Well my last week in Busan has been relatively quiet. I started the week with a visit to Gamcheon Cultural Village. This is a "traditional" village built in terrace style on the side of the mountain. It has now become something of an arts and crafts centre, as well as a very popular tourist attraction. It has what can only be described as a quirky feel about it but it was quite interesting to stroll the streets and alley ways that dart off in all directions. I caught the bus there from the subway station. Although it was only a little over a kilometre it was quite steep, so bus was the way to go. However when it came time to go homoe I thought I would walk and take the opportunity to have a look aroound. After all how hard could it be to walk a kilometre downhill. The answer is not very hard at all. Until I found that I had missed a turn and was now over 2 kilometres from where I wanted to be and to get there I had to walk back up the hill I had just walked down. So it was a very hot, sweaty and somewhat tired Doug that eventually found his way to back to Toseong subway station. At the end of the subway line is Dadaepo Beach, the highlight of which is a massive fountain, which shoots water jets 50 metres high and is apparently a real spectacle to see at night. I wasn't going to have the time to see the night time display but there were hourly displays in the afternoon so I thought that would be a good alternative. So with some anticipation I took up my ringside seat, along with quite a few locals, just before the advertised 3pm show. Some announcements came over, kids lined up ready to run through the water, but alas nothing happened. I waited and waited but after 20 minutes came to the conclusion that nothing was going to happen. Even the locals were confused and a little miffed. So the Koreans seem to be able to manage a very efficient transport system, but fountains are obviously a bigger challenge. An hour and a half of people watching on the subway and I was back home.

This week also saw the start of the 23rd Busan Sea Festival. This festival runs across the 5 main beaches in the Busan area and is basically a music festival showcasing some of Koreas best talent. The infrastructure which has been built on the beach is amazing. Absolutely massive stages, temporary swimming pools, bars and eating places spring up overnight. And the current spell of very warm weather is ideal for being outside and on the beach at night. The variety of music is wide, hip hop, rock, jazz, Latin and Korean. All backed up with simply stunning light shows and the inevitable fireworks, usually launched from a boat moored just off the beach. All in all it's quite a spectacle. And I was stopped on the beach and interviewed about my thoughts on the festival. Apparently it was going to be broadcast on a screen somewhere, including my name, but unfortunately I never got to see it. So every night in my last week has been spent on the beach soaking up this wonderful, friendly, highly entertaining atmosphere. It's certainly a memory of Busan that will stay with me forever.

And somehow, somewhere, 5 weeks has flown by and my time in this fantastic place has come to an end. And so the final week begins. A fast train ride to Seoul, 4 days of exploring a city which is both historic and modern, and then Friday my flight home. Only one more chapter left to write.