I've never been one for fireworks. But, when my boyfriend decided he was deadset on going to Korea's largest fireworks display in Busan, I immediately decided it would be a perfect time to learn to scuba dive in a tank full of sharks.
After a quick check to see what would be required, (all the information is on the website: http://scubainkorea.com/), we had our reservation. It was going to be a perfect fall weekend before winter set in with fireworks on the beach, good food, and a new experience. Unfortunately, when we showed up for the fireworks on Saturday, the weather looked like this:
The cameraman lowered the camera with a disappointed look on his face.
"Can you maybe sound angrier?" asked the reporter.
Thank goodness we were in such a good mood, because the next three hours were spent trudging in the rain looking for a hotel in a city booked to its bursting point. Every hotel had no vacancy. Finally, after numerous calls and some nasty looks on my part to a boy hogging the much-needed computer for a video game, we were helped by the concierge, who probably just wanted us homeless-looking folk out of his lobby. For 50,000 won each we had a comfy bed with a view just in time for us to put our bags down and find something to eat, which (of course) was one of the most delicious seafood meals I've ever had.
The next morning we were up bright and early as the doors to the aquarium opened to the public. Mike met us at the entrance, and simply motioned for us to follow him, where we paid the other half of our deposit to the aquarium (which also included full entry to the rest of the aquarium). We entered a room filled with fish, but didn't have to time to take it in because Mike casually leaned on an unsuspecting door, leading right into a large room meant for staff only. This was how the staff fed the creatures in the tanks, and where we would enter the shark tank from. We found out, to my absolute delight, that we would be his only customers that day. A private scuba diving lesson for two. To celebrate, Mike brought in a giant sea turtle to say hello, which was a special privilege I had never expected.
Much like rock climbing, white water rafting and skiing, scuba diving was not what I thought it would be. In response to the fact that the wetsuit was actually torture to put on, Mike simply shrugged and said, "Well, you're not shaped like a Korean." This is true. I also somehow forgot that breathing, hearing, and seeing would be completely different while underwater. The first time I tried to empty my goggles of water while underwater, I was hyper-ventilating so much I had to stand up in the practice pool. When he explained how to put the mouth piece back in underwater, I actually didn't believe it would work, despite his decades of experience. Turns out it did work, however.
He was also right about the fact that once I got in the tank, I would forget about trying to breathe altogether. Immediately after reaching the bottom of the tank, I made friends with two beautiful porpoises, who followed my every move. By the time both our instructor and my boyfriend were down at the bottom of the tank, I remembered to turn around. There, right in front of me, was six feet of shark with some 100 teeth at the end. Then there more. Then a sea turtle, some tropical fish and two giant groupers, which Mike said were more dangerous than the sharks. (Needless to say, I didn't believe him when he said that, either). We spent the next fastest forty minutes of my life collecting shark teeth, waving like a celebrity to the children gazing in at our bravery, and making sure we didn't stick our arms out too far in case it looked too delicious. At first I was hesitant getting into the tank. By the end, I didn't want to leave.
We dried off, had a delicious lunch at Taco Senorita's, and explored the rest of the fish in the aquarium, proud to point and say we were in there. We took a crowded subway to a crowded place to see the fireworks. We enjoyed the show from a motel roof with a perfect view away from the crowds with a couple good friends.
