Busan Trip

For Buddha's Birthday, (or, literally translated, "The Day Buddha Came") we had a three day weekend.  We decided to head to one of the largest cities in Korea, and a very popular coastal destination, Busan.  We went with two friends, Christina and Clint, and we had an awesome time!

We arrived Thursday night, and stayed in a hotel directly across from Diamond Beach, with it's beautiful bridge.  It was so nice to be close to the ocean!  Here is a view from our hotel:

Here is around our hotel, Diamond Beach Area

On Friday, it was Buddha's Birthday, and we knew there would be a lot going on at the local temples.  One of the most beautiful temples near Busan is Haedong Yonggung Temple.  When we arrived, it was bustling with people and vendors set up for the Lotus Festival.  The temple is situated on the cliffs overlooking the ocean, and it was decorated with lanterns for the occasion.  Even though it was crowded, we still had a great time wandering the grounds.

Bradley, with his Chinese Zodiac sign (Rat)

Carrie, Year of the Ox

Rub this Buddha for a son . . .

Bradley said a little prayer for when he goes back to school!

Peek-a-boo!

Goddess of Mercy

Main Prayer Hall 

View from above, the beautiful lantern covered courtyard

Trying (and failing) to do the cliche "hold famous landmark in your hand" shot 

Ahh, ocean breezes

Saturday, we woke early and headed to the U.N. Memorial Cemetery.  Here, servicemen from the  all over the world are interred who served and died in the Korean War.  It was a very peaceful and beautiful place, and had a nice exhibit room where there were some artifacts from the war displayed.  One Canadian woman donated the telegraph she received from the government on the news of her son's death in Korea, another family donated letters home from a soldier, and there were many pictures of the men who died there.  There was also a very nice tribute wall with the names of all the soldiers killed during the war (though not all were buried here) and a long waterway called the Daunt Waterway, dedicated to the youngest person buried in the cemetery, an Australian soldier who was only 17 years old.  It was all very nicely done and the grounds were beautiful.

Korean soldier/guard

Eleven flags for the countries that sent soldiers to fight when North Korea invaded South  Korea, and the U.N. Flag

Magpies are everywhere in Korea

Greece's monument 

Philippine's Monument

New Zealand Monument

This was so moving; in the area dedicated to Turkey, Turkish people had sent gifts of soil from Turkey to rest with the soldiers.

French Monument

Daunt Waterway

The Memorial Wall

Memorial Wall

Exhibition Hall

For the Unknown Soldier's path, there are eleven steps and eleven fountains for each country

Flag raising ceremony

Next, we headed to Busan Tower, and took a ride to the top for panoramic views of the city and some nice shopping afterwards!  Found some beautiful Korean pottery to take home :).  Later that night, Christina and I headed to the World's Largest Department Store, Shinsaegae, home to a very large bathhouse, and we indulged for several hours.  It was SO relaxing . . . I am SERIOUSLY going to have to find one in Koreatown when I get home!

Admiral Lee Sun Shin, famous leader from the Imjin Wars, Japanese invasion of Korea in 1500s

"Toy" setting on camera

 Sunday, we headed to the Aquarium, which was nice, but VERY crowded and so a bit hectic.  When we finished there, we headed out to Haeundae Beach, perhaps the most famous beach in Korea.  While the weather was a bit overcast, it was still nice to enjoy the smell of the ocean and the crash of the waves before we hopped back on a bus to Gwangju.

Nice pose!

Busan made Bradley and I VERY excited to come home, because it reminded us so much of Long Beach.  We recently bought our tickets to California, but we will be stopping in Malaysia, Cambodia, and Vietnam before we head home (woohooo!!).  This trip to Busan reminded us of all the beauty we have waiting for us at home.  It was a great trip in a wonderful city, with great friends!