Busan: Pobi Guesthouse, KTX, and foreigners (Part 1)

Two friends and I decided to take full advantage of the four day weekend we had for Buddha's birthday and headed to Busan.  Because Korean holidays follow the lunar calendar, the holiday happened to coincide with Memorial Day back in the states this particular year.  Because I told my sister about Buddha's Birthday and her response was "Oh he just wants a Memorial Day weekend, how's he doing by the way?", I figured I would provide a quick summary, proving that Buddha is not fine but is indeed more or less dead, and the holiday has been celebrated for signifigantly longer than any and all modern war veterans:

No one is very sure of Siddartha's place of birth or when he was born, but the most popular theory is that he was born somewhere near Nepal between 500-400 B.C.  Buddha is not his name but became his title, which simply means "enlightened one".  He was raised a spoiled, fairly ignorant prince and it is believed that it wasn't until he became a young adult that he became aware of pain and suffering in the world.  He became obsessed with the idea of eternal hapiness and tried a bunch of crazy things from running away from the palace, his wife and child, to giving away all material goods to starving himself nearly to death.  Finally he sat under a tree for something like 40 days and there he finally attained enlightenment.  In this state, called Nirvana, no identity exists perse as all ailments (including greed, regret, anger, hunger, etc.) are eliminated.  These are called "dukka", and "The Four Noble Truths" explain these, how they affect us, and how to overcome them using the "The Noble Eightfold Path". Historians are not even sure what language Buddha used but we do know that he taught his practice to all classes despite gender or ethnicity.  Hence Buddhism was established with a strong following throughout Asia, and according to the super reliable Wikipedia, there are about 300-500 million Buddhists today. 

I fact-checked on various websites, but I know most all of this because I was just about set to become a Buddhist my freshman year of college.  I then realized it was highly impractical to try and eliminate all desire when you live in a society where you are considered dead if you don't have a phone or a facebook.  Still, part of the teaching is moderation--you may not be able to eliminate all desires in life, but you can practice meditation or simply remind yourself that the human mind is above that dress or sunglasses you want and a form of happiness is indeed possible with,some level of inner  peace.  My other idol, Kurt Vonnegut once said: "And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.'”

Lastly: If you are still interested and I haven't bored you to death, I highly reccomend Herman Hesse's "Siddartha".  A colorful biography of the Buddha's life, it's a simple, easy, quick read that will stay with you when you're stuck in traffic or run out of money or get sunscreen in your eye.

Back to my Busan adventure:

By bus, the trip takes over five hours, but for just a little bit of extra won we found ourselves in a comfortable train going 315 kilometers/hour (about 200 miles per hour). The KTX train split our time in half and, anxious to get my feet in some sand, I was more than happy to spend the extra money.

Our planning was last minute, so we had no choice in hostel and ended up at the only place with availability: the Pobi Guesthouse.  Expecting the worst, we could not believe our luck:  the hostel was friendly, well-organized, very clean, and super safe.  We had computer access as well as free wi-fi, shampoo, a decent breakfast, a personal locker, and clean sheets.  Not only that, but besides being directly on the beach we were the next closest building to it.  It's always a good sign when the place you're staying reads "Please wipe off sand".

The first thing we noticed walking around the downtown area was the amount of foreigners.  Being a holiday weekend, it seemed that every foreign teacher had headed to Busan...and we weren't fans.  A group that sat next to us at dinner literally flexed his muscles and pointed when we asked which way the beach was.  Then they recomended a "Foreigner Bar". By the time we got to the beach it was dark, and after sliding down a giant pile of sand with all the little kids, admiring some amateur fireworks displays, and working our way up and down the length of the beach, we found ourselves growing silent.  The ocean has something magical about it--even without seeing it you can simply feel the void it fills as the unknown.  Haeundae Beach, which is the most popular beach in Busan, has it's own mini bay with land curling up on the sides.  As we looked out we could see the hotel and building lights reach out into the sea then end abruptly, swallowed by vast darkness.  The waves lazily lapped on rocks rhythmically and we sat looking out into nothing, trying to imagine just where in the universe we where.

The weekend included lounging on the beach, mexican food at both the Fuzzy Navel and Taco Senorita, soju (obviously), Namaste Indian Food, a very neon bar called 88 in Miami, hiking, Yongungsa Temple, Seokbulsa Temple, and a free jetski ride out far enough to see the city of Busan and the mountain backdrop that protects it.  Those stories are too cool to summarize, and this post is obnoxiously long as it is, so feel free to click those links to find out what happens. It's like a Make-Your-Own-Adventure Book! Remember those?  Turn to page 5 if you decide this stuff is somewhat interesting....