The drive into Busan took about an hour from Chinhae and then it took us a little more time once inside Busan to find the parking structure for Busan Tower (we basically had to circle the entire mountain the tower sits on to get to the designated parking).
I'm glad we chose Busan Tower as our first (and quite frankly, only) stop in Busan. It was a beautiful clear day and we got a great view of the city, including the harbor and all the many ships that come through Busan.
Busan is a much smaller city than Seoul which was quite nice. I like my cities to be on the smaller side. They feel more manageable, less overwhelming, and more endearing. I do wish we'd had a bit more time to explore Busan. What I did see and experience, I quite liked.
Zara spent most of the day conked out in her baby carrier. If we keep moving and walking, she stays asleep. As soon as we stop, she wakes up and wants to eat. I'm not sure how Koreans view nursing in public but based on the number of long stares I received as I nursed Zara (covered up, mind you), I'm guessing it's not typically done. Oh well. I figure I can get away with it since I'm American.
After going to the top of Busan Tower and exploring the area near there, we walked down the mountain and into the city. We walked around a cute little shopping district. It had just one lane of traffic and was very pedestrian friendly.
The whole street was dotted with these fountains and statues.
My favorite was the cat.
I'm predictable like that.
One more shot of Zara because she's so darn cute.We walked around the shopping area for a little bit--my mom bought a pair of shoes--and then decided to find a place to eat before heading back to Chinhae. We eventually settled on one Korean "beef and leaf" place. It looked much nicer than the restaurants around it, which is why we chose it. It was still early so we were the first people in the restaurant and the owner--a man who had lived in Chicago for a few years and who spoke very good English--spent a lot of time explaining the different cuts of meat to us and was generally very attentive. He gave us whatever extra food we wanted, explained why and how to eat certain things, and what some of the more mysterious side dishes were. It was a very delicious meal and a great restaurant. By the time we left, the place was filling up quickly. I wish I had taken a picture of the restuarant or at least written down the name so I could remember where it was and what it was called.
We walked back to the car and got all settled in again for the drive back to Chinhae. It had been relatively easy to find out way into Busan and to the tower so we thought it'd be relatively easy to find our way out of Busan and back on the road to Chinhae but like most things in Korea, it proved to not be quite as easy as we had anticipated. After driving for an hour we still had not made our way out of Busan and we were growing quite frustrated. (Korean street signs are not very helpful. Neither were our maps.) We eventually pulled over to a gas station where David held a very long conversation with some of the employees there about the best way to get back to Chinhae. One man was very emphatic that we take a certain road home and tried his best to explain it to David and even drew a rough map for us to follow. David thought he could find his way home from there and so we were just about to head off again when the man stopped our car and told us that if we'd just wait 5 minutes, he'd lead us to the right road. So we followed the man's car out of the city and to the 2, which would take us to Chinhae. It's a good thing he was so kind to take us because we would have totally missed the correct turn-off. (In typical Korean fashion, the road he told us to take was the 35, but the sign actually called it the 66 because it has two names.) We followed the man for almost an hour before he pulled over and told us that the way to Chinhae should be clear.
David thanked him profusely for his kindness and offered him money for his time and the cost of his gas which he waved away, saying that he lived nearby anyway. (David assured us that that was a lie. Why would a man drive 50 kilometers just to work at a gas station?) We eventually found our way back to the navy base after three hours on the road.
I don't know if the people of Busan are just generally nicer than the people of Seoul (no one in Seoul would have every offered to show us the way home) or if we just happened to meet two of the friendlier Korean people, but our impression of Busan was greatly affected by the kindness of strangers. David has often felt a lack of connection and love for the people of Korea and their country (unlike Taiwan, where he served his mission) but our experience in Busan has changed his opinion of Korea. Korea truly is a beautiful country--it's just hard to see it sometimes when you're trapped in the smog and indifference of Seoul.
