Well for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere I'll just make this quick statement and then move on. For the last 2 weeks I have not seen the mercury drop below 25. And there is no doubt that I am living in a beach town. Now onto other things.

The district of Gimhae is about an hour and a quarter by subway to the west from where I am living. There seemed to be a few historical sites in the area that were worth checking out so that's where I headed. After a while the subway emerged from underground and I was able to gain a look at the countryside. After we moved past the outer suburbs it became very agricultural. Fields and fields of low growing crops, surrounding Gimhae Airport. It was about here that I had to transfer to the Busan Gimhae Light Rail system. This is a driverless train system that covers 21 stations along 24kms of track. Once you get over the initial nervousness about being on a train with no driver the extent of the engineering and technology is quite impressive. The first place on my list of sites to visit was the Royal Tomb of King Suro, so it was only fitting that I exited the train at a station of the same name. One thing I have noticed in Korea is the inconsistency of signage. Quite often you will find a sign indicating the place you are looking for. Just a direction, no indication of distance. And that is the last sign you will see. From then on it's down to your sense of direction and keen eyesight. Fortunately Gimhae is not all that built up and the King's tomb holds a place of importance, so it was fairly easy to find. The king's legend is interesting. Apparently he came down from heaven on March 3, 42AD and on March 15, 48AD he was proclaimed King. He took Princess Heo from India as his wife and the rest, as they say, is history. The Queen died when she was 157 years old. Yep, you read that right, 157. She is buried a little further away in another Royal Tomb. The tombs are actually just that. They start off as a large hole in the ground which is lined with wood. The body is simply laid there, not in a coffin. They are also buried with food, pottery jars etc. and in some cases their servants, who were sometimes buried alive. After the tomb is covered with wooden planks it is then covered by a huge mound of earth. In the King's case it was about 16 metres in diameter and about 8 metres high. Surrounding the tombs are various buildings that are used for prayer, storing religious items and the like. Gimhae was a stronghold of the Garak Kingdom and various burial sites have been found. A couple of very good museums in the city provide a thorough background.

My next outing was a little closer to home in the Jagalchi-Yongdusan neighbourhoods. Yongdusan is home to the Busan Tower, a 120 metre high observation tower which provides fantastic views over Jagalchi harbour and further afield. It's a little surprising that at street level there is very little evidence of smog but once you attain some height, be it a mountain top or in the case the tower, the haze/smog is quite noticeable. But nevertheless the view was still quite good. From up here I could see my next 2 "targets". Gukje Market and the Jagalchi Fish market. Gukje Market, apart from providing a sensory overload also provided me with a place for lunch and some new sunglasses to replace the ones I lost about a week ago. Lunch, fried packets of noodles floating in a very tasty broth, was a real treat and the sunglasses were much needed. The sun glare here is a killer. Being on the coast the Busan area is famous for its seafood, and it is all on display at the fish market. Everything is sold live - octopus, eel like creatures, huge crabs, sea pineapples (and they're not fruit) and fish of every shape, size and colour. That's the first floor. The entire 2nd floor is taken up with eating places. You can buy your fish downstairs and bring it upstairs to be prepared for your meal. Having just eaten I wasn't hungry but I think it warrants a trip back there for the culinary experience. Leaving the fish market I was in time to see the daily opening of the Yeongdodaegyo Bridge. Apparently it has some historic connection to the refugees of the Korean War and is opened every day for a period of 15 minutes. It appears to cause traffic chaos but equally it also seems to be just accepted as something that happens.

I'm finding that on most nights I head down to the beach after dinner, unless I decide to eat down there as well. It is a hive of activity and a pleasant reprieve from the heat. Little wooden "stages" are all along the beach and these are occupied by buskers, magicians, fire twirlers and all manner of entertainers. On Sunday night there were even hot air balloon rides. Tethered to the ground the balloon would rise about 10 metres into the air, giving the locals an aviation thrill. It's almost a constant carnival atmosphere. The latest addition to the beach is a huge temporary swimming pool. It hasn't been filled with water yet so not exactly sure what its purpose is. Stay tuned.

It's a little hard to believe that I have been in Busan for 3 weeks - only 2 weeks to go. It's a very comfortable place to be. Koreans by and large are quite welcoming and despite the language difficulties will do their best to make you feel welcome. I'm looking forward to experiencing more of this fascinating country when I move on from here.