Sunday, July 19, 2015

Last Sundate

Last night Yen and I went out for shabu shabu and a walk up to lake park. Not usually a big deal, except that it is the last Sunday night we will have in Daegu. We have a tradition that, most Sundays, we go out for dinner in Sangin, usually along Daegok. There are a few good bbq places, and other soup places as well. But it is a tradition that comes to an end as next Sunday we will be in Tagaytay, south of Manila and the Sunday after she will be flying to her parents house and I'll be here by myself until October.

For the first time my leaving Daegu feels real. I still have a few weeks, and I have not totally dismissed coming back to Korea for University work in September. That being said, my time in Daegu and Sangin, which have been my home for five and four years respectively, is coming to an end.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

July So Far

Again, behind on what I have been up to, and writing far less in general, but still keeping busy. In fact, I have started a few blogs in the last week, only to not finish them and then delete them later, so I am going to try and put it together in one blog.

Yen and I have been trying a few of the many BBQ places along the road near our place. One, which has great pork and is well priced, is run by a guy who used to live in Toronto and speaks English fluently. I think I let him down when I told him that I was not a Leafs, Argos, Raptors or Blue Jays fan. But He still seemed to like having us there and comes over regularly to chat. There is also a great rib place, but they choose odd times to be open. Sunday at 7pm, closed. Wednesday at 11pm. Open and empty.

during the day

again
never open but great ribs.....


I've also been working on my dissertation regularly. Probably why I have so little interest in other writing. It is at over 13000 words and is 90% done. I am taking a two weeks break (this week and next in Manila) before reading over it again, adding a few of Jon's readings to my lit review and submitting the thing. My advisor is happy with what I have and so am I. But mostly I am just happy to be almost done.

We've also been spending a lot of time with Yen's friends before she goes in two weeks. Her friend Rose has a five month old baby who used be terrified of me, but has gotten used to me now. Very cute baby.



We've also been spending time with other friends who are staying here for the next year. We hope to see them again in the Philippines or else back here (I haven't totally dismissed getting a University job in Korea for next September).


I've also been trying to reconnect a bit with my BC roots. The fact is that, despite having wonderful people in my life over here, I don't really have any close Canadian friends that aren't in Canada. I've noticed it this year especially when I've been trying to get back in to the BC Lions now that all of their games are on youtube, and no one else is interested. I think the CFL gets written off in the States, despite them being such different games. In fact, I've always found the American game to be very slow and kinda dull. What it has going for it, I think, is simply that huge market. Why would you play for $100,000 in the CFL when you can play for $500,000 in the NFL? But I'll argue that the CFL attracts guys who aren't necessarily unskilled, but are just too small for the hard hitting and slower moving American game. It isn't necessarily like going to Japan to play baseball or Europe to play basketball, at least I'll argue that. I've watched the first two games of weeks 2 and 3 (week one being a bye week). The second BC/Saskatchewan game should be up in a day or two but I may save it and watch both it and the week 5 Argo's game when I get back from Manila.



We also had a mini monsoon here, though it really just meant two days of intense rain and the city cooled down. It was kinda nice actually, except when the humidity hit 90%




Finally, next Saturday we are flying to Manila. Yen will stay there when I get back on Thursday. I am really excited, both to meet her parents and to get out of Daegu, which I haven't done too much this year (no money). I'll have more on that when I get back. We are planning to go south to Tagaytay and then do practical stuff like banking, clothes shopping and a cruise of Manila bay. It is also the second time that I've gone to the Philippines and spent a huge chunk of the trip in Manila (not exactly a tourist city). But I'll be back in October and I'll finally get out of Luzon then. I'm sure I'll have more to write on when I get back.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

"No"

This might not be of much interest to people outside of Vancouver, but I read today that Vancouver turned down the .5% sales tax increase to pay translink to fun more public transit.

I have always advocated for more public transit. North American cities are SO far behind their Asian and European counterparts on this one. I won't try and compare Vancouver to a city like Tokyo (which has a population equivalent to Canada) or even a Seoul, a London, a Taipei or a Bangkok. These are cities of millions.

However, when compared to smaller cities in Korea such as Busan (around 4 million), Daegu (around 3 million) or Daejeon (around 1.5 million) you see MUCH better and more affordable transit. Go to a country with a comparable cost of living, Japan, and Fukuoka (around 2 million) or Kyoto (around 2 million) and you see MUCH better transit systems in comparably sized cities.

I want this in Canadian cities, it is an amazing thing to not always be stuck in traffic or need to drive to get everywhere. However, I am glad the No side won.


As to why, I'll do a quick comparison of the two cities n which I use public transit, Vancouver and Daegu. To start, the average household income in Daegu is around $30,000 a year, compared to 70,000 in Vancouver. So people have less money here.

There are currently three subway lines that connect to most of the major spots in town (though oddly enough not the airport... though I guess no one ever uses it anyway). Fares are 1100 won (about $1.20 CDN) to any point in the city. No zones, which I love, and a good price given the costs in the city. To get on the subway you need a card or a ticket, which is scanned by machines before you are allowed on the platform. There are usually two attendants at every subway stop. They usually help with emergencies, sell tickets to seniors who can't figure out the machines, and scan new transit cards that you can charge and scan when coming or going from every subway station. The cards themselves require a small deposit, mine was around 10,000 won ($12). I've had it for four years. The same card works on every bus. Fares are 1100 won up to 1700 depending on how far you are going. Scan the card to get on and again when you get off the bus. If you are transferring, you have 90 minutes to scan your card on another bus and you don't pay again. That 1100 won gets you to wherever you are going, even if it takes four hours to get there (though I can't imagine needing that long to get anywhere in Daegu, but in theory it works). I bus to and from work most days and use the subway to go downtown once or twice a month. My total transportation costs for the month are usually around 50,000-55,000 won (around $55-62 CDN). For my income and the cost of living here that seems fair. I personally think it is great. Buses run every ten or fifteen minutes depending on which bus it is, and the subways run every 3 to seven minutes depending on the time of day. The whole thing shuts down at midnight and starts up again at 5am. Of course a taxi home from work is only 7500 won ($8), so that is an option too. Heck a taxi across town would only run me 25,000 won ($32 CDN). The network is owned by the city, and employees are civil servants.

Vancouver. When I was last there in Vancouver a ride on the sea bus was $4, though to take a bus in North Van was $2.75. While $2.75 to travel in North Van seems fair, $4 to get downtown does not. $5.50 to get south of Vancouver is downright ridiculous. Weekends and evenings it is all $2.75 so I can't complain, except that that fare is for 90 minutes, NOT the duration of your trip (though I must admit that has never been a problem for me and I believe you are allowed to finish the ride you are on, though you couldn't transfer after that 90 minutes). The skytrain and sea bus work on the honour system though, with transit police randomly checking and fining people. Tourists often ride for free without knowing that they are breaking the law, and locals ride for free because it is free. I mean there are ticket booths, but they are often easy to miss, and nothing actually stops you from just getting on the sea bus or subway. I would use my oyster card, but no. Buses run every 15-30 minutes. A Taxi is not a reasonable option economically. There is a great line to the airport, which is not unreasonably priced given its function (certainly MUCH cheaper than the train from Narita to Shinjuku).

I feel that the fares outside of peak times are very fair and comparable between the cities. The Daegu system wins for the number of subway lines. There insistence on people actually paying for the service is a plus as well. My little card that I charge and use is amazing. Vancouver tried the Oyster card and it failed for reasons I don't get. They are great. Vancouver's airport express is amazing, much better than trying to get to Daegu's airport. Though Vancouver International is a major transportation hub and Daegu airport offers flying buses to Jejudo and Seoul, so perhaps not a fair comparison. Though the cost from Waterfront to YVR is cheaper than from Seoul Station to Incheon, so perhaps that says something of the airport express.

However, the referendum wasn't about that.

The transit in Vancouver is run by translink, which is currently run by a board of governors who consult with, but are not beholden to, elected officials. Despite that it IS technically a public company, as it was created by the province and generates revenue through provincial taxes. All the benefits of a public company without the accountability. The vote was a NO to translink. I support this NO because I do not believe that translink is capable of managing the system they run. They have the structure of a private company but without the accountability through market forces, as they are a public company. However as a public company they are not accountable, elected officials. I wouldn't vote for that and neither did people in Vancouver. I think these numbers, show why people didn't want to give cash to translink. A few articles have come out saying that translink outperforms other North American cities, but that it a bit like arguing which drunk is best suited to drive home. I have no doubt that translink is better than Portland or Oklahoma city in certain areas. But if that is your benchmark then you can't really fall short now can you? The funds they collect SHOULD make upgrades, new lines and fare reductions possible as they are. Again, I'll leave the link set up by the NO campaign to show why this vote was lost.

I bet BC transit would have had a YES if this was held in 1996 because I remember when I was a kid and BC transit still ran the transportation in Vancouver. You would see "System of the Year 1996" on the sides of buses and on the sea bus. It won three times in the 90s. Don't see that anymore.