And so it was that my friends Helen, Erin and I got on the bus bound for Busan on Friday, May 19, with little plans of what we might do once we got there. However a vague idea of relaxing, drinking and going to the beach may have been the main arangements in favor.
We all needed a break. A break from Seoul and a break from our lives in the city. And Busan being not only on the other side of the country but also conveniently located by the Ocean seemed like a good place to go.
Skip ahead 7 hours and we were seriously questionning our decision to take the scenic route. However, we did finally get there and once there the good times began and didn't stop all weekend. Yee whoo! Now that I know that Korea does in fact look the same from tip to toe, I won`t feel guilty about taking the high speed train and sleeping next time.
We found our way straight out of the gates to the tourist beach destination of choice Haeundae. By the time we got there it was just about time to put on our dancing shoes. And so, we did. haha. In a manner of speaking. We ened up at a cool little expat bar called U2 (like the band). It was a good place to be if your intentions were to meet lots of foreign teachers and get drunk. Excellent! I ended up bumping into a coupple people I knew from Seoul before the end of the evening which I found extremely hilarious.... yet strangely anticipated. After some brief confusion about where we would be staying, we ended up finding a small jimjilbang at which to crash for the evening. It was NOT the Ritz, but then again, it was also only W8,000 for the night, so I was not expecting luxery.
The next morning we bathed and sauna(ed?) for a while before heading to the beach strip for brunch. And then there was brunch....... 3 hours later, slightly vexed at waiting times, but still pleasantly full, we headed to the beach! YAY! Just being around water is soooooooooooo comforting and amazing for me. I really can't describe to calming and life flowing effect it has on me. It was the smell of the water, the sound of the waves and the feel of the coarse sand beneath my feet that made the whole trip worth while. I am seriously contemplating going back to Busan this summer as much as possible. It was really great. And to bea ble to swim in said water and lie on said beach NOT under an umbrella would be eeeeven better! lol! Of course it would rain. It didn't stop raining actually. From the time we got there until the time we left, but somehow it didn't dampen our spirits! Wan wan wan....
after the beach came the main event of the day. The SPA!!!! The biggest spa in Asia apparently. and all for the very reasonable price of W8,000 for a 12 hour entry plus additional purchases inside!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW! Almost worth moving to Busan for... almost.
I have to say that it seems to me as if a whole lot of our time in that city was spent in the buff. and to be honest, I'm glad that i went with two such awsome laid back chichies, because I certainly got to know them a whole lot better throughout the weekend! :) haha!
After dolling ourselves up we went out for some drinks on the town and then rented a motel room for the evening. It was very comfortable again for the price, and in the morning I left my lovely ladies sleeping while I got up and set out for Beomeosa Temple to the North of the city. One of the rasons I really wanted to come to Busan for Buddha's birthday weekend was so i could visite Beomeosa. It is special to me because it is where Samu Sunim did his training before coming to Canada. I decided to be safe and take a taxi from the station (which ended up being a very good decision) It rained and rained and rained alllll morning. But in the end that only made the xperience more magical. For one, there were almost no people there except real devotees. secondly, the rain made all of the colours, the sounds and the smells of the mountain and forest come alive. Lastly, there was a myst about the place which made it feel ancient, timeless and absolutely out of this world beautiful. It was so scerene that in the end I was sad to leave and wish i could have stayed for a while longer to really begin to calm down and relax. I know that I will never forget m,y time there. It was really meaningful to me.
The bus ride back to the city was no less eventful in that we found out before getting on the bus that we had been sold bad tickets!!!!!!!! This meant that we had to in fact get off the bus and go and beg the slaes lady to give us tickets on another bus bound for Seoul. Thanks to the generocity and english language skills of a lovely stranger, that was a possibility and we were seoul bound before two hours had gone by. In the end, it was a memorable experience and a good weekend. Erin, Helen and I managed to remain friends without any drama all the way through and i feel really happy to have been able to share such a lovely experience with such lovely ladies. may there be more good weekends to come.
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