Last Monday was the Lunar New Year, so Monday and Tuesday were national holidays. After Graham's departure I was not looking forward to the prospect of 4 days without him or work to keep me occupied, but luckily some of my friends came to the rescue. Ever since Graham has left I have been inundated with kind messages and offers for dinner, drinks, etc. I am so grateful to have such good friends in Korea, and it's nice to know that others recognised how important Graham and I are to each other and how much his absence would affect me. I'm going to miss so many people when I leave. This is the problem with travelling so much - my friends just keep on spreading further around the world. Whilst that's great for diversity and future travel, it's not so great when years pass by before you get the opportunity to meet up again.

So, on Saturday morning 6 of departed Gwangju bus terminal and headed for Busan. It had been a long time since I had visited Busan, and there were many things I had not seen in this huge city. One of my friends very kindly put together a comprehensive itinerary for our 3 days there, so all I had to do was follow along - perfect! We checked into Wow hostel at Haeundae Beach, which was very nice and perfectly located for restaurants and bars in the evenings. We then headed back on the subway to Beomeo-Sa Temple. This was very large temple, but unfortunately some parts were closed off due to restoration work. There was a 6 hour hike up to a fortress, but as it was already late afternoon, we just did a couple of kilometres of this, up to a great view point at one of the fortress gates. That evening we ate at a Mexican Restaurant, then took a night time walk along the beach path at Haeundae beach. This was followed by some drinks and dancing by the girls, whilst the boys played pool and darts.

On Sunday we went to visit the UN cemetery. I had been here before, but was happy to see it again, as it is so peaceful and beautiful. It is a very fitting place of rest for the many soldiers, from around the world, killed during the Korean War. Until coming to Korea, I had always thought that it was just US soldiers who had fought, but now I realise how many countries participated and were affected. Next we went to Jagalchi fish market, which is very famous in Busan. It is a street market next to the dock side, and you can buy kinds of weird and wonderful fish and seafood. The Koreans love their fish to be fresh, so you can buy it alive, or semi-dead, as well as dried, smoked, grilled, etc. They even had eels that were still alive, but had been skinned and beheaded, which made them look like intestines - not at all appetising to me! Next we went to Busan tower, in Yongdusan Park and stayed there until sunset. The tower is only small, but I thought it was much better than the Seoul tower, as the scenery is much more impressive, and it was a very clear day. It was nice to relax up there in the café and watch the sun set behind the mountains, and then watch the city lights come on. After our busy day we went to eat more western food, followed by more drinks, dancing, pool and darts before heading back to our hostel.

On Monday we went to Haedong Yonggunsa Temple. I had heard very good things about this temple and I'm pleased to say that it lived up to my expectations. The temple is set in a cliff and the crashing waves provide a dramatic sound track to the location. There were many visitors; however it was not as busy as usual, as this was New Year's Day. We spend a long time exploring the various statues and buildings, climbing up to viewpoints and over the rocks. It was a perfect end to a perfect trip.

Maggie x