So we left on Monday the 27th, hopped in Eric's car and started our journey towards Kita Kyushu/Shinomoseki Port. It would have taken about 6 hours or so, but there was some snow and the Japanese don't know how to drive in the snow so it took like 7 hours. It was quite beautiful however and the drive was fun overall, it has been a long time since I took a road trip. Everything in Japan is all trains, so it was nice being in a car for once. We hopped on the ferry at about 7 pm and started the drinking.....too much for my liking. We sat at a bar and there was literally no one there...a little disappointing, but we entertained ourselves. We went to sleep and when we woke up we were in Busan, S. Korea. I didn't sleep well, I guess it was all that rocking on the ocean. It was overall a good experience, but I will stick to airplanes from now on.
Once in Pusan or Busan or whatever the spelling is, we headed to our hostel on the other side of town. We hopped the subway and had our first experience of being totally unable to speak any Korean. It was a weird, helpless, and shocking feeling. We became so accustomed to being able to order and ask for directions and now all that was out the window, and once again, we were the stupid foreigners.. Once out of the hostel we went to PIZZA HUT and had some real pizza, pizza that isn't paper thing like the Japanese style. I know it sounds stupid, but I don't really like Asian food all that much, so why only eat that nasty stuff. I like to enjoy good ol American Food! We then headed to Igidae park on the coast. We went hiking around the coast and it offered an amazing view of Busan. Check it out
The next day we went to this sweet gun range. Again, I know, why do all this American stuff?? Well they don't have guns in Japan and we were with this Brit named David who had never fired a gun of any kind in his life. So we jumped on the opportunity, we headed to Huandae Beach, which would be awesome in the summer and went to the gun range. When we arrived, they said sorry we don't speak English, but Eric and I looked at each other, smiled and said to them, we can speak Japanese, to which they responded oh good ok let me explain. It was an interesting experience being in another country and using a language other than English to communicate. The reason they could speak Japanese is that most of the people that go there are Japanese because they don't have any guns in Japan. So we went in and my guide was speaking to me in Japanese, saying breath in and out, Sutte, Aite. I took up the Glock and fired away to the tune of 99% accuracy. The next gun was the Luger, aka cowboy gun. I asked him to put it back to 15 m and started shooting away. I got 7 out of 10 terrorist head shots!! haha, so much fun.
I wasn't lying about the 99%
After that we went to Beomusa temple or something like that. It was nothing special, I did get one really cool pic though (below). I have decided that I am done going to temples. I have seen the best ones in Japan and now nothing can compare to them. Most temples look the exact same, so I think this was my last temple visit. Unless I go to Hiroshima, in that case I will go to the Water Temple, but other than that they are getting boring, kinda like churches in America. Once you've seen one, you've seen them all.
We partied it up on New Years at this Foreigner bar, but it seemed like they all knew each other, so it was hard having any good conversations. It was fun though, a different experience ringing in the New Year in a different country while everyone I know is back in 2010....
The next day we headed to Seoul on a bus going on no sleep and still intoxicated. It was a nice nap, the countryside in S. Korea is definitely not as breathtaking as the Japanese countryside, but it was still fun to see more of the country. We arrived in Seoul, ate some Subway, Taco Bell and then checked in to our hostel. It was a fun little place and we met some cool foreigners. I was at one point having a conversation with a guy from France, a girl from China, a guy from Japan, and a girl from Cambodia. Everyone could speak English. I love our language, haha.
The next day we went to this Japanese Prison that they used during the occupation. The history between Japan and Korea is very bitter because the Japanese violated all sorts of human rights from 1910 to 1945. For example they would take young girls and use them as sex slaves for the soldiers. Japan has yet to admit it did any wrongdoing, so the grudge continues to this day, much like some Japanese hate Americans because of the Bomb. This prison was very interesting because it showed the oppression suffered and the unusual torture techniques of that time. There was a box lined with nails on the inside, they used to put Koreans in this box and kick it around stabbing the prisoners with nails. They also used a form of water boarding back then too. The prisoners were forced to work 12-14 hours a day making clothes and other things to fuel the Japanese war machine. After that they would return to their cells which are located outside with no heat.. I can't imagine the cold they had to deal with, many died from hypothermia. There was also a execution building, it was very eerie there, basically it is just a noose and a hole that the body goes into after to be disposed of. It was a very sad place, but it was eye opening and it was nice to learn more about the conflict between the two countries.
After that we went to the War Memorial museum. It was so much fun to see all the big planes and tanks with American stars and stripes on them. The U.S. was basically fighting and funding a lot of the Korean War for the south. I like being an American in S. Korea because you can tell that Koreans appreciate Americans for helping them fight the North. We took some fun pics in front of all the tanks and planes. Inside we wandered around for about 3 hours. There was so much history to read that we were there for longer than expected. It was good because now I can understand the conflict between north and south more clearly.
AMMMMMMERRRRIICAA!!
We went out and did the Seoul nightlife, which is crowded just like Tokyo and Osaka nightlife. It was fun, but not really my style. I don't like dancing shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of dudes. We also went to the Seoul Tower, not great, but it did offer a great view of the city at night.
So that is the trip in a nut shell, fun, interesting and educational. I have some more stories, but you will have to ask me when we talk next! Miss everyone and wish you all a Happy New Year.
