Our Weekend: Thing 1 and Thing 2

This weekend was a pretty lazy one for us. We met some old and new friends in Nampo on Friday night and tried a few more bits of street food. So far I am still loving the pajeon and hotteok more than anything else. We deposited one of our friends onto the last metro and had an early night. I think the highlight of this night was discovering that Beer Mart stock Hooch, the ridiculously controversial alcoholic drink. We had one for old times' sake and after one my face started burning, which suggests it's probably a good idea they're not available in the UK anymore...

Saturday was all about the puppy cafe as it was a little overcast and dull, although I was very disappointed by it. It wasn't half as nice as With Cat in KSU and was very dirty. I definitely wouldn't go back, and wouldn't recommend it.

Saturday night some of the girls got together for an impromptu night out in KSU. I feel like Tasha and I may have ruined the tone as all the other girls looked so sophisticated, but we decided to wear our Thing 1 and Thing 2 T-shirts that I bought us from Universal Studios when I went last year.

We went for some amazing food in a gorgeous restaurant tucked out of the way from the main street in KSU and then hit Ol'55 for the Busan Haps launch night. We watched a few bands and had a few drinks, then ended up drinking at Family Mart out on the main street. I'm surprised how many of my nights turn out like this nowadays. I wish this was something that could be done in the UK, it's so cheap and nice to bump into everyone you know as they walk past to wherever they're headed that night.

Sunday was lovely and sunny again so I went to meet Ethan on Songdo beach. I am so envious that he lives 30 seconds away from the beach. Although the view is a bit questionable at times, as lots of ships drop their anchor and float around on the horizon all day.

That night we headed back to Nampo where we had yet more street food (gross chicken and mandu) and saw the last few hours of Sunday from the top of Yongdusan Park, below Busan Tower. This might become one of my favourite spots in Busan at night, it's so pretty and is only improved by the fact that you can buy a Cornetto while you're up there!

Friday Favourite V8: Street Food

At the end of every week I'm going to write down one thing I love about Korea. Last week it was the ice cream shop Baskin Robins and here is this week's (a little late)...

Imagine playing russian roulette with food, that's the only way I can think to describe street food in Korea. You never really quite know what you're getting or how good it's going to be, until you take the first bite.

Living near Nampo, I think most people would be surprised that it's only in the last month or so that Tasha and I have started eating it. Nampo is packed full of food stalls. There's the international market, the back streets of Nampo and also the stalls packed into PIFF square. They're brightly lit with lots of people milling around, grouped together and eating food. Running down from the square there are these tiny tents, all with mini seats and tables where you can pick your food and drink and take a pew.

I that love late at night when we walk home from Nampo we walk past these tents that are dotted through the backstreets, which're sometimes zipped up. You can hear the revelry of the business men inside, but it kinda feels like a private, soju induced party that we're not invited to!

So far we've tried BBQ'd chicken which was pretty good, waffles which Tasha is a massive fan of, fried shrimp, fried hard boiled eggs and kimbap 김밥(sushi rolls) which I could take or leave. My two absolute favourite things is pajeon 파전 which is a savoury pancake/omelette with lots of greens and meat in it, and the best thing I have tasted so far is hot-tteok 호떡 which is a sweet, deep fried pancake that's stuffed with nuts, which unsurprisingly always has the biggest queue for.

Pajeon

My first try of hotteok

Tasha with hotteok

In one of the tents eating fried shrimp

Our weekend

You know when you wake up wearing a glow stick that's lost its glow and ears full of sand that you had a good night the night before.

We managed to cram alot in again this weekend. Street food in Nampo along with drinks with friends, a hike to  Seokbulsa temple, a BBQ,  a masquerade party on Songjeong beach and topped it all off with some camera shopping and Gossip Girl on Sunday night.

Seokbulsa temple was well worth the hike. It took us a couple of hours as we repeatedly lost our way as we were working from two different sets of instructions. If anyone wants to try it, my instructions are below. It was slightly disheartening to see once we'd risked life and limb down steep rocky roads (which made you hum the Indiana Jones theme tune) that there was a smooth tarmac road leading straight to the temple. Yet when we got there, for a short, peaceful while we were the only people there and it was amazing.

These will be the last pictures courtesy of Natasha's camera, on Sunday morning when we went to look at the pictures from the previous night, it made an ugly crunching noise. Evidently the sand we've been finding everywhere in our apartment also made its way into her camera too. Sad times. R.I.P camera, you've helped us to record many happy memories so far.

Mmmm Floppy Prawn

Loves that it's polite in Korea to get others to pour you a drink

Ridiculously cheap beer that comes in awesome vases

A baby beer vase and the most incredible soju cocktail. Psst,
see the hole in the table? If you pop your drink in there it keeps it icy cold.

Pretty proud of ourselves that we managed to drink it all

On the way to Geumjeong mountain , this is the wrong entrance

Cable car ride up Geumjeong mountain

Hiking to Seokbulsa temple

Being over taken by ajummas on the way to the temple

Giving ourselves a breather near a waterfall.

The hike was obviously not enough exercise, so I decided to give
the exercise park that's half way up the mountain a go.

Trying not to collapse after the steep hill.

The temple's bell.

The shrine to Buddha at Seokbulsa temple.

Wall carvings at Seokbulsa temple

Hitting the soju at the BBQ.

Masquerade bonfire party at Songjeong beach

Sparklers and fireworks at Songjeong beach.

How to get to Seokbulsa temple:

-Get yourself to Oncheongjang which is on the orange line, exit 3. 

-Go over the road by the bridge on your right hand side, which leads you into Homeplus.

-Best instructions ever; once across the bridge just head for the mountain! Once you start getting a bit closer there are directions to Geumjeong park. 

-We walked past a big map that showed the entrance to the park to be on the left hand side. We ambled into what I think was another temple that had a really colourful entrance gateway (the picture is above with me stood underneath it) carry on heading this way, until you see another footbridge and car park. This leads you straight into the park.

-Head towards the cable cars, these are through the amusement park. You should see all the rides and a massive dinosaur statue.

-Tickets were 7,000 won for a return fare.

- From the cable cars you need to head to the South Entrance of the fortress that's also on the mountain. Basically, we can't read enough Hangeul to know when we got to the South Gate. But the first time we noticed a sign post that was only pointing to every other gate, we veered off the path to the left and followed the signs for Nam moon Village.

-Keep heading down the hill (the road forks off but we stayed on the left hand side).

-Eventually you'll come to  Nam moon village. It's obvious that it's the village as there are lots of restaurants and volleyball courts (they really are obsessed here!).

-Take the path on the left just as you reach the volleyball court.

-Keep walking, past more volleyball courts, you'll eventually go over a wooden bridge.

-Soon it becomes really rocky and was pretty hard to manouvre down, these rocks turn into perilous steps, which then turn into steps that are a bit more civilized.

- At the bottom of the steps there's a waterfall, and if you just follow the path down on the right hand side of the stream, you'll eventually come to the tarmac road.

-Turn right onto the road and enjoy the steep climb all the way up to the temple!