Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Shark Attack! Day 1

Since uploading pictures to the blog is a bit of a pain, I think I'm going to do a photo entry with extended captions rather than writing a full entry and adding pictures. First up are pictures from Saturday, the day we arrived in Busan (diving was on Sunday). The pictures are of rather inferior quality since I have yet to get the original files but it's better than nothing. Except where I've indicated otherwise, these photos are by my friend's Luis and S. who promised me enough photos so that my parents and friends wouldn't kill me. I set up pretty quickly on the KTX (high speed train in Korea, reaches speeds of up to 300km/hour). I finally got to finish off Your Mama's Dysfunctional which was a fantastic read, I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in urban poverty and welfare policy.

As seen from the road, in a taxi going from Busan train station to the hotel. No idea who this is other than a pretty awesome looking historical Korean figure.

Dried squid is fantastic. Imagine beef jerky, only with a fishy flavor. Do not believe the doubters for they are infidels!


Our first view of cherry blossoms in Korea. They aren't quite blooming yet in Seoul but they are going in full force down south.
It was grand central for foreigners on the beach. It's hard to imagine that many young expats in one place after living in Anyang.
Flash back to the 80s. I'm not quite sure what this guy was thinking but maybe he is a time traveler!
I actually stole Luis' camera for a bit to take this shot. This woman was just crouched on the side of the road, butchering her fish. Why not?

Another one of my pictures. This seemed to be a smaller dock than the main business hub. Probably just the local's boats.
Sunset, enough said.

On the way to dinner we spotted lots of people playing with fireworks. There was a vendor on the street selling them to whoever wanted them. Imagine the hot dog vendors of New York City and you will get an idea of how common these guys are at night in Busan.

Sparkler madness! I wasn't too adventurous with the fireworks, unlike certain others in our group. I am strongly attached to all 10 of my fingers, thank you very much. After the explosives detour we went off for margaritas and tacos before heading to a local expat bar. Ladies night is a beautiful thing, 10,000 (around 7 bucks American) for all you can drink. Granted, I don't drink very much but buying even 3 drinks makes that well worthwhile. I ended up going home around 11 because I was tired and I wanted to be in good shape for the dive on Sunday.

Next up, shark pictures!

6 comments:

Nancy K said...

There is always a picture of you with a book. Or your journal. You look great kiddo. I am glad that you only played with the sparklers, but those are the biggest I've ever seen!

Alex said...

That is because I always have a book and a journal with me and am usually involved with one or the other! I think anyone who has ever spent any length of time with me can attest to that. :-p

Unknown said...

Cool pictures. I've been looking at the others on facebook. Sounds and looks amazing. Totally jealous on this side of the world. And now for payback. There is a climbing comp at TRC on Friday and I am doing beginner. Also this means there will be finals with really hard climbs and really hot male/female climbers doing the problems. Hurrah for bouldering. Miss you on the wall!

Alex said...

I hate you and your climbing ability! Right now climbing just seems to really exacerbate my ankle situation. I've given up for the moment. I miss the style of climbing gyms in America, that is to say, big. Imagine having lots of people watching you boulder in a small gym and then add the fact that you are the only foreign person and a female to boot. That and it's crowded. I think I need a new sport for the next few months, as depressing as that is to admit. Good luck at the comp though, get Rob to take pictures!

Josh said...

I love the second to last picture...... classic Alex+playing w/fire shot!

Rachel said...

Thanks for the pictures.