I arrived in Busan in the evening and there was a brewery around the corner from my hostel and so decided that this would be a good plan to kick off my time in Busan.  Galmegi brewing was the name and delicious beer was on pour.

I had a pint and they offered a nice plate of snacks which fulfilled my craving for something to eat.  I opted to stay in the Haeundae beach neighborhood as it was cheap and looked to have some solid stuff in the area.  I strolled along the beach on my way home and there was a sand sculpture festival which was really cool.  I was excited to return during the day to see the creations.  I went to sleep pretty early as I wanted to get up and go for a run in the morning.

The next morning I got up and went for a run along the beaches and coast of the city.  It wasn’t as adventury as most of my initial city runs, but running along the water proved to be

A funny thing happened during my run.  One of the sand scultpures seemed to be perfect for me as it had a runner and figure skater depicted.  On my return the figure skater had been erased and he was replacing it with something else.

After I cleaned up and headed back out, I had heard about a really cool water temple down the road that was unique because most sit at the foot of a mountain and yet this one was at the foot of the ocean. Haedong Yonggungsa Temple was my destination and it did not disappoint.  Certainly one of the more unique temples I had visited.

They had a few interesting statues that I enjoyed.  One of them was a tire and it was meant to be a traffic safety prayer pagoda.

I enjoyed that this was a thing.

I jumped back on the bus and headed downtown to hit up a brewery as well as meet up with the guy i had met in Sokcho.  He was in town and was trying to find a satellite phone for his next adventure and so we figured the mall might have something.  This was no ordinary mall however, it is in the Guinness book of records as the largest department store in the world.  I’m not really sure which makes this one a department store vs a mall as inside they had individual “stores” for each brand and it certainly felt more like a mall then your typical department store.

The brewery was on the roof of the building and it had a nice view and patio area.  However, apparently 4pm on a Monday is not a very popular for Korean beer drinkers as there was nobody else in the entire place.  I got a flight and enjoyed it on the patio.

They had a really cool taster tray which had a pressure plate and an LED under the glass, so when the beer is full, the LED turns on and the beer is illuminated from the bottom.  It was really cool!  I met Calum at the electronics store and unfortunately they did not have a sat phone.  By that time it was food time and I had a craving for fried chicken and beer, so we found a small place which specialized in just that.

It was delicious and hit the spot.  Next few stops were a few breweries in the same general area.

First stop was Gorilla brewing which was also not busy at all.  I had a Monday Pale ale because it was Monday and therefore cheaper as well as a Cherry Sour which was pretty decent.

After two pints, we moved along to the next stop which was only on the itinerary because i had forgot to get coasters the previous night.  However, this was also Galmegi brewings brewing facility and I had gone to the taproom.  Initially, I was planning on just grabbing a coaster and leaving, but we started talking to the bartender and ended up staying for a half pint.

After that, we wandered our way back towards our respective hostels and I think I had a quiet night of planning for the impending move from Korea to Japan.

Calum and I had arranged to meet up the next morning to visit a recommended park at the other side of town, it was a little bit of a hike and instead of taking the subway then bus, we took bus, bus which was a mistake and it ended up taking over an hour to get across town.  We finally arrived at Taejongdae park and decided that we first needed to eat something before starting the loop course.

There was a little strip of places to eat just outside of the park and we saw a bunch of people eating a fish plate which looked pretty good.  The price was on the higher side but still reasonable so we grabbed an assorted plate of fish and went to town.  It was probably some of the best fish i have had in a long time.

The park was along the water and there were several ocean views as well as a pretty cool light house as well as some stairs which allow you to go down to the water.  It was a fun walk and we spent a few hours wandering around.

After finishing up at the park, we took a bus back into town and continued our search for the Sat phone from the previous day.  We had noticed an outdoor store on the bus when we were on the way to the park and so we decided to head back to see if they had one.  But right around the corner from the bus stop was a few breweries, so we decided to check them out on our way up to the outdoors store.  Three monkeys was first and they had a free snack bar, which hit the spot and carried us over until dinner.  The beer was just ok but the food made the brewery a bit cooler.

We then headed to Akitu where i got a flight of some pretty good beers.  They also had some guest taps from the US as well but I opted to stick with their house beers.

After our beer adventure there was one last thing i needed to do before leaving Korea and it’s something I heard was a thing you have to do.  We made our way to the fish market in Busan and selected a stall that had Octopus in it.  I then asked how much a live octopus would be and found one that was the cheapest.  I was then invited to select my octopus of choice and then they took it out and prepared it for me.  Preparation was basically just chopping it into smaller pieces so that when the tentacles stick to your throat, you don’t choke.

I got the plate and as advertised the meat was still wriggling.

I dug in and as advertised the tentacles were still very sticky.  I struggled getting it off the plate and then when it was finally in my mouth it was sticking to my tongue ans throat.  I definitely prefer cooked octopus but this was all about the experience and it did not disappoint.  It was really a weird feeling and I am glad I got to try it!

After our adventure at the fish market, we called it a night and headed to bed.  I woke up early the next morning and went for a long run along the water again.  It was a little windy and overcast which was great weather!

Also, here is an update on the figure skater, the artist opted for a marathon theme.

After my run, I headed to the airport to board my flight to Osaka.  I went to the Korean Air lounge first and all they had was cup of noodle so I went to the other generic lounge and they had a pretty great spread.

I’m Japan bounnnddd!!!!!