Anyway, here's a brief rundown of what we did (as ever, pics are on facebook).
Thursday, October 1st
After an annoyingly long day of travel (9 hours start too finish, that's nuts!), I finally reached the hotel at 7:30. On the Hong Kong end, getting to the airport was a breeze. I took the Airport Express subway, which got me there in about 35minutes. It's a bit pricey for Hong Kong, but there are some things I'm willing to pay for - this is one of them. Flight was uneventful, with the exception of about 30 seconds of fairly bumpy turbulence - bumpy enough that my arse came off the seat and some guy's orange juice jumped out of his cup. The worst part had to be the bus ride to Haeundae, the area of Busan where we were staying. It should've been 45min, but instead, it was an hour and a half. And you all know how much I like buses...
Anyway, when all is said and done, I would do it again for a chance to see HB. We dropped my stuff off in the hotel room and immediately went out for dinner; we were both starving. The rest of the evening is not meant for readers' eyes...
Friday, October 2nd
After a leisurely morning, we headed out for a walk along the board walk. We veered off into a wilderness path (the moon path). The ground was pretty slick from the previous night's rain, so we had to be extra careful in our flip flops :P. We zigged when we should've zagged at a fork in the road and thus ended up in someone's backyard garden. The grandmother there told us how to get out of the yard and off we went to catch a taxi to Haedongyonggungsa, which is a Temple on the cliff's of Busan. (ps. the temple's name means East Sea Dragon Palace Temple) The setting was gorgeous and the weather perfect.
After a delightful lunch of authentic Indian food, we headed to the Busan Station area where there was a bit of a shopping district and also a famous enormous traditional wet market. On the first floor of this large building was stall after stall of writhing, smelly seafood. If this was Hang Bin's idea of trying to get me to like seafood, he's going about it the wrong way. Despite the smell, the creatures were quite interesting to look at.
Our final destination for the day was Busan tower. Kinda like the CN, only smaller...and cheaper.
Saturday October 3rd
In the morning we went to a spa called Vesta to check out its roof top spa area. It was mildly disappointing, but still nice to lounge around outside, in the sunshine in a shallow pool of warm water. It wasn't too busy, so that made it even better. The afternoon brought us to Beomeosa, another temple, this time tucked away in the mountains. The air was so fresh, I felt instantly healthier and more alive. There were a number of people at the temple for both sighseeing and praying.
Our last evening together we spent roaming the streets near Busan National University. It was pretty bustling considering it was a national holiday. I bought some earrings and a new bag (as well as tried on a lot of shoes. Hang Bin is so patient. Apparently I'm "such a girl", but I have to say, in my defense, living in Korea made me that way :P).
And here I am, on a Sunday evening, recounting my vacation and wishing, wishing, wishing I could go back and spend even just another day. It went by too quickly.
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Other tidbits:
Despite how often I fly, I'm constanly amazed at both planes and airports. In an airport, everything it so intricately intertwined that the smallest error could have a cascade effect of leaving thousands stranded trying to get away or get home. The airplanes themselves are magic to me. Sure, you could sit there and talk to me about low air pressure and high air pressure creating lift and physics and blah blah blah, but let's face it...it's magic.
Korean Air (airline) is AWESOME. Best airline that I've ever experienced. I saw the flight attendants placate an obviously angry passenger with persistent apologies, bows, check-ins, and free swag. I don't know what he was upset about, but at the end of the flight, he certainly had no reason to hold a grudge. Oh yeah, and the flight attendants look awesome in their khaki and aqua uniforms. I think it's the pointy neck scarves and hair ribbons that really make the look work.
Comparison Time!!!
Interestingly, I find myself making more comparisons between th Kong and Korea than HK and Canada. I thought Korea had a noise pollution problem. Uh-uh. Korea is downright silent compared with Hong Kong. Don't scoff at someone when they tell you it's never quiet. Seriously - it's NEVER quiet. During the day, along with normal sounds of traffic, air conditioning window units and jackhammers, there is this persistent, ambient hum of escalators, and machines beeping in various tones in the MTR. One beep to let you through the gate, a higher, longer, louder beep to block your passage. The constant, annoying, tinny tune of the tactile map announcing its presence and location to the visually-impaired, the ever-present voice of the "subway goddess" politely issuing demands (in 3 languages) for you to "please hold the handrail"; "mind the gap"; "clear your throat into a tissue then put the tissue directly into the rubbish bin"; "wash your hands often"; no eating or drinking on the train or in paid areas of the station."
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Life would be prefect if I had my kitchen from Korea coupled with the food choices from Hong Kong. Life would be elevated to the level of divine if I also had my father hear to make me a regularity-inducing smoothie every morning for brekkie. As it stands, I don't think our kitchen could handle another appliance (And we don't have many to begin with), and perhaps my account would collapse under the cost of whey protein powder and frozen berries.
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*sigh* Recycling is a thing of the past. It's even worse here than it was in Korea. I spent the past year making 80% recycling and 20% garbage while living with my parents, only to be transplanted to a modern metropolis that is environmentally behind the times. Well, there's perhaps the argument that they need the garbage in order to make landfills on top of which they will eventually build luxury apartment complexes (READ: Lohas Park). Sure, it looks fancy, but it's built on TRASH.
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Transportation: You've got to be either stupid or rich to have your own car in Hong Kong.
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I can go an entire wor week without being outside for any longer than 5 minutes at a time. As hot as it is here, I'm at no risk of getting a sunburn. I can always count on the shade of hundred of tall buildings to protect me...or the MTR.
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