you.

Another few moments passed and the server brought a large pan of fresh bacon or pork bellies that he began to cook at my table…wasn’t sure what, how or when to eat – just sipped my water and watched everyone around the room.

Soon, the server added cabbage and other vegetables to the mixture…the whole process reminded me of cooking out while camping. The dish was delicious and quite spicy and I asked for a beer in my best Korean (had my translator and had seen CASS beer in several spots around town) so I was good to go.

A couple if young women were seated next to me and I notice one was speaking very good English…I couldn’t help but to introduce myself and tell them about my trip. They seemed a bit impressed by my bus ride from Incheon given I knew no Korean. Both were sisters with one from Vancouver, Canada and going to the University of Washington and the other a school teacher in Dong Hae…wished I had gotten their names.

Dinner was about $14 USD with the beer at $3 and the girls told me my dinner was Shioyaki – a Japanese dish…Culturally enriched I am!

During my walk yesterday to the DBS Ferry port I also passed a small beach called Mangsang where a couple of people were surfing and enjoying the holiday…you can see the cargo ships in the distance waiting their turn to unload – probably backed up a bit due to the holiday.

If you would like to make a donation to give all kids diagnosed with cancer a better chance at living the full life they deserve, please visit Rally Foundation & Rally Around the World or Text “RALLY” to 85944 to give $10 to WIN the fight against childhood cancer. Send this message to 10 of your friends…Be a RALLY 10 to WIN!