Busan: At some point I talk about the fireworks, but you have your work cut out for you dear reader.

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Busan has held an allure for me ever since I heard it called "the San Francisco of Korea". San Francisco is my favorite city in the world because of its wild soul, kaleidoscope heart, and iconic red bridge that's been welcoming the drifters of the world for decades. I seem to try and seek out its equivalent whenever I travel, which is why I ended up living in Melbourne, "the San Francisco of Australia" last year. Maybe these comparisons are based on the simple fact that all these places are port cities but I think it goes deeper into the energy and general essence of the place. Being intrigued by Busan was a good enough reason to go, but going there to see the International Fireworks Festival was an even better one.

The fireworks festival was a 3 day event, but we would be arriving late Friday night and only be there for the Saturday (Oct 23) Busan Fireworks Day that was taking place on Gwangalli Beach. Margo and I took the slow train from Daejeon which meant sitting in opposite ends of the train. I ended up sitting next to a mom and her kid who kept slapping my leg and dropping her ice cold water on my hand; an unacceptable way to be stirred from your nap. It took about 3 hours and we arrived in Busan around 10 o clock. It was cold out, I was sick, and dressed like a hobo. The usual circumstances of travel. We got on the subway to Gwangalli Beach to sort out a motel for us and the rest of our crew who were coming from Cheonan. Steve, Jamal, Frank, and Liz were on their way to us, ready to party and take Busan by storm.


Thursday Party is a western chain bar right on the beach and it relished in it's western-ness with loud rap muisc, darts, mojitos, tequila, and silly Halloween decorations. I felt like I was back in RoPo at Friar's. Thankfully I wasn't. 😊 A round of tequila shots was bought and we all downed them circled around a table on bar stools. Jamal had an odd amount of energy and excitement and was writing every song being played on a piece of paper and instantly started a game of darts. I have no idea who won, but I'm pretty sure Margo lost...At the bar, we all had too much fun with the ghost/skeleton/creature that would drop down when you clapped. I laughed every time, but then again, I amuse easily. Jamal and I decided to go back to the motel because we were tired so we left early and passed out right away. We awoke to Liz coming home and declaring herself "Ajumma Bessie" repeatedly and showing off her skills on breaking into a locked room with a credit card. Well this she claimed but it didn't actually work. For shame. We all crammed into bed and the last thing I remember was Liz mumbling "Ajumma Bessie".

The next morning, we woke up around lunch time and what better time for breakfast? The troops were rallied and we went up the cramped stairs to a sweet breakfast place that had lured us in with its pictures of waffles drowning in ice cream and berries and greasy bacon and eggs. We were the only people in the joint that also turned out to be a leather workshop. On the other side of the room, there was a bike with a leather bag strapped to it, leather earrings hung on the wall, and there was remnants of past and future projects strewn about. When Liz inquired about the leather, the owner gave us all coasters he had made. Sweet little mementos. We all ordered massive plates of eggs, sausage, bacon, and waffles. The waffles were like a cake, it was so thick I could hardly cut it and I ended up just thrashing it with my knife. But such good food, total food porn. We spent most of our meal in there talking nonsense and playing a cruel trick on Margo 😊

Steve then made the decision that we should all do something worthwhile in Busan and so he looked up the local spots and found a famous temple, which according to him was in the city. It was called Beomeosa and it was said to leave you in AWE. Liz wanted us to get supplies first, which Frank took to mean pickaxes, flashlights, and flares, but in reality she meant booze, blankets, and snacks. This seemed like a good idea to me as hordes of people headed towards the beach in anticipation for the fireworks and we walked away from it. Yet common sense was evaded and adventure took hold. To the temple in two taxis we went! As we noticeably headed out of the main city, Steve asked our driver how long it would take. 20 min he replied. This was much farther than we had wanted to go, but we were already halfway there so we decided to chance it. The sky was gray and cloudy as we walked up the hill by the stream, up the stone steps, until we reached the main part of the temple. It was a beautiful area with trees everywhere and the sound of monks chanting from inside. I saw a temple stay tour walk by in their temple clothes while a monk softly explained the history of the temple. After we all wandered we did a photo shoot on the steps and then went to the gift shop (tacky? maybe, but even temples need money) and we were sucked into buying jewelry. I found a bright blue bracelet which the shop owner told me meant good luck for EVERYTHING. You can't beat that so out came the wallet. Next came the realization that there was no buses or taxis to take us back. It was getting dark. It was getting late. And it was getting dangerous. Ha not exactly but I thought I'd inject some suspense to the story.

Liz, Jamal, and I ended up in a taxi together and the traffic was horrendous so we jumped out and got on the subway. All of Busan was full to the brim with people. I hadn't realized how many people would come to a fireworks festival. Thus began what will live in infamy as THE AMAZING RACE: BUSAN. Liz is a roller derby bad ass chick, I enjoy moving quickly through cities, and Jamal is game to join the ride so we decided to text the others and say the race is on! They were in a taxi, we were on the subway and we had connections to make. It would be heated. Whenever we could we ran, we pushed, we jumped, Liz even hit a child. A CHILD. But that's how dedicated we were to the cause. We don't stop for no ajumma or child, it's all about winning. Imagine our chagrin when we found out the other group DIDN'T ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT THE RACE AND WERE SHOPPING AT E MART! Weaklings. We raced on.

We came upon the stairs out of the subway which was a clusterfuck. People crammed and unable to move. I found a space by the trash can and we smashed our way in. We made it out in RECORD TIME. We were on the street, It was time to move again. We ran and we ran. The sidewalk was choked with people and the sky was dark. Fireworks in 30 min. No booze or food. Could we do it? We knew we could. We realized running in the street was much faster. Liz utilized her roller skills and paved the way and Jamal busted our his superhero speed. We saw a store. We ran in. Jobs were assigned. "Hannah get cups!" "Liz get wine!" "Jamal get snacks!" "I don't see any cups!!!"
"EVERYONE LOOK FOR CUPS!!"
It was sheer madness.
We bought a plastic thingamabob to sit on and ran to the motel sweating bullets and got all dolled up. Frank and Steve found us and we all headed into the sea of people to find a place to see the fireworks. You'd think this would be easy seeing as the performance was taking place in the sky, but the buildings, trees, and people standing on structures really got in the way. We walked down the back roads and came out on the far end of the beach where we hustled our way into the pack of people on the cement block that sat on the beach. Being short was no help to me even in Korea. Babies bobbed everywhere, big heads stood in front of me, and Liz and I got our silver seat trampled repeatedly until we gave up and went to stand with Steve, Jamal and Frank. I could see most of the sky but when the fireworks started, there was a definite chunk hidden behind various barriers. One of them being the cutest baby this side of the Mississppi! The thing was wearing these huge ear muffs with a girl's face making up the part that went over the ears. They were ridiculous and she looked so precious. We kept waving at her and I think I looked like I was going to kidnap her because her parents started moving away...At this point I believe I heard Steve say "that baby is cute, but I really wish she would move."

Now the typical reaction in the States to fireworks in OOOOOH and AAAAh. Not so in Korea. Mostly WOW and grunts of happiness. Liz and I thought it best to let the Koreans experience this bit of our culture. We loudly and obnoxiously yelled OOOH and AAAH together until a Korean guy in front of me and a girl to my left both chimed in. Great success!!! We then found it funny to yell VOLDEMORT IS COMING!! It really never stops being funny.

The fireworks began getting more extreme and mind blowing. The bridge across the water was lit up by lights in the sky and bright white lights kept shooting off of it until there was a waterfall of fire flowing down. There was eye blinding white fireworks that shot into the sky and stayed there, just a neon tube of light sitting in the sky as if advertising some celestial hot spot. Soon the sky was overrun with color and light and we stood there gaping. Then the finale. BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM. One after another, the sky filled with golden fireworks. I was totally shocked but how amazing it was and I turned around to to the others yelling "HOLY SHIT" and found Frank yelling the exact same thing. That last part of the show made it all worthwhile.

The sea began to part and the masses made their way away from the beach. We took this opportunity to plop ourselves down on a square of beach and begin to drink our wine and beer. Margo and Josh came to join us and someone bought some sparklers and little fireworks so we got all festive dancing around the beach with sparklers and trying to write things with them. Other waygooks and Koreans ran amok as well and the beach was littered with trash and lighting bolts whizzing by my head. One had to be alert.

We spent the rest of the night drinking into the wee hours of the morning and just getting ourselves into various bits of trouble. Margo and I bought bracelets from a "Native American" and Jamal and I had a dinner of lava with some new friends then ran through the rain being crazy people.

Busan lived up to expectations and has the personality that Seoul lacks but it's no San Francisco. Then again, there can only be one. Yet I can't wait to return. Perhaps it's possible, but I find it hard to be unhappy when I'm by the sea. VOLDEMORT IS COMING!!!!!

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