One of the perks to sleeping in a jimjjilbang are the baths. You can really relax and enjoy a good soak after a long day of traveling. However you do have to sleep on the floor in a room full of people. It’s a unique experience. This means that there’s a good chance you’ll be getting up early. As people start stir from their slumber a certain amount of noise can’t be avoided.
So as usual I’m awake before eight o’clock, this jimjjilbang has a pc room so I opt to do some research and catch up on some emails while I wait for the tourist information office to open. By the time nine o’clock rolls around I’ve got a fair idea of what I’d like to see. I’m ready to leave and start my day.
Although I’ve got a fair idea of what I want to do today, I still visit the tourist information offices. They are usually pretty good, however the staff don’t always speak English. At this particular office, the staff only speaks a little bit of English so I ask them about Tongyeong in Korean. They’re surprised to meet a foreigner who speaks their own language and they show me their recommendations and provide me with English pamphlets and maps for the region. I also explain that I need to visit a motorcycle repair shop and they point me to a neighborhood on the city map where I can find a few shops.
In my case I can rely on my modest language abilities to get by, but if you can’t speak Korean, there is a translation services phone number you can call to help with your language difficulties. I haven’t travelled that much; I’ve briefly visited the Dominican, Japan, China, and the US, but the tourist information services in Korea have been the best I’ve seen by far. They provide a 24 hour translation phone service that is excellent and professional. The operators have always been courteous, have helped plan trips. They’ve even performed call-backs when they didn’t have the info on hand, or at least provided English phone numbers for more specific information about different destinations. I owe these folks a huge debt of gratitude because their assistance has enriched my time abroad. So whenever you want to visit somewhere in Korea call 02-1330 for the 24 hour line or call (city code) 1330 for a specific area. You’ll be glad you did.
My first stop was the post office. I picked up a lot of souvenirs over the course of my travels and this would be a good time to lighten my load. I went to the self-packing counter. Almost immediately the security guard came over and started going through my stuff and wrapping it. I politely asked him to stop and he ignored me. I asked again and he said something too quickly for me to understand so I had to call 1330 and get the operator to speak to him. She explained that he was wrapping and packing my stuff for me. I didn’t want him to because I hadn’t even decided yet what I was sending, I just wanted some time to go through things first. She explained this to him and he stopped, I asked her if it was okay for me to pack my stuff by myself and passed my phone back to the guard. He looked a little miffed in response and passed the phone back to me. She told me he would guarantee the safe delivery of my items if he packed it. To avoid an international incident I apologized the the man. I quickly went through my stuff and presented it to him on the table. He packed it, passed me the parcel and charged me 3,000W. I smiled, finally I understood.
I actually had to rely on the 1330 operators again when I took my bike into the repair shop for regular maintenance and to have the chain checked because it was making some noise. In Daejeon just about every mechanic knows the phrase ‘oil change’ and ‘oil filter change’ however in Tongyeong the first shop I went to couldn’t understand my request. That’s alright, there certainly isn’t any requirement for him to do any dealings in English and somehow I doubt he gets that many English customers.
So I explained in Korean:
1000km un-jeon-haessoyo.
oil geu-ri-go oil pil-teo.
Chain boa-juseyo.
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Translated:
I drove 1000km.
Oil and oil filter.
Please look at the chain
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I know it’s not perfect, but it’s certainly good enough to get the point across. Especially since it’s common knowledge for bike owners here and mechanics that the oil filter and the oil have to both be changed every 1000km . He seemed to understand so I told him I’d come back in about 10 or 15 minutes. When I got back, he hadn’t done anything! So I called 1330. The operator spoke to the mechanic for me, and she explained: ‘He looked at the oil and your level was fine, so he only adjusted your chain.’ I explained to her that although the oil level was fine, that I needed an oil change and the filter changed because that maintenance was required every 1000km. She spoke to the mechanic again. When he gave the phone back she told me. ‘He’s sorry, he’ll do the change now.’ I thanked her and five minutes later I was on my way again. However the bike wasn’t okay.
What had started as a small rattle when I could hear when they bike was coasting had gotten really loud. I don’t know much about bikes. In fact I wish I knew more about how to maintain my bike myself, but I knew this wasn’t good. I saw another bike shop, the mechanic was really old but I could tell he was a pro. Immediately I felt a sense of relief. Whereas the other guy never even road tested my bike to listen for the chain problem, the first thing this guy did was get my bike up on it’s stand an investigate how my bike was running. He looked
at the rear sprocket and called me over to see for myself. What I saw was startling, the rear sprocket on the bike was swaying back and forth from the wheel. He recommended changing the part completely as well as changing the front sprocket and chain as well. He told me the complete job would cost 90,000W. At this point I couldn’t really argue, besides the cost seemed reasonable for the amount of work involved. It wasn’t the first repair my bike has ever had so I had an idea of what the cost should be, and his number fit.
I asked him if it would be okay to come back in about three hours to pick up the bike, and that was fine with him. I had planned to get the bike work done earlier and be out of Tongyeong today. My dealings at the post office, the first bike shop, and now this delay had actually soured my mood. Spending an extra 90,000W didn’t help things either.
I got to the ferry terminal and managed to get an afternoon ticket for one of the sight-seeing cruises around the islands off the coast of Tongyeong. The ocean breeze was really lifting my spirits. I spent some relaxing time looking out into the ocean and listening to ‘The Alchemist’ on my ipod. I got a few nice pictures before some saltwater splashed right onto my lens. Although it has been a difficult day up to this point, I’m warmed by the sun and cooled by the breeze. I accept my little run of bad luck and get on with enjoying my vacation.
After the cruise was finished I went back to the bike shop. My instincts about the second guy were spot on. He showed me the work he did and told me to check the bike out for myself. I did and the bike ran marvelously. I thanked him, paid him for his work and once again I was on my way. I had to do some shopping now, even though my funds took a hit today, I needed to pick up a cleaning kit for my camera to clean the salt from the lens. So I went to Emart, no luck. Himart, no luck. Best Shop, no luck! It took almost an hour and a half to track down a kit! I didn’t care though, I’m generally blissful in electronic stores, kinda like the way my girlfriend feels in a shoe store. I was just happy to have found a kit. It’s already starting to get dark again so I head back to the jimjjilbang. I had planned to camp out on Goje island but it’s too late now. Gojedo will have to wait for another time, another trip perhaps. The up side is that I’ll be able to soak, relax and rest. Tomorrow I’m traveling up the east coast!
