My Chusok Holiday Vacation

Well, I just enjoyed having a 5 day vacation from school for the Chusok (Korean equivalent to Thanksgiving). The holiday was on Tues the 24th, but the get off the day prior & the day after the holiday for travel purposes. The entire country is in MASSIVE gridlock getting to & from their relatives house. They no joke, stay in the cars for 20 hours sitting in traffic trying to get to their grandparents homes. It's a good time to visit Seoul, or Busan (like we did) during this time b/c these cities are so dead. We enjoyed a nice, peaceful train ride directly to Hauendae Beach in Busan where they are currently setting up for the Pusan International Film Festival. Same city spelled either with a "p" or "B". We checked into the Koreana Motel and stayed in the EXACT same room that I stayed in 3 weeks prior with Kim & Dan. It was $40 per night ($20 each). The beach was nice, a little cloudy, and very very windy. I left my bag on my towel with my cell phone, money, passport, etc. on the beach while I played beach volleyball with a bunch a Western English teachers from Canada, UK, USA, etc. Met some really cool guys from Florida, got their numbers and made plans to meet up with them for dinner. Had a bit of a challenge deciding where to eat. One guy, Dave, was really drunk, cranky, irritable, etc. and was complaining about every suggestion that John made. We couldn't get into the first restaurant we tried b/c it was very crowded and had a long wait. So we decided to head to Outback Steakhouse for some nice Western food. It was great, there we got to eat the good ole fashioned way, with forks, knives, nice BIG linen napkins!!! (that was my fav part) Have I mentioned how tiny & small the napkins are here in Korea??? They are (well, I guess lots of things are very tiny in this country). It felt good to eat at a normal sized table with regular chairs & silverware. (ah the simple things with take for granted) I had a nice 20 oz. Prime Rib dinner & a Foster's beer. It was rather expensive ($30 for one person) compared to Korean dinners which cost $17.00 for 3 people. But it was worth it. That night we went to a popular Western hang-out bar called U2, had some drinks, played some cards, watched people dance, etc. Then we took a cab downtown to this new club that was giving out FREE draft beer to any foreigners who gave their phone # or email address. It was kinda dead bar, with very few people there. I stayed out until 3:30am then took a cab to the Paradise Hotel & Casino. I took out 100,000 WON to play Blackjack & left 20 min. later with 195,000 WON in my pocket. Then I went to McD's for a "victory/celebratory" burger & fries. The next day we took a one hour boat ride on the ocean touring all around the big port city of Busan. It was cloudy, overcast, and drizzling (what else is new in Korea). We've had rain here approx. 70% of the days I've been here I'd say. They say they are getting the "rainy season" rather late this year. We met up with our friend Jo from New Zealand (the woman who introduced herself to me the first day in my apt) who was there visiting with her parents. From what I heard from Lisa, Jo was SO SO EXCITED and eager to have her parents there visiting Korea with her. Lisa, being a mother of two boys, couldn't believe the amount of sheer joy & happiness that Jo had as she was "counting down" the days before they arrived. A little different perspective compared to the relationship most Americans have with their parents. After the boat ride, we went back to Outback for lunch ( I had the chicken finger salad). Good and a lot cheaper than the steak. Went back to the hotel for a lil nap, (I was exhausted from being out until 5am and getting up at 9:30am) I helped Lisa use my computer to check emails b/c her step-mom had passed away. I then walked her back towards the shops, where she was, believe it or not going BACK to Outback to enjoy the "Chocolate Thunder From Down Under". I walked around and with my backpack, & bathing suit looking for the Haeundae Spa (Sauna, steamroom, bathhouse) It was so so great!!! Similar to the Hot Springs in Bugok Hawaii. It cost me $6.00 for admission. I changed at a locker, got naked, showered up and went hopping in & out out many different pools ranging from freezing cold to piping HOT!!!! This place was so great, NEW, clean, and very crowded for 8pm on a Sunday night. There were TONS of Korean men there (I was the ONLY) foreigner Westerner in the whole place. I was kinda surprised that there weren't any other tourist there. I thought maybe I was at the 'wrong' spa; that maybe the foreigners go someplace else. I really enjoyed that many hot saunas and steam rooms there. I went in & out of them, dipped in the cold pool, had very strong jets massage my back, etc. It was great being there with all these other men, seeing the Korean men playing with their sons, running around naked, jumping in & out out these many pools. It was something you don't really get to experiences much back in the States. This type of free, open, self-expression, and nice innocence to men being themselves, free to run around and play with each other in these pools. I must admit that I thought it was a bit strange at first, to see them wrestling each other naked in these pools. But it was nice to see how the Koreans act & behave with one another. Total male bonding at it's best. After the spa, I shaved, showered and changed and proceeded to the Thai Massage place. There I enjoyed a wonderful 2 hour Thai massage while lying down on this heated pad; There were approx 4 other men in the room with me getting massaged at the same time. They turn you, twist you, stretch you all while massaging you at the same time. It was so so wonderful. I especially enjoyed the thorough foot massage that I received from her. After here I went over to meet John & Dave U2 for a little bit. Didn't have anything to drink b/c I was feeling so cleansed from the massage & the Spa. Around midnight I went over to the Paradise Hotel (my fav place to hang out & chill over there) I talked to the manager of lounge about getting internet access and finding a power outlet so I could watch the Jets play the Dolphins LIVE at 1pm EST which is 2am Monday morning in Korea. I paid $18 to access the internet from the hotel's portal, had a nice Chamomile Tea w/ some cookies. I watched ESPN's NFL Gameday and stayed up to watch the first half of the game on my laptop via SlingBox Media Player that is hooked up to my brother's cable box in Hoboken, NJ. I can watch any TV station that he gets at home in NJ. I usually record the Jets games & watch them on Monday afternoon after school. You can't be away from NY for a year w/o the necessary amenities needed for survival you know? NFL football & the Jets are definitely a necessity one cannot live without. They were winning 28 - 13 when I went to bed.

The next day we checked out of the hotel, I went back to theParadise Hotel to relax in the lobby and then I made the mistake of going back to the Casino again. I went to the Blackjack table & quickly proceeded to lose 90,000WON in less than 15 min. I wented out for a delicious Korean lucnch which cost $4.50 inc. tip (they don't at all in this country which is nice). Then I went to play more Blackjack and lost another 70,000WON. All in all, I lost $65, but it would have been nice to be up $95 like I was the first night. It's just so hard for me to walk away & not go back and play again. Oh well, that;s why they call it gambling right?

I took the 4:30 train back to Miryang and got home within an hour. It's great to be so close to such a large city with so many fun things going on. More details as to how the rest of my Chusok Holiday was soon. Gotta get to bed here now; it's 1:25 am Saturday morning. G-Nite all