Rocking into August

For the past several months, I've been doing my best to save money and find things to do that are productive and don't cost me anything. However, for the last two weekends in July I decided to splurge in exchange for a couple of fun, worthwhile experiences.

The first, was a trip to Pusan, the second-largest city in the ROK which is on Korea's south coast. I had been given an extra day off on the weekend of July 18th, because I'd been required to work back in May on Children's Day which would have been a day off. So, the plan was to head south for some sun and hiking and exploring. I headed out Friday night right after work and finally checked into a hotel around midnight. I then spent some time wandering around before hitting the sack.


Here's the view from my hotel window Saturday morning. I wanted to treat myself to a nice ocean view and darned if I didn't get just that.

Since the weather was looking pretty nice, and since I was planning to meet up with some friends the next day and wasn't sure what their plans were, I decided to visit Beomeosa temple and then hike Geumjeongsan Fortress with a little side hike to Seokbulsa temple which was meant to be a sight especially worth seeing. I thus headed to the subway.



Here are some very young monks that I encountered on my walk down the beach.

The trip to Beomeosa took a while but was straight-forward and painless. Having seen many a temple in South Korea, I have come to the conclusion that when you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all. Most of them are painted very similarly and the architecture is almost all identical.


Beomeosa temple, while beautiful, left my opinion unswayed.

One thing that was neat about it was that not all of the buildings were fully restored, so I had the chance to see some of the designs with a more weathered look.


And of course there were the obligatory prayer lanterns.

After exploring the temple to my satisfaction, I set off to find the trail to Geumjeongsan. This was no easy task and so I sought the help of two very helpful men at the Beomeosa information tent, who gave me a map and pointed me in the right direction.

The first section of the hike was pretty steep, but also quick...


And I soon arrived at the North gate. My hike would take me from the North gate to the East Gate and then finally to the South gate where I would pick up the trail to Beokbulsa. I had been warned that Geumjeongsan really isn't a fortress, and that is true, it's more like a low stone wall connecting the gates, but luckily the hike is scenic and comfortable.

The sky was overcast, which helped me to stay cool despite the humidity, and between the North and East gates, it began to rain fairly intensely with a strong wind. I couldn't believe that I was out on a hike with an umbrella, but there I was and this being Korea, I was not the only one. The rain let up and slowly, but surely the sun began to shine. When I reached the East gate I saw a group of foreigners, one with a Detroit Tigers hat. I was feeling motivated and slightly concerned about the time it would take to get to Beokbulsa so I didn't bother saying hello.

The hike from the East to the South gate was quick and easy and pleasant. I passed through a flat, wooded area with picnic tables for hikers and heard a bird calling "oh-wah." Which reminded me alternately of the German word for "ouch" and the Korean word for "come."

When I reached the South gate I sat down and had some of the fruits and veggies I had packed. As I got up to look for the sign that would lead me to Beokbulsa, I overheard a Korean guy telling the group of foreigners from the North Gate about the temple and I quickly asked him which direction I should go in to get here. He told me that he was going there and that I should join him and his friend. I learned that he was leaving in a couple of weeks to study English in London for a year or two. He was jolly and fun and his friend who didn't speak much English welcomed me along with the gift of a sweet, juicy clementine.

The trek was a little arduous, and I was glad to have my happenstance guides showing me the way as I would most likely have gotten lost.

It was completely worth it, though. The temple was small, but...


Wow! It was carved right into the rock of the mountain and the carvings were large and very impressive. Most South Korean temples may be created equal, but this one certainly is not.


This photo was just a little too spiritual looking not to include. To me, in my currently rather pragmatic mindset, it looks almost as if the frieze is flinching. He's like "whoa, god, tone down those heavenly rays a bit, would ya?"

I spent time admiring the carvings and snapping many a photo before heading back down (and up) the trail to the South gate. Once there I followed the trail to the nearby cable cars and took them down back into North-Eastern Pusan.


I enjoyed the view on the ride down and my feet and quadriceps enjoyed the rest.

Before heading down, I had hatched the greatest plan ever. The park at the base of the mountains where the cable car lets off it's passengers is only a 15-minutes walk from what is reputed to be one of the largest spas in all of Asia, a traditional Korean Jimjilbang called Hulshimchung spa. I still cannot believe that it never previously occurred to me that the best thing to do after hiking all day would be to soak in a series of hot and cold tubs, rest in a wide variety of saunas and exfoliate my skin. This is just what I did for a couple of hours and it was heavenly.

I then headed back to my hotel to get ready for what I hoped would be an exciting night on the town. Unfortunately, a few obstacles stood in the way of said exciting night. First off, I was in Korea and no one does anything alone in Korea. Even on various hikes I've taken (including Geumjeongsan) I've been approached by kind, well-meaning Koreans who can't understand why someone would enjoy the solitude of being alone in nature. The tendency of Koreans to travel in groups means that it's not only hard to find a bar that has an actual bar where one can sit, but also that one is far more conspicuous if one is alone, and being a foreigner on your own is about as conspicuous as you can get.

For this reason, I wanted to find an area that was frequented by foreigners where I could feel less out of place. Haeundae beach, where I was staying, didn't seem to offer this so I decided to head to Namcheon which I had heard was near a lot of foreigner hang-outs. Unfortunately I missed the last subway, so I hopped in a cab and asked him to take me to the Namcheon subway station. The thing was, when I got there, there was nothing. A few convenience stores, some very Korean restaurants, and a local bar where I would have been the most conspicuous lonely foreigner imaginable (the kind of place where the men there have been glued to their seats for years). I walked around, looking for anything remotely promising, grabbed an unhealthy snack from a nearby 7-11 and found the nearest taxi stand.

The night was seeming like a total bust. I was spending more than $10 in cab fare to end up where I'd started with nothing to show for it, and due to the vigorous nature of my day, I wasn't in the mood to wander enough to find a good place for a drink. When I arrived back at Haeundae I decided to give it one last try. I started down a main road and stopped at a coffee shop. While waiting there for my order, the local girl at the next table whose companion had headed presumable to the restroom, struck up a conversation with me by complementing my necklace. She was kind and bubbly and her English was really good. She asked about where I lived and then about how I liked Pusan. I asked how she liked living there and we talked about New York City. We said goodbye after bemoaning the fact that we lived too far apart to become language exchange partners. This felt like some kind of good omen. Well, perhaps that's hindsight talking. At the very least, it renewed my faith in Korea and put a little more pep into my tired feet. I left and had been wandering for only a short while, when I decided to try a more out-of-the-way side street and lo and behold, I found a bar where foreigners were dancing.

I sat myself at the bar and ordered a gin and tonic. I felt relieved to have found a good spot and slightly smug as I watched the group of foreigners, who looked pretty silly dancing about. If nothing else, the people-watching was first-rate. I was on my second drink when one of the foreigners asked me if I had been hiking at Geumjeongsan that day. I was surprised to find out that these folks were the group of foreigners I had noticed on the hike, who had indirectly been the reason that I found my Korean "guide."

Stranger still, they were all MBA students from Michigan State University and were on a school-sponsored trip. They were quite possibly the first tourists I had ever met in Korea. The obligatory Spartans vs. Wolverines jokes and minor insults were addressed and suddenly I was surrounded by a bunch of new friends.


Here I am with Paula, the girl who first recognized me and then introduced me to her crew. I really hit it off with a few of the people and ended up staying up until Sunrise at 5am, talking about my life in Korea and their trip and whatnot. Talk about an unexpected turn of events.

The following day my hope was to catch some sun. So I headed out...


Past the oddly anachronistic bumper car-esque vehicles in a lot on my way to the beach. I spent a little while reading and relaxing, but when it became clear that the sun was gone and not coming back, I headed to Gukje market to check out the wares offered there. It was a pretty typical Korean market, though I did see a woman outside at a very old-school sewing machine doing I-don't-know-what (maybe you could take off your pants and she would hem them then and there?). I bought a dress with elephants on it (I will forever call it my Morgan dress) and some other cool stuff and then headed back to the hotel to relax and try and track down my friends.


As it turns out, I found them, and we also found beer, which made for a fun night, in spite of some pretty serious downpours. The sea roared when it rained, which was intense.


The following morning I got up early and went for a walk down the beach to a lighthouse, a walk that had been recommended by one of my new found Michigander friends. Here I am with Haeundae beach as a backdrop.


And here is the lighthouse. It was cute.

After lunch I caught up with my friends again for some sunbathing...


And I dared Mary to straddle this Korean man who had been buried in the sand up to his face by his friends. Good old Mary. The man and his friends were highly amused.

That afternoon I headed home, very tan and tired and happy to have seen another interesting part of Korea.

The next weekend, I headed to Korea's Pentaport Rock Festival, an annual event where people can camp, or at the very least hang out and listen to some great music. The festival takes place in Inchon which is in the same province as Paju and is also the Seoul suburb where the airport is located. It took much longer to get there than I had hoped, but I made it in time to see Travis, from Scotland, whom I'd seen twice before. As an added bonus, I found my friends right away without even having to call or text them. Score! Travis put on a good show and afterwards, I headed...


To this tent to dance to some electronic music. One of the best things about this festival was that, unlike many others, it didn't end at midnight. I danced until 5am...


Getting to observe things like this ridiculous raver-conga line. Who does that?

I spent the night (er... morning) at a cheap and comfy jimjilbang before heading back to the festival to catch some of the Korean bands I'd heard were worth seeing.


Here are three of my rock and roll EV friends with whom I spent the rest of the time. We caught lots of good music while drinking long island ice teas from bags (another awesome thing that Korea has--cocktails to go in a container that doesn't spill easily and doesn't injure anyone if it's dropped).


Here I am licking an obligatory, random costumed Korean individual who was promoting who-knows-what.


The highlight of the festival for me was Tricky. He played an incredibly creepy and energetic set with an awesome female vocalist, which can really only be described as pure awesome.


After Tricky one of my friends and I hurried to rejoin our other compadre at the main stage for Kasabian, a truly awesome Britsh band who were great fun to watch/hear. The energy could not have been more different from that of Tricky's set, but it was really dynamic and great fun.


The last act on the main stage was underworld. I was really excited to see them as a.) They were some of the first electronic music that I ever heard and got into and b.) I had seen them once before, but it was 10 years previous in a tiny venue. Their set was awesome and nostalgic for me, and I left the festival feeling happy and refreshed. It was really one of the best times I've had in months. The journey home was also epic, but my friends and I were able to keep our spirits up, even when our lost cab driver drove us through a tunnel that could only be inhabited by zombies. Good times for sure.