More on Taiwan

Click the link for a photo guide from one of my Multiply Buddies about how to take the metro in Taipei, Taiwan.

台北: Riding the MRT

The Daejeon subway also uses round tokens. It is kind of weird putting a coin on a subway.

Sintanjin

Lodging: many motels

Tourist Office: No

Of Interest: eclectic area

Nearest bank: across the street from the station

There are more motels and other kinds of lodging near Sintanjin Station than I have seen anywhere else in Korea. No hotels though. The closer to the station they are, the less appealing they look.

The shops and restaurants in the area are extremely eclectic while still being basically Korean. For example, there is a snail restaurant. Now one of the kim bap chains specializes in a particular kind of snail soup so I don't think that eating snails is rare in Korea. But this is the first restaurant that I have seen that has more than one dish using the creatures. If you are looking for some specialty from another part of Korea, this is the place to go.

Sintanjin used to be its own little town before it was absorbed into Daejeon. Maybe that is why it is so eclectic. Maybe there is just a wide range of people for the local industries.

The area that I am talking about is in a series of roads that are parallel to the one that runs in front of the station. The most attractive motels are on the second road in.

Daejeon's subway

Subway is kind of rail, so I am going to include information on subway lines in Korea. I am going to focus on lines that are above ground.

Daejeon's subway is a single line. None of it is above ground. It is comfortable and fast. After it was built, I got a much better sense of where different parts of town were in relation to each other. Here is a map. The information under the map is a little inaccurate.

Seodaejeon Station

Of interest: Costco

Lodging: one motel
Tourist Office: Yes
In Station Computers: Yes

Note: There is also a Seodaejeon subway station which is a fifteen minute walk away from the train station.

Seodeajeon is the secondary train station in Daejoen. Seo means west. This station handles traffic going to the southwest. These trains go to Gwangju and Mokpo. Trains going north go to Yongsan Station in Seoul. There is a KTX line here, but trains are much less frequent than the ones running on the Seoul-Busan line. The upside is that they are also less crowded except for peak tourist season.

The station is located in a residential neighborhood about fifteen minutes by bus from Daejeon Station. The Daejeon Costco is right next door. Several good, but modest restaurants are in the area. There is also a department store, cinema, grocery store complex about five minutes away. Really this area is nothing special although it is a good place to live. It takes about ten minutes to walk to the subway.

There is one motel visible from the main station exit, however, I can't find the entrance when I walk down the street. Actually, getting to this motel may be more difficult than it appears at first.

Daejeon

Of interest: old downtown, traditional food and clothing market, art cinema, city tour

Lodging: Motel

Tourist office: Yes, a good one. There is also an international center across the street.

In Station Computers: Yes

Nearest Int'l ATM: In the underground subway station

Daejeon Station is the main train station for Daejeon. It also has the main tourist information office for Daejeon. This is unusual because few train stations have tourist info offices anymore. The people working here are a good source of information about Daejeon AND Seoul. Note that while the maps and pamphlets on local attractions are in multiple languages, those for Seoul are only in Korean. However, it may be worth stopping here before starting a trip to Seoul because there is NO tourist office at Seoul Station. They are inside. If you leave with the crowds when you arrive in Daejeon, you have to walk back into the train station. The tourist office is on the second floor, the same floor as ticket purchases.

Trains from Daejeon Station run southeast to Daegu and Busan, north to Seoul Station, and into Chungcheongbuk-do. KTX trains run along the Seoul-Busan route. Seoul is about an hour away to the north. To the south Daegu is also about an hour away, while Busan is two hours, all by KTX. Saemaeul and Mugungwha trains take about twice that long, but they are also half as much. There are also five Mugungwha trains a day that run to the mountains. (Trains running southwest leave from Seodaejeon Station.) Cheongju Station, near the capital of Chungcheongbuk-do, is 37 minutes away to the northwest. The line ends at Jecheon, two and a half hours away. At that point travelers can transfer to two other mountain lines.

Daejeon Station is also the name for a subway station which runs underneath the train station.

Daejeon Station is in old downtown. The station plaza is sometimes the location for citizen sponsored events. For the downtown food market, turn to your left when you leave the train station. It starts at the edge of the parking lot.

To get to the international center or the art cinema, go into the subway station to cross the street. There is an underground shopping center. Walk into this. The first set of stairs to your left will take you up to the international center. Keep walking straight away from the train station and shortly you will see some movie posters and flyers. The art cinema is on the third floor. Their website is http://cafe.naver.com/artcinema (Korean). There is also a more conventional multiplex near the station.

There are some good traditional Korean restaurants a five to ten minute walk from the train station. Again, cross under the street through the subway station and exit on the first set of stairs to the left. Keep walking straight, parallel to the train station, until you come to the first street on your right. Walk down this street. On it you will find used clothing stores, a couple of Buddhist stores, and various other small shops. The small streets to your left will take you to a market for luggage, hats, and clothing. Near the end of this small street there are several restaurants.

On the weekends, a city tour leaves from in front of the station.