May 15

Busan - Rest Day


Well, technically it was a rest day.  But - after a great buffet breakfast (after lining up for 20 minutes to get in to the restaurant), we had a rider meeting to go through the logistics of the next few days.  Then it was down to the basement to disassemble bikes and put them in boxes for the flight to Japan tomorrow.  With lots of help I got mine done pretty quickly.  Hopefully it arrives intact at the other end.  And - hopefully the plane can hold all the extra cargo.


We said goodbye to three crew members today - Baba (mechanic extraordinaire), Harry (local South Korean resource), and Ollie (helping out on his first tour).  Here's a picture of the entire support team.


Back to the room to catch up on "stuff", then out to explore Busan.  Most of the recommended sights to see were a cab ride away, so I stayed closer to home.  There have been sooo many convenience stores in South Korea.  But - I'm looking forward to Japan, where they are more known for their "cuisine".  Just googled it, and apparently South Korea has 11,067 7-Eleven stores (only Japan and Thailand have more).  The first one didn't open here until 1989.  It is estimated that there are over 55,000 convenience stores in South Korea.  The population is 51 million.  That works out to 1 store per 927 people.  One of the highest ratios in the world.  



 Then to a little market street bustling with activity.  We went back there for dinner and found a good dumpling place followed by ice cream with honey and then cheese-stuffed waffles.  It was certainly a happening place in the evening.  Lots of seafood places, often with dinner still alive in the tank when you walked by.


 


I decided that it was either time to take the nail scissors to my hair or find someone who knew what they were doing.  AI recommended a hair salon near the hotel and I couldn't have been happier with the choice.  The hairdresser was a lovely young woman (in her 30s) who spoke English better than I do.  She is from Busan, but has travelled extensively and had spent a year working in Vancouver (followed by a year in Dublin).  Time and money well spent.

Then to the beach.  Haeundae Beach.  They just happened to have the annual sand festival underway.  What magnificent works of art!  Below is just a sampling.


















Back to the hotel to repack and weigh luggage, out for dinner, and that's it for another day.  Early day tomorrow.  Bags and bikes to the truck/bus by 4:45 am.  Yawn!  It would have been nice to have a few more days here.  The city has a different vibe than Seoul...............



Comments

  1. Lynn CMay 16, 2026 at 4:41 PM

    Wow! Those sand sculptures are AMAZING!! You have convinced me that South Korea should be on my list!

    ReplyDelete

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