Busan Beaches at Night

The vibe in Busan is chill. It felt much more casual than Seoul and this was further exaggerated on the beaches at night. Families gathered to light fireworks, couples cozied up and enjoyed the music, and friends gathered to drink a few beers. Both fireworks and drinking in public are legal in Korea so you can imagine the laid back scene.

There are two major beaches in Busan, Haeundae and Gwangalli. Both are massive beyond what I imagined. We stayed 3 blocks from Haeundae Beach so we got to know it better. Haeundae seemed to have more fireworks and had live music. A couple of guys were set up with speakers, a laptop and an acoustic guitar providing the finishing touches on an incredible atmosphere.

Haeundae Beach, Busan

Fireworks at Haeundae Beach, Busan 

Fireworks and music at Haeundae Beach, Busan

Gwangalli has a spectacular view at night, as the Gwangan bridge is all lit up. If you are in Busan, you need to check out both of these beaches at night.

Gwangan Bridge from Gwangalli Beach, Busan

Fireworks at Gwangalli Beach, Busan

Gwangalli Beach, Busan 

Gwangalli Beach, Busan

Jalgachi Market - Busan

A couple of weeks ago was Buddha's Birthday. We had a four day weekend and decided to take this golden opportunity to take a trail to Busan, Korea. Alex and I tried getting KTX high speed train tickets a month in advance, but since it was such a busy travel weekend, the tickets were already sold out. So we ended up on the "slow" train, where we traveled just about the length of the country in 5 hours.

When we arrived, we hit the ground running before even going to our hostel. Our first stop was the Busan tower to get a lay of the land. We then headed to the famous Jagalchi Fish Market. We were told it is one of the largest fish markets in Asia. We figured this was as good a place as any to try Sannakji or live octopus. Check out the video. 

The massive building at the bottom is Jagalchi Fish Market 

Hunting it down

Gwangan Bridge

Gwangan Bridge

This is a thing

Please don't eat me. 

She just caught a live fish to show a customer and ask if it will do. Kind of like a bottle of wine at a nice restaurant.

I was taking a picture of the restaurant sign above this couple. They thought I was sneakily taking a picture of them until I pointed above them to the sign. They were cool so I gestured if they wanted me to take a picture of them after all. They complied. I love Koreans. 

Our chef Jacky of Jacky's Seafood. We think this guy may be a celebrity chef. There were pictures of him in the restaurant of him on TV.

We have been waiting for the right time to try Sannakji (live octapus) and what better place than Jagalchi Market? We found this legit looking stall on the 2nd floor of the market called Jacky's Seafood. We told the waitress we'd like Sannakji and she gasped in surprise. I think she thought we were brave for gringos.  It is apparently a dangerous thing to eat because of the suction cups on the tentacles. It is possible for the suction cups to stick to your esophagus on the way down and the heimlich will not help to dislodge them. So, yes. It is possible to die from eating this.

The plate came with a dozen side dishes that filled us up more than we had anticipated. When the Sannakji came, it was squirming all over the plate. It was cut up in small pieces and covered in sesame oil for our safety. As you'll see, it was quite difficult to pick up. 

After getting a grip on it and dipping it in the usual red pepper sauce, it was delicious. It was tender and fun. While chewing, you could feel and hear the suction cups popping like pop rocks. I took my time to make sure I chomped on each suction before attempting to swallow. I would definitely have this again.

Lotus Lantern Festival - Seoul

Saturday April 26th -

I dusted off my nifty fifty low light camera and we headed to Seoul. We had heard that the Lotus Lantern festival was one of the biggest in Seoul and figured we should check it out. There was to be a big parade of more than 100,000 lanterns to celebrate Buddha's birthday.

We headed to Jongo Station and watched the procession march endlessly down Jongo Street. I wasn't sure how interesting it would be, but the scale of it alone was mouth dropping. Also, if you like low light photography, this is the place.

Cherry Blossoms

Spring has sprung in Korea and the cherry blossoms are in full swing this week. We woke up Monday morning to a white christmas. These trees are absolutely everywhere! They seem to be a procession line of happiness on nearly every street. Eat your heart out Washington DC. Every street looks like the walk around the Jefferson Memorial. 

Our street. I didn't have to go far. 

Everyone loves a nice cherry blossom picture.