Saturday, July 2, 2011

Busan

I spent last weekend in Busan.  It is Korea's popular beach haven located in the Southeastern part of Korea, and it's about a 3 hour bus ride from Gwangju.  Margaret and I headed down on Friday night.  When we got off the subway, we were greeted by a torrential downpour.  After we found a motel and dried off, we headed downtown.  Our first stop was Eva's, which was basically all westerns.  For the first time, I felt like I was back in Philadelphia: hipsters, chucks, and my first lesbian sighting.  It was a chill venue with a live band playing; nothing special, but they added to the atmosphere.  After that we headed to Thursday Party.  This is where I met my favorite bar snack to date: fried spaghetti.  I am not sure how it is made; I am thinking they put angel hair pasta into a deep fryer and salt it after.  It is super crunchy and salty.  

On Saturday, we headed to Gwangalli Beach where we had brunch.  It was a cloudy/rainy day, but I was happy to actually see one of the beaches.  After that we headed to the world's largest department store: Shinsegae Centum City.  It was 11 floors of pure heaven.  They had EVERYTHING!!!  From Korean clothing brands, to common luxury brands sold back in the states.  They even had a movie theatre on the top floor and a gourmet supermarket in the basement.  There I found a bottle of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay (which is one of my mom's favorites) selling for $50 (usually $15 back in the states)!!!!  On Saturday night we went to see a friend's band play; the main reason we headed to Busan.  The event featured about 8 or so bands/djs from all over Korea.  It was a good time, and all the acts for the most part were really good.  All in all, good weekend, regardless of the crappy weather.


Gwanglli Beach




I loved their glasses

Korean style brunch




Shinsegae Centum City






Cheers


Fried Spaghetti