10/2 – Busan Korea

We arrived bright and early into the port of Busan (or Pusan depending on what, I don’t know, but it’s spelled both ways!). Got off the ship quickly, hardly any immigration issues at all, and hopped the first shuttle. Wasn’t really supposed to leave until 9, but they left when it was full and after a quick 20 minute ride we were dropped off right in the middle of downtown at the Phoenix hotel.

We went inside to change money, more convenient than finding an ATM, and even though we knew we wouldn’t get the best exchange, at least we’d have cash. Actually, we exchanged for 1157 Won to the $1, and after we did that, the hotel folks looked up the rate on the web and lowered it to 1117. So we got a little bit of a break – about what, ½ a penny? Another bonus of being dropped off at the Phoenix was that they had free wi-fi. So we whipped out our computer and went online. Got a ton of stuff done that we couldn’t accomplish onboard. After about 45 minutes or so, we closed up shop and headed out.

It was a beautiful day and we had read about a beach resort close to the city. Found the subway really easily and descended into the depths of Busan. Fortunately, there was enough English for us to get by. Tried to buy tickets in the machine, but only had a 5000 bill. A very nice man (subway attendant, or something, anyone associated with the subway wore a little smiley face button), sweetly came up to us, took our money and said “change” and led us over to a machine that changed the bill into 1000 bills. Then he took us back to the machine and watched while we bought our tickets, then showed us which track to go to.

9:15 and we’re on our way! The subway was spotless – not a speck of dirt or debris. And very easy to navigate –besides the English names, each stop is also numbered, so you can easily find your way around, and most importantly back to where you began! People here are all very nice, but almost timid. They don’t look you in the eye very much – and on the subway, no one stared at us or thought it odd that two Caucasians were on their subway. And trust me, we were the only round eyes there in the morning! We get stared at more in Italy where we almost blend in!

Looking around the subway car, the similarity of everyone’s looks was so striking. All very pale faces, with the same exact hair color and texture. Girls, guys, kids, they were all the same. Different facial features to be sure, but so funny the homogenous overall look. Oh and the phones! Everyone was texting or playing with their phones. And everyone had tricked out phones with either appliqués or designs on them, or cool holders and little fun charms hanging off them.

It took almost an hour and one train change to get to Haeundae Beach. We emerged from the subway into a beautifully clear day with a nice cool breeze. Walking down the main road toward the beach area, it was obvious this was a typical beach town – just in Korea! The little restaurants and bars, the trinket shops – all beachy and reminiscent of old Rehobeth or any other seaside town. We stumbled across this great outdoor market – sort of a cross between a farmers’ market and goods market. It ran the length of one narrow street –almost an alley – with shops on either side. Seafood stalls/shops galore – each with aquariums full  of fresh caught fish, including eel! Lots of these stores also had restaurants attached and plenty of these places were cooking up their products. The smells and sights were just amazing.

Then tucked in between these seafood and vegetable stores were other vendors –like a seamstress with bolts of cloth and her sewing machine. Her husband next to her ripping out the seam on a pair of pants. Then there was the clothing store with men’s pants (good khakis) for less than $10US, and some for less than $5US. Great sights, smells and sounds!

Onward to the beach, we found the promenade and walked down past hotels, condos, and a few restaurants. It was still lovely and sunny so we just strolled down the brick paved walkway watching the water and the sandy white beaches. Not too much for people watching as there was hardly anyone out and about. A few walkers, but absolutely no one on the beach. Really surprising as it was such a beautiful day, but the season is over, even here, and it was a Thursday, so maybe that explained the emptiness.

We past a few restaurants on the promenade, all with huge aquariums full of different fish. Only one seemed to be open with 2 customers eating, and the hawker guy sitting at a table using a calculator. As we approached he looked up and said “beer” and made the international symbol of drinking – the hand to mouth motion. We said maybe later, and strolled on down to the end of the promenade looking at a building renovation. As we approached the construction area, we walked around the back of a restaurant where the employees were washing the dishes in buckets of water, rinsing with a garden hose, then setting the plates out to dry in the air. No comments……

As we headed back down the promenade, we decided to stop for a drink at the open restaurant. Sat at a table underneath the covered deck right on the promenade. Said we just wanted beer, but then started looking at the menu and decided why not? After some negotiation – our no Korean and the restaurant folks barely any English – we settled on broiled fish for 35,000 Won (about $30US). Not the cheapest lunch in the world, but you know, when will you be able to sit at a beachside restaurant and watch while your lunch is being scooped out of the aquarium then fixed for your to eat? Talk about fresh fish!

It took a long time to get our lunch, but that was all right. The beer, the sun, and the sea made the wait worthwhile. While we waited, we got to have peanuts in a shell, then with our main meal we also had more peanuts, plus little shrimps (head on), a seafood soup with little shells in it (teeny, tiny mussels? Who knows? It was really good though), zucchini and some over vegetable salad with a spicy red sauce and a little plate of ginger and onions. The fish came out whole (of course!) and broiled (but really grilled) to perfection. It was a great meal in a great setting!

We left feeling very satiated and very happy! Back on the subway, back to the center of Pusan (oh, and PS, everyone on the subway sleeps! They just nod right off the minute they get on – that was pretty funny too!). We still had an hour or so left, and wanted to visit the Jagalchi fish market – billed as the largest fish market in the world. It definitely lives up to the billing!

Jagalchi Market is covers at least 10 if not 20 sprawling blocks by the harbor. A huge portion of the market is inside a cavernous 2 story building and contains countless vendors with more and different varieties of fish than you ever knew existed! The hustle and the bustle of the market alone is worth going to see – but the best part of the market is simply gawking at the variety of the fish available. We haven’t a clue what half of the fish were – and of course – there’s no one to ask! Of course there was eel, tons and tons of eel, but also sea cucumbers (which are totally gross and writhing on the small pans where they lay), crab, angel fish, flounder, salmon, little black fish, huge gray fish, one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish!

The night before, as we sailed toward Busan, we had noticed a staggering number of fishing boats out on the horizon. They were everywhere – some so far out you could only glimpse a glow from their spot lights – others so close it looked like two cars with their bright lights on out there in the ocean. Now we know why there  are so many fishing boats out there – they all must supply vendors in the market! We just want to know what they do with all that fish if it doesn’t sell – and really – how could they possibly sell that amount of fish? It was simply mind boggling!

The fish wasn’t the only thing to look at, the people watching was amazing as well. We stopped by one stall and watched while a woman skinned eels – which were still wiggling around after they had been skinned. She just smiled for us as we watched and kept right on skinning! The market was originally opened and operated by all women, and referred to as “auntie’s market”. It is still pretty much women operated as most of the stalls had only women selling, skinning and preparing the fish!

Upstairs in the market building are dried fish stands as well as a bunch of restaurants that were packed with what appeared to be locals. This would have been a great place to eat – if you could have crossed the language barrier. The market doesn’t end in the building either – it continues to ramble through a huge open street at the west end of the building. Here you find more fish stalls, but also a plethora of “cooking” stalls, all grilling or frying up fish, and other tasty morsels. It is in this area where we saw some of the biggest octopus we’ve ever seen!

Time was drawing short, so we headed back to the shuttle stop, stopping here and there to get rid of all of our Won. Fairly easy to do – we stocked up on our liquid supplies and with our last remaining 550 won bought a nasty piece of candy that looked like caramel or soft chocolate but turned out to be fig – or something equally noxious. One bite – and it was gone! Should have stuck with the snickers bar we saw there!

Had to wait on line for quite some time to get the shuttle. Just happened to hit at critical mass – but it was still sunny and warm, so it wasn’t a big deal to wait in line and watch the traffic and the people go by.

Twenty minutes on the shuttle, back on board, up stairs for the sail away party (first one in good weather we can party on the deck!), then back in to exercise and go to dinner. Next up Kagoshima and the hot springs!