So this week I finally left Seoul and went to the second largest city in Seoul, Busan. It's about five hours away by bus or 2 by the fastest train and is only about 4 million people compared to Seoul's 10 million.
This is the view as soon as you get out of the train station. I liked Busan alot (more than Seoul)
The first night we, my roommate and another friend, just wandered through the city and came upon this food market. The sellers were all very nice. Actually one of the main things I liked about this city was it's "small town" charm. People were very personable and helpful, much more so than Seoul. They also stared more, but that could be because we were staying in a very non-touristy area.
Saturday morning we went to one of the top five temples in Korea. Beomeosa Temple. Much bigger than usually and still in use despite being over 1,500 years old. Monks still live and practice Buddhism here and a few of these monks actually spoke to me. But my Korean isn't good enough yet to get past simple conversation.
After the temple we decided to take a "short, easy hike" to the nearby fortress. Short and easy to Korean's is 2km up stone steps. Korean hiking is a difficult thing. Trails don't use switchbacks and usually go in a straight path up the mountain and hikers where special outdoor clothing and carry ski poles. We were not prepared. The three of us wore flimsy shoes, jeans and purses. I feel like we were laugh at a lot by those who passed us.
But it was worth it. This is the North Gate to the fortress set on top of KumJang Mountain.
And the views of the city were really nice.
Also, the trail followed the old fortress wall that apparently stopped one of the earlier Japanese invasions.
While on the trail we got a bit bored and started following the hiker who most seemed to know what he was doing. The swishing of his track pants set a good tempo to march by.
We ended up coming down on the other side of the mountain, having no map or plan, into this rural farming suburb. They had Saturday afternoon games set up for the people in the town that we took part in.
After all the hiking we went and relaxed in a huge hot spring in town that had several different types of baths for you to bathe in. Very relaxing and good for the skin.
The best part of the trip was the Jagalchi Fish market I went to by myself on Sunday morning. (My roommate is a picky, girly, environmentalist and my friend is a vegan) Busan is a port city known best for its seafood. Plus being father south and on the Eastern Sea it's much warmer than Seoul so I spent the morning sunning and examining seafood that I can't name or recognize.
These things are something Ki Sung made me try once and I still want to kill him for it. They're disgusting.
Types of clams
the port
Finally, I went to lay on the beach. Though it's the middle of November it was warm enough to take off my shoes and eat ice cream. This is Haeundae Beach, famous for once having a million people on it at one time. They say that you couldn't walk on the sand and that you had to swim through people, not water.
Finally, when I got back to Seoul Ki Sung and I went to a jimjjilbang, or rest house. Like the hot spring there were separate sides for men and women to enjoy different types of bathes and then later you meet up with the opposite sex in a rest room on another floor.
When you're in a jimjjilbang they give you pajama like clothes to wear and lounge in. Seen here. The floor is heated and you just sort of lay around and watch TV, drink and eat, read or enjoy one of the massive oven/saunas or massage chairs.
So, that was this past week. I only have three weeks left in Seoul till I come home for a bit. This weekend I'm going to Tokyo so I'll be sure to report back about that, then one more week then finals, then home. See you soon.
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