After my failed attempt to find snow last night (well technically it was really early) I woke up early (OK fine, at 9am) and decided to head out while it was still cold.
In Singapore at this time, you’d be sweating buckets
I’ve explored most of the area, so I wanted to try something different and walk along the river. You know, being the trailblazing hellraiser that I am.
I’m so badass
About halfway through though, I was distracted by the Haeundae Cultural Centre. Because apart from being a badass, I also apparently have the attention span of a toddler.
Oooh big shiny building!
A couple of weird things about this place on a Sunday morning:
It’s neither open nor closed. The doors were open… but there was no one inside. Not security, nothing.
It’s a cultural centre and… it’s apparently closed… ON A SUNDAY. Like, are people supposed to take a day off of work and school for the kids to take them here? Yeah… I totally seeing that happening.
Anyway, after sitting around for a while I began heading back via different route.
Stopped by a Starbucks along the way.
You can travel through time and space and when you arrive on the other side… you’ll probably find a Starbucks waiting to serve you overpriced Cappucino
Aaaand that’s about it. Hopefully there’ll be snow tomorrow!
Haven’t yet had the time to make a full post about skiing in Yangsan, since the toddler seems to have a death wish, or keeps trying to give me a freakin’ heart attack.
Anyway… I LOVE WATCHING MOVIES IN KOREA. Haeundae is supposedly an expensive, ‘happening’ area… but the cinemas are always empty! Forget Friday or Saturday night, it was even empty when The Force Awakens first came out.
I usually go to the one at NC:
Hello, old friend
There are a few cinemas in the area, and I have no idea they stay in business but I LOVE IT.
I have finally recovered, and there’s so much to catch up on!
First up is our walk along old railway tracks by the sea.
Fortunately I don’t think it says ‘Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter’.
It’s actually a really cool shortcut to take to get from Haeundae Beach to the two lighthouses on the other side of the mountain near Songjeong Beach.
Just head to the end of Haeundae Beach, where the seafood restaurants are, and where you can also take a ferry tour. Once you reach there, go up the narrow road.
Forgot to take a day time picture, so um, here you go
The historical information is in Korean, but along the way you’ll encounter an old tunnel and abandoned stone monitoring booths facing the sea which make me think the tracks were used by the military back in ththe 50’s or earlier.
Must’ve sucked for the soldier. Great view though!
And the there’s the tunnel:
Get to the choppa!! What? I HAD TO
There a few couples there who’d take pics. And one would set up a tripod to take some romantic selfies. At one point, a guy tried to lift up his girl in her arms… but failed! Buahahahah!! I laughed and laughed…
But I digress. Here’s some more pics:
Such a handsome bastard
And finally we arrived on the other side of the mountain, at the end of the tracks:
Songjeong Beach is still a bit further but it was getting dark so we stopped by an Angels-in-Us cafe and got a cab back. Koreans have quite the thing for phallic signs
I’d say it takes about an 30-40 mins to walk the entire way. Not a very well-known tourist attraction but definitely worth it.
Still coughing up a storm, and feeling like crap generally.
Thought I’d share a little something that made me chuckle. It wasn’t that long ago where the thought of air travel never even entered my mind. And now…
Been feeling under the weather lately, but I wanted to do a quick post for the New Year’s Eve celebration.
For Russians, it’s one of the major celebrations that involves a MAJOR feast!
Check it out:
It actually looks much better. Again, I suck at photography
There’s only six of us, and we’ll be eating on and off until the clock strikes 12 (the feast began at 9.30pm).
It’s not exactly big here in Korea, but there’s a tradition observed by a lot of the locals here where they will gather at the beach for the first sunrise of the year. Missed it last year, but I hope to make it this year!
Returned to beautiful Jangyu for my mother-in-law’s haircut, just a stone’s throw away from her old apartment, where I stayed during my first visit to Busan about four years ago.
Excellent candidate for a Silent Hill-like event
After that, it was time for more shopping at Lotte Premium Outlets (Gimhae).
If you really focus, you’ll be able to hear your bank account cryingNow, today being Christmas Day and all, with more and more Koreans observing it… I was hopeful it wouldn’t be too crowded. Goddammit.This time at least, I captured photographic evidence of steep discounts!
Is… is my bank account crying even louder?
Oh yea and I captured this:
The fourteen year-old in me was giggling uncontrollably
Next on the list: Halal meat. My wife, her brother and mom had already eaten and I was starving. Plus I was saving space for Samsa, a delicious meat-filled Uzbek baked bun/pastry.
Not sure what the area is called, but here’s the street name:
I am NOT attempting to type that on this phone with Autocorrect waiting eagerly, and cracking its knuckles
The nearest LRT station would be either Royal Tomb of King Suro (no, seriously) or Buwon. We drove there and man, it reminded me a little of some really narrow streets in Bangkok where cars mingled with pedestrians.
Here’s the cool thing about the place. It’s a true melting pot. You’ve got everyone from Indonesians to Vietnamese to Thais to Uzbeks and more.
Much more festive, it’s just that my photography skills are still almost non-existent.
We parked near the mosque:
Something weird about this. Can’t quite put my finger on it…
Before heading to the restaurant to get our meat (they also sell frozen meat), we checked out the nearby wet market which reminded me a lot of the old markets in Singapore:
Bank account seemed glad to see this place for some reason.
According to my brother-in-law, the prices here were significantly cheaper than in Busan.
Finally we arrived at the restaurant:
Hand over the Samsas and nobody gets hurt.
I’d show you a picture of the Samsa, but I’ve pretty much eaten all of them. They’re that good. And a hot Samsa in winter? Oh yeah.
At this very moment, I’m typing this on a phone, on a big comfy couch in the hall, with my reflection and its full tummy in the glass window staring at me. I regret nothing.
After it rained, something awesome happened. Well, awesome to me, anyway. There’s fog! Thick, low fog. I love this weather, man. Not too many days like this in Singapore.
Here’s the view on a clear day:
Now with the fog:
So I’ve got the idea to sell some of my pictures via stock photography sites, and one of them recommended bright and sunny days. But I don’t know man, there’s just something about cool, foggy weather, you know?
Reminds me of some shows set in Victoria-era London and Silent Hill. The fog also slows things down… adds mystery.
Perfect for sitting with a warm cup of coffee while reading a book or watching a horror movie or doodling.
Wtf is a ‘Winter Blend’?
Think I’ll go and create something.
Looks like a pretty cloudy day today, and it’s projected to snow across most of Korea tomorrow! Most… just not Busan. GODDAMMIT.
However, I do have a plan! Ready or not, I’m hitting Jangsan Mountain early tomorrow morning, possibly before sunrise. I WILL HAVE MY SNOW.
It’ll probably kick my unprepared ass, though
In the past month we’ve been here, I’ve received two or three earthquake (!!) notifications. If you have coverage here, you’ll get an alert on your phone.
Oh yea and the apartment has a scary-as-hell alarm that goes off followed by an announcement.
It’s a long run to the ground floor
Apparently quakes happen regularly, and you only get notified if it goes beyond 2.0 on the Richter scale.
Seeing how they’ve had major ones recently, I was a little spooked at first. But yea, it’s nothing to get too worried about. Overall it’s a pretty stable country. Japan however…
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