The Busan suburb of Gimhae, like Seoul Incheon, is home to the regions large international airport, and probably the only part of the town people see. However like Incheon, Gimhae also has a rich historical heritage that is worth a second look instead of always heading to the airport. This weekend was the Gimhae Gaya festival. The Gaya kingdom was in the southeast of the country between Busan to Daegu, until it was eventually swallowed by the Shilla Kingdom of Gyeongju several centuries ago. There is still a strong historical legacy in the town which you can visit, and which was being celebrated during the Gaya Festival. We took a bus from Daegu Soebu terminal in the south to Gimhae, which lasted almost 2 hours for 9300w ($8.50). This seemed strange since the airport bus which is slightly further only costs 7600w and is 1hr 15mins. Arriving at the Gimhae bus terminal we saw many tents set up next to the bus terminal with giant festival balloons above which normally accompany festivals. Thinking this was the festival conveniently next to the bus terminal we headed over, only to find this was a bullfighting ring. We had been to the Cheongdo Bullfighting Festival last year and decided to skip it this year. (see blog entry Cheongo Bullfighting Festival http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-e ntries/londone7/1/1302170344/tpod.html ) The setup was the same as the Cheongdo Festival. There was a circular ringed seating area with a sand arena in the middle. Bulls were brought out and would horn restle for about a minute before running away. The bulls had the names of their towns or owners painted on the side. As we had seen this last year and not what we had come for we headed away from the terminal to find the Gaya Festival. There is a new monorail line which opened last year running north/south along the river. The festival was setup along the riverside path heading northwards. There were many festival tents setup selling traditional crafts. Often you see local specialities at these events. Gimhae is famous for ceramics and there were many ceramics vendors selling wares you dont normally see in other parts of korea. There was also a food vendor selling squid dough balls which I hadnt seen before in other parts of korea. They pour a mixture into heated ball mould, drop a piece of squid in the middle, and slowly turn the balls around so that they harden all around the piece of squid. Then they serve it with sauces. It was nice to try something new, and unfortunate that food doesnt really travel in korea. Usually a dish particular to a region can only be found in that town or city and not in other parts of korea. Thus, you sometimes have to travel for certain delicacies which are not found elsewhere. After heading thru the lengthy bazaar tents we eventually made it to the main festival area. There was a giant stage setup but no interesting performances when we were there. There is a performance schedule ranging over a few days but we were only there for the saturday afternoon. Similar to the Daegaya Festival in Goryeong last year, there were some traditional Gaya activities that you could experience. A popular one was the burial experience where you can lie in a coffin and have the lid placed on. (see last years entry Daegaya Festival http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-e ntries/londone7/1/1302011384/tpod.html ) There were also costume dressup, and other activities such as straw weaving and ink pressing. In one area is a small elevated building housing an excavated pit with clay pots. We explored the adjacent royal tomb museum as well (described in the next blog entry) The festival itself did not seem as much fun as the Daegaya Festival last year which had a stronger portrayal of Gaya heritage. It was however a good reason to get us to see the town of Gimhae as well as the Royal Tombs and National Museum (see next entry Gimhae National Museum and Royal Tombs) Perched on top of a mountain is an observatory. The tourist office said it can only be reached by taxi so that is something to head back to on another trip. Back at the bus terminal we saw more bulls and planes fly by as we were in the airports flight path (see blog entry Busan Gimhae Airport http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-e ntries/londone7/1/1299486757/tpod.hml ) Along with exploring the Royal Tombs and National Museum (see next entry) it was a fun day out at Gimhae with perfect clear weather. Its worth going back to see a few things we didnt see such as the observatory, or Gaya History Park where dramas are filmed. You can reach Gimhae by intercity bus from Daegu or Seoul, or you can take the new light rail line which connects to the Busan Metro system.