Being in a new city is so refreshing. Even though I'm LIVING abroad, it's different than I thought it would be. It doesn't feel like a permanent vacation. It's fun don't get me wrong, but Pohang has truly become my home and my comfort zone. So, even for me visiting Busan, it was fun to get into "tourist mode" and want to see things and experience things I don't usually get to in Pohangl like visiting certain temples, or eating foods I don't normall get to. So Leigh and I splurged - we had Mexican, we ate a Burger King one day and then ate at an Irish Pub called the Wolfhound. Leigh LOVES, and I mean LOVES Club Sandwiches, so we found him one of those. After visiting the temple and being tourists all day, we were pretty pooped. We took the afternoon to rest, and then when evening rolled around, we decided to head to the casino on the beach. I've not really ever been to a Casino. I mean, I went to one in the Dominican Republic, but I didn't play, I just watched, so going to one in Busan was near the top of my list.
When we got there, they were running a special that if you applied for the Casino Frequent Visitors' Card - you got 25,000 won in free chips (which is close to $20 American dollars) so we all applied for one! I was excited just to have a souvenir from the Casino with my name on it, the $20 was a bonus! So, now that I was an "official", I figured I might as well have some fun! :) Leigh likes poker so he was waiting on a poker table. It wasn't a very big casino, they only had about 10 tables, so Mary, Tyler, and I went to the Roulette Table which was really fun! Leigh and I didn't win any money, I had fun pulling the slot machines, and trying my hand at Roulette (which I'm not good at), but Mary and Tyler came out ahead!
One of the things on my list on top of doing cultural things and eating great food we can't do in Pohang, was shopping!! Busan is a huge city of almost 4 million people. It houses the world's Largest and 2nd Largest Department Stores and has amazing traditional markets where you can get great deals. So on our last day in Busan, we went to Nampodong Market. Little did we know, that just as in Canada and American the day after a holiday is a HUGE, and I mean, HUGE shopping day! So we were in a huge Asian market on the equivalent of a "Black Friday" in the States - it was a warzone. We all got overwhelmed pretty quickly. There were elbows being thrown and even the peddlers I bought things from were rude to me :) On a happier note, I found an awesome North Face fleece jacket for $30 - which was a steal - I love it! So it was a worthwhile trip. It probably would have been less of a scary experience had we not gone on one of the craziest days of the year. :) oh well, notes for next time!
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| Patiently awaiting his Club Sandwich at Wolfhound, the Irish Pub |
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| so many people. |
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| The Chaos ensues. |
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| North Face Fleece with matching pants - $30 - deal! |
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| Never thought I'd love NOT having a car as much as I do. Public Transit is amazing. Back in Pohang :) |
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| Little humor for you :) While sitting on the bus I see this out the window: who needs carseats when you have segways? Can you find the two Korean children sitting beneath their father? hah :) efficiency. |
What an amazing trip! :) It was so great seeing so many new things, and meeting Mary and Tyler! Not to mention Leigh and I had a great time together. :)
Love, Love, Lovin Korea!
xoxo Em
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