My first ashore trip, having been too lazy at Dalian and not in the mood on account of the rain at Qingdao. Busan was on the original itinerary, but was changed by the cruise company after Christmas due to friction between North and South Korea. At that point, Nagasaki was substituted but after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, we reverted back to Korea. With an additional stop at Seward in Alaska, a day before disembarking at Whittier.
Apparently Busan was the scene of massive fighting in about 1953 – but you’d never know it now. It’s a busy, thriving city, stretching for miles along the coast and bordered inland by mountains that look picturesque from all angles. Four of us took the shuttle bus from the ship to the Phoenix Hotel, our drop off point downtown. We had a student doing his first day as guide on the bus; he had a little trouble pronouncing certain words and raised a laugh with his ‘Penis Hotel’. Pat C, being more charitable than the rest of us, took him aside for a quiet word to ensure he didn’t spend the rest of the day as a figure of hilarity amongst shuttle customers. She felt he didn’t know what ‘penis’ meant anyway, so no harm would have been done. And more people would have been able to report this in their blogs…. Anyway, we were deposited outside the hotel, paid a quick visit to Starbucks to get water, visited a beauty shop with a beautiful shop assistant to get more wet wipes (staples on a trip like this!)then looked for the local city tour bus we’d seen advertised. With half an hour to kill, we explored the area around the fish market – some seriously strange fish here. Some of them looked really unappetising, almost poisonous. Surely you’re not meant to eat bulbous orange fish with blue tinged spikes? Doesn’t nature make them like that to warn you off?
Although the city is swamped in signs – you could be killed if they all fell down – they are partly in English, so Busan seems a lot easier to get around in. Quite a relief really, after Russia and China; you don’t appreciate roman letters until you’re in a part of the world that doesn’t use them! You can get seriously lost if you can’t read the signs!
Busan is a beautiful city and the tour we were on – more than 1.5 hours – took us through the main city and out to Gwangalli Beach which you can see in the top picture (reminded me bizarrely of Bondi Beach…same shops and cafes..) and further on to Haeundae Beach, full of luxury hotels and apartments and expensive boats. Everything was so clean and attractive – if the exchange rate were favourable it would be a great place to live, or spend a few months of each year. I’m thinking about it. We returned to the city via the amazing Gwangan Bridge, which just floats across the bay in an ethereal sort of way, in the mist which descended from the mountains now and again. Apparently at night it is magical, with over 100,000 lights twinkling along its length. Finally, before reaching the bus station and getting a taxi back to the International Cruise Terminal, we passed the city Arboretum and the UN Memorial Cemetery, where there are graves of many allied servicemen who died between 1950-53.
So, the ship: this was the first time I’d been off it and able to view it from land properly. Quite an amazing sight, so huge – and from the right angle a bit predatory! Like a shark. I have to say, after exploring most of it, that my favourite spot on board is still the stern open area, with a small swimming pool, splash pool and three hot tubs. It also tends to be quite empty, perhaps because of the ‘breeze’! But you get fantastic views and a feeling you’re alone on the ship. A nice place to go if you want to avoid the other 2,799 people on board. Or thereabouts.
Patamateria 