On Friday it was our schools Halloween party, so we all dressed up and had a great time, my mom even came too! Here are some photos of the cute kids and their costumes...
(Vicky, her cute costume, and an ax that she carried around all day)
(The whole school, the dinosaur in the front is priceless)
(instead of candy, Alex got a discount on fried chicken and graciously invited us to dinner)
(Andy, one of my favorites, sh)
(Dino class and the Indian/hippy)
After work on Friday, my mom and I hopped on the bus to Suwon Bus Terminal to make the 4 hour and 20 minute bus journey to Busan. Busan is the second biggest city in South Korea with a population of 3.6 million people. Busan is on the south east of South Korea making it the largest port in the country.
After we found our hotel for the next two nights (which in fact we got an upgrade because the guy tried to say that we didn't confirm, but we really did, and that's how you get a sauna in your shower folks) we settled in nicely and the next morning were good as gold.
On the agenda first was to go to the Jagalchi Fish Market, one of the main tourist sites in Busan and the largest fish market in Korea. The market was endless, stalls and stalls of different kinds of seafood, seaweed and whatever else you can think of that comes from the sea. The smell was atrocious but the atmosphere was awesome, you know you're in Asia when...
After the fish market, we decided to hop on the Busan city bus and do a tour of the beaches. It was nice to view Busan out of the main downtown area, the main beach in called Haendaue which attracts many Koreans during the summer. I can just imagine how many umbrellas and how much sunscreen is used on a given day. The tour was nice, there was a moment we looked around and everyone was sleeping, but it was nice to get on a bus and view a different part of Busan.
After the Busan bus tour, we decided to hit up another market called, Gukje market. This market is one of Busan's biggest filled with clothes, silks, linen and many odds and ends along the way. I found a great jacket for only 15,000 and my mom found great souvenirs to take back for friends and family.
After taking a rest back at the hotel, it was time to eat a late dinner. My mom's a vegetarian, so I thought this could be tricky...after wondering around for 20 minutes and my mom trying to get (and taking) a handshake from a guy with no fingers we were as giddy and hungry as could be. We decided upon a nice little Korean and after my mom showed the man her note "I do not eat meat or fish" she had a steaming pot of bi bim bap in front of her. This restaurant was nice, but we were literally the only ones in the restaurant. While we were waiting for our meal we started to hear this weird music and realized that our waiter (the one who hadn't even brought us our bottle of soju yet) was playing the saxophone to us in the middle of the restaurant. I have never laughed so hard in my life. It was a priceless moment that I frequently replay in my head.
The next day we decided to get on the subway and make the 40 minute trek to Lonely Planet's top pick of Busan, Beomeosa Temple. This is a buddhist temple that was constructed in AD 678. Of course, much of the temple was destroyed during the Japanese invasion of 1592-3, but was renovated after that. The temple was founded by a Buddhist scholar named, Ulsang during the reign of King Munmu, one of the most enlightened rulers of the Silla Dynasty. This temple is in a magnificent setting, a mountain backdrop and with the leaves changing color, it was just breathtaking...
After wondering around the temple we ended our stay with a visit from David Didomenico. I went to school with David and he works in my Mom's old office at Akron U. He is studying in Ulsan and was able to meet us for lunch.
What a weekend!
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