Romantic Busan

carrie

Bidding the pastoral Gyeongju farewell, we set foot onto romantic Busan. By coach, we arrived at Busan bus station four hours later. Facing the maze-like subway, kappa turned to information center for help. A young guy helped him. He was very patient to instruct kappa with subway service.

Turning out of the subway exit, we were immediately plunged into hustling and bustling Busan and we took a long time to locate hotel No.25 which was hidden behind a parking lot, looking like a motel without even a lobby. But the room was big, and staying there for five nights was not a bad experience, for its location is very convenient for public transportation with many restaurant choices around. After dropping everything, we wandered around the streets searching for food. Many restaurants clustered along both sides of the street , and it was a problem which to choose. We were attracted by this one because we saw octopus. Although it was beyond lunch hour there were diners queuing, and we were required to sign our name on a white board to wait for our turn. Kappa signed Frangocel.

When it was our turn we were led indoors to seat ourselves on the floor. The food was 马马虎虎. Basically I can never define Korean food as delicacy like Japanese food. The food came in set, as usual, with kimchi, pickled stuff and the main course: a hot pot with boiling spicy vegetables, octopus pieces and rice.

We had no clear plan for the rest of the day, so we walked into a shopping mall, which follows the style of all the modern shopping malls with cosmetics on the ground floor and restaurant on the top. The decorative style on the top floor is very playful, which struck me as very cute and relaxing.

Relaxed on the grand balcony of the top floor for a while watching the traffic flow down in the street, I was eager to explore the seaside city of Busan, but where to start? Kappa came up with the idea that we go to the famous fashion street of Busan.

Busan is a highly-rated tourist destination in South Korea. It’s also one of the most densely populated cities and a popular seaport in the Pan-Asia region boasting exotic beaches. Being South Korea's most important seaport, Busan has a natural international and cosmopolitan flair. Setting foot on the fashion street, I was immediately turned on by the street views.

Whatever cat will attract kappa, be it a real cat or a cat statue.

As we strolled around, the sight of far-away house terrace on the moutain slope fascinated me. Soon we found ourselves in the wharf area which was as busy as any wharf in other cities.

Kappa was delighted to find we ended up in Jagalchi Market. Jagalchi Market is a seafood market in Busan which was introduced by Mike Chen, where he enjoyed abalone and prawn. We settled on 1st floor where there were stalls selling a number of live fish, eels, abalone, and crab, while the 2nd level is dedicated to dried fish products. Since Mike Chen commented that eating raw fish here was a must-do, we decided on Sashimi.

The fish market was packed with local diners. Trying to do what the locals do, we ordered a bottle of Shaojiu, a light local alcohol, which failed to meet our expectation, quite bland, but the sashimi was good.

Lotte was found here too, and we had food in lotte several times. Whenever we were clueless where to eat lotte would be our last solution. The subway in Busan was special in that when a train approached, there would come up a classical music piece, each time a different piece, very refreshing spiritually.

According to website, the Busan Museum of Art is must-visit for fans of contemporary art. So we went the next day. The museum is divided into 5 floors, comprising exhibition halls, educational rooms and archives, while a sculpture park is located outside the building.It took us about 3 dedicted hours viewing and feeling what Korean modern art is all about in addition to an expo of Modern Finnish arts.

In front of the entrance, there was a set-up of wooden work, a kind of outcry for recycling.

In the hall, the sight of used clothing chained up did raise my awareness of the huge waste human being created, me included. But most earth inhabitants are to blame, with kappa as an exception. Kappa enjoyed life his way. Everyone enjoyed life their particular way.

The Northern European have long been known for their innovation. Maybe having too much night time in the winter staying indoors gave them a lot of leisure to figure out how to view the world from a different perspective. If you spend most of your life staying in a hectic tropical area, your attention will be distracted. Not being concentrated will lead people nowhere apart from consuming yourself where you are .

I was very much impressed by Finnish paintings, crafty works, furniture designs and their photography perspective. I sensed their solitude and their constant dialogue with their environment. They constantly remind the world what might jeopardize the harmony of nature and the prospect of our mutual future.

Carpe Diem is a term which means “seize the day”, but seize the day in what way? This artist used photography to tease how she seized the day: ordinary days, fussy days and sometimes nasty days, which are truth of life. Enjoying the day, feeling gorgeous, is only a flinting moment. As a matter of fact, Carpe Diem is more of a mentality, a positive attitude towards life, an approach to cracking this no easy life.

It seems Finnish life style is all about being nature friendly, environment friendly and how to blend in harmony with the physical world. Where you are determines what mindset you have. I hate where I am and the culture and people I was exposed to while I grew up. There is an idiom in China: 竭泽而渔，meaning to drain the pond to fish, which seems to be the mindset of most people in my country. As long as they can maximize the profit today they don’t care about the consequence that will follow tomorrow.

These paintings and glass art works of birds are vivid to life. Only tremendous love for nature could inspire artists to produce such lovely art of birds.

From the museum, we headed to Haeundae Beach. It is rather crowded during the months of June and July, according to website, so it was when we got there. Whenever asked “how do you like my dress? Kappa will answer it drily like this, “It is a dress”. So here I followed his sentence pattern: It is just a beach. But with terrace houses on the mountainside in the distance, thick fog cloaking the towers, I still preserved precious memory of Haeundae Beach.

Qing sha pu 清沙浦 is a small fishing village which I discovered by reading a posting shared by Lisa. I did not like the idea of going to budda temples any more. So kappa googled how to access this fishing area. A subway trip and then a minibus ride took us there.

Kappa was not impressed by the sea view at all, comparing it with Genova, and poured scorns on it. I was a bit annoyed by his attitude. I am always turned on by the sight of sea. I always find unique beauty and peace in tides in and tides out. Genova could be beautiful and a hot tourist spot, but Qing Sha Pu deserves our admiration too. Korea is never famous for tourism, yet it has got its own peculiar character.

Qing Sha Pu was being savagely whipped by strong wind and heavy rain when we arrived. We could not even use umbrella for the wind would surely tear it. I was impressed by the crudeness of fish port, the deserted railway trails streching miles away with delicate curves, and the obsevatory standing in the sea, all of which manifest its unique beauty different from else where.

The observatory was closed due to the stormy weather. But when we walked along the railway trail the rain stopped and the wind ceased. We knew nothing about the history here. Where does this railway lead? Why was it constructed? And why was it abandoned? It would be interesting to see a mini train approaching like that small city we visited in Japan. There were few tourists around, which enabled us to enjoy peace after the rain, and the walk along the railway.

Walking along the abandoned railway trail, I saw the brown rocks, the choppy sea and fish- shaped wish cards tied to the bar fence handrails. Best wishes are always made by kind and wishful people. But who is responsible for answeing them and making them come true?

The cutely decorated restaurants and coffee shops were lined along the sloping roadside, adding exotic touch to the surroundings.

The landmark of Qing Sha Pu is its two lighting houses, red and white , standing in an arm’s reach, silently watching and accompanying each other.

Kappa often described me as Jane Austin because I am too sentimental sometimes. We are two opposite characters of different mentality, his a scientist one, while mine literery. I consider the two beacons standing shoulder to shoulder facing whatever tormenting weather a kind of sad sight, for like two lovers, they are destined to just freeze there, never to reach out to embrace each other. But knowing that he is there for her their lifetime is a kind of comforting. This one-day trip was fruitful worthy of the effort.

We headed directly to this pork restaurant located near our hotel. We passed by it every evening seeing how packed it could be. Grilled pork is a well-known Korean food. It was our first time to give it a try. And it was good! The belly pork looked fatty, but when grilled the grease was drained out, leaving the lean meat there with a crispy surface. The side dishes were all vegetables, pickles and kimchi, which made the pork more tasty. We ordered 400 grams of pork at first. Not feeling satisfied, kappa ordered another 400 grams out of greed. I guess we had bitten more than we could chew.

We desperately needed a walk after such a big rich dinner. The streets were organized in a network with streets parallel and horizontal to each other. They were lively with neon lights, various shops restaurant and loud music.

Any cat who caught kappa’s eye can never miss being massaged by kappa whenever he got his hands on one. And they surely were pleased by his massage.

Songdo beach is well known for its sky cruising. We spent half a day here, having a lot of fun.

The sea view was pleasant with a yellow lighthouse erecting in the sea and a beautiful curving dam of colorful concret rocks.

Kappa played with a ship steering wheel as if he was navagating a warship. I think he was thinking of pirate Zhang Bao Zai at the time.

I caught his silly moments fighting with the Gongfu jiahuo and messing around with the mermaid.

Cruising along in the sky was fun and it was our second time doing it. We did it once in HK to the great budda mountain across the sea.

Repeatedly encouraged by kappa to approach cats I was not afraid of cats any more.

Leaving Songdo, we headed towards Gamcheon Culture Village.

Gamcheon Culture Village – Santorini of Korea

People refer to it as the “Santorini of Korea” because of the small, hillside houses overlooking the ocean. Looking from afar, this vast stretches of colorful village was indeed extraordinarily breathtaking. We took bus 2 and got off half hill, so we did a bit of a hike up through the maze like village. Our eyes were opened by those artsy, urban, very non-Korean vibe. Walking uphill, I was fascinated by the various looks of the colorful little houses.

The village was first the headquarters of Taegeukdo members, an early religion whose philosophy believed in the “yin and yang” which symbolizes the balance of good and evil in the world. By building the houses in tiers so that no house blocks any house behind it, the architectural layout of the village adheres to the Taegeukdo teaching of allowing others to prosper. Gamcheon was also refuge to many people fleeing to Busan during the Korean War. In recent years, Gamcheon has gained a lot of attention and tourists for its art and the city has been redeveloping the village to add more art exhibits to help the community flourish.

We spent the rest of the day wandering through the steep, narrow alleyways and the vibrant colors of the tiny shacks. We got lost meandering through the maze of blue-roofed houses and seafoam-green lego-block homes. We stumbled across murals of libraries, Salvador Dali-esque paintings and countless vans and cars. It was a wonderful and refreshing escape from the stodgy, monotonous high-rises that crowd most of Korea.

The further we walked into the alleyways, the better the views we got and the weirder the art became.

Little Prince is a story of a grown-up meeting his inner child, embodied by a Little Prince. Traveling from an asteroid, he left his rose there to discover the world. Before landing on Earth he visited many planets and their inhabitants where all grown-ups incarnates humankind’s most common vice. When a fox tell him that the eyes are blind and we are responsible forever for what you tame, the Little Prince go back home to meet again with his Rose. Here at the mountaintop sits the little prince and his fox. Young people were queuing up for a photo with him.

Everybody has a prince or princess in their heart, and I have mine—kappa! Kappa grew up reading the world page by page under his parents’ meticulous guidance. Now the parents are gone, leaving kappa alone, but strong to face the more and more chaotic world.

Since Busan is a coastal city and I don’t like temples, our destinations were always Beaches, Beaches! Our last beach destination was Dadaepo Beach. On the way to the subway, I froze this pretty pink moment!

It is said that Dadaepo Beach has the most spectacular fountain lighting show, but we went to Dadaepo Beach for its seaside view. To me it was the most memorable beach, for we spent a day lingering there on the beach, watching its tide in and tide out, enjoying the gentle wind and warm sun. Everything was just what I was looking for on a beach, vast sea, stretches of sandy beach, few people, seclusion and tranquility, nothing more and nothing less.

We dedicated a whole day to this off-the-beaten beach, without having to hurry to the next destination. Kappa was reading the history of Korea while I was lost in looking into the vastness of the ocean. It should be the pacific ocean. Ocean waves can be healing and devastating. It is the truth of life too. Everything is transient! That is why I cherish our love so much. Gather the rose-buds while you may, old time is still flying and this same flower that smiles today tommorrow will be dying. Goes an old western poem, which sounds a bit sad.

My prince was standing in water looking up to what?

Kappa was interested in how crabs dug their holes in the sand. When I was young I often went to the beach when the tide was receding. Crab holes were everywhere in the sand where the sea water ebbed. My sister would dug one hole deep to get a crab out live but very small.

Playing with waves was always fun. The sea view will never lose its charm to me.

Kappa was feeling drowsy and lazy. He lay down on the beach resting while I was playing with selfie, enjoying the sea, the time, the wind, our last day in Busan.

Feeling hungry, we went ashore to search for food, and we went into this restaurant where they sell only seaweed rice rolls. It was not bad as a snack. We then went back to the beach for the sunset.

While Dadaepo Beach is pleasant during the daytime, it really comes alive when the sun is setting. More people emerged on the beach, tourists, locals, kids, parents, kite-flyers, they are all enjoying the last but most beautiful ray of the day. Somehow, sunset in the sea suggest some tragic beauty. Whatever day you have experienced, the spectacular sunset concluded it. People started to look forward to another day with hope for a better day!

We were leaving Busan the next day. I felt reluctant to go. Busan is very metropolitan compared with either Seoul or Gyeongju. In the future, when we recall Busan, those beach experiences will tide in to refresh our fading memory! Thank you, Busan, for your nice food, nice people nice transportation and nice sceneries! We were bestowed with lively memory here every day. We feel safe and relaxed here, never fearing to be ripped off or bullshitted. Every day with kappa was a pleasant experience!

Returning to town centre, we headed to Lotte shopping mall to have dinner. We were lured by the display of lobsters the other day and determined to give it a try. The lobster was nice and the shopping mall staircase design was very innovative, with restaurant seating attached to the staircase, so that even the diners were part of the presentation of Lotte!