Bill

Two giants under the tower

Now of course the main reason that Jo and I went down to Busan was to meet Bill, a cousin of a friend of ours from Red vs. Blue. Rather than trying to put my thoughts and feelings about meeting Bill into the previous post about Busan, I wanted to take the opportunity to really thank him for contacting me and spending the day with Jo and myself.

Now you can’t tell from the photo on the left, but Bill is on the left and I am on the right. See how he just towers over me???

Anyway… The day before we got to Busan, I had sent Bill a few messages over FaceBook, giving him the basic time table of when we’d be arriving at the motel and that we should be able to meet up at 1pm. Unfortunately, I never heard back from him. I knew he had my mobile number, so I was hopeful he’d call me once there.

He didn’t.

However, at 1pm, he strolled off the elevator and warmly greeted us. Since Jo and I hadn’t had lunch (and neither had Bill), the three of us ventured down the street to a little Chinese Shop. I had noodles and Jo had some black bean dish. I’m not sure what Bill had, only that it looked rather tasty. What wasn’t tasty was the potato kimchi at the table. Everything else was awesome.

The three of us then trekked up to Yongdusan Park to explore. After that adventure, we then tried to make it out to the pagoda we saw up top. Since Bill was in Korea on business, he rented a van. Walking into the parking structure I knew which one it was instantly.

In Korea, most people reverse into parking bays. There was only one van that was pulled in head-first. I’m not sure why Koreans do this, other than the fact that most cars have rear bumper sensors and cameras to make it easier to do so… plus the fact that it makes it far easier to get out of the stalls when it’s time to leave.

After that, we went into the markets for dinner and shopping. Our dinner was great, but what I like best the area (and Korea), is the ability to go into a GS25, buy a beer, and head out and walk the streets. Bill and I both grew up in environments where that was the norm… and had experienced the repressive nature of Blue Laws, so being able to do a little shopping with a bottle of Max was quite refreshing. Bill also got to see first hand the number of people thinking that Jo was Korean. It still amazes me that even when she says she’s not Korean, and I tell them that she isn’t (in Korean), they still don’t believe us.

Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to hook up with Bill on Sunday (he had to tie up some loose ends at work). I’m very thankful that Jack pointed him our way, as it was great to have a connection in a foreign land.

Oh… and Bill… I’ve already put the liquid refreshment to good use!