Storm in a Teacup

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Kimchi-ed!! (Part 1)

View of Busan city (Jagalchi Fish Market) from the 120m tall Busan Tower.

What a holiday! Short and sweet. Spicy and kimchi :D Yes, it's the Land of the Morning Calm!

A short trip to attend the wedding of Jay and Cathy (see Part 3) turned out to be my first taste of all things Korean. And I'm not talking about Seoul Republic here but Busan, the second largest city in South Korea. A port city, Busan is located in the south east region of the country and has a short history as it sprung up mostly after WWII.

I stayed at the home of Gibby, whom I met 6 years ago at that fateful cultural exchange programme in Japan :) She was a truly fantastic host who arranged for two lovely guides, Jay Gyeong and Sandy, led us on a gourmet tour (Daejanggeum fans, eat your hearts out!), brought us to ancient Gyeongju and made restorative pear tea for me when I was down with a chill.

Special mention goes to the Hot Spring at Hotel Nongshim (yes, the same company that manufactures instant ramen!) which touts itself as Asia's largest spa :D That was the place where I experienced my best massage of all time - imagine me being scrubbed, pummeled and kneaded by a super cute Korean grandmother (and yes, we're all in our birthday suits) for one hour. A cucumber and caramel facial later, I had lost all resistance in my muscles and was all ready to flow off the massage bed with a silly grin on my face...

Here are some of the highlights! More can be seen at my Flickr page. Next post (Part 2) on the food so watch this space!