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So today was the first day I felt rested, and actually slept until 9:30. I had debated on whether to wake up at 4am and watch the UNC game live on the Internet, but decided that we were playing NC State and that I shouldn’t bother. Immediately when I awoke, I got online to check the recap of the game and to my horror discovered that we must have hit a new low and allowed blind children to play on our team, because we somehow lost to NC State. This did not start my day off very well, and bothers me now as I write. The only good thing that can come of this is that we use this to fuel the fire and beat Dook by 80 on Tuesday. Yes I am going to be watching the game somehow here in Korea which happens at noon Wed, even if it is just play by play on ESPN.
So anyway, I decided I might as well head out and travel again, and decided to take a 2 hour bus ride to Busan, which is the 2nd largest city in Korea. Before I left I received great advice from the Korean
girl at the front desk, who even wrote down info to help me get around Busan by myself. I then took the $7 (or 7 Won’s in Korean currency) express bus and arrived in Busan by 1pm.
I headed to the nicest beach in Korea, Hyundae Beach, which looks pretty nice in pictures. To get there from the bus station I thought I'd take the subway, since it had to be easier than the NYC subway. Overall, it was pretty easy to get around since most signs are in English. Of course I was the only “white” person in the subway and several kids just stared at me, I just laughed. I ended up going the loooong way on the subway to the beach I got there in about 80 mins, instead of 45 if I was smart. Once off the subway I was dying for lunch and found the best looking place I could, and ordered my food by pointing at what was displayed in the window, being shrimp, muscles, and some other meat that was interesting. I did find another Korean word that I know, “Coca-Cola,” and ordered that too.
After lunch I finally walked to
Super Fresh
Pick it out, and eat it! the beach and it was actually pretty nice. Lots of people out playing, all in coats and shoes, but it was in the 50’s and the water was nice, but definitely not tropical and clear. I took a few pics and then walked along the boardwalk. They had lots of cool little bars & restaurants and they all had huge fish tanks out front with live Octupus, squid, crab, fish, etc… You just walked up and picked out which one you wanted and they cooked it right up. I wasn’t adventurous enough to try one though.
As I walked the beach I saw some tour boats nearby and thought I’d hop on one. I got on for an hour tour around the beach and islands nearby. I soon found out that Koreans are fascinated with seagulls and fed those horrible birds almost the entire trip, hence why my pictures from the boat are filled with pooping birds. It was pretty nice and they took us along the beach, and then the nearby cliffs and a couple of rocky islands that were filled with crazy fisherman. The funniest thing on the boat were two Korean couples, probably in their 50’s,
getting absolutely hammered. They brought on several bottles of liquor and proceeded to take shots the entire time, I of course had to take a picture.
Once back to land I walked around a few nice hotels/casinos and headed back to the subway for more adventure on my way to the bus station. The subway is cleaner and nicer than NYC, and the beggars are nicer. Instead of just asking for money, the man gives everyone a handout describing his dire situation. He then comes back through the car and collects the handouts and money from several people. He never said a word but made some pretty good money!
Once at the bus station I got on the bus back to Pohang and had 2 kids stare at me the whole time, I must have a 3rd arm growing out of my head. The bus had Korean TV playing the whole time, and although dumb and in another language, I did find myself laughing quite a bit. As we drove home we passed a couple of police cars and an ambulance stopped, and saw two shoes lying in the road and a body outline painted on the asphalt.
It looks like someone was hit by a car, yikes, and no I didn’t take a picture!
So I got back to the hotel, ate a quick salad and will be up for several hours doing dumb email while all of you back home are just waking up to enjoy your Sunday. All for now!
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Ali
non-member comment
Yay!
I'm glad you've been out and traveling! I know the feeling of people staring! I get it all the time! If you were here for a realllllly long time like me, you'd get used to it. Until someone brings it to your attention, and then you notice it all the time again. I hope you're having fun in my home away from home! Don't work too hard. And I'm glad I could give you your first intro to Korean culture. Seems like you're getting around quite well! Have a good time!