I wrote this article in English because I was
asked to do so. This is can also consider as a bragging post for those who
decided to stay in Seoul for Chuseok ;). Sorry, no pictures here, you can
find them on Facebook. There may be some grammar mistakes...but I don’t care..
Anyway, please feel free to comment.
Finally,
the Chuseok week! Korean Thanksgiving, Chuseok (추석), is the biggest holiday here in
Korea. For that, we got three extra days
free from the university. Usually the locals spend this time to visit their
families but a group of exchange students, including me, decided to take a trip
to South Korea’s second biggest city, Busan.
All
trains were sold out weeks before the holiday so we had to take a bus. Early
birds went there already on Tuesday, but I due to my Tuesday afternoon classes
my plan was to go there on Wednesday evening.
Some locals warned us about traffic, but the bus trip wasn’t so bad
after all. I tried to study little bit Korean on the bus. The
Guesthouse was really awesome. Close to the beach, close to the station and no
strict rules unlike in our dorm here in Seoul. Lobby-kitchen-lounge was great,
as well as the shower. Our room was small 6-bed dorm without any luxuries. I shared a room with another Finnish guy, a Finnish
girl, a Singaporean guy and two German girls. Thanks again for patience ;).
Soon
after check-in we went to the beach. The beach wasn’t far, maybe 5 minutes of
walk from the guesthouse. First we got some drinks from the 7-eleven and then
we were just hanging around and talking with each other. And drinking. Some of
us more, some of us less. I also faced a few quite unexpected situations. I was
having a conversation in Swedish with another exchange student from Iran. People
started to disappear until there were only four of us who decided to say awake
to see the sunrise. Unfortunately it was cloudy and we couldn’t see the sun at
all. We went back to the house and made some breakfast. It’s always so
fascinating to have a breakfast before you go to sleep. I was the last man
standing and I went to bed at 8.30 am.
Next
day I woke up at 10am. I had eaten breakfast already so I wasn’t hungry any more.
Usually I don’t like swimming, but that day was so hot that the ocean felt
tempting. Actually, that was the first time in almost ten years in the sea. It
was nice and the water was warm, but I couldn’t be there long without getting
sunburnt. Later that day we went to TGIF for burgers. Oh my god, that burger
was great! Bacon, cheese, beef, onion rings, french fries…I like Korean food
but sometimes I just miss 양식 (=western food) too much.
After
lunch we went to see those tall buildings near to Haeundae Beach. We were
supposed to find some sort of skyline bar at the top of one of those buildings,
but they were all closed because of the national holiday. However, we managed
to get in some skylounge and the views from there were great. After that, we
walked through a park next to Haeundae Beach. Later at night….back to the beach,
of course. This time I went to bed earlier, but…
…at
5 am my Australian neighbour decided to start playing drums and guitar. I woke
up, but I wasn’t angry or tired. Then one lovely Danish girl served me a
breakfast and I went back to bed for a while. So, Friday was the day we went to
the mountains. First we were only supposed to climb up a closest peak and come
down by cable car. Ten of us started the journey but only five of us reached
the top. However, that wasn’t enough for us. We decided to hike to the higher
peak in very rough terrain. Hiking was great and the view from the peak was awesome.
Unfortunately
I had some problems on the way. First I had some ankle pain that slowed me down
a bit. I didn’t remember to bring good hiking shoes to Busan. After reaching
the highest peak we started to climb down. On our way down, my energy levels
went down quickly and I felt weak and dizzy. Last few kilometres were really
hard for me and I almost fainted in the bus. The bus took us to the subway
station and my friends were looking for a restaurant. I was tired and I decided
to buy a chocolate bar and head back to the dorm to sleep. Very soon I faced
another problem: I had absolutely no idea where our guesthouse was! I took a
subway to the larger transfer station. However, then I just decided to jump off
the train at some random station and I went to sleep on empty bench.
The locals sleep on the streets, so why wouldn’t I do that as well? This quick
30min power-nap gave me enough energy to think. Then I went outside to grab
some street food and I got back to Haeundae.
As
always, there was the beach party going on and eventually I had a good night
once again. Almost all the exchange students were there. Once again I was
supposed to go bed early and I actually managed leave them at 1 am but I didn’t
get to the bed for a 3 hours because I met another group of exchange students
from all around the Latin America. Actually everyone was speaking Spanish
except me.
Saturday,
the last full day in Busan. My friends asked me to go shopping, climbing up to
Busan tower or to go to swim. I wanted to take one day totally on my own. I
walked to the subway station and took next train that was coming. I didn’t know
where it would go. I transferred to other line and went somewhere near Busan
City Hall. There I was just walking around without destination. Then I ate…something interesting and went
back to the station. While waiting for the train, I talked with a Korean girl
who sat next to me. We had minor language barrier but it could’ve been worse.
Then the train came and we went to different directions.
Sunday.
Nothing happened. Except the air conditioner broke down on a bus trip. So we
waited for a replacement bus in the middle of the highway more than an hour. Finally,
it was nice to be back at home.