We headed back to Busan on Sunday (because some of us had to work the next day!) and got Dan settled into my flat. Due to my school having mid-term exams, I was able to leave early on Monday so I decided to take Dan to one of the most interesting (in my opinion) sites in Busan – one of Korea’s best fish market. Not the biggest, but still very famous. We have already written about it, back in April, so I won’t go into detail – you can skip back and read if you can’t remember.
So anyway, we headed there for lunch…now, Dan and I are complete opposites when it comes to food – he loves trying anything new and I am much less adventurous. Nevertheless I ended up trying my first sashimi! It was dogfish, a kind of shark, and we chose it from a tank, still alive, and then headed upstairs to wait for it to be prepared. It was brought to us on a big plate with lots of extra bits and bobs to go with it. It took me a while to muster up the courage but there I was, chopsticks poised over the plate, ready to go, when I noticed a twitch. Dan thought I had just psyched myself out about it, but as we stared at the plate it became clear that some pieces of the fish were twitching! Needless to say I avoided those, and had a couple of definitely-dead bits. Dan also tried something called a Sea Squirt, which has been described by Lonely Planet as tasting like “rubber soaked in ammonia” – Dan said it was like an oyster but not as nice.
On the Wednesday afternoon Dan was invited to my school to watch a jazz band that was coming to perform in assembly. It was…interesting. I’m not a fan of jazz but I did recognise a few tunes and we had a laugh. It was definitely weird hearing “Fly me to the moon” in a Korean accent!
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| Panda Dan Didn't Get Naked |
Last week you saw how much Dan liked to get naked. Well this entry is no different. This time we spent a good hour enjoying each other’s company while being fully nude. In England, this sentence might sound a little strange but in Korea, spending some quality naked time with a friend is very common. In fact I can now say that I have seen more than a hundred Korean penises. What’s this you ask: Have I now become a prostitute with a very impressive client base? Did I really come to Korea to become a penis doctor or “dicktor”, if you will?
The answer to those questions are “unfortunately not” and “no, but I like the nickname.” Actually, Dan and I went to a Jimjilbang called Spaland, in Shinsaegae – the World’s largest department store. A Jimjilbang is an interesting place for a foreigner. It is basically a spa where there is a communal area with a variety of saunas, cold rooms and places to get massages and such. And then there is the segregated section which separates the men from the girls. Here it is custom to get fully naked and enjoy a variety of baths at varying temperatures while checking out everyone’s package. For Koreans to see Westerners experiencing this, it is particularly exciting and you are met with more than a few stares. I don’t have any photos so please keep reading.
Spaland is a 5 star establishment and I left feeling very relaxed and with an inflated ego after comparing myself to the country with the World’s smallest penis size. An average of 3.8 inches. I’m just glad I wasn’t in these baths in Ghana. Check the link out to see why...
(http://www.everyoneweb.com/worldpenissize/)
What else did we do with Dan to stop him from going barking mad with boredom? Well the next tail is all about a night out that ended up as a right dog’s dinner. The tail starts after a long, hard night and we all felt a bit ruff. We were walking to a restaurant when we herd about a terrierist in the area so we thought we best be alert. We stopped at one of the many marts and bought an energy drink that gave us all a new leash on life. Anyway, Dan needed the bathroom so marked his territory up an alleyway. Mutt-erring to myself about my hunger, I herded the ravenous pack towards the restaurant.
Let me paws for a moment and just say a few words before you continue. I came here for new experiences so please throw me a bone and don’t pass judgement.
So for dinner, we decided to eat something a little different to usual. My Korean friend, Lindsay, took me, Dan, Katie and our friend Tom to a restaurant where we could order the illegal dog soup– it’s about as illegal as picking your nose to be honest. The soup smelt like dog and tasted like dog but, it was actually very tasty.
I had a traditional Korean chicken soup, which was really bland and disappointing. I did try some of the dog soup, and while the meat wasn't anything to write home about (although we clearly are!) I did think the broth was delicious, really fully of flavour.
I know a lot of people will hold Great disDane to me over this but I feel like it needed to be blogged about and I hope you found it punny. I also wanted you to find the story fetching and not get too hot around the collar over it. Until next time, goodbye. Oh and please don’t hound me for naked pics please ladies. (all puns thorough-bred-ly intended)
