Trip to Pusan

Pusan

The second largest city in Korea (5 million peeps). Located in the SouthEastern corner. 3d largest container port in the world. It also has a nice beach... well, I've been to Hawaii, Southern California, Florida and Thailand PLUS to some extent in my "mountain loving" mind, a beach is a beach... but too much mumbo jumbo, I'll just let you see some pics. This first one is a self-portrait (duh) that was aweful, but the only one that proved we were on a beach, so....

Yes, we took the early fast train on a Friday to Pusan (without the kids!) and stayed one night, returning to Seoul the next night late. The train went as fast as 160MPH, not quite a bullet-train, but it was pretty darn zippy. Not bad for a society that was pummelled to almost nothing 53 years ago! Anyway, we got to stay out past 0100 and sleep in until after 0900, so it was just the break we needed. We could have missed out of the first opportunity in over a year to gamble... roulette will take your money on every continent, I imagine. We tried to local Kalbi (spicey BBQ pork ... YES, pork!!!) and I cried a little, so that means it was sufficiently hot, I guess.
This is a shot of the Chunnyeolsa Shrine which is from the 1500's I think. I forget which Dynasty and if it was the Chinese or Japanese who smacked the Koreans around on this occasion, but either way, it was very pretty and it was the first time I had experienced little Korean kids pointing at me and yelling "Mi Guk! Mi Guk!" at the very top of their little lungs. Anyhow, we stayed at a pretty decent 3-star hotel - Riviera Haeundaue - and were like 200 meters from the beach with also had a TGI Fridays, Bennigans, Starbucks and a pretty yummy Indian restaurant which again was good, but only made me perspire, not cry, so not as hot as Pusan Kalbi was!
These are some neat shots of the Pusan Harbor from the Pusan Tower... like the Seattle Space Needle, only not nearly as nice looking. Weather was not the best, so the view is limited, the pic does not do it justice, a very busy port!
UN Cemetery up there in the foothills north of the city.
Another port shot, with the bridge that connects the High Dollar Real Estate part of Pusan. It was nice to get a break from working and being overwhelmed Mom&Dad. That probably won't happen for an overnight again until we come back to the states this winter, so we appreciated it.