A Weekend in Busan

This weekend marked my first set of adventures outside of Daegu. After ending the week with a festive Halloween lesson with the 5th and 6th graders, a few fellow English teachers and I hopped the KTX headed for Busan.

After our short 45 minute train ride we made a dash to our hotel to stash our belongings before running off to find the free kpop concert that was already in session. 

                         

  Our cozy home for the weekend                                                                A bathtub?!?!?!

We made it to the concert in time to see TeenTop (my second time seeing them which pretty much makes us friends now, right?), IU and the big finale- TVXQ. I'm not a huge fan of TVXQ but they are a big deal here in Korea. Even I couldn't help dancing and singing along to "Keep Your Head Down" once the music started blaring, the fans started chanting, and the fire started blasting. These Kpop concerts are certainly no joke!

I thought I made a pretty decent kpop fangirl but seeing real ones in action totally put me to shame!

After the concert I was able to experience "Korean fast food" for the first time. An experience I can't say I feel the need to repeat any time soon.

I'll skip the hamburgers and stick with fried chicken (fried chicken here is the most addictive thing ever!!)

Saturday morning we set our itinerary and hit the streets to see all the fabulous sights that Busan has to offer.

Between a map and four smart phones surely we can find our way!

The morning greeted us with a slight drizzle but being the prepared travelers we are, we didn't worry too much. Nether rain, nor snow, nor sleet could stop us..... or so we thought. *cue ominous music*

Because of it's proximity to the ocean, Busan is famous for seafood. Our logical first stop than was the Jangalchi Fish Market. I have never in my life seen so many different types of sea life in one place. I also realized that I would have NO idea what to do with any of it other then making it into a pet (and I really don't think the clams would be all that exciting as a pet). I think EPIK needs to add a Seafood Cooking 101 class to it's orientation scheduled. 

What would you like for lunch?

While we were at the market we picked one of the many restaurants on the top floor to let those who do know how to cook fish do it for us. That's usually the best choice!

All those little plates are the side dishes that come with every
Korean meal. You never know what you're going to get and
sometimes there are so many we are stacking plates on top of each
other to get everything to fit on the table!

The main course... we did wonder if we had seen him swimming
 in a tank down below moments ago?

After.....
And yes, Busan lived up to their fame, it was super tasty!

After lunch we wondered down to the water to admire the view. We noticed that while we had enjoyed our meal the weather had not improved. But still undaunted by the rain we decided to head for the beach so that we could scope out our spot for the fireworks festival that night.

Singing in the rain....

As we walked I soon started to wonder if the amount of water that I was now carrying around in my shoes was actually a bad sign. Perhaps traipsing about in a torrential downpour was not the best idea. We eventual ran for a garage to assess the situation.

Enjoying a dry Busan garage and hoping the rain would let up enough to continue our trek.

We soon realized that the rain had no intention of stopping. We ducked into a restaurant where the friendly staff let us camp out and kept our glasses full. After a few hours they let us know that the fireworks had been delayed until tomorrow because of the storm. Bummer.....

To lift our spirits it was agreed by all that we needed some fried chicken.... and more beer.

There was this rather strange contraption on the table...
how does it work again?

We eventually figured them out... kind of

The next morning we were all happy to be greeted by sunshine! After taking advantage of the hotel hair drier we attempted to get a few more sights in before take two of the fireworks that night.

Might need to bring more then one pair of shoes next time I travel...
or just not walk around a whole city during a downpour. 

We made our way by subway and bus down to Yonggung Temple. While most temples in Korea are built in the mountains, Yonggung's seaside placement makes it unique and a popular tourist destination. It was certainly a perfect sunny day to enjoy the temple and water.

Back on the subway

Thanks to the sunshine we were able to make it to the beach and get a front row seat for the fireworks. It was nice to sit and soak up some sun while we waited for nightfall.

I still have not perfected the Korean art of the
"selca" (self camera). I need to ask my students
for some tips.

Watching the moon rise while the sun sets.

Of course I took a few moments to make the token sandcastle.

A little Engrish for you.
Then again, I've never really thought to much about it. Maybe it IS park?!

Eventually the sun set, our dinner was ready, and the long awaited fireworks could start! And they. were. amazing!

Best dinner ever of pizza (nom), honest western style potato wedges (SO good), and beer.

After the spectacular hour long show we packed up and started the next adventure ... getting home with all of Busan on the subway! No such thing as personal space here
.

Even with the crazy rain I think the overall trip was a great success.  Busan was delightful and I look forward to many more outings there!

That being said, I was also happy to get back to My City. I'm constantly amazed with how much I love living in Daegu and what a perfect city it is for me. I feel incredibly lucky to have ended up in such a wonderful place in such an amazing country.

Kpop Song of the Week: Busan Vacance

This was a pretty popular "summer song" this year. I'm more familiar with HaHa as a comedian on one of my favorite variety shows and no, I have no idea what 's going on with the reggae... that's kpop for you.