Exploring Busan

Warm Weather, a Cafe, a Playground

Coming from tropical Singapore, I never thought I’d say this, but it was a balmy 17 degrees Celsius (I know… I know… must be losing my mind).

Couldn’t resist taking the Littlest Dictator outside. I’ll also include a bit about a cosy café we visited a couple of days ago.

So here’s a comprehensive review of Ladife with all the details you need before deciding on a visit: Yea, it’s pretty good.

So the first thing I did today was get my bandaged replaced:

So the doc says it looks good and tomorrow should wrap up the entire treatment. Still feels I’ve been ripped off but eh, it gave me a reason to head somewhere in the day time after putting the Littlest Dictator to sleep… at goddamn 2am. Holy crap can she go!

Over here, pedestrians tend to give way to cars. NOT ME

Once we reached home, I had a ton of crap to do. But ahh dammit. It’s not often we experience what I call ‘Ideal Baby Weather’.

Because I was alone and a genius, I didn’t take pictures of the playground we visited. So um, here’s another playground we went to the other day:

So she has this thing where if she’s interested in someone or something, she just stares. What can I say? Babies are not known for their social graces.

Seeing how she looks more like her Korean mom, whereas I look like an escaped convict from a maximum security facility in Pakistan, it made it look like I was trying to cheer up a reluctant kid I’d just kidnapped.

I swear, if she’d just shouted ‘No! Want mama!!’ it would not have ended well for me.

Overall though, it was a pretty good day. Here’s a picture I took of some flowers:

December 20, 2016 0

Stumbled Across a Wet Market

Just remembered to post this. Back when I was walking around looking for a gym, I happened to stumble across a wet market near the Haeundae Cultural Centre.

Reminded me a lot of the wet markets in Singapore, which will soon be all gone (if they’re not all gone already).

I gotta admit, it felt a little awkward taking these pictures without buying anything

Besides the stuff you’d normally find in a market like fresh fish, fresh meat, fresh vegetables, fresh cocaine, you’d also be able to find Korea-specific stuff like whatever these are:

So yea, a cool little wet market.

December 18, 2016 0

Wasted Opportunity?

Spent most of the day today in this room:

It was 25 degrees Celsius inside, but I was so out of it, I actually thought the curtains were of a special material that kept the heat in or something. And then I looked at the thermostat 😂.

So far on this trip, I’ve injured my hand…

On the plus side, it makes me feel a little bit like Ryu

… developed a slight fever and now have an annoying cough.

At first it got me a little down. Sure I’ll be here until mid-February, but I had so many plans which I’ll now have to change.

But man, there are worse ways to spend three months, you know? I mean, I’m in a goddamn luxury apartment by the sea:

And I’m warm and I’ve got access to a car here. Sometimes you just need to smack yourself in the face and realise just how fortunate you really are.

Sure the plans will change, but it’ll still be pretty damn awesome.

Also, I’d have to be a real ass to complain about being able to enjoy this view every day:

December 16, 2016 2

Brief Evening at Haeundae Beach

We decided to have a nice stroll along the beach yesterday and earlier this evening. Simple, right?

Now in Singapore, all you had to do was ensure the Littlest Dictator basically isn’t buck naked.

But here, check out all this crap:

And then we wrapped her in 20 woollen blankets

So first we headed to the clinic to get my bandage replaced:

If the pinwheels are spinning rapidly, then you’re probably freezing your little kimchi off

Superman’s weakness isn’t kryptonite, it’s Korean fried chicken places blatantly flouting copyright laws

Finally arrived at the clinic.

The nurse cackling manically probably shouldn’t worry me.

Bandaged replaced, onwards to the beach!

But first…

Again, the cold… it makes you… do things.

Finally…

The pictures don’t do it justice. It was so beautiful and surreal, like you were walking in a painting or one of those really slick promotional videos on big screen TVs at E Mart.

My wife’s Samsung S7 did much better:

Samsung: The S7, this time the camera actually works!

Now back to my crappy pictures!

That car insisted on being in the picture

Baby was getting restless. Fortunately just outside Paradise Hotel…

Trees and lights! A restless toddler’s kryptonite!

The journey back up the hill is a good workout for your quads, and will prompt you to remind yourself over and over again ‘It was worth it.’ “Was it really?” ‘Shut up brain! It was totally worth it!’

Totally… worth it. Dear GOD has the baby always been this heavy?

Sunset at Haeundae Beach is definitely a sight to behold. And best of all? No crowds!

December 15, 2016 0

So I put my cat drawing on shirts and sweaters

In one of my previous posts I included a drawing of an adorable kitty wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. It’s now on shirts and sweaters and other stuff in case you’re into this sort of thing.

In the next couple of days, I hope to walk the length of this old railway track near Haeundae Beach. Been putting it off since last year. The time is now!

I hear there’s a pot of kimchi waiting at the end

December 15, 2016 1

Haeundae Beach

Went back to the clinic this morning to get my bandage replaced. Man was it a beautiful day!

And it feels good not to be sweating all the time like in Singapore!

Since it’s pretty close to the beach, figured I’d take a detour on the way back.

So I went from here:

Clinic’s directly opposite this building

To here:

Not a bad trip.

December 14, 2016 0

Fooling Around in Shinsegae

So I was in deep trouble. This particular morning was our anniversary, and with all the crap that had been going on, I’d realised too late that my original gift idea wouldn’t work, due to time constraints.

Yea, yea, that’s not an an excuse I know… I know…!

I’d gotten the flowers preordered from before, but I couldn’t find what I was looking for in Jangsan… matching hats for my wife and our Littlest Dictator. This morning was basically a do-or-die (possibly literally) situation.

Got my brother-in-law up to drive me to Shibsegae Shopping Mall, once the world’s largest mall in the world (it was in the Guinness Records, if I’m not mistaken).

We got there on a cold morning at 10am.

And… they were still closed!

Normally it wouldn’t be a big deal to me, since they were going to open at 10.30am. Except in my haste, I did not dress for the really cold morning.

Ah well. Decided to walk around a bit to warm up.

Didn’t realise that Bexco (a major exhibition and convention centre) was so close by).

We grabbed a quick coffee at the nearby convenience store and headed underground to one of the main entrances.

Turns out there were others who just couldn’t wait to get their morning shopping in. I wonder if they too had messed up in a big way like I did!

The place is huge. I moved from floor to floor, communicating in a mixture of very basic English and sign language (the latter mostly).

It reached the point where I’d almost given up and decided to have a bit of stupid fun instead.

This is a man who has lost all hope:

At long last I found them!

These, plus the flowers basically meant I could continue to breathe the cool free air 😂.

December 12, 2016 6

Hwangnyeongsan Mountain (Beacon Fire Station)

Hand’s still smarting, but thought I’d do a quick post on a recent trip to Hwangnyeongsan Mountain or the Beacon Fire Station Mountain.

Do you remember the fire signals on the top of mountains in Lord of the Rings? This is exactly that (only much older, of course!)

It’s not very tall or steep, so hiking to the top won’t take more than maybe 2-3 hours. Or you can take my my preferred approach, which is to drive straight up to the summit 😂.

The pictures posted below are a combination of my first and second visits.

The first time, it was right after it had rained, so there was a lot of fog. View was still amazing though.

The clean, paved roads and sidewalks make for a very pleasant climb, but there are also trails you can check out if that’s your kind of thing.

If you drive or take one of the paved pathways, you’ll reach the main entrance, which is right next a KBS Station or something.

I can see what you’re doing down there!

The sun was setting rapidly.

The five beacons that indicate severity, with five lit-up beacons indicating that the battle has begun.

The descending sun and clear skies gifted us with an incredible experience.

Looking forward to checking it out again.

Getting there:

Get off at the Yangjeong metro station. It’s quite a bit of a walk from there. Or you can take a cab to the summit (about a 9-min ride).

December 11, 2016 0

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

My hand now looks like a wrinkly apple with an attitude problem, but the pain’s almost gone so hopefully I’ll be able to resume my workouts tomorrow!

Anyway, we visited the ancient Haedong Yonggungsa temple recently. First built in 1376 (and my little sister calls me old!) and situated on a cliff by the sea, the views you get are breathtaking.

Here’s the entrance from the car park:

On the way to the temple proper, you’ll come across many vendors on either side of the narrow path selling souvenirs and unique (and a little overpriced) snacks.

The weather was really nice. I just suck at taking good pictures.

This was pretty good, actually.

Gets pretty crowded on the weekends.

Totally worth it.

There’s also a trail that leads you directly to Songjeong Beach. Definitely trying this out next time I’m there.

Hopefully I’ll be able to return at least one more time before we leave.

Getting there:
We drove there, but if you’re going by bus, as per the Visit Korea site, take the subway to Haeundae Station (Busan Subway Line 2), and then head to Exit 7. Take Bus 181 and get off at Yonggungsa Temple Bus Stop.

It’s still a bit of a trek to get to the entrance though, so if you have leg problems, it’s best to pay a bit for a cab to drop you off.

December 8, 2016 0

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