Woobang Tower land

We can see this amusement park from our window, and we have been wanting to go for awhile. Yesterday the weather was good and we were both off work, so we decided to seize the day. The entire park is situated on one of Daegu's hills, with the tower on top. We parked at the tower and rode the sky lift down to the bottom of the hill. The entrance to the park looks like a castle, and there are a lot of European looking buildings by the entrance. What we saw was pretty much standard amusement park fare—game booths, rides, fun houses, and lots and lots of food—with a few Korean twists. You know those mechanical dog toys that walk around and bark? There were giant versions of these walking around that kids could ride. There were a lot of harassed looking parents pulling inflatable animals on rollers. The park mascot is this cocker spaniel in Mickey Mouse Fantasia getup that I dubbed “Ricky Rouse.” A lot of the rides were straight from the county fair, like the himalaya and the pirate ship, though there were some coasters. One ride involved pedaling your own car around an elevated track. Bobby's not a fan of coasters and the lines were long, so I confess we didn't ride any. We did visit the petting zoo, where I tried to win a bobble head that wore a kimono but had a piece of sushi for a head. Tragically, I ended up giving the machine a lot of money for nothing.

There were families sitting on picnic blankets spread all over the park; something I don't think American amusement parks allow. These families often brought picnics, making amusement parks a much more affordable outing. I seem to recall American parks frowning on such thriftiness. The prices in general were better: about $1 for an ice cream, less than $1 for a ride.

We saw a few performances. There was a brass band and some guys on stilts. We saw Elec Bolshoi, who were these awesome chicks who played string concertas with electric beats in the background. We made sure to be at the “Legend of the Stars” stage in time for the show. The posters promised Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Elvis, and Michael Jackson, though it turned out to be Elec Bolshoi again, but with lights and fog machines. There probably was an announcement in Korean that the headliners wouldn't be there. We noted that almost all of the performers were westerners (looking for your next job, La?)

We went up to the tower to check out Daegu aquarium and have dinner. The aquarium was a bit of a bust. Bobby is getting tired of seeing animal gulags. We rode an elevator to the 83rd floor of the tower for drinks. We can see the tower from our window, but I definitely couldn't pick out our house from the tower. Daegu is massive. It looks like a sea of buildings. We went down to the 78th floor for dinner at an American restaurant, where we had steak and shrimp. Annoyingly, there were no non steak options on the menu. Bobby did get the “robster” platter. The restaurant rotated, so we could see all of Daegu over the course of our meal. Daegu is a city of many neon lights, which was one of the first things that struck me about it, so the view from up there was pretty exciting at night. The dinner was to celebrate our 6 month mark. After 6 months, I have to say being an expat is pretty awesome. Our housing allowance is a blessing, but being able to learn so much about another culture is the best part. On a side note, the language barrier works in favor of insular people like Bobby and me. We never have to deal with soliciters, and we can talk about anything we want in public without worrying about being overheard.




Roast butter cuttlefish, anyone? They fry and put these suckers on a stick.














Me at the artificial waterfall.

















These are the mechanical fuzzy animals that children ride. Too wild.












Excellent advice.













Elec Bolshoi. These ladies were awesome.











The Romantic Road illustrates the Koreans' love of the sentimental.














Bobby contemplates 6 months of being a foreigner. A year after going to our first "three fork restaurant" on the Carnival Sensation, we are total pros at fine dining.