Chusok in Busan.

Every weekend I have grand plans to kick it at home, get some cleaning done, and recharge. This never happens.  My plans are always thwarted by last minute getaways and invites to theme parks and mandatory Saturday conferences.  Whatever.  You only live once, right?

Last weekend was Chusok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving.  Chusok is a huge holiday, and of course this means Koreans are on the move.  En masse.  According to my students (and a little help from Wikipedia), most families travel to their hometowns to visit relatives and to pay respects to those who have passed.  And watch movies.  All my kids said they were excited to watch movies and eat songpyeon, a tasty ricecake. (I'm hard-pressed to believe it is actually tasty.)

Anyway, I was invited by my friends Amanda and Nicole to go surfing in Busan.  I don't surf, but I do like the beach, so I agreed.  Glad I did.  The midnight ride was long and cramped (4 women, 2 Aussies, 2 Kiwis, 1 Canadian, and 1 HUGE Tongan rugby player), but Busan is a kick ass city.  Very chill.  Beautiful beaches, cheap love motels (yay!), an excellent bar scene, and apparently some good surfing. 

The Love Motel.

Surfing at Songjeong beach.

Amanda and me at the beach.

The boys go swimming. Songjeong Beach.

At the bar.

Octopus at Haeundae Beach Aquarium.

Sharks at Haeundae Beach Aquarium.

Evening on the beach.

Checks the rest of the pics here.