June 12. Masan.

Yesterday we went to Klay's birthplace, Masan. Masan is a fishing/port town of what looks to be a couple hundred thousand, about 40 miles west of Busan. We had to hire a car for the day to get there; the train doesn't make it down the coast and the buses were real milk-runs. But the car was cheap and the driver was really nice.

So this is a picture of the highlight of that city -- the fish market. Any picture of this world inside a world would not do it justice; you will need to see the video and the SLR pictures. Thousands of littel boothes crammed into a market with unimaginable foods and.....smells. sorry I can't take that home and give you a wiff. just imagine how these live octopus smell. That should do it.

Oh, and we finally figured out why Koreans never wear their shoes indoors. You can only imagine what was stuck to the bottom of our shoes after we goth through this place.

The town itself was a working man's town. Gritty and a little dirty. The docks were busy, and the shops were packed. Lots of trucks taking things out of the port to other parts of the county. And the people -- as nice as ever.

Now, we did go to Masan to let Klay get a feel for the town in which he was born. Since it was fish, and there was no soccer readily apparent, he said that it wasn't his first choice. But he didn't let go of his mom's hand very much this day, either....

OK, here we are at the temple. What were we thinking? Temple, kids. Not a great mix. But the place was beautiful. This was a working temple...tons of older Koreans hiking up the mountain to pray. Tons of elaborate individual temples/rooms. Pretty awesome deal.

The boys, they liked ordering hot chocolates out of the street vending machines for about $.50 a piece.

Got a cab arranged to take us to the town of Klay's birth, Masan, tomorrow. We will go to what we are told is the best fish market in the country. Won't sit well with Klay, but we will have a chance to look around this town...

Can't stop without saying thanks to this 90-year old lady who helped us in the subway. Had a ticket malfunction, and this lady took us by the hand through three trains and got us the cab to the top of the mountain. Kindness is the order of the day here. Can't count the number of people who have come up to us and said "thank you" in Korean, and the old ladies who have taken Max on their laps on the subway rides...

June 10.

It's a Sunday at the beach. Nothing with the cast net...again...but a great soccer game in the sand. Lot's of spectators rooting for Klay and Max against me and Kristy. And then to the exploring to the end of the beach and into the fishing village. Amazing fishing shacks, and live and salted fish everywhere.

So, Kristy decided we would eat seafood soup in one of the little shacks on a narrow street. Here is max eating something...don't know what. This was something out of Fear Factor. Everything was chewing and oddly-shaped. Don't ask about the smell. We got most of it down, though. We know it was at least fresh because when the big pot came out to be cooked at our table, most things appeared to still be alive. then the lady cracked open the shells and scraped things out right there, and cut up the octopus right there. The crab looked like it was already cooked. But in short, it looked like everything that you could buy in these fish tanks lining every street in this beach district...

One good thing about eating here. No tipping. In fact, no tipping for anything. Even the bellman at the hotel refused money. Here good service is expected, and folks here would be and are offended if they thought you expected better service with extra cash. That is a very nice thing. And, no sales tax. So everthing is a simple price. 1,000 won, period.

Finally, safety is not always a concern. Just check out the street bumber cars. Powered by car batteries, and wildly dangerous. And fun.

Tomorrow, it is into the mountains to see the oldest Buddhist temple in the country.

...And here we are in Busan, at the Westin Chosun Beach Resort. We booked this thing online using our Lonely Planet book as a guide, and it sure seems to be a good choice. This is the vacation destination for Koreans and other folks from around the globe -- lots of Germans and French here. This is a looooong way from the orphanage at Pyongtaek, that's for sure. What is amazing is that we came all the way here for a little vacation inside our vacation, and the theme here is America. McDonald's, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts. Now, this isn't really Busan, but a beach area that is isolated from the rest of the city by some pretty serious mountains. We came through them in a tunnel. So we are already anxious to go into the city and see the sights -- the fish market, and the biggest and most significant Buddist temple in the country in the hills above the city. In a day or so, we will head over to Masan, the town of Klay's birth. Not sure how we will get there, but we will figure it out.

Already tried Max's cast net, which we lugged over here. Drew quite a crowd, and almost got a big fish. Probably poisonous and would have killed me, but almost had it.

Y'all will need to watch our video of the boys in the bathroom...using the "bodea" for the first time. I didn't spell that right -- butt washer is the American word for it -- but the looks in their faces have been caught on film when the thing started to do its work. The look of surprise. Well, a lot more than surprise. Klay is getting a butt massage on the toilet as I write. No kidding, the thing vibrates.

And we have experienced the odd Busan tradition of bumping tourists. Folks will walk down the street and bump into you...hard. We were warned about that in the books, so we can take it in the spirit given. A quirky thing that makes this place so interesting...That and the hillside across the bay that looks something like a hillside in Sicily. Ahhhh, a European vacation in Korea...

....a picture from the KTX train. Rice, a town, and some mountains. And building cranes are everywhere!

June 9th...

Here we are on the KTX bullet train on the way to Busan. This is really the way to travel. 185 miles an hour, and they don't even need drink holders. Cans sit their on the table in front of you. We went from Seoul, with 20 million people in the city and the surrounding area, to little valleys and rice fields. What a green, and rural, country. A lot like Weste Virginia, I think. Every little piece of flat land is used.

A 2 hour and 45 minute trip. Beats the heck out of air travel...

Well, we started feeling pretty American again right after Pyontaek, because our next stop today was Everland. A complete Disneyland knockoff, we think. But they must have been pumping drugs through the air there, because it was actually a lot of fun! Not a whole bunch of rides, but we've never seen a cleaner, friendlier place. this place is Korean for sure, given that it is wedged into a valley and steep sidewalks are everywhere, but the attention to detail is incredible.

So a good first week for our adventure. Lots left to do in Seoul, but tomorrow we get on the KTX, the Korean bullet train, and head to Busan on the souther coast. A vacation in a vacation at the Westin Chosun Beach Resort. Supposed to be the choice of all ex-pats. I can only assume we can get an internet hook-up without having to take the laptop to the top of the Eastern Guest House and hold it above my head, so we will plna on letting you know tomorrow about the bullet train....