Busan!

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I should have posted this entry as soon as I got back from Busan so I wouldn't forget the details but as we all know I'm a bit of a procrastinator. This will again be a 2 part blog, this one about Busan, the next about Seolleung tombs. Stay tuned…

So for Halloween weekend Alison, Jen, Margaret and I decided to go to Busan. There were a few reasons for this: first, we wanted to escape the scuzziness of Seoul on Halloween, and second, the countdown to full-blown Korean winter has begun so we wanted to enjoy the nice weather while it’s still here.

Being on a budget, we opted for the slow train to Busan (5 hours versus the express train that only takes 2 hrs). In retrospect, this was a mistake. We left Seoul at 11pm and were due to arrive in Busan at 4am. We thought “no big deal, we’ll have a little party on the train, enjoy ourselves, play some games, and the time will fly by.” Boy were we wrong. We were told several times to be quiet, even though we were not even being that loud. We assumed that other people would be talking on the train too, but everyone became comatose as soon as they set foot on the train. The highlight of the train ride? The swivel seats! There were 4 of us, 2 in front of the other 2. We would never have figured out that the seats swivel around if we didn’t see some other people doing it. We were able to face each other the whole time, which was great. The problem was, once we realized that conversation was out of the question, we thought we would try to nap for a bit but the ridiculously bright lights on the train never dimmed, so it was like napping in the middle of a supermarket. We got to Busan at 4, then had to take a taxi to Haeundae beach (this was recommended because of the wide array of love motels and proximity to fun stuff). We arrive close to 5am and walk a bit to find a love motel. For those of you that don’t know, love motels are EVERYWHERE in Korea. They’re great. Themed motels designed for lovers, most of which can be booked by the hour or by the night. Unfortunately we were all too tired to find a fun one (fun includes hot tub and tacky themed decorations). We settled on “Roma Motel,” designed to be Roman style. Nothing exciting, but it was only 60,000 won per night so it won our vote.

We woke up around 10am ready to explore. Surprisingly, none of us were tired. I, being the control freak that I am, prepared a list of fun things to do in Busan, which came in quite handy. We headed off to Jagalchi fish market, one of the largest fish markets in Asia (or so I was told). On our way to it we walked through the dried fish market, which was massive. Dried versions of every fruit, vegetable, fish, and mystery food you can imagine. It was definitely a sight to see. We arrive at the fish market, which really was massive. A 5 story building, the first of which is the actual fish market. Jen and Alison weren’t feeling the walk through aisles upon aisles of fish and fish heads, so Margaret and I ventured out on our own. It was amazingly insane! So many sea creatures I have never seen and would never dream of eating inhabited rows of tanks. Friendly stall owners took things out to show us, it was a great experience. We then decided to go to the 2nd floor, which is the restaurant floor consisting of numerous stalls of seafood. We all wanted salmon, but weren’t sure if it would be available. We asked a woman (with the help of a translator) and she motioned for us to sit. The great thing about Korean restaurants is the amount of banchon (side dishes) that come with the meal. In fact, the side dishes were better than the meal itself this time. Crab legs, potatoes, pajeon (pancake with eggs, seafood, green onions), silkworm larvae (which I did not try again), kim chi, and tasty tasty mussels. Then the salmon arrives...practically frozen and smoked but cut into sashimi strips. Bleh. Definitely a disappointment. To accompany the meal we had soju and magkolli (cloudy rice wine). The total was about 55,000 won for all of us (about $53) which was great.

We then walked around the coast, taking pictures of the ocean (oh how I missed the Pacific). After we had our fill of the fish market and the harbor, we headed to Yongdusan Park, which is right across the street from the fish market. This is where the Busan tower is, as well as a temple, and traditional street performances. There are a series of escalators that seem to last forever that take you up to the entrance to the park. Along the way was a Buddhist temple, with paper lantern “ceilings” and a Buddha. We walked around the park for a while, until Margaret realized she left her cell phone at the restaurant so we headed back (and it was still there, under the table. Gotta love Korea!)

We then went to Nampo-dong, which is reported to be Busan’s version of Myeong-dong, a large shopping district in Seoul. We were all in need of coffee and sweets, so went to an adorable coffee shop where I got a latte and tiramisu, both of which were very tasty. Recharged on caffeine, we walked around Nampo-dong which was beautifully lit up. This is where the Busan film festival took place, so there were numerous sculptures and things related to film.

We headed back to the Roma Motel to change and get ready for going out that night. The plan was to go to Gwangalli beach for dinner. This is a beachfront area with lots of restaurants and beautiful views of the ridiculously long and beautiful bridge in Busan. We then planned on going to Soemyon, the nightlife area in Busan. We got to Gwangalli in search of a good sashimi place to satisfy our fish craving. We found a great Japanese restaurant, which seated us in a private room with a great view of the bridge and the beach. I ordered a sashimi set (set just means it comes with lots of other side dishes and things). The banchon (sp?) included soup, poached fish, kim chi, tempura, and various things of the sea. The most interesting of these was a sea snake/worm/intestine looking creature that was served to us live (it was pre-cut so it was still moving around, not quite dead but not thrashing around). Jen was the only one who tried it, I knew it wouldn’t taste good so I didn’t bother. The sashimi I ordered was fantastic! Not sure what kind of fish it was (2 types, both white) but it was amazing, melted in my mouth. Again, can’t beat the price, 30,000 won for my set, and I was happily full and satisfied.

I needed my fill of walking on the beach, so we did that next. On our stroll we saw people setting off fireworks, and decided to buy some to set off too. It was great, fireworks are illegal in CA so I’ve never actually done that but I had a blast. We walked along the beach and decided to get some drinks and go to noribang (karaoke) instead of heading out to Soemyon. We found a little noribang place and sang for an hour. Jen rocked it! I wasn’t really feeling it (not wearing my glasses, a little sleepy) but I still had a blast. Sang some George Michael and Brittney Spears (what else would you expect from me?)

The next day we wandered around Haeundae beach. It was a bit overcast at first, but still beautiful and I definitely enjoyed being coastal again. There we saw a sand sculpture competition and a women’s yacht race. Pretty cool. We walked along the coast to a mermaid sculpture, but didn’t have enough time to walk all the way to the lighthouse (I’m bummed about that). Then we headed back, got our luggage, and made our way to the train station for yet another 5 hour train ride back to Seoul.

This train ride kicked the other train rides ass. We decided to set up camp on the floor of the snack car so we could actually converse without being shushed. We brought some soju on the train and played some drinking games, talked, and snacked. It went by a lot faster. We arrived in Seoul around 12am, I was home at 1 and felt very rested for work on Monday.

Overall a wonderful weekend getaway although I still cant shake the homesickness brought on by Busan. We decided 2 things: we definitely need to go back to Busan, and we need to take more weekend trips. There is sooo much to see in Korea. I’m really hoping to squeeze a lot in before it gets freezing.

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