This last weekend I spent a couple days in Busan, Korea's second largest city. It's on the very southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula and is absolutely beautiful. The food is consistent with typical Korean fair, and incorporates tons of the fresh fish they have in the area. It has been one of my favorite stopping off points and you can check out all of the places I visited with the link below.
I also have a couple interesting stories and wanted to recount some more person tails of what the trip felt like and the sights and sounds of the city itself.
The weekend that I went as at the end of midterm week and there happened to be a party at a club in Itaewon to celebrate the conclusion of all the studying and test taking. That party lasted well into the mid hours of the morning. I caught the first subway back home around 5:45am and was able to crash in bed by 6:30am. The train I had booked left at 12:30pm, so I didn't have much time to recover properly in my sleep cycle. I barely woke up at 11:30am. At that point in time I was still not packed and needed to get ready.
I got to the subway station near the University at 11:45am, so it was going to be tight. To get to the train station, i.e. Seoul Station, you have to take one line 4 or 5 stops down, then transfer to another line that is another 6 or 7 stops. All-in-all, if you can time it just right, the trip takes around 22 minutes. That meant that I would get to the station at 12:07pm, and I did. However, I hadn't been to the station, so I had no clue how to check in and how long it would take to get on the train.
I basically sped walked faster than an olympic speed walking champion up to the ticketing gate. The line looked long and I thought I was going to have to jump off a bridge. Fast forward to 12:25, and I'm at the counter, I got the ticket, and I have 5 minuted to get on that train before it leaves and I have a worthless ticket.
I just start following people until I could see a big sigh for KTX, which is the train system I was riding on, I hungover-hustled down the stairs and was next to the train. I had one hot minute to find my car and, luckily for me, it was the one right next to the stairs. I'm not on the train for more than 30 seconds before it starts rolling down the tracks. What can I say? I guess I don't like wasting time.
The train ride was relatively quick, it took only two and a half hours to reach Busan and then after that I was set free into the city. The first place I stopped of was the fish market where I was able to watch some of these incredible booth owners prepare fish in mere seconds. Somewhat grotesque in fashion, but interesting none the less. Outside of the market there was almost a mile long market that ran down a narrow old street. This place was packed with small restaurants that had maybe two or three tables, and that's where I had my first culinary excursion in the city.
It was a mixture of fish, kimchi, and other vegetables, oh and it had some squid on it as well. It was pretty good and wasn't exactly what I was asking for but it was still pretty good. The lady might have just given me what she was already making in a big batch. It was still pretty good.
After that, I went up to a park where you could see much of the city and Busan Tower. The views were incredible and I included some pictures of them to back up that claim. I also spent some time walking around the area near Kyungsung University, which had tons of great bars and restaurants. I stopped of for a couple of drinks at a local watering hole and grabbed a quick snack on the way to one of the three beaches I visited during my time there.
The beaches were great and I don't think I have any funny stories from those treks. However, I did try to visit a park that was a little out of the way, which I thought was like a botanical garden. To see this place I rode out on the subway for about 30 minutes, I get there and walk a couple of blocks. I was pretty hyped about seeing some Korean botany, but it turned out to literally just be a park. One with like little league baseball, jogging paths, and soccer fields. The whole journey out there was literally pointless and there was absolutely nothing to see. The pictures online make it seem like it would be a pretty cool place. It just goes to show that you can't trust what you read on the internet. (except for this, you can trust me)
I think the coolest part of the trip was Songdo Beach. It's much more southern than the other two beaches I visited- Haeundae and Gwagalli. It just had so much around it. There was a lighthouse poking into the bay with massive ships out in the distance, and in the reverse direction there was a picturesque beach and tons of lively activity.
They had some interesting street food with some sort of larva as well. I caught a picture of it but I didn't have the stomach to try it at that point in time.
I had the chance to see a lot in a short time and walked over 45 miles around city, not included the countless miles I took on the subway and buses. I think it was worth it but I slept for quite a while after than.
The trip was short but it was good. Two days isn't enough to see everything, but what I saw was awesome and I got a sweet new sweatshirt too, so it was a major victory. Now I'm back to spending a lot time in the library and reading. I had one class that mandated 600 pages of material for the midterm. I was so sick of reading after last week. Guess what I did on the train? I read some more.