Weekend Trip to Busan

A couple of weekends ago, the boys and I went to Busan, an east coast city, to visit some of RJ's friends. We arrived late that night after a relaxing trip on the KTX which is similar to the bullet train in Japan. We went out to a club that was called "Ghetto" which was a lot of fun- nothing like I thought a Korean club would be like. There was a lot of smoke, a lot of people dancing like they had seizures, and a lot of American hip-hop. I knew about 90 percent of the songs that came on, and when they did come on, it was only for a minute or less before the DJ changed to a different track.

Being the DJ at a club in Korea seems like a tough job. It requires picking a good techno- related song and having some good dance moves. When people aren't sure how to sway to the beat, they look towards the DJ to set the moves. I guess that's why they changed DJ's about every half hour to an hour. It must be tiring!

Saturday we did my favorite past time: went shopping! Well, we didn't actually shop much, just walked around a large department store. The Guinness Book of World Records' largest department store to be exact. It was truly amazing- anything a gal could ask for in one place. There were floors of food, clothes, shoes, accessories, and they even had a golf range, spa, movie theater, and sports center. It was definitely a sight to see. At points, we had to search to find things that didn't break the bank but I did seem to find a very nice trench coat that was inexpensive and fit perfectly- size and style wise.

Before walking around, we hit the food court. There were stands upon stands that served all different kinds of food- most of which looked incredibly appetizing. I got a roll of Korean style Japanese sushi (not Kimbap which is the traditional Korean sushi) and a cheese and chicken roll/wrap. Everyone else in the group couldn't resist the hamburger joint and devoured it upon delivery. Here are some pictures of the delicious (and some not so delicious) looking foods they offered in the food court.

Tasty treats in Shinsegae Mall - this was a piece of bread that was fluffy on the  inside  with butter yet had a hard exterior and sprinkled with chocolate chips

Fried rice stuffed squid...I didn't actually eat this, just took a picture.

Korean pumpkin filled with other vegetables

Savory crepes

Cupcakes!  They looked to be a good rival of Coastal Cupcakes!

Fruit on a stick- almost everything here was on a stick.

The view from the roof of Shinsegae Mall (about 14 floors high)

No big deal, just an adorable group of Korean kids sharing a tub of ice cream.

View from the other side

More of RJ's friends had come and so there was a large group of us before we knew it. It was raining but that didn't stop the festivities that ensued. This partic

ular weekend, in America was known for celebrating Halloween, but in Busan, it was the fireworks festival. Now, knowing Busan as the location of the largest department store, you have to know that they won't just have any sort of fireworks display. This made the fireworks in Wilmington look like what you could buy at a dinky roadside

stand on the way to the South of the Border...and with that

, there isn't much to say about the ones in Vienna. Well, this f

ireworks show lasted for a solid 45 minutes before finishing with a breathtaking grand finale. There was never a break in bursts. It was a sight to see- and would have been much better if we didn't have to stand in the rain while it happened. Rain always seems to find its way arriving at the worst times.

After the show, we went out again downtown. There were some people dressed in Halloween costumes but the majority was not- I think I made the right decision when I chose not to wear mine.

That night, we all slept in a jjimjilbong. This is a bath house with individual floors for men and women- and then a co-ed floor where everyone sleeps. It's was a comfortably heated room so there is no need for blankets and the pillows were wood blocks that help support your neck. When I say floor, I literally mean floor, no beds. Well, we had a good time out- and didn't get back until around the time that the bars close which was about 4 or 5 AM. By the time we got a mid-morning snack, took a dip in the baths, and arrived at the sleeping floor, it was around the time for everyone to start getting up. So, beside the fact that you don't get pillows or blankets when on the sleeping floor, people getting up and some high school boys thinking it's a good idea to horse around in the room- we didn't get much sleep.

After getting up, regrouping, and getting lunch, it was time to leave. Because of the fireworks festival, the city was packed and in turn, getting out of the city was rough. All of the trains were full except for one- the Mugunghwa. Even though it's named after Korea's national flower, this train trip was anything but pleasant. It was standing and a little bit of sitting for hours before arriving home. Those trains never sell out so there were always more people getting on at every stop then there were getting off. With every wave of people that came on, sitting room depleted. There were people shoved in corners, behind doors, and all were fighting for a place to sit. Jeremy got nudged out of the way when an old lady squeezed her way into the closest seat. That train was one I know not to take in the future.