Vacation Day 2 - Impromptu Hiking

I'm not writing about day 1 because it was mostly spent packing, cleaning my apartment, traveling to Busan and exploring the area around my hostel in Busan.

This morning it was pouring down rain when I woke up. So I decided to set out and find museums and indoor activities for the day. First stop...foreigner shopping district, which I never actually found. I did, however, find Busan tower and decided to take a trip to the top. The view was beautiful, but I couldn't stay long, because it was REALLY high and I was starting to get nervous. By that time, the sun was starting to come out and I considered changing plans and hiking. Alas, I didn't. I decided to venture on into Busan to find the UN Memorial Cemetery and Busan Museum. After walking in a big circle, I finally found the cemetery. There were many different nationalities of people buried there. I was a little surprised.

Then I went to the Busan Museum. Closed on Mondays. Of course. So, I was going to move to Haeundae Beach and check out the aquarium. As I was walking to the subway, there were many delicious smells coming from the shops around me, and I was getting hungry. I saw a place that had pho and spring rolls, and after a brief debate, decided to go in. It was good, but still not as good as real Vietnamese spring rolls. Sometime while I was eating I considered the possibility that the aquarium might be closed on Mondays as well. So I decided to go see the Geumjeongsan mountain fortress instead, because I didn't think a mountain would be closed.

The bus ride up the mountain was harrowing...for me at least. No one else minded it. The driver was taking the curves winding around the mountain like a professional race car driver. I had to close my eyes and breathe to get through it. Fortunately, while my eyes were closed, I heard him say "migook saram," otherwise, I might have missed my stop. The East Gate of the fortress was beautiful and I decided to hike along the border for a bit, or at least until I came to one or two more gates. Not far into the hike I met a 65-year-old man training for a marathon. He gave me a pamphlet about himself and the marathon and asked a few questions about me. He told me to go ahead of him, so I went and changed trails. I didn't think I needed to wait for him, he seemed kind of slow. I walked along and took some really great pictures. When I got back onto the main trail, two men said hello to me and yelled back behind me. There was my new friend up ahead. I think he must've been asking people along the trail about me. When I met up with him again and told him where I had been he told me I had gone on a dangerous trail. Oops, oh well. Since he seemed concerned, and very kind, I decided to walk with him. We tried to communicate, each with limited knowledge of the other language and I learned that he used to be an athlete and I think he said he competed in Italy at one point. He also really likes to sing and has a 26 year old son...Same American age as me. I left him about 2k from the peak, because I was starting to get worried about being back before the sun set. I think I could've made it though, and am a little sad that I didn't finish and get to talk to him more.

Then I came back to my hostel's area and had chamchi jiggae and here I am....trying to decide what adventures to go on tomorrow...