Yonggungsa & Haeundae

Today we went to the east side of the city and visited the Yonggungsa temple: unlike most Buddhist temples, this one is built on the coast, not in the mountains. The coastal region is beautiful, I regret not planning any hikes. But I would probably be too tired for that anyway, and being outside is not very relaxing for me at the moment because of hay fever.

At the temple, there is mainly spiritual information, very little about history or architecture. Well, it's still worth it!

After that, we went to Haeundae, a famous neighborhood known for its white sand and beach. It's really beautiful: what's unusual for us is that the city is built right up to the beach. Skyscrapers right by the sea, we usually only see that in pictures from America. It's still too early for swimming, the sea water is 14 degrees (cold), and the wind is rather chilly. But being at the beach just gives you a huge holiday feeling! As it says at Yonggungsa Temple: the sea is the most beloved place of the people. The mountain is also the most beloved place of the people. So here you can find both and are consequently in the "purest land" - at least that's how the monk who built the temple saw it.

Now we are ready for our stay at Centum City, the largest department store in the world. Finally, I now know that it's not only Koreans who come here to shop, but Busan is also a popular destination for surrounding nations to shop. We don't actually want to go shopping, but rather treat ourselves in the spa - we fell in love with Korean saunas. What a huge disappointment: the spa is closed this week! How could they do this while Stef and Fani are here! What else could we do in the largest department store in the world? Ice skating? Yes, that's possible, but we're not in the mood for that. Cinema? Yes, why not. We're going to watch "Vice", and out of the 300 seats, only 8 are occupied.

After the somewhat overwhelming film, we need some sustenance, which we find at KFC: of course, this stands for Korean Fried Chicken! And it has to be enjoyed with beer. All's well that ends well. Tomorrow we're going on to Japan. It's a pity that our time in Korea went by so quickly. You need more time to better understand the culture. But maybe again soon! Goodbye, Korea!