Busan is the second largest city in South Korea with a population around 3.6 million people. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest in the world. It is located on the southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula. We stayed at the Paradise Hotel in the Haeundae Beach Area. It was beautiful with a great view of the ocean.
Although very different, Busan reminded us of Vancouver.
We arrived in Busan shortly after noon and were approached by a taxi driver.
Sun Joo's mother began to haggle with him and hired him for the day to take us on a tour. What a kind, patient and nice gentleman. Not only did he arrange our schedule for the day but helped plan our entire week-end. We met him by chance on Saturday and he was eager to know if we were enjoying ourselves and if we needed anything.
Our first task was to find a restaurant and have lunch. Sun Joo's mother had a friend who owned a small restaurant, the oldest in Busan and one that appears regulary on T.V., and was eager to introduce us.
Sunjoo, her son and her mom.
This was a place famous for it's bibimbap. The restaurant was more than sixty years old and time seemed to stand still here. We ate out of battered tin bowls, we sat on old leather stools at a worn counter and a cat lounged in the corner. The food was delicious.
The rest of the afternoon seemed like a whirlwind. We saw the UN Memorial Cemetery.
The cemetery is breath taking beautiful and serene. Al was moved by the statue venerating Canadian soldiers. It stands simply yet very powerfully amongst the flowers and graves stones. It is a quietly stunning piece.
In what we thought was an odd contradiction to the cemetery - is contradiction the right word? -
we even used the bathroom facilities built especially for President Bush when he visited.
We crossed the Gwangan Bridge, the second longest bridge in Korea.
We toured the Taejongdae Resort Park.
We visited the Yeongdo Marine Cultural Space and the Taejongdae Observatory.
We toured the Nurimaru APEC House on Dongbaek Island. This is where the 2nd APEC Leaders' Meeting, Leaders' Luncheon took place during APEC 2005 Korea. The name Nurimaru is the combination of two Korean words: "nuri" meaning the world and "maru" meaning summit.
Our final destination was the Busan Aquarium representing marine environments with over 350 different species and 50,000 underwater creatures from all over the world.. What a fantastic place, I highly recommend this!
For dinner we decided to have a spicy Korean beef stew. Al and I needed a beer to cool off. After dinner, our friends left us to visit and spend the night with their family and we went to our hotel. We spent the evening walking along the beach front, looking at the sights and smelling the sea air.
We had no trouble falling asleep that night and morning came all too soon.
By nine o'clock the next morning we were in a cab ready to start again.
We started at the shopping centre looking for a camera for Al since his packed it in. The Shinsegaae Department Store is described as the largest in the world, but it didn't have what we were looking for. We are still looking because he wants a particular model (in fact it exists) that he believes will survive him, water proof, shock proof, freeze proof, heat proof. He ruined his camera in Bali. No surprise!
We passed a Korean War memorial site right outside the Busan Train station. Apparently, this had been a focus of some trouble when some protesters (someone suggested North Korean spies to us) burned the original photographs and posters.
Flags at the memorial
Me and Sunjoo
Me and Al
A fascinating and detailed photo history of a brutal war.
The fountain outside the Busan train station, quite a counterpoint to the graphic display of war.
Our next destination was one of the most beautiful we have seen, the Mount Botanakga Headongyonggungso Temple.
Our next stop was Songjeong Beach noted for its good surfing. Koreans use the beach for games and sports rather than sunbathing.
Since we were near the water, we decided to have fresh seafood for lunch.
Feeling refreshed we did a little more sight seeing.
This is something I had never seen before, although Al says he has seen it in Canada.
A very popular sport in Korea.
You can see I adopted the Korean practice of using my umbrella to protect against the sun as well rain. It really does make it easier to be outside.
An amazing statue of mother earth.
After a buffet dinner at our hotel we headed off to the Haeundae (Mipo) Terminal to board the excursion ship Dongbaek. We decided on the night cruise to take advantage of the lights, we also had an unexpected surprise when one of the cruise ships held a spectacular fireworks show. The tour course included Dongbaek Island (Nurimaru), Gwangan Bridge and Gwangalli Beach. It was well worth waiting until nine o'clock.
It felt like we had been here a week, our days were so packed. After a good night sleep we were ready to go. We had a lot to see before our train left at five o'clock. We took a taxi to meet our friends at the Jagalchi Fish Market for nine o'clock. What a place with the smells, sounds, sights and tastes!
There were all kinds of raw seafood to taste.
Al is VERY brave. He ate what was offered before knowing what he had eaten!
This was my reaction when Al downed shark intestines and they were offered to me.
Sun Joo then decided to sample fish mouths ( I kid you not!)
Here they are. They are hard and ugly, you chew them for a few minutes and then spit them out ( onto the street). It was the worst I had experienced so far and the taste was hard to get rid of. I was told that during the Korean war we would have fought over this delicacy. Anyway I survived.
I guess I got brave because I ate one of these creatures raw. Actually it was only one bite but that was quite enough. I learned the technique of closing my eyes, opening my mouth and quickly swallowing whatever Sun Joo's mother decided to give me. I believe these disgusting looking creatures are called sea squirts.
I ate eel, which was pretty good.
You could also buy dried fish.
Frequently fish would jump up or out of the tanks, we saw an octopus slide out of its tank and slither across the street. The women would just run after the octopus, pick it up and throw it back into the tank. You had to be careful when you walked, because there were small metal canisters every few yards with burning coals and a grill on top so you could grill the fish you bought if you wished. This was a very old custom. Clearly, safety standards are not what we are used to and nobody got burned.
Early in the morning, shortly after sunrise, there is an auction when the buyers from the restaurants and anyone who wants to get up that early can bid. It is said to be incredibly busy and noisy with everyone shouting and bidding.
We had some sort of fish noodle soup at the fish market. There were many of these tiny shops where they served one dish only. I could have spent more time at this market, but there was still a lot more to see.
Busan holds a yearly international film festival. They have a sidewalk with the stars just like in Hollywood.
Al refused to try out this men's beauty shop, I guess he isn't so brave after all.
Here is another example of the lack of safety standards. Where is hydro when you need them? Those big wires on the right are just wrapped in electrical tape!
This is an elevator parking lot where your car is moved by a conveyer belt.
For lunch Sun Joo's mother wanted us to sample pig's head but we declined. 
We decided on chicken soup. This is a very popular dish where you are served a whole chicken stuffed with rice and boiled in a broth containing ginseng and chestnuts amongst other things.
Before heading back to the train station, we visited the Busan tower where we got a bird's eye view of the city. The pictures are a little disappointing because it was such a hot, hazy day, but you can see how beautiful this city is. Al and I preferred Busan to Seoul.
Well it was time to take the train back. You can see this station is twice the size of the Winnipeg airport.
We thoroughly enjoyed travelling with our good friends and seeing their beautiful city. But I will admit, we are both homesick and happy that our next trip will be back to Canada.
