Planning? Surely not! (Day 236)
A day of planning? Surely not! We don't do much planning, we enjoy the surprising opportunities coming our way, however sometimes needs must.
It was pouring with rain this morning, so after writing my daily post and catching up on emails, we sat down and did a bit of planning! Yes, I know, we don’t often plan what we’re going to do. This plan is for our 5.5 weeks back in the UK and I have even created a spreadsheet!! (Oooh I do love a spreadsheet). There are so many people we want to catch up with plus certain celebrations that are already penned in – our niece’s wedding and my sister Jac’s birthday with a “0” at the end. I’ve already started to connect with people and a good job I have as the dates I proposed don’t work. It’s becoming a logistical conundrum, yet I know that it will all work out just fine. As well as planning the UK, we thought we had better book something for tomorrow otherwise we really will be homeless! I put the “I want a place with a view” on hold and we found a very reasonably priced place near the port in Pohang. It does have windows, so let’s hope these are not opaque. We chose this place as we read a very interesting article about the Port on the flight over from Japan. Perhaps I also should have read the Lonely Planet’s review: “If you’ve ever wanted to swim on a beach in full view of the world’s second-largest steel plant, Pohang is the place for you. A large and rather bland city best known as home to Posco (Pohang Iron and Steel Company), Pohang does actually boast a pretty decent beach, though a fairly unpleasant smell pervades much of the place.” Oh dear, with its steel company, reminds me of Corby. Corby-by-the-sea? And I must stop calling it Poohang now. We go with an open mind! After a lot of lazing around, we did go out for our evening constitution. Our friends Julie and John often do this, have time together going for a stroll. Not that we need any more time together – it’s already near enough 24/7! We walked down to the river and along the pathway with quite a few locals also out for their constitution or fast walking. I tried to keep up with one lady, crikey, she could walk fast! We came to an area in the river with large stepping stones next to a weir. As we stood watching, two women in their smart office attire climbed over the rope barrier, took their shoes and socks off, rolled their trousers up and walked across. We couldn’t believe it. Next, a man came along, left his shoes on and his jeans down and followed them. He must have been soaked by the time he reached the other side. We were joined by a second man who stood with us gawping at them and taking photos. We really do see some interesting sights! Our journey back we popped into a café for Tim to buy some chicken and beer to go with his dinner. He fancied “Chimaek”, a union of fried chicken and beer which has become a cultural laddish meal here in South Korean. Dearie me – I’m sure it’s the influence of the football he’s been watching. The lady piled the chicken high in the takeaway box – that will do him for lunch tomorrow. So, not much to report for today, expect a lovely chat with our son John, our friend Rachel, and FB friend from Gaza, none of which were planned! The beauty of the internet and it really is so special to talk with family and friends from back home and around the world.
