Day 8: Busan Day 2

It's been awhile since I posted, oops! I'm currently sitting in a cafe at the end of my week in Sinchon (Seoul) and trying to catch up on all of my blog posts for the week before my flight to Jeju tonight (so yes, I have left Busan, spent a week in Seoul, and I am leaving Seoul today and I haven't made a single post during all this time haha). I have been making notes of things I want to remember for each day and I am just going to write the post as if I was writing it on the actual day the events happened. So, on to my second day in Busan...

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I was just going to leave yesterday's events (concert day 1) out of today's post but then I had some thoughts while I was hiking today that made me want to talk about it a bit more. Yesterday was a rough day. I travelled for way longer than I expected to and came to a city where no one spoke English. Then I ended up in a motel that I don't really think is meant for people that want to go there to sleep. I felt lonely, homesick, and frustrated and I contemplated just heading back home to Canada early. The concert was crappy, no one cheered and it was way too cold. The performers weren't great and I spent most of the time sitting and waiting until it was appropriate to leave. I came back to the hotel super tired and missing home. I told myself that I would go to the concert the next day, make it through the next two weeks, and then go home. This morning I didn't want to move, so I didn't for awhile. By 2 pm I was too hungry to keep lying in bed and I went outside to find food. There's a park near my motel and I Googled places nearby because I had no idea where to go. It ends up that Jungkook's hometown was somewhat close to where I was and the walk there would take me through a park and forest. I had no idea what else I wanted to do with my day so I started walking. It turned into a 2 hour hike through a beautiful forest that was so relaxing and exactly what I needed. The reason I started this post off by complaining was because I wanted to mention something important that I realized today. Just because I'm travelling doesn't mean every day is going to be mind-blowingly amazing, awesome, or even happy. Being on the other side of the world doesn't magically make my mental health perfect. I'm not going to love everything and that's ok. There are going to be so many days that are amazing and I have already experienced some! I don't need to be out exploring or doing something new every, single day. I could be here for quite awhile and I need to remember that it's ok to take rest days without feeling guilty about it. Today was just a good day in general to remind myself that it's alright to have bad days and it's not the end of the world so I don't need to go planning my trip home or freaking out about life decisions. Ok all done, thank you for reading through my rant!

I also learned that next time I go hiking through a forest I should bring bug spray... And to everyone that laughed when I said I was going to go hiking when I got to Korea, I told you I would! My cardio is so beyond terrible though and I can only hope that it improves at least a little by the end of this trip. I can't keep dying every time I try to go up a mountain while all these ajummas and ahjussies are just casually strolling along.

I grabbed an ice cream snack thing (I'm not exactly sure what it was but we have something similar in Canada) before I started my hike. I have discovered that I really like banana flavoured things (like milk, ice cream, and candies) and the ice cream was banana flavoured so I couldn't pass on it.

The path I was supposed to walk to get to Mandeok-dong. The way I actually ended up going was a lot more squiggly because I kept taking the wrong trail. The green patch is the park (which was very large) and the grey area near it is all the mountain.

There were also some really big, scary looking spiders that were all along railings and things at the park near the bottom of the hiking trail. They definitely looked poisonous so I'm planning to stay far away from them.

They were a lot bigger than normal spiders. I tried to get a good picture but also didn't want to get anywhere near it so I just ended up zooming in a lot.

I spent the majority of the day hiking and then walked around Mandeok-dong (Jungkook's hometown according to Wikipedia haha). It was super small and very different from anything I had seen in Seoul. There were lots of kids out playing in little parks, the streets were much tinier, and the houses looked older but they were very colourful and cute. There were also so many businesses along the streets that were all completely open and had stalls full of seafood and fruits that spilled onto the sidewalk. It was a very cool experience and super different from the places I had visited so far. I would be happy to go back once my Korean has improved!

After wandering for a bit I bussed back to the stadium and walked a different path to get back to my motel. I passed by the Busan Sports Complex, which looked huge! There were tons of restaurants and shops inside the main building. My walk to my motel also ended up taking me back through the forest and it was so much uphill climbing that my legs were burning by the end of it.

I was super hungry at this point and tried to find a place that served bibimbap (my favourite meal) or one that didn't look like it only had intimidating seafood. I was going to give up and grab something at a convenience store when I found a cafe that served western food (super lame and unadventurous but oh well!). I got a regular sandwich and a yummy iced fruit tea and then went back to my motel. I grabbed my ticket and trekked to the stadium... by this point I'm pretty sure my legs were shaking and my feet were so sore from all the walking.

Day 2 of the concert was better! The groups performing were ones I knew and had music that I enjoyed. The fans were a bit louder and I packed a scarf that I could use as a blanket so I wasn't cold. It is still a cool feeling to actually be there in person and watch people perform the songs that I listen to all the time on my phone. The concert also gave me a new appreciation for BTS as performers. There was maybe one group out of the 15 or so that I saw perform over the last 2 days that had even half the energy and happiness that BTS had on stage. Many of the artists looked like they were going through the motions of the choreography and few of them looked like they actually enjoyed the music that they were performing. I tried to keep in mind that the level of their performances could have been affected by the lack of response from the audience and maybe they would be better at a different concert. However, a lot of these groups don't write their own music like BTS so maybe that also affects their enthusiasm when they're performing? I have even more respect for BTS as artists now and I hope I can find another group that performs like them (there are still many I haven't seen).

I face-timed my mom on the way back and complained loads to her about the previous day. I also mentioned a few things that I had noticed including:

- It's hard to find garbage cans on the street here but there never seems to be much garbage just lying around

- I get stared at... a lot. Even more so in Busan because I was one of the only foreigners there. It's super uncomfortable and I wondered if this is how other people feel when they come to Canada. It's not as bad in Seoul where there are more foreigners but I hope I can get used to it soon.

- There are no squirrels. At all. I don't think I have seen a single one since I got here. There are lots of pigeons though!

- I miss random foods like rice milk and Tim Horton's bagels.

- The streets feel super safe. Even when I am walking around late at night I don't feel worried at all.

- Everyone seems to dress like it's way colder out than it actually is. I don't know if it's because Korea is more conservative, or because I tend to overheat really quickly, or because they find it colder than I do but I am always shocked at how everyone is wearing long sleeves and long pants in the sun.

- It's really easy to find food without milk in it but almost everything seems to have gluten in it.

- Fashion here is so much better than in Canada. People dress really well and all the shops have amazing looking clothes in them that aren't super expensive. It makes me feel a little self conscious because I definitely prefer comfort and I would take my baggy hoodie and jeans/leggings over heels and these other fancy outfits any day.

- There are street food stalls everywhere! There are many more in Seoul but even in Busan it's hard to walk up a street and not see at least one stall where you can buy all sorts of food and treats for 1,000 - 3,000 won.

- Convenience stores are amazing here and you could live just fine by only shopping at them. There is everything from ramen to bread to ice cream to toiletries and there are convenience stores on every street.

Today was a fun day and I am really proud of the amount of hiking that I did, although I know my legs and feet are going to be so tired tomorrow.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Emily

(October 3, 2018)

Distance walked: 14 km