Busan

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

October 12, 2024 (Busan, South Korea)

As we approach Busan from the sky, I have never seen such a sight as this city with skyscrapers in the hundreds, and all look like the same architect did the design. And all in the same shade of white. They come in sections; I can’t imagine what type of neighborhoods would serve monsters like these skyscrapers.  Once we landed and drove toward our hotel, seeing the structures at ground level and how the buildings are set in the hills reminded me of Lun*na’s hometown of Moji-ko, which is close to Busan, with only the Sea of Japan separating the two.  Once we are in our hotel room on the thirteenth floor facing the beach and the ocean, it feels like the good life of a crazed Fellini film, with a touch of Jacques Tati spending his holiday on the seashore. 

The name of our hotel is Grab The Ocean, and it is located at Songdo Beach, which makes sense because we are facing the sea.  Twenty stories tall with a restaurant/bar on the top floor. I haven’t gone yet because I’m exhausted from our trip today. I got up at 5:00 AM, and we had to leave the home at 7. We took a taxi to Meguro Station and got on the Yanamote line to Shinagawa Station to take an express train to the Narita Airport. While obtaining a ticket for the trip to Narita, I noticed the ample space at the station. The vastness, the height of the confined space, and the rapid movement of Japanese citizens and foreign tourists - I can feel the movement inside me as I stand perfectly still.  The dizziness of the surroundings caused me to grab my wife’s arm, and she could sense I was about to have a panic attack.

I felt comforted once I got on the express train and knew I could be secure for an hour to the Airport. I have no trouble being on a plane or train in a confined space; the vastness of the universe makes me sick.  In the mini-market at the station, I bought unsalted peanuts and French Toast, prepared as a plastic-wrapped sweet. It actually tasted like French Toast.  Each airline has its security method. The American style is brutal, but every airport now has self-help where you have to do the work instead of a security person.  Sometimes, it is hard to deal with after eleven hours of flight in a cramped position on a small seat, and you’re sitting in the middle of two people.

Busan is an hour and forty-minute flight, but getting to Narita, dealing with the mechanics of luggage passport control, and then waiting for your actual flight to Busan is longer than the actual trip to one’s destination.  Perhaps because I’m older, traveling disconnects me in a fashion where I have to focus on the procedures of getting from Point A to Point B, the anxiety of the thought of making a mistake, and worse, one where you can’t fix or change. Being trapped by one’s doings and unable to fix them causes me some vertigo-like symptoms.

The purpose of this trip to Busan is to be with family here. It is a grand gesture to do something we all enjoy.  For example, eating.  My nephew arranged a series of taxis to go to a series of food stands with dining areas. There are six separate restaurants, and to me, they seem to be the same. Busan is famous for seafood, and it’s impressive to see trucks and cars coming here to deliver fresh seafood and eat. There are no napkins, but toilet paper rolls hanging on the wall for those who need to clean their hands. It also has wet wipes for hands as well. The intensity of the food, both taste and service, is something I will not forget. We were served octopus cut up but still moving around the serving plate. Once in your mouth, the octopus clings to your teeth for dear life. The Koreans call this dish Sannakji (산낙지), served with sesame oil. Another dish that impressed me is fish cake on a skewer covered with gooey and chewy cheese. The dish is called Eomuk. Both dishes are popular in this area, and beer is the natural companion. It’s very much a street food delight.  So, one sits on a wooden bench, and we share a charcoal burner to cook or keep the food hot.  The intensity of the heat almost makes it dangerous. A few times, the oil had hit the fire, which caused it to splatter on oneself. Or even the food catches on fire. There is also a shellfish still moving around that looks like a vagina. I have never seen such a sexual-looking dish. This may be called Soeul, which is a fresh shellfish that is still alive.