Busan 2

Monday, June 20

Despite not being fully recovered (in our 30s now some hangovers are 2 days long), we set out to try and do a hike.

When I was here before I went hiking every weekend with a Busan hiking club. One of the things I love most about Busan is how close the hiking trails are to the city. There’s mountains popping up throughout the city and you can always take the Metro or a bus to the base of a trail and start hiking.

I went back through the blog I had written when I was here before. I had stopped after only a few months but still there was some helpful information (and it was fun to remember). One of the first hikes that I’d done with a hiking group was Eomgwangsan mountain. I remembered it was a good example of hiking in Busan because it was relatively easy to get to, had views of ocean and mountains, and had little fitness parks hidden all over.

We followed my old blog instructions of taking the metro to Jungang station, getting out at exit 5, and taking bus 186 up the hill. When we got out of the station we realized we actually needed to go the opposite way and should’ve taken exit 7. Also, bus 81 went the same way so we hopped on that.

In my blog I had said “when the hill got really steep we got off the bus and crossed the street to find the trailhead”. I could tell that these vague instructions made Carl uncomfortable. Rather than waste time arguing about where to start he found a trailhead that began right behind a temple and we decided to get off there.

It was hotter than we had anticipated, and the sky was hazy. We also realized there were about a gazillion trail routes to choose from. Using our different apps we steered ourselves toward the top to try and summit something. We made it to a peak and celebrated.

We realized there were several peaks on the mountain so we followed the saddle and went to a couple more peaks. Then we felt ready to leave and tried to find a way down. The trail we chose to descend was awful- super steep and incredibly rocky. We both slipped several times and cursed the low hanging branches.

Eventually we made it down and found ourselves in a little neighborhood. We decided to get lunch at one of the restaurants. Again, not a lick of English on the menu and no pictures but the man working there was really nice and he welcomed us in. He pointed to different things and said ‘beef’ or ‘tuna’. We gave him the thumbs up to bring us whatever he thought was best.

He brought us tuna kimbap and bulgogi (marinated beef) stew. They actually went well together and it was a perfect size meal for after a hike.

On our way back to the Airbnb I made us get out at Seomyeon station where there is a big underground mall. I think because it was in the middle of a weekday it was nowhere near as crowded and chaotic as it used to be. Still, there were tons of teeny tiny shops mostly selling clothes with ridiculous English phrases written on them.

As we turned a corner and there were fewer people around, a man came up to us and asked where we are from. We tend to slowly back away from people like this, keeping a mental note of where our wallets are. We told him the truth -USA- and he started to reach into his bag to get something. Oh no, we thought, he’s going to try to sell us something. He pulled out a little pin that had an American flag and a South Korean flag together and handed it to Carl. He bowed and speed-walked away. We were so surprised. We called thank you after him. Further proof that South Koreans are the nicest people and will melt the hearts of jaded travelers like us.

We then went home and rested in preparation for Makkoli Monday.

During the peak of when I hated teaching in Korea I would live for the weekends and then dread having to go back to school each Monday. It got to the point where every Monday night I would look for plane tickets back to CA but would chicken out by the time the weekend came.

My friend Paddy and I co-founded a weekly event called Makkoli Mondays. We would go to our favorite Makkoli (Korean rice wine) bar called Tony’s on Monday nights and invite whoever could make it. MMs gave me something to look forward to on Monday and then Tuesday I’d be too hungover to care about whether I should stay or quit. Then it would already be Wednesday and we’d be close enough to the weekend to have hope.

The group brought a bunch of different foreigner groups together and was a symbol for world peace. After Paddy left, the group changed to Tony Tursdays and after I left I saw rumors of Friendly Wednesdays. I think the group fizzled out within a year after I left but I’ve still been talking about it for the last nine years.

So, we decided to revive it for at least one night. Our Makkoli place, Tony’s, didn’t even have an official name when we started MM. The owner, Tony, is a hilarious and generous guy that would gladly have broken English, drunken conversations with us and then bring us some free Korean food to try. We were lucky Tony was there when we went because he has since opened up two more shops and is a busy business man now.

I relied on memory and a map that honored member Charles made and we found the place no problem. We turned the corner to find the place looked EXACTLY the same and Tony was standing at the front door, identical to my memory but with some gray hair. We walked up and asked for a table and he paused. He pointed at my face – he remembered me! I showed him a photo we took on the night I fled Korea and he was so happy, he took a picture of it with his phone.

Our old friend, Parky, joined us just as we arrived. Parky used to play rugby with the Irish boys and he now works for a major Korean airline. He has always been the nicest person.

We ordered the kimchi cheesy pajeon- which you can’t get anywhere else in the world. Tony’s latest gimmick is that he comes out with a blow torch to melt the cheese on top. He did a little fire show for us and almost lit Carl’s crotch on fire.

We looked for where we had written our names on the walls. We found Paddy’s name and a precious MM member had written “I heart Makkoli Mondays”. Doeyeon joined us and we ate some more pajeon and grilled fish. Then Tony brought out some spicy chicken feet. Somehow we had never tried chicken feet before. It was as chewy as I imagined but not bad! It was a little too spicy for me and poor Carl can’t leave food waste so he ended up eating most of it.

Drunk and full, we said bye to Tony and went to KSU area to see what was going on. Kyungsung university area used to be the place to party on the weekends but it sounds like all the foreigners stick to other areas now. It was also a Monday night so the nightclubs were quiet. We wandered a bit and then found New Tony’s! The newer makkoli bar that Tony had started and that was more popular for the college kids.

We decided to see what new Tony’s was about. They brought out free finger food of grubs, Beondegi, which are silkworm pupae. They were not good. When we looked around we saw none of the young kids eating them either. We ordered two omelet roll type things that were ok, but I’ll stick with OG Tony’s next time.

Then we went next door to a photo booth shop. Since I was here there had been an explosion in the number of shops that offer fancy photo booths. Basically you try on props and then go into a booth to take photos. No one even works there and these places are making a killing in Korea. Why didn’t I think of it. We nearly suffocated with laughter after trying on all the props and got some quality photos.

We had stayed up past our bedtime again and it was time to go home.

Tuesday, June 21

We woke up feeling awful but we had made plans to meet up with one of my former Korean co-teachers, Elia. So we rallied. She picked us up from our Airbnb around 10am and drove us over to Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. I had taken my parents to this temple when they visited and nearly killed them by forcing them to walk most of the way there. Elia offered to drive because it is not the easiest one to get to for tourists.

Most temples in Korea are located in the mountains. This one is unique because it sits right on the coast overlooking the ocean.

Elia and I caught up in the car while I tried not to distract her too much from driving. When we got to the temple we were grateful that our plans had forced us out of bed because it was a beautiful day and there weren’t that many people. We took a ton of photos and I even bought a prayer candle. I wrote a message of love and happiness, lit it, and set it with the other candles to burn out.

We hadn’t eaten yet and were feeling hungover hungry so we opted to go get lunch and asked Elia to pick the place. She chose a really nice restaurant that had a parking lot that rivaled Disneyland’s and was full of cars. We had to wait a little bit for a table but it gave us more time to catch up.

When our table was ready they brought us into a big room and it felt like we were in an old, traditional Korean house with the paper walls and wood everything. Elia ordered us the Bulgogi. The amount of banchan (sides) that came with it was absolutely ridiculous. We sat at a huge, wooden dining table and there was hardly enough space for all of it. I could nearly not fit it all into one photo. We stuffed ourselves and more. Then I was so tired I could’ve slept in the middle of the room with all the wait staff stepping on me.

Elia took us to get coffees in a fancy area by the ocean, next to the Ananti Hilton hotel. The area was very cute and we took more and more photos.

Elia had to work in the afternoon so she took us back to our Airbnb and we said goodbye for now. Although we were pretty tired, the weather was nice and we still had a lot of daylight left so we rallied again to go to Nampo and Jagalchi area.

We started by going to the Busan Tower which they now call the Diamond tower. It used to be you take the escalator to the park, elevator to the top, look around and that’s it. This time there was more happening in the tower including a QR code game. We played along and won a nice pen and a shot glass! The views from the top of the tower were great and there were art exhibits that was fun for more photo opps.

Then we walked down the hill to Nampo. I used to love going to Nampo by myself and getting lost in the weird food markets. There’s also a good amount of street food here so I tried to get Carl to work up a hunger again so he could try some. We strolled through the markets and bought some rice cakes.

Then it was on to Jagalchi Fish Market. I also loved coming here because of all the crazy fish and sea creatures that they keep alive in little seawater filled tubs until it’s time to eat. We walked down the main alleyway to see what they had. One woman flagged us down and gave us her card when we said we aren’t hungry. But just as we started to walk away I noticed they sold sea penis. I asked her for one order and she laughed in my face. When she realized I was serious she asked for here or take away.

We decided to eat there because eating sea penis is enough of a trauma in itself, we needed to have good seating. I had tried it before while walking the coast along Igidae and remembered it was the weirdest thing I’ve eaten in my whole life.

She chopped it up and removed the insides before serving it to us. The chopped up pieces were still wriggling. Carl put a piece in his mouth and chewed. Very cartilage-y. To his credit, he ate most of it, despite the pieces still moving the whole time.

I’d say nothing could top that weird seafood wise so we looped around and went through one of the hawker buildings before heading back to Nampo.

We found a food cart near the Busan International Film Festival Area. We weren’t hungry, but felt the need to get street food so we ordered some fish sticks. She served us little cups of broth again. We had just enough cash so we got some tteok-bokki too. Fully satisfied and quite exhausted, we finally headed home.

Wednesday, June 22

Another good weather day meant another day of not sleeping in. We met Karen in Mipo at about 10 and got tickets to do the Sky Capsule. This thing, and the park it sits in, is all new since I was here so finally a first time experience!

The Sky Capsule is a rail track that goes from the north end of Haeundae (Mipo) around the bluff and up the coast toward Songjeong Beach. There are about a dozen, little, rail cars that seat four people and ride independently along the track making for a perfect cutesy photo opp. We had read the cars move slowly and it was true. We watched as an older Korean hiker walking on the path below overtook us and then passed us out of view ahead. Still, the ocean and the forest were beautiful.

At the stopping point there is a little town that spills down the mountain to the shore. Karen found the CUTEST cafe called Rooftop Cafe. We ordered coffees and a lemon cake and just stared at the ocean for a bit.

Then we noticed a sky walk up the coast so we went to check it out (another new activity). There’s no fee and they give you little soft booties to put over your shoes so you don’t streak the glass. The whole thing is still under construction. They plan to make it one big loop, with more glass floor to stand on. We were able to walk out to about the halfway point and there was enough glass that it was exhilarating. I snuck up on Carl while he was standing on the glass and scared him good.

From here we decided to walk to Songjeong Beach and find something to eat. I was holding my phone up to all the restaurant signs trying to translate them. It was like ‘country of re-enactment’ all over again but funnier. So we decided to randomly pick a restaurant.

We ended up choosing a spicy octopus restaurant. We had just decided to stop eating octopus because they are too smart and don’t even taste that good. The restaurant literally served nothing but spicy octopus but we were tired and hungry so we said this would be our last octopus meal. We got a big seafood pancake (like pajeon) that came with a vinegar dipping sauce. It was really good and unfortunately the octopus was cooked well so it actually did taste good.

We went to the beach and marveled at all the surfers! It ended up being a sunny but windy day and there were tons of people out. We found a cafe that served beers and we sat on the porch and watched the hoard of beginner surfers run into each other whenever someone caught a tiny wave.

Then we walked along the northern bluff out to a pagoda. At the point the wind was so strong it could knock you over. It was crazy!

From here we decided to walk back and take Dalmaji road back to Haeundae Beach. I remember walking Dalmaji road with my parents and telling them “just a bit further now”. Their trip had been in July and it was already so humid in June- I don’t know how we did it. Sorry for death marching you, ma and pa.

There are great ocean and forest views along Dalmaji road and then we dove back down toward the beach. We decided to get the subway back and rest a little.

Later we met up with Karen on Gwangalli beach and then went to Gorilla brewing. Some of our Irish friends that taught in Korea helped to found Gorilla and they kept telling us to go try it. We liked the beers a lot but they didn’t have much veggie food for Karen. Also, we would’ve bought a sweatshirt but there was nothing on it to indicate that the brewery is in Korea. Still, they had actual delicious IPAs and, if it had existed when I lived there before, it would not have been good for me.

For dinner Carl and I went to a Korean fried chicken and beer place. We sat at the window bar and people watched as we ate a tower of nicely fried chicken and shared a pitcher of light beer. We spotted a couple of our friends from the other night and waved. They were going out to drink on the beach before the weather forecast turned bad for ten days. We went home, looking forward to cloudy days to give us an excuse to take it easy.

Thursday, June 23

The forecast said it would be windy during the day and the rain would start in the afternoon and last for many days. So we figured it was our last chance to try to hike.

We went to Beomeosa Temple and figured if the rain started early, we would at least have seen the temple. Beomeosa sits on the northern edge of the city and is one of the most famous temples in Busan. I had been to this temple a few times before and it was usually packed with people. But; on a rainy weekday, we were nearly the only ones there.

We walked around and admired the architecture and paintings while listening to the monks chant. The low hanging fog gave the temple a cool, spooky vibe but also meant we would probably see nothing when we hiked up the mountain behind the temple.

It wasn’t really raining yet, and we had the energy so we decided to go up. I had done this hike once before with a coworker and the trail had taken longer than we’d expected and then the cable car at the end had been closed so we had to -unplanned- walk the whole highway way down.

This time we went up the right side of the temple and came down under the North Gate- avoiding the probably closed cable car altogether. We had some issues finding the trail but, like the other hike we had done, there were about a million trails to choose from.

The fog was even thicker in the forest and there was no one else around. It was just like hiking in the Pacific Northwest. We even saw a big frog!

As we neared the peak we saw a sign directing us down a path to see the 12m tall carved Buddha in a rock. We figured we weren’t going to see a view from the peak anyways, so we went to see the Buddha. It was much further than the sign had suggested. We hiked up and then far down the other side.

This little venture also made us realize that we had been protected from the weather by hiking up the southwest side of the mountain. When we cross over to the northeast side we started to get blasted by rain sprinkles that seemed to come from every direction. Finally we spotted it- a Buddha face carved high up on a big rock. It was so foggy you almost couldn’t see it. We bowed a few times and then climbed back over the hill to the dry side.

From here we headed toward the peak. At the very top there were multiple wooden platforms with sets of stairs. Then there was a metal spiral staircase! We held on to the handrail, afraid of slipping and falling to our deaths. Somehow there was a group of men at the top. We hadn’t seen or heard them the whole way up, so maybe they went a different way or we were always just right behind. We all looked at each other and laughed because of how ridiculous it was to be on the top of a mountain, surrounded by a big wet cloud. Carl and I took a picture next to the peak sign and then hurried off, to walk down the other direction.

We walked down toward the North Gate, a gate that is part of an old fortress wall. As we approached, the gate appeared out of the fog and we heard a man laughing. Turns out there was a guy sitting in the gate, eating his snacks. Carl went up to get a picture while I stayed below.

I heard Carl say hello to the man, laugh, say ‘camsamnida!’ (Thank you), laugh again, say good bye, laugh…finally I said “what’s going on up there??!” When I didn’t get a response I followed him up. Carl was standing next to the guy and they were both eating some type of melon. Carl said the guy was waving a knife at him and then indicated he wanted Carl to cut the fruit and eat it. When I joined the man also gave us some coffee candies and chocolate. I’ve heard other people have similar snack-sharing experiences on hikes in Korea so we offered him our rice triangle and he seemed happy to receive it.

The hike down was rocky, but gradual. We made it back to Beomeosa temple and found the bus stop. We had just enough time to eat a melon popsicle before the bus came, all the while the sky was threatening to rain but never did.

We went back to the Airbnb and rested before going out for bbq at Seorae one more time. We thought about trying a new place but the reviews on google for Seorae were so good and it is hard to search for restaurant names when everything is in Korean. So we went back, and were happy we did so. We felt like we finally knew what we were doing this time. Carl cooked the meat perfectly and I was in charge of keeping the beer and soju flowing.

Afterward we went back to HQ for trivia night! This time Tim joined our team and also our friend Nav joined late so we finally had our team of five. There were fewer people playing and still we didn’t do as well. We started off well but lost a lot to true or false questions. For the final questions we competed amongst our teammates and loser had to buy winner a beer. Well I don’t think Nav was even listening and Carl got the most right (of course) but Nav ended up buying a round which started a vicious cycle of buying the next round. Again, we drank too much, closed out the bar, and then ran home in a crazy rain/wind storm.

Just before we got home we realized we had the drunchies. So we went to 7-11 and got some rice triangles. We went to our Airbnb and ate our snacks but then realized we wanted more AND that we should buy the little hangover prevention drinks that Doeyeon had bought for us the last time we were out.

When we went back to 7-11 the guy seemed to be amused by us. He made us get three hangover prevention drinks (it was buy 2 get 1) and then he gave us some free spicy chicken skewers. He knew we needed his help. I’m not sure the drinks worked as well as they did before, but we we were happy to have all the help we could get.

Friday, June 24

We finally had a good sleep in. In the afternoon I went to get some lunch with Karen. We went to the location where a place we loved called Burger and Pasta used to be. It’s now a New York Burger and their menu was (unfortunately for Karen) mostly meaty burgers. I got one and it was therapeutic. Karen got cheesy fries and a shake that looked pretty good. All was well.

When I walked back along the beach to the Airbnb the sun started to come out and the beach was beautiful. I got so nostalgic for Busan, I almost cried. But in my hungover state I was already too ugly by Korean standards, so I held it in, for now.

Later that day Carl and I met up with Karen and Doeyeon to go to Busan X the Sky, the second tallest tower in Korea. Doeyeon somehow got us a discount and arranged buying the tickets for us (what would we do without her?)

We went up just before sunset so we got to see the city in both daylight and when the night lights came out. It was still a little cloudy but we could see the Gwangalli bridge and tall buildings in the distance.

Afterward we decided to get dinner and our friend Tim K joined us. Doeyeon picked the place- one she had been to before. We followed her, snaking through some back alleys of Haeundae beach to get there.

The place was a seafood place and Doeyeon ordered us a seafood broil. She also did all the cooking. It had clams, crab, some sort of sea mushroom?, seaweed and who knows what else but it tasted very good. We also got some bibimbap (rice bowls) and toward the end of the meals she ordered noodles that we put into the soup to soak up the rest of the yummy broth. It was so good. We wouldn’t have been able to order it without Doeyeon helping us every step of the way.

Tim was excited because it was Friday and he didn’t have to work on Saturday. Carl, Karen and I were still tired from the night before and Doeyeon did have to work on Saturday so when Tim suggested we go to Thursday Party for some foosball we weren’t so eager. We said we would go for one beer and one game and this seemed to appease him.

Of course, whenever you say “just one” it’s never just one. But Carl and I were exhausted and I needed to flex some self control so after one beer and a couple of foosball games I said it was time to go. Just at that moment Namkyeon arrived. Doeyeon had texted her and told her to come join us playing foosball. She was so mad that we were about to leave. I debated staying but, if we didn’t leave then I worried we never would. So we disappointed Namkyeon and all the others and Carl and I left.

It was especially weird saying goodbye to Karen after so many months traveling together. I know we will meet up again somewhere in the world, but it feels strange to not know where or how long in the future that will be. My grandpa used to say to Karen and I that our friendship is a symbol of world peace.

If only he could’ve seen the group of us, drunk and playing foosball in Korea again he would’ve laughed and said something like, “if only world leaders could be friends like you guys are…” But for world peace’s sake, I hope global leaders stay away from Haeundae’s Thursday Party.