It was a slow boat to Cheju island for the game yesterday against China and Brazil.
Hundreds of fans were on the boat, which I was told would be dirty, dark and unpleasant. In fact, it was none of these.
The 12-hour journey from Busan, on the southeastern coast of South Korea to the country's biggest island was comfortable and fun.
Yes, the toilet bowl water was a nasty color that was not eased by a caustic flush, but the food was good and cheap and there was plenty of beer.
Though there were security personnel to stave off trouble at Busan Port, it was a good-natured crowd and no security was evident on the boat. They were not needed.
There was even a TV and Taiwanese, Chinese, Brazilians, Argentines, English and others all mixed happily for the England versus Argentina game.
It was support for England all the way, with the Brazilians comprising the majority of fans, cheering loudly for England's victory.
Sullivan Wang, an assistant manager at the Fortune Dragon Hotel in Taipei, said she was with friends and family from China and would be supporting their bid against Brazil.
She said, "I am a Chinese living on Taiwan, so of course I am going to be supporting my country."
A political discussion followed with a Polish journalist named Peter, who was a correspondent in Beijing and was following the World Cup.
"But I thought China and Taiwan were fighting each other," Peter said.
Wang said, "We're not fighting now, we were fighting before, but I don't think there is any reason to fight again. Of course I must be proud of China and support my country at the World Cup."
Wang was clearly a little disorientated, as she was wearing a Brazil replica shirt and said she supported England too.
Peter said he had been working in China for three years and said the only English-language paper in Taiwan that could be accessed on-line in Beijing was the Taipei Times.
Great view for a game
Seogwipo Stadium on Cheju island is said to be the most beautiful stadium in the world.
Nestled near the seashore, the 42,256 capacity ground was purpose-built for the World Cup.
Two banks of seats, one covered by a stadium roof, face each other and from the seats higher up there is a view of the sea.
The stadium's shape is said to represent a traditional Cheju canoe and the stadium-roof structure a fishing net. The six "masts" that support the roof represent the world's five oceans and six continents.
Outside the ground are Dol-hareubangs, or fertility goddesses, carved out of the island's lava rock.
They look a little like totem poles, but with more personality. They used to be erected in front of forts, but Seogwipo Stadium has an avenue of them and are supposed to protect and give good luck.
China's fans descend on Seogwipo
Like Taiwan, South Korea needs foreign workers and there are over 255,978 of them in the country.
Mainland Chinese are said to account for 151,313 of these aliens, according to Ministry of Justice figures, but they have been conspicuous by their absence at World Cup games.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said the workers generally labored in factories and were not given much time off.
Instead, China's rich and powerful, or their sons and daughters, have been arriving in Seogwipo for the game against Brazil.
One couple the Taipei Times spoke to, who were strolling around the port town of Seogwipo, said they were government employees and that it had been no problem getting permission to attend the World Cup.
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