Busan: Last day

Last day in Busan.  I went with Jason and Ro to visit this Island with a bunch of Korean war memorials.  On the way, however, we discovered the most amazing mandu yet: Kim Chi Mandu.  It was at this little shop down the block from our hostel.   The dumplings were really large, but thick enough that they hold togethor well, and because they are steamed, they are dry and easy to hold onto.  The funny thing about the Mandu in Korea is there are only a few fillings they use, but these things are obviously as versatile as the burrito is in the US.  I could see just about anything in a Mandu--peanut butter and jelly, eggs and cheese, or indian food.  Someone needs to start a dumpling food truck now!

To get to the island with the Memorial we had to transfer from the subway to a bus near the Jalgachi fish market.  Seeing how this is supposed to be, like, the best fish market in Korea, we put on our Copper diving helmets and took a look

So the park was nice.  There were some temples, a few monuments, a lighthouse, and a lot of steps.  After we got back we got more Mandu at the same shop as before and hung out at the hostel for a few hours.  Then we went out for some coffee and the French guy made a 3rd trip to the Mandu shop!
There was a rather large gentleman from New York who was in town for the film festival staying at our hostel.  He was sleeping in the bed above mine.  I was certain it was going to collapse.

Our favorite place to get a brew, especially after a long day of being a tourist.  You totally just sit on the street and drink.

3rd Mandu stop of the day

Busan: Orwellian Gyms and Celestial Spas

Today I was wanting to check out this mall with a health club recommended by Lonely Planet.  I've done so much walking around, but I feel like I could use some upper body exercising.  The health club was attached to a department store (seems like the shopping centers are the anchors for civic entertainment), so Ro, the French guy, went with me (intending to acutally shop).  The gym was 13,000 Won for a day (like 11 bucks) and all you actually needed to have was shoes.  When you walk into the locker room they have a shelf of gym clothing, separated by sizes.  It took me a few tries, but XXL it was.  That everyone in the gym was wearing the same outfit, felt, well, very 1984ish.  Everything else about it was pretty typical.  After i finished I met Ro again and we traveled to Onchenchang station, where I planned to investigate a spa and he would check out some hiking.
My guide book said the spa was more than just a Jimjilbang, which is a traditional Korean spa, but upon entry, I realized it was just a jimjilbang, which means you have to sit in around in a room of hot and cold pools with a bunch of other naked men.  The water was relaxing.  The stares from the old naked men were not.  It was as if they were afraid I would "befoul" their water.

Later that evening I met a friend I made in Seoul who teaches in Busan, JP from Canada.  We met up at the Haeundae beach (a popular tourist spot).  Ro came also, and the three of us walked down to the ocean to get some seafood.  The dinner was not unlike the previous aquarium on a plate feast I had had.  It was definitely fresh and totally raw, and sometimes still moving, but overall I think I prefer my seafood cooked.

 After eating we hauled ourselves and a piece of Poseidon's kingdom to Dongae, near our hostel for some drinks.  We found a bar called "Chicago II".  It was empty, but the 2 guys running were very excited at our entrance.  They seemed a little too ecstatic when I told them I was American.  One of the bartenders said to call him "KTC", which stands for "Korean Tom Cruise".  He proceeded to live up to this name when he started juggling bottles and lighting stuff on fire.

Busan: the temple gifted me chestnuts

Slept like an enlightened log in the Zen Backpackers hostel.  The bathrooms were refreshing too.  Jason and I thought it would be cool to check out this temple in a park, halfway up a mountain, by the name Beomosa.  We didn't really ready exactly how to get there, having seen that there is a Beomosa subway stop that, on a map, looks close to a big green blotch, I figured we could just walk in that direction until we hit trees--this was no problem.  But the trail we got on wasn't really marked, so we just kinda followed it.  This mostly worked, but we did go a bit off course and were rescued by a hiking group of old men.  We followed them the rest of the way to the temple.

The temple was a, well, temple  At this point they are all starting to look the same.  The best part was the bag of smoked chestnuts that this lady gave us from there.  They seriously tasted exactly like smoked gouda.  After the temple we walked down towards the train station, guided by the cheap compass on my casio wristwatch.  We took a quick detour for some Bi Bim Bop and then rode the train to some renouned "largest department store ever".  It was big, but it was just a department store.  There was a rooftop that offered some crucial perspectives and a members only spa that we almost got a peek into, otherwise it was a giant building of clothes.

We got back to the hostel and met some new travelers, a 3d Artist from France and a student from Holland.  The four of us went out for bbq, at the recommendation of the hostel owner (he actually wrote down our order for us).   We "kinda" made friends with the table of korean businessmen next to us.  I mean, in the end, they bought us a bottle of soju, but they really seemed to be laughing at the 4 white guys eating in a foreign diner.  I guess it would be no different than 4 Korean kids walking into a Waffle House and getting some hashrowns smothered and covered.