Had a bit of a lie in and down to breakfast at around 09:30. Just missed the 10:00 bus so hung around for the 10:30 only to discover the next one wasn’t until 11:50. Luckily it was just a 5 minute walk down the hill to the main road where there was another bus stop.
Headed off to the intercity bus station again to get the bus to the lady divers – this time we got the express which cost $3.73. Outrageous.
Another notable fact about this place is that there is free WiFi everywhere – bus stops, on the buses, at the tourist spots, and it’s fast and doesn’t block torrent sites (apparently, or so I heard, I think, I’m just guessing).
The bus went through another forest, Song and I both had a snooze, and I woke up just in time to realise it was our stop, so jumped off and looked for signs to the diving women show or a tourist office. Couldn’t find either and it was now 15 minutes to the show, although if we missed it we decided to get something to eat and catch the 15:00 one.
Stood at a bus stop to use the WiFi to do a search, 2 young blokes got off a bus so we asked them if they knew where the show was. They didn’t, but googled and found it – it was where we got off the bus but around a few corners – no signs at all. They also told us you can see these women on most beaches on the island so there was no need to come here. It was the tourist information place that directed us here so wondered if they knew we’d have to pay for the show.
We were actually at Sunrise Peak, one of the major tourist attractions on the island. We made the show with a few minutes to spare. The show was in a Cove in the shadow of the cliff of the peak, with a black sand beach.
There was quite a crowd, and the women (all looked in their 80s and were clad in loose fitting wetsuits) began to sing and dance. It went on a bit to be honest. After that they slipped into the water clutching nets and floatation stuff and swam around, diving down occasionally and pulling up an octopus or some shell fish.
After about 10 minutes the crowd lost interest and started to walk away to take selfies.
It was worth seeing, but not really spectacular.
We climbed back up the steps, and I thought we wouldn’t be able to do this in 10 years time – it was hard work. The weather was perfect, sunny and around 18c. We walked up towards the peak, but the sight of steps heading into the distance put us off so headed back down and to a Starbucks for a rest and a coffee.
Decided neither of us was hungry so got the bus back to the city.
The bus took about an hour and a half, we got off in the main part to look for a place to eat. Song wanted something Korean so we kept our eyes open but didn’t spot anything. Song said we should get off the main street but I said I didn’t want to go down a dodgy side street. Anyway, we went down a dodgy side street and found ourselves in a road with dozens of restaurants and cafes, and hundreds of school kids milling around. Seems like we stumbled across the local popular street. Wandered up and down and settled on a Korean barbecue place where there is a burner in the middle of each table. We were the only ones in it, but it was a bit early for dinner.
We pointed at something on the menu, the waiter turned on the burner and came back with a plate of meat. He also poured in a liquid into a trough around the burner which we later determined was egg, and there were instructions on how to chop up some vegetables and drop them into the liquid.
We slapped the meat onto the burner – a do it yourself meal.
It was very good and not too much, some of the meat had been marinaded as well.
The stuff in the trough was like an omelette, also very nice. On my way out I said “My compliments to the chef” to the guy but he didn’t laugh – must have been because he didn’t speak English.
Crossed the road to the bus stop to go back to the hotel, another pretty full day.
Tomorrow we have most of the day here, will probably do a bit of shopping, then we fly to Osaka.
