Blog 2 Day 10 16/11/24

There’s a few photos here to hopefully admire. Enjoy. After ‘surviving’ my full day canvassing Busan, Sth Korea yesterday, 15/11/24 I was gearing up for another full Busan day undertaking the optional sightseeing tour $150AUD I paid for back in Australia at the time of booking this trip. Brekky was again superb on the sky floor, 21st floor where the city & harbour views are worthwhile & not many of our Japan stays had such views. Our bus started at 9.30am for 20 passengers, not the full bus of 30people with the 1^st stop the UN Memorial Cemetery, crossing over the amazing 7.42klm bi-level Gwangandaegyo Bridge (Diamond Bridge) again from yesterday. What a structure!!

On the roadway underneath the overhead road network, we came across a roundabout which identified the UN Forces in a memorial not far from the cemetery. I hastened a bus window photo as it was such an amazing memorial with soldiers around the upper rim, surrounded by country flags.

The United Nations Memorial Cemetery is an absolute peaceful & pristine landscape memorial to the UN aligned soldiers from 22 countries incl Australia. There are 2,328 graves here but growing due to the approval of allowing family loved ones to be buried together (by cremation ashes).

It is mandatory to enter the Memorial Hall (Chapel) before walking the grounds to see an excellent heart-warming film of the war history, the dedication ceremony & the making of this cemetery. If you weren’t moved by this, you have no soul. Many of us had tears & not ashamed to do so.

There were 41,000 UN troops killed in this war from 22 countries & all but the 2,328 soldiers were returned to their respective countries. Australia has 281 graves here, with the youngest just 18yrs of age. On the walls of the chapel are numerous displays, with the prominent one for me was to see the actual faces (photos) of the soldiers per country buried here.

All country flags are flown here & the grounds, layout are exceptional. Emotions really get to you to see the love & dedication of care for these troops. Such a moving tribute and quite some time can be spent here. Spending time here is certainly respectful and never a rush to get through it.

From this great memorial place we are diverted to more amazing elevated roadways, Diamond Bridge (Gwanga for short), high rises & stop on the Dongback Island headland near the Haeundae Beach where the impressive concrete & glass building was built for the 2005 APEC Summit involving 22 top countries, incl our Prime Minister, John Howard attended (far left in the photo).

Immediately at the entrance you cannot miss the incredible 6mx2.2m laquerwork inlaid with Mother of Pearl created by Kim Gyu-Jang, a master craftsman of Korea showing the 12 peaceful elements of longevity which includes the sun, cloud, mountain, rock, water, crane, deer, turtle, pine tree, herb of eternal youth, bamboo & the mythical peach. Such intense detail.

The circular conference meeting room is super impressive & below an equally impressive dome ceiling. Just below this ceiling line you can see the dark windows where the interpreters were doing their communication from. The work alone in the ceiling had me mesmerized no end. Incredible workmanship & design.

Scouring the walkway of the headland you can look back at the Apec Building and see this great structure, surrounding gardens & the 7.42klm bi-level Diamond Bridge and more of Busan in the distance. Sth Korea certainly excelled in presenting this area & view for the world leaders.

We were directed by our guide, Jade to walk further downhill, away from the APEC building to enjoy one of Busan’s selected & elite area’s Haeundae Beach as part of our free time before alighting onto the bus. Again, we had to be extra careful not to return to the bus with wet or sandy feet .. or else!!!!

Back on the bus, we head near our hotel area for the walk through of the Busan International Film Festival precinct where the celebration is held annually. Korean stars place their handprints in metal trays, much like in Hollywood & then set into the pavement. Jade pushed us towards the adjacent markets of Bupyeong, Khangtong & the largest Nampodong Int Market but most of us skipped these to sample the fun street stalls for pleasant food tasting. I had a meat pancake (crepe), followed by an apple & cream waffle with a Starbucks coffee. Very healthy, I’m sure!!

From there, we went West on a short bus ride to the cable car at Songdo Beach built in 2015. It is 365m long & each car holds 8 people & has a glass bottom floor (didn’t worry me, but others did). I sat opposite my favourite bus couple Ted & Maria who are absolutely wonderful to travel with. Reaching the top is a weird ‘theme’ of anything for children & family photo ops, much like a miniature Disney theme area. Most of us didn’t take to this poorer attempt of a tourist attraction, as it was purely for young families & headed down to the walkway bridge having open grilles walking over the ocean below for a photo opportunity too.

Glad to be back on the bus for our last stop & the late afternoon creeping in for the ‘ancient’ village of Huinnyeol Cultural Village built along the cliff face of Yeongdo. From Dec 2011 the houses were reborn for culture & art with the pathway of cafes & cultural places. The pathway is labelled A-L, so you know your place points & the view back towards the cable car. Jade said we have just enough time to do half the walk but 6 of us proved her wrong by doing the entire walk & return, right on sunset. The last 50m was a bit of a run, but I won. LOL!!

Today took 15,157 steps or 11.17klms so it was a bit of a day for us all. Being quite dark now with our bus returning to the hotel, most of us went in search for a late dinner & to be ready for our 8.30am departure towards Seoul in the morning which didn’t give me much time for this blog.

Stay happy, healthy & safe for my next blog & thank you immensely for reading & hope you like the photos. I trust the stories and photos will get better.