Pasco-Jagalcho-Nampo

As we have mentioned many times, my family (Mum, Dad and brother – or Shaz, Gaz and James, as Dave likes to call them) came to visit us in the summer and we showed them around some of Korea.
We started with what we think is the most essential trip when visiting Busan - Jagalchi Fish Market (again). This was my third time there - not that I minded. We wandered around the outside stalls first and down a pedestrianised street right next to the main building. This street was heaving with people and strange fish, and Katie’s fam were beginning to feel like they were in a scene from Alien. There were also some delicious looking cooked fish on offer.

But we weren’t to be stopped by such street-food temptations. We were going to choose our own fish and cook it upstairs in the main Jagalchi building.

The walk through the nearby street had prepared them somewhat for the sights and horrors they would see in the main building. Gaz entered and was overcome by the number of sellers and the exotic things on display.

But again, we didn't stop because hunger was callng. But with so much on offer, how would we find the right fish for us?

With our fish and shrimp chosen, it was time for James and I to watch the gutting.

We sat down and had a lovely meal that Katie will talk about in a future blog. Now we had filled a hole, it was time for the family to explore. James was intrigued by the volume of dried fish on the second floor.

But the ground floor is where the real shocks are.

Glass Fish??

Colourful Fish

Even the Koreans won't eat this!

After we eventually left Jagalchi, we took a short walk to Nampo Market. We wandered and wandered and eventually James bought a t-shirt.

"Unfortunately, the psychic was not Batman" - riiiight.

Afterwards we went to see a musical fountain in the Lotte Department Store (still in Nampo). This fountain is very special because it can display writing in water – ahhh technology. The department store is expensive but worth the trip for a sit down and coffee while watching the fountain, and the fact that the toilets have free mouthwash – awesome!

We left and tried to find Busan Tower. It’s quite easy - you just look up.

While Katie’s family wandered around Yongdusan Park and Gaz took hundreds of photos, Katie and I watched, and took photos of Gaz taking photos.

They then went up the tower while we relaxed and took some pics from down in the park.

The day finished with a nice stroll through Nampo at night and then, of course, some more eating.

What a fantastic day - we all had a blast!

Dan in Busan

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!

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)

Weekend Funtivities Part 1

So what else have we been doing besides being told how handsome we are in school, eating handy drinksnacks, snapping photos of vans, getting lost on buses, ordering chicken’s feet and ignoring sea shells as a food source? Well, when the weekend begins, we usually have a busier schedule than an Essex abortion clinic. So here is a brief look at some of the funtivities that we have gotten up to.

Hiking up Geumjeong mountain in Pbusan was an interesting experience. We got to see a fortress wall (the longest in Korea) that was built to prevent a sea invasion from Japan, which never came. The day started with a large group of us meeting in a nearby station and half of us getting lost on our way from the train station to the bus station across the road – not the best start to a hike! It was a sunny day leading to the inevitable sunburn on my neck, face and arms – don’t worry mum, I now have sun cream (Thanks Shaz!).

We met an old Korean man who hiked the mountain every Saturday and was wearing a Top Gun hat so will henceforth be known as Iceman. Iceman must have been sixty odd but loved the hard exercise to see the mountain views and he showed us a great place to get a beautiful view of Pbusan.

We also saw the lack of wildlife in Korea, distinctly birds – there are none. Dad, I’ve been looking but so far my list is as follows:

Crow – 10

Magpie – 8

Pigeon – 15

Misc – 2 (they were really high up and looked like birds of prey but no idea what kind)

In fact, the official bird of Busan is the seagull and I am yet to see a single one. Maybe it’s a seasonal thing, so I won’t hang my binoculars up just yet, but I’m not hopeful. 

I did see a butterfly on the hike, but that was it (aside from the crows). In fact, so far the only “wildlife” I have seen since arriving is one spider, a handful of stray cats (and one dead one outside my apartment building this morning) and a few flies. Tell the BBC to put the breaks on Spring Watch: South Korea for the time being.

After the hike, we got dinner and some rice got stuck to my lip and it got caught on camera to forever be remembered.

Next up is Jagalchi Fish Market - Korea’s largest and smelliest fish market. Words cannot do this place justice; here is a collection of some of the horrors on display here. (I would just like to add here, that I was actually surprised by how unfishy the market smelt, all things considered. Definitely not as offensive to my nose as walking past the fish counter in Sainsbury’s on a summer’s eve)

Selection of Sea Creatures

Intensive Fish Farming (battery fish)

Face Huggers

Fish for Sale

Squid

This massive fishporium was incredible! On the second floor were restaurants so we ordered some food. I wanted chicken but the restaurants only served fish for some reason. So we went for this slippery fellow, Houdini. Like a punch to the stomach, Houdini could do nothing to escape the inevitable gutting and slicing that ensued.

Houdini was barbecued and we enjoyed him a lot – what a great guy! Thanks fish, thish.

We then went up Pbusan tower where we could see for miles despite it being slightly overcast. (I had to take Dave’s word for it when it came to the view – I don’t do heights!)

Even from here, the smell of the fish market was strong. We didn’t realise but it was actually coming from us and our fish stained smelling clothes.

Afterwards we washed the fish smell off our clothes and Houdini’s blood off our hands and continued our adventure. We went to the Pbusan Kite Festival, which was in the arse end of the city, right at the end of one of the subway lines. We watched some kites on a beach but there weren’t many on display. However, it was a good opportunity to drink beer with loads of waygooks (foreigners) on the beach and talk about our strange experiences. Next to the Kite Festival was a fountain billed as the “largest in the World” by Korea’s official tourism website. If this is the World’s largest then the World needs to step up a gear in fountain making and get on it because it was lame. I’m pretty sure I can wee with more ferocity than this fountain can produce. Maybe it is Korea’s largest fountain but I’m pretty sure that the fountains in Las Vegas and Dubai are both bigger and I reckon higher than this one. I say “reckon” higher because despite waiting for over an hour for the fountain to be turned on, it was not actually opening until later that month... and we couldn’t wait that long. The World’s largest disappointment (after the chicken’s feet) would have to wait for another day.

Beach and Kite

So we’ve now seen the longest fortress wall, the largest and smelliest fish market, the kiteist festival, we met Iceman and Houdini, and saw the largest disappointment in Korea. I even had time to see a very informative sign placed over a drain in a ladies restroom.

Good advice. See you next time.