Thursday 8 May 2014

Buddha's Birthday weekend and the Lotus Lantern Festival...

 I recently had a free weekend which was the perfect opportunity to explore Busan. I really needed clothes, as I could only bring a certain amount of clothing over from South Africa. The majority of what I brought was winter clothes and I also had stocked up on my years supplies – deodorant, toothpaste, hair dye, medication from antibiotics to strepsils. My bathroom cabinet looks like I am ready to open my own mini pharmacy. Because I brought so much stock, I didn’t have enough space for extra clothing and had to leave a lot of my summer clothes behind. The seasons are busy changing and some days are really very nice. It gets up to 23 degrees now, which means that I no longer need to wear my long johns and vests. Until recently I had a pair on every day! What a treat not to wear them anymore. 

I went shopping in Nampo-dong. Nampo – which is an area in Busan – has a very big “international” market. I took bus 1003 to get there and got off at Gudeok-ro (just after Nampo station on the orange subway line). It took me just over an hour to get there from where I live in Jangsan. I managed to find a couple of items that I really liked. I find the clothing in the shops here in general quite hideous, like something that has been revived from the 80’s. Some days I am convinced that all the clothes from the 80’s that didn’t sell back then, managed to find their way on the shelves here. I cannot believe that it sells – but it does! 


Some examples of the shops here
I decided that when I see something that I really like – which happens very rarely – I have to get it. Luckily, I got a couple of essential things, but it came at a cost. As my friend, Gina, always used to say: The problem with her is that everything that she likes in a shop always turns out to be the most expensive item in the shop. She doesn't even have to look at the price tag, it just always turns out that way. I can relate to this...sigh... After my shopping expedition, Susie and I went for lunch at Jagalchi market. Jagalchi market is right next to Nampo and is easily accessible on foot. I loved it! When you come into the market there are rows and rows of stands with live seafood. 



Just some of the items at Jagalchi market
Anything that you can imagine, you will find here alive. There are loads of creepy crawlies from octopus, sea urchins, massive prawns, crayfish, different types of fish and creatures that I have never seen before. You can choose anything in this market and after you have made your choice, you can go upstairs to a restaurant area where they will cook or prepare your creature for you. Most Koreans like their food raw. There is a dish which I want to try one day, where you can order raw octopus tentacles. The tentacles are still moving like worms in your plate. Apparently when you order this, you need to chew it properly or the tentacle might suffocate you as octopus has a lot of suction in their tentacles. It costs 20 000 won (R200) for the octopus meal.

We had nothing of this sort and played it safe by ordering a seafood soup for 30 000 won (R300 for 2). It was delicious, with loads of fresh seafood in it. 
There are also many different side dishes  that comes with the soup.  The soup is definitely enough food for at least 3 people.
Seafood soup
We also got a crab in the soup and never in my life would I have thought to eat crab with chopsticks. It was quite an experience! 


My school had their midterm exams last Tuesday, so the week prior to the exam has been quite a busy one. They use audio with their English exams and I had to voice record all the tests for the grades. It is basically multiple choice questions and they have to listen for the correct answer according to the question on the paper. I also suggested a speaking test for each grade as the type of exam is not enough to do a proper assessment. It was quite interesting and at the same time took quite a long time to complete all the recordings. Korean exams are so different from back home. When I was in school our exams were quite stretched out. Usually over a period of 2 to 3 weeks, but here they finish all their subjects in one day. The stress is a lot higher on the kids here and they need to perform from a young age if they want to go study at a university one day. This is why often many of the kids will attend private academies - called a Hagwon - until late at night every day. School ends at 2:40pm and at 3pm the private lessons start till 10pm or 11pm in the evenings. They have different type of Hagwons from English to art.  I see kids falling asleep in my classes regularly. It’s hard as the oldest kids that I teach are just a mere 11 years old. There is also a lot of pressure on the parents as they feel that they need to live like the Jones’. Their kids need to be in the best Hagwons and all this comes at a cost. Not just money wise, but there is also a lot of pressure on the kids and it means that some of them only get 6 hours sleep a night… 
This past weekend was Buddha's birthday and therefore we got 2 public holidays. Children’s day (5th of May) honors children globally and the children are given gifts from their parents and extended family. All the stores are filled with toys and gifts for children and many parents take their children shopping to choose what they would like. 
A bunny in e-mart on children's day
One of my 6th graders got a cellphone from her parents. My violin teacher also gave all her students (which includes me) a packet of sweets to celebrate this day. The following day was Buddha’s birthday (6th of May). It is celebrated according to the Lunisolar calendar in Korea. It is quite pretty to see as the whole month the streets and temples have been decorated with thousands of lotus lanterns. These added public holidays made it a super long weekend and a very short week. 

A friend (Zana, which I met on facebook) came to visit. Yes, I realise that this can be very dodgy, but it wasn't. It felt right in the moment. We shared a bed as my flat is quite small, and it felt like I have known her for years. There was plenty of space as I have a super single bed. Back home we would call this a 3 quarter bed, but I made this discovery when I was trying to find an extra pair of fitted sheets and I just couldn't see my size anywhere. With the help of my co-teacher, Ms. Moon, who informed me that in Korea it is called a super single bed. I was shocked to see how much one pair of fitted sheets cost (50 000 won or R500 for one pair) so I decided to ask my family to post me some along with some normal tea(black tea), which I am not able to find anywhere here. 

Zana, came through on Saturday as she lives in a very small town north of Wonju and about 6 hours from Busan, she only arrived the evening. I went to fetch her at the bus station, but because Busan has 4 bus stations, I got confused between Nampo and Nopo and was on my way to Nampo which is in the opposite side from Nopo in Busan. Luckily, I realised it just in time and managed to change direction. Nampo is on the orange subway line in the south of Busan and Nopo is also on the orange line but in the opposite direction in the north of Busan an hour from Nampo. Both Nampo and Nopo is over an hour from where I am in the east of Busan. It is not the distance that makes it far, as Nampo is just a mere 17km as the crow flies from my flat. Because of the many mountains in Busan, it makes it difficult to travel.  Busan is built around these mountains, which makes the city quite stretched out. On the way home, we decided to go to Spaland inside Shinsegae which is the world’s largest department store. Shinsegae is on the green subway line at Centum city station and you can access the department store directly from the subway. They have so many things in there. A Golf range, an ice rink, a SPA(but not like you think) a floor of restaurants, loads of clothing and a lot more. At SPA land (which is on the first floor) it cost 10 000 won, which is R100 for 4 hours. It includes a change of clothes, 2 hand towels, and a couple of lockers. One for your shoes and one for your clothes and bags. At first when we walked into the ladies changing room I got the shock of my life. I didn’t expect to see so many Korean women all shapes and sizes but naked and they were parading around with no shame what so ever! We tried to cover up with the baby hand towel that was hardly big enough to cover my thigh never mind my whole body. Korean woman are also surprisingly bushy! With that aside I haven’t laughed this much in a long time, as the SPA turned out to be rather peculiar. 
The funny outfit and the very small hand towel
First of all, the so called saunas were not a sauna as we know it. There was no steam and the different rooms were decorated quite extravagantly, from pyramid shaped rooms to retro looking rooms. But what made this experience so funny is that each room, just had a different temperature, from 37.7 degrees to 63.4 degrees. It literally felt like some places in Africa. The Koreans would just go in there to get hot and change rooms. There were also other items, which you could choose to pay extra for. You could get a massage, but the cheapest one is 120 000 won (R1200). Or you could go in to an oxygen capsule. Like something you would see in sci-fi movies. It cost 15 000 won (R150) for 20 minutes of pure oxygen. There are also lounges for watching TV in a lazy boy. Or you could go into a private DVD room. There is also a communal bath. Going to the spa is seen as a family event for Koreans. As South Africans would often Braai (BBQ) as a family event, they go to a public bath and it is absolutely normal. Koreans believe in the importance of going to public baths at least once a month. Both my co-teachers ask me regularly if I go to a public bath to get scrubbed. Koreans don’t see us being properly clean if you don’t go to a public bath for a scrubbing at least once a month. According to my understanding, they scrub one another. After my big shock of walking into the changing room I think I might give that a miss, as I might be stared at, especially by the ajumas (older ladies) out of curiosity more than anything else. It will be hard not to stare back, though one should not dare stare as it is not acceptable for doing so. It might be awkward if I happen to run into my school kids there. Just for the record, the ladies have their own public bath and it is separated from the men’s. 

Sunday came and I decided to take my friend to Gamcheon Cultural Village as it is just so worth to see and I think that if you are new in Busan you just have to go there. We took bus 1001 which stops just outside of my apartment in Jangsan. I prefer to take buses as it is sometimes quicker than the subway, depending on the traffic. Often the routes are more direct and instead of travelling underground you get to see parts of the city which otherwise you will never get to see. We got off at Geojeong stop, which also have a subway station on the orange line, so it is also possible to get the subway there. We walked for 2 minutes down Saha-ro road to another bus stop where we got the local village bus(Bus 1).  We were on the bus for 13 minutes and it took us an hour and 20 minutes in total to travel to Gamcheon village from Jangsan.

When we arrived at Gamcheon Village we bought pancakes at the entrance of the village. The man who makes them recognised me from 2 weeks before and insisted on a photo with him.
He was so happy to see me. I will have to go back there, even if it is just for his yummy nutella and strawberry pancakes. Because I have been to Gamcheon before, I managed to take her on a tour and she got all the stamps in less than an hour. When I went the first time, it took us 4 hours to get them all. It was quite fun to do the tour on steroids. 

A couple of fun photos at Gamcheon
We had lunch in the village and then headed to Samkwangsa temple. 

We took the village bus (Bus 1) from Gamcheon village to the bus stop at Saha-ro and got onto the subway from Geojeong station to Seomyeon station. Seomyeon station is the transfer station where the orange and green lines meet. We took exit 9 and crossed the road to the fountain where we waited for the village bus (Bus 15).
In front of the fountain where the village bus 15 stops.
This bus stops at the temple as it is the last stop on the route. Samkwangsa Temple is the second largest temple in Busan. This is the temple where the Lotus Lantern Festival for Buddha’s birthday was held. It was beautiful. We decided to go while it was still light and was so worth it. I really enjoyed seeing the transition from light to dark when the thousands of lanterns came on. It was so beautiful. 







I was surprised that there weren’t so many people, I expected it to be crowded. The one wing of the temple we went up to the 5th floor and the view from there over the lantern-lit temple and the part of the city surrounding the temple, was just breathtakingly beautiful. 



The festival was scaled down because of the ferry accident and I just cannot imagine what it would look like normally. 






On Monday, which was also children's day,  we decided to do a hike. We met up with a couple of friends in Busan and hiked from my apartment to Dalmaji-gil. 
View from the platfrom in Dalmaji-gil
Next to the view point platform in the forest, there is a little hidden trail that goes down to the train tracks. We hiked along the train track next to the coast via the lighthouses to Song Jung beach.
All South Africans! From the left: Susie, Me, Tarryn, Nadia and Zana
Tieing a ribbon for the victims on the ferry that sank.
Front: Nadia, Susie, Me and Zana







Song Jung beach
We wanted to go to the water temple, but couldn’t get a bus as they were so overcrowded that they didn’t stop along the way to pick up new passengers. We should have seen this as a sign not to go to the temple, but we didn’t and went to the temple anyway. We also couldn’t get a taxi as all the taxis that passed us already had passengers in them. So instead we hiked the 2.1km to the temple. We hiked about 8km that day from Jangsan to Haedong Yonggung Temple which is also called the Water Temple. We took a couple of pictures and just walked out as the temple was so busy that it wasn’t worth it. It was sad not to have seen the whole temple, but I will just have to go back there. It is just 1.7km as the crow flies from my school. What makes this temple so beautiful is that it is situated right next to the ocean and the view that is overlooking the water is just so beautiful.
I was born in the chinese year of the rat

The view from the temple

After the temple we went to the dog cafĂ© in Jangsan, then emart where I bought new bedding. Our final stop was Gwangali beach where we sat to look at the beautifully lit up diamond bridge. We had supper and called it a night. Zana left early on Tuesday and I just caught up on my beauty sleep.

I am happy that this is only a 3 day week and am looking forward to this coming weekend.