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| Hello Busan! |
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| Goodbye Rainy Seoul! |
We woke up this morning to rain. While we were getting ready and packed to leave, the rain started coming harder and harder. By the time we were ready to leave the hotel, it was a DOWNPOUR. Emily had been texting us that she was leaving her apartment and was on our way. As we popped into reception to check out, she text to meet us at the Starbucks down the street (there are very few cafes open before 9…Koreans drink their coffee during the day, not first thing!). By the time we made it about 200 yards, even though we had umbrellas, our suitcases were soaked, my purse was soaked, everything was incredibly wet. We ordered some snacks, ate them quickly since they were served to us on trays (waste is a HUGE deal here these days) and took our coffee and left.
It was a very wet walk to the subway, but we knew once we
were there, we wouldn’t be outside again until Busan! That’s the good news. The
bad news is that it was rush hour, so actually getting on a packed train was
quite challenging. As the train arrived, Steve, Emily and Peter pushed in
through one door, Andy and I ran down and he got in on another door, and I ran
to a third door. It was that packed. Unfortunately, the doors caught my bag and
a worker had to push me the rest of the way in!
As the train rolled along, it emptied considerably and we were all able
to reconnect. Eight stops later and we were at the train station!
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| Everyone in their own world |
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| And dad continues to work in the downtime |
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| Views from the train |
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| Korea's landscape |
Once in Busan, Steve and Emily put Pete, Andy and I in a cab
with all the bags because Em had to go the opposite way to a Kakao store and
get the charger she had purchased yesterday replaced (it wasn’t able to be
charged). After a bit of confusion as to
where we needed to go (the driver spoke no English, so Emily had to intervene
two times), we were on our way. 30 minutes later, we were in the area of our
hotel, but the driver wasn’t sure where. I believe he was asking me if it was
on the right or left, but I had no idea what he was saying. I finally had to
FaceTime Emily to talk to him!
I wanted her to tell him to just drop us off and we’d figure it out. As we were all trying to communicate, he saw the small sign for our hotel. Turns out we were right in front of it! What a comedy of errors. Fortunately, Pete and Andy kept saying “Thank You” in Korean, so we were able to express our gratitude (and of course, pay him which a credit card!)
The reception in this hotel is on the 15th floor.
It’s gorgeous inside. The kids’ room was ready, so we headed down to the 14th
floor and regrouped. By the time Steve and Emily showed up, our room was ready
as well, so Steve and I moved in to this amazing suite! Once settled, we headed
back to reception for some afternoon tea as everyone was ready for more food! The
display was lovely.
Em, Peter, Steve and I then went down to the beach to check
it out (Andy opted to stay in the nice air conditioned room). About a half hour
later, and we headed back up to get ready for the evening.
Once everyone was showered and ready, we played a game of
cards in our room (there is a separate room with a table and couch!) and then
headed out to find dinner. We ended up at a Mexican place that Emily had found
with her friend Hailey the last time she was here. We devoured Nachos, Margherita
Pizza (Pete’s request) and Beef Chimichangas along with some really fun drinks.
We then walked along the beach where there were performers, people selling
light up toys, and kids with sparklers. It’s quite a hopping place!
We ended
the night with drinks on the roof of our hotel. Every hour the famous bridge
has a light show which was really fun to watch. So while the day started out
insane, it ended quite nicely.
Tomorrow, more Busan!
The bridge light show at night
OUR AMAZING ROOM!!
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| The view from our window in the day |
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| And the view at night! |
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