Busan, Korea

I arrived a bit delayed in the evening in Busan, Korea. No ATM at the airport wanted my bank card, so I started sweating. Luckily I got to borrow a phone and talk to my host Elijah. I got a cab to his place and Elijah went out and got me and paid the cab. He was a very friendly lad and gave me loads of tips for Korea and Busan. His friend Adam stopped by and we had a nice chat. The next day I went strolling to town. As usual, when I don't where I am, I find what I'm searching for. At the docks I found a second hand store for dock workers and I found a jacket for eight dollars that I would pick up on my way back. My main goal was to find a bank that accepted my card, and when I did, I was really happy. It was a beautiful spring day and finally I got to see the famous cherry blossom. What I never thought about was the smell, but they also smell great when you're walking by them. In the evening we had some Korean drinks and chatted, discussed and laughed a lot. As usual, I can now say, my host's friends were cool and I had a good time.

Walking as much as possible is my new mission for the next two months, and that's why I've decided to walk between my hosts in Busan. On my way to the new host I stumbled across a charity organization selling clothes. I bought myself a woolen sweater for less than a dollar and spent some time pressing it down into my bag. One of the women was amused and gave me a cup of tea. Since I enjoyed it so much, she managed to ask me in finger language if I had had lunch, and I was able to answer no. She then fed me squish sushi, soup and orange juice. It all probably cost twice of what I paid for the sweater. The world doesn't seem to run out of nice people. After a five hour walk through the city, I finally arrived at my destination point.

Andrew picked me up and we went straight to a baseball game. I had never been to one, so why not now? At the stadium we met some great friends of his and a mentally disturbed Korean girl that was following them. Until then, she was the best English speaker I had met in Korea, so it was kind of funny having her with us. She asked people around for beer and was screaming a lot haha. After the match, we went for food and some beers. Two girls and Nav, from Birmingham after Andrew left. He had to go to the temple and left his friends with me. That evening I learned that three bottles of Soju, Korean vodka, and beer is too much. Somehow everything worked out well, but I don't remember much until I got to borrow a pair of pyjamas from Nav.

The next day an energy bomb of a girl comes jumping in and takes, luckily, only Nav with her to rowing practice. In the evening I went out with the energy bomb, whose name is Amanda, and her friends. I got to sleep at her place with her friend Liz, but unfortunately the chocolate colored girls let me sleep on the couch and not in their bed. The next morning they made me omelet and pancake, so I was as happy as I could be anyway! We spent the day on the beach and then went for a walk to the local light house. In the evening Andrew came back from the temple stay and we all had a big dinner together. It was the last night with this crew before I the next day walked over the mountain to meet Jae Hwan, my first Korean host!

Does my luck run out? Never! My new host was a cook in the military two years. I ate the best Korean food and drank Soju with Jae Hwan and his cousin. We went on two long hikes, including a mountain with Beomusa Temple as reward! It was just brilliant! We chatted a lot and I learned more useful, and useless, stuff about Korea. For instance, Koreans never pour their own drinks. They give the bottle to others so that they can be served. They have many cool customs! After two nights I walked over the hill again to meet up with Chris!

Chris was a funny lad and we spent the evening laughing all the time. The next day I went on a hike again and while running down Jangsan mountain, a white girl stopped me. She was one of the six only white people I had seen up in the hills around Busan, the other five were with her. After she had said one sentence, I asked her "Er du fra Norge?" (translate.google: Are you from the country where people like rocks, fish and potatoes?). She was, such an easy accent to pick up, and the family was there with all ages and genders. I found it very amusing that the biggest concentration of Norwegians I have met on my trip so far were in the hills in Busan. Not many foreigners are here and not many Norwegians are among the travellers I meet. Then again, if I were to meet Norwegians, I guess alone in the mountain with kids and grandparents is where you find them. As we say in Norway: "Ut på tur, aldri sur!" (translate.google: "Out hiking or cross country skiing, don't be a motha' fuckin' cry baby!").

Photos (summary):


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Photos (all):
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