Haeundae Beach, Busan

I am lucky to live in Busan, South Korea. I love it in the summer. The beaches are fablous and so easy to get to using public transportation. Back home in Canada the beach was great but so hard to get to if you didn't own a car.

Well, with the convenience comes crowding especially right now. The first week of August is the time when everyone in Korea takes their yearly vacation. Last weekend [July 29th - 30th] marked the end of the rainy season in Korea. Every year the newspapers in Korea run a photo of Haeundae beach here in Busan, South Korea and tell how many people visit the beach each day. I have heard estimates say that from 200,000 to 700,000 people will visit this beach on any given day in August. I found that hard to believe coming from a city of only 250,000 people back home in Canada. However, after visiting Haeundae beach myself each year for the past four years I have actually come to believe that number. They don't call this area the "Korean Riveria" for nothing.

As far as the eye can see there are people and beach umbrellas. The only clear space is at the beginning of the beach walkway.

I enter the beach area and am amazed at the sea of umbrellas and people. I notice many other people taking pictures of the scene.

The only way you can find someone on the beach is to arrange to meet by a lifeguard chair and tell the person the number of the lifeguard chair. Also, as you go along the beach the color of the umbrellas change from red to blue and white. It depends which hotel you are in front of what color the umbrellas are - although the umbrellas are rented for about 5,000 won each and advertise different things like cellphone companies.

There are vendors set up along the beach where you can rent inner-tubes. I highly recommend doing so. It might seem a little cornball but is sure is fun. Just watch out for rogue waves. I got caught in one two years ago and got flung up onto the sand like a beached whale. I landed 30 metres into the crowded beach still in the innertube legs sticking up in the air and my butt buried in the sand. Not a pretty sight and apparently [to hear my friends tell the story] I knocked about 50 Korean people over like bowling pins on my way.

When I first came to Korea I used to see people in the bathhouses with these bruise like circles on their backs. I couldn't imagine what caused them. I had many theories like maybe they were marks left from some kind of gang initiation to maybe they are from some kind of innoculaton to thyphoid fever or some such thing. Finally, I found out. I had some back problems from writing on the blackboard all day with my arm extended in the air and a teacher at school brought her "Traditional Chinese Treatment". It is a series of cup like things that are attached to the back by suction and although they hurt a little when they are first attached they are quite effective. The only down-side is the buises they leave.

As I mentioned before Koreans [especially the women] really try and protect their skin from the sun. Here are some older ladies enjoying a picnic lunch at the beach.

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After a day at the beach I make my way to the Busan Aquarium. There is a Mermaid Show going on until August 27th and I really want to see it. In Korea a mermaid is called 인어공주 [in ah kong ju] which roughly translates to princess fish. Having taught swimming and lifeguarding in Canada I am so interested in anything to do with the water. I watched a documentry on the training that women who swim in mermaid shows have to do especially in regards to breath control and after that I always wanted it for myself in real life.

To my surprise there is so much more to see at the Aquarium that I didn't allow myself enough time to see it all and still make it to the Mermaid show. I promise myself I will go back someday when I have more time.

I am so attracted to the color of this beautiful blue sea plant.

I love the way the light hits the water. I tried to be artistic and take a picture in a glass tunnel of the surface of the water and the fish swimming above me.

There is even a glass bottomed boat you can go out in and look down at the fish in the water. I like this shot cause with the blue screen in the background it makes me think of a movie set from the "Truman Show".

I saw a cute little boy posing with this stuffed penguin by the penguin exhibit and while his mom was taking his picture I snapped this one, too.

Unfortunately, the only decent picture I got of the penguins was of the stuffed ones looking in the window at the real ones. The window was so dirty and it was too dark without a flash and with a flash all I got was glare. But, in person you can see them just fine.

I am most impressed by a huge fish tank that runs the entire height of the room I am standing in.

As I stand watching a diver enters the tank and begins to feed the fish.

I even find a tank with crocodiles. They are quite impressive to see. They are so quite and move so slinky that I feel they could sneak up on you and you'd never notice until it was too late. I never want to see one in the wild - thank you very much!

Last but certainly not least was this picture I took at the Mermaid Show. It was quite impressive. Unfortunately, the musical show was all in Korean and there was no program written in English to give me any summary of the storyline. Also, if you go to the show I suggest you go early as it was so packed that to see it I had to stand way off to the side which mean it was difficult to get any decent pictures. Nonetheless, I am so glad I went.