When traveling by boat in this part of the world, you’re never quite sure when you move from one sea to another, or whose territorial waters you might be in, until it’s right in front of you…and here we are in Busan, South Korea! 

It’s the only non-Japanese port on this journey, so we’re all excited for this little change of scenery and culture. My friend Young (who is from Seoul) helped pick today’s excursion to the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. She said it’s a must-see, and she wasn’t wrong.

But before we jump into that, a little about Busan. It’s the 2^nd largest city in South Korea  – or just “Korea,” as our guide told us locals refer to their country – and it’s a bustling, glittery, high-rise filled beautiful and deeply cultural city that at sunset looks like this:

Over 3.3 milllion people live here in this major port (it’s the 6^th largest in the world), and it boasts South Korea’s largest industrial area. It also has the world’s largest department store: Shinsegae Centum City at nearly 3.2 million square feet of shopping [gulp]. And in spite of all this modern glass and concrete and machinery, it still feels…like it has a soul. Underneath the big city veneer are crazy fish markets and street vendors selling noodles that grandma made and counterfeit Louis Vuitton socks…

The skies are clear as we navigate what looks like a roller coaster ride but is actually a freeway leading to a bridge. Yikes we’re high up here! We also get a first glimpse of the many massive housing complexes. The region’s geography provides only so much flat ground, so there are relatively few single-family homes; 75% of people live in apartments.

After a short ride, our motor coach somehow makes its way into the hills above the ocean, and drops us as close as it can to the Yonggungsa Temple. As we walk in, there is the usual parade of tasty treats and little shops with touristy stuff, but our guide is on a mission barreling through so we don’t get to sample anything along the way (damn!). The Temple is just around the bend in front of us, but we can’t see it yet…

Right outside the Temple complex gate is a new prayer pagoda donated by the taxi drivers so Buddha can keep them safe. It’s things like this that give Busan the soul I mentioned earlier. 

Down a short flight of stairs, turn a corner, and it comes into view…wow wow wow. And that’s only part of it – as you approach, you cross a short bridge, the waves hundreds of feet below the cliff on the left, and off to the right are incredible carvings of Buddha’s disciples, nestled into the hillside. The complex, first constructed in 1376 (a date of much dispute), is huge, with many shrines and temples and such around every corner, and vast gardens, filled with statuary.

Ceilings and walls of every space are painted intricately, Buddha joyously watches over the garden, and the colorful paper lanterns celebrate him. A beautiful gold statue of the baby Buddha pointing to the sky symbolizes his enlightenment and vastness of his teachings while a dragon protects the Temple’s entrance. It’s all just mesmerizing, and you never know quite where to look.

And to give you a sense of where we are cliffside, above the Sea of Japan (or is it the East China Sea?):

After exploring the Temple grounds, and feeling somewhat in touch with our inner Buddha, or maybe just at peace for the moment high above the waves, we must move on and into the shiny big city. Along the way and once “downtown,” more of these giant apartment buildings (condos?) tower above us. I can’t imagine what it’s like to live in a complex like this (three to five 60-story buildings), let alone manage one!

We’re going to Camelia Park, inside of which is our actual destination, the APEC [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation] conference center. We’re told it’s cool to see, but it’s not historic or anything, and Bobb and I think that sounds boring, so we wander off to just explore the park. We discover a statue of a famous poet, and a maze of walkways that take us down along the water…

Now it’s time for lunch! A short drive through impeccably clean city streets lands us at Mama Buffet on the 3rd floor of “business hotel.” We do not anticipate anything great – a buffet, really? – and in fact consider going somewhere on our own, but figure let’s check it out. OMG! It was amazing. Everything was super tasty and hot or cold and spicy or not and fresh and crispy and there were so many people cooking things right there to keep it that way. We didn’t know where to start! And of course ate way too much – and didn’t skip the dessert. 

With no time to waste after lunch, we leave the office buildings behind, bound for the fish market. The glass and steel gives way to more of the Korean soul I mentioned…everyday people living everyday lives.

And then we’re at the fish market, which starts outside and continues into a main hall that goes on as far as the eye can see. It’s afternoon, so not particularly busy or noisy…most of the fish mongers look rather bored as they water down their tanks…a crab attempts a daring escape…and to our surprise, it doesn’t smell at all. The trawlers are right outside, so everything is super fresh – but some of these things – what are they?!

A few blocks away from the fish market, we are left to our own devices at the Gukje Market. It’s crammed here, one shop after another spilling out onto the street selling everything you can imagine. It starts with a variety of food vendors, serving up yummy bits from carts, and then several blocks of tables where people sit to have noodles. Every noodle vendor seems to be selling the same thing, so we wonder how you choose? Maybe it’s your mom’s friend and so you go to that one?

I love these crazy market streets, as hard as they are to navigate…and as easy as they are to get lost in.

We only get a little bit lost on our way out. Maybe we go left here? We’re definitely headed in the right general direction. We pass a pet store (yes, they have doggies in the window!) and the creepiest wig shop ever (are these about to come to life in some horror movie?!)…

…before we go into a Starbucks (where coffee comes in an actual ceramic mug), relieved we have found the pick up spot. We sit and ponder the day for a few minutes before heading back to the ship. 

It’s been a great day in soulful Busan.