DAEGU DIARY: Checking out Daegu

DAEGU, South Korea:

I have been moaning about this Daegu place since I got here over a week ago, complaining about the cloud of boredom that seems to blanket the entire city and its inhabitants.

With not much to see and even less to do here, Jamaicans are finding it hard to drum up the kind of vibe experienced at other IAAF World Championships in Athletics or Olympic Games.

Ask any Jamaican here what they think of the city and it's met with a hiss of the teeth.

Convinced that there must be something more to this city than what I was experiencing, and determined to prove myself right, I decided to use yesterday's competition rest day to get to know Daegu a little better.

I got off the main streets and examined the alleys, peering into less fancy and less commercialised business places and watched the real Daegu-onians or Daegu-ites in action.

I rode their subway system for the first time, took pictures with some locals and 'spoke' to just about anyone I could.

I was a bit concerned with all the people I saw wearing mask and all kinds of protective gear, you would think that breathing in this place is a health hazard ... wait, it could be!

'Cardboard foot'

Ricardo Makyn and I actually ended up in a rather expansive shopping district near the Banwoldang train station.

Makyn became an item of clear amusement for the locals when he pulled out a cardboard representations of his son's foot while shopping for shoes.

The Koreans had seen nothing like it before and were quite amused by it. I won't be surprised if I see an invention a few months from now: A universal shoe size measurement contraption with a 'Made in Korea' sticker affixed to it.

Before I leave here I will try some more exotic Korean food and tell you what I think. They say that everything taste like chicken here and I love chicken, so we'll see how it goes.