We arrived in Pusan, South Korea yesterday at 0900! We were greeted by blue skies and warm temps...we got the pilot on board at about 0830 and headed for the city. Busan is separated into three different islands, our mooring spot is at the international cruise terminal, the southern most part of the harbor (also the farthest away from the city) We share the mooring area with the Korean Coast Guard and across the bay is the Busan Maritime Academy which has over 9000 students! After we tied the lines up and were cleared for liberty, everyone in the division headed inland. The school chartered buses to take students to the middle of town which is about 3 miles from where we are. Unbeknown-st to us however we took a taxi...we started the day in Huandae beach which is the most northern part of the harbor and also the tourist district, the taxi ride was 30 minutes and only cost 19,800 KOR which is less than 20$. There were a lot of brand name shops and hotels however the Korean culture mixed in nicely and we were able to experience it nonetheless. We ate lunch at a Korean barbecue place and I was not impressed, it was very spicy and really weird mix of octopus ribs and mussels in a weird noodle and sauce combo. After lunch we explored the little markets in search of something to drink and then headed to to the beach to relax in the awesome sun. The beach was very crowded and full of white people, tons from Canada! After awhile we ran into more CMA guys and then decided to split and head into the Casino! We hung out at the Hotel/Casino and I won 60,000 KOR (70$) off of only 1$ in the slot machines! After that we headed to a fish market and sampled some stuff and got into the real culture of the place. The Koreans like spicy, fried, tentacles and very exotic foods. After seeing all that we wound up at TGI Fridays! HAHA we ate some Korean/American appetizers while we planned where we were going next. By this time it was getting dark and we decided to head to the Jagalichi Market in midtown where there are suppose to be clubs and bars and an upbeat nightlife. We took the taxi back down and got there with 4 hours to spare (I had to be back to the ship at 2400) It was Buddha's birthday so there were celebrations all around and people everywhere! The air was muggy and gross and being amongst so many people was overwhelming. If you think that 15 people is to many for 1 elevator, in Korea they'll try for 30! It was fun to walk around the nightlife, there was a lot to do and see and I cannot wait to go back on Sunday for my half day liberty. The plan right now is to go to a raw fish market, and international market and this place called Texas street. It is a lot of fun to be in a new country, this place is surprisingly crime free for the amount of people here and not to dirty. Everyone is having a great time, today was our watch day and I am standing the 12-4 watch and then doing some light daywork, the fuel barge has been here and we are fueling and offloading trash today. Attached is a picture of the south city from our ship...Love You All and stay tuned for more updates on Korea.
V/R,
CDT Jonathan Anderson
Squad Leader, Division 6 MT
Corps of Cadets
California Maritime Academy
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