Urban Busan

After a morning in Beomeosa, I took off to Kyungsung-Pukyong Station for lunch and some shopping. It's a station which serves two universities (Kyungsung University and Pukyong National University) so needless to say, the place is filled with students and businesses catering to students. There were lots of restaurants, bars, and shops for clothes and makeup.

I had a kimchi fried rice (KRW4,500) for lunch. One of my problems in South Korea is that the servings are really huge! I never seem to be able to finish my food there. :( Good thing I was able to finish this one lol.

Afterwards, I walked around and saw this store selling macaron ice cream. Autumn was starting but that day, it was quite hot and humid so ice cream was more than welcome inside my tummy.

I had green tea macaron with yogurt ice cream for KRW3,500

I actually went around some of the shops but didn't find much that I liked. I did, however, went to a SkinFood shop and got a BB cream, which, unfortunately, I lost the next day. Darnit!! I must have left it at the hostel dresser when I used it the following day.

Anyway, when I got sick of the crowds in Kyungsung-Pukyong, I walked back to the subway station and then went to Gwangan Beach and took a walk.

When I got tired, I looked for a coffee shop where I could sit down for a view but I noticed that most coffee shops were full so, instead, I found a cafe that sells patbingsu!

Patbingsu is a famous dessert in Korea. It's like a Korean version of the Philippines' halo-halo or Japan's kakigori. This one I got contained sweetened red beans (anko), shaved almonds, mochi, and soybean powder (kinako). I was also given a shotglass of condensed milk.

Bought a patbingsu for KRW6,000

Unfortunately, the serving was seriously big. Actually, I think this is good enough for two persons (You see, I was given two spoons.) so, again, I couldn't finish my food. Sigh.

At dusk, I went for another walk.

When I got tired again, I just sat at a spot where Gwangan Bridge was almost perpendicular to my sight and snapped photos while observing people (mostly taking selfies and mostly with selfie sticks lol).

The morning was quite hot and humid but at dusk, it was very windy so I felt chilly.

After photographing this, I got up and walked back to the subway station to go back to my hostel.

Beomeosa Temple in Busan, South Korea

I realized that I haven't finished documenting my trip to South Korea last October! That's why starting today, I will be posting more about that trip.

I woke up a bit early while most people at the hostel were still asleep. Back in October, I was still used to waking up at 4am lol. After eating breakfast at the hostel, I walked to Haeundae Station and took the subway to Beomeosa Station. I walked a bit and then arrived at the bus stop where I took Bus #90. 

The bus was quite crowded (although not as crowded at MRT or LRT lol) and even though the signs inside the bus were in Korean, it wasn't difficult to know where I was supposed to go down because everyone inside the bus seemed to be going to the same place.

I went down at Beomeosa, took a map and then went for a leisurely walk around. There were many people-- elderly locals, tourists, and local teens who seemed like they're having a school trip. However, the temple complex is very big so it didn't feel crowded at all.

There were lots of slopes and stairs but I'm happy to say that I managed. Because it's not as crowded as other temples, the environment was rather relaxing.

Because it's situated in the mountains, Beomeosa temple offered a lot of beautiful views.

Beomeosa also offers temple stay programs. It would have been a great experience but, unfortunately, my time in South Korea was pretty limited.

To be honest, Beomeosa was just another temple in South Korea. The good thing about it, however, is the peaceful environment. I had been staying in Haeundae and it was quite noisy for me, to be honest. Given a choice between a temple or a polluted street in the city, I'd still probably choose the temple.

At noon, when I started to get hungry, I went back to the bus stop, took the same bus back to the subway station and then went to Kyungsung-Pukyong Station for lunch.

Watercolor Notes

A very important lesson in kendo, which can be applied to everyday life.

Note to self: be patient

The first three lines of John Keats's poem, Endymion

Saturday morning: I kept my laptop away and dedicated my desk to painting.

Intense kendo training sessions during the past two Thursdays resulted to bruises, cramps, and intense muscle pain oww.

I should reboot my watercolor diaries.