Last Saturday morning, Evan and I woke up early, rubbed our sleepy eyes, and headed down to the bus station to catch the 7:30 ride to Busan. We wanted to catch McDonald’s breakfast beforehand, but we woke up too late. The bus was freeeeezing, but luckily my awesome boyfriend gave me a pair of his socks and a shirt to snuggle under, so I was able to sleep for most of the 3-hour trip.
Once we arrived downtown, we were starving. In some weird stroke of luck, we walked out of the station and came upon a Mickey D’s — before 11 am! Breakfast time baby! I then ordered the best sausage McMuffin, hash brown and hot coffee I’ve had in a long time, while Ev opted for a sausage McMuffin that came egg-less. Bryan, you would have died!
After chowing down, we followed the directions a Korean teacher from school gave us (thanks Lui :)), and took two subways to reach Nampo-dong, the sea port neighborhood where we booked a room at Hotel Busan.
The main stretch of Nampo-dong had tons of import clothing stores, including an American Apparel (which was even more overpriced than it is in the States). The streets were full of people, and more tourists than I have seen in the five weeks we’ve been in Korea.
The weekend was the Lotus Lantern Festival, and pretty paper lanterns were strung up all around the city.
Ev and I were eager to explore, but had trouble finding the hotel. In our rush to locate the accomodation, I stubbed my toe bad. I mean, really bad. Blood started gushing everywhere as I limped around.
Now, Koreans think that bare feet are gross to begin with, so you can imagine the disgusted faces I got as I bled all over the street, limping around. Finally, the blood stopped… until I stubbed it AGAIN. Then it started gushing again, and I began to whimper.
Finally, we ran into Mike, Kristie, Brent and Matt and they were able to direct us back to the hotel. I cleaned up, changed my clothes, and headed out to explore with Ev.
We all visited the Busan tower, which was amazing. It cost a couple won to go to the top, but the view was well worth the money.
Absolutely breathtaking.
Evan and I grew hungry while we walked around the noisy streets and outdoor markets. Luckily ,we found a woman selling homemade dumplings and scallion pancakes on the street. Nom nom nom.
During our exploration, I hunted for a perfect Korean dress to wear to the club that night, and inadvertently ran into a street dubbed Moekja golmok — “Let’s Eat Alley” — and this particular one is called “Original Bossam and Jokbal Alley.” The street was full of makeshift restaurants, and vendors serving everything from dumplings to meat and noodles.
Here, the women serve up jokbal (boiled pig feet), with bossam (lettuce leaves) and — like every other meal here — kimchee, while their patrons sit on plastic stools, eating and gabbing, in the middle of an alley. It was such a fun sight to see! The smells and noises and crowded streets… I only wish I could share it more authentically.
All in all, I am very happy we stayed here. We originally tried to book something in Haeundae Beach, but things worked out for the best. Next time, it will be a romantic, seaside vacay.
The only downside is that my poor little left foot — which has a gnarly cut on the top of my big toe — is STILL sore from my clumsiness this past weekend. I’ve been hobbling around all week, wincing as I attempt to stretch out my achy foot. It hurts all over!
But hey… at least it was an excuse to stay home from the gym. I only went once this week. :P
Confessions of Two Expats 