Film Festival turned Beach Holiday

This past weekend, me and three friends went down to Busan on the KTX rail, the train that goes upwards of 180mph. We converged together in Gunpo, took a taxi to the train station, which cost about $8.00 for 4 people and waited on the platform. We departed the station in style and comfort and began an endless round of 20 questions that lasted the weekend long. The questions were great, the conversation intriguing and the laughs plentiful. In good ole' traveling fashion, we brought along a few snacks; Kettle chips provided by Derek, caramel corn, apples, granola made by Amanda, high energy bars, and PB&J! You could say we were all satisfied individuals. (Side note: If you are traveling throughout Asia, there are great discounts to be had if you book in groups of 4.) We arrived in Busan around 1:30am and took another taxi to our hotel. The city itself is shorter than the areas of Korea that I am already use to. The mountains, however, are still there lording over the apartments and sky scrapers. Sticking to my decision to only take the stairs here in Korea, we climbed the 10 flights up with our traveling packs to find out that what we thought were rooms with twin beds were in fact rooms with one queen bed each. The guys worked out there own arrangements and Amanda and I dove into sleep. Had an early start Saturday; we split up in twos to make the most of our interests and see some good films. Derek and I saw a film, "The Time that Remains," about Palestinian struggles starting during the Israeli occupation of Nazareth and continuing on into present day. Amanda and Gij went on to see a sci-FY film, but unfortunately missed their seating time. We met back up at the Guinness Book of World Records Largest Department Store, Lotte World. Time now for the beach. We went to visit a film festival, but ended up visiting the beach and spending the majority of our time eating and returning back to the beach. Hauandaue beach is beautiful, crowded with people or just with the restless few who rise with the sun, watching it climb into it's resting place for day. Our group became a part of the latter. We rose early Sunday morning, smuggled a sheet from the hotel to serve as a blanket, took yet another taxi, (this one put on a Western mixed tape of Beyonce, DMX and eminem while Christmas lights painted us a royal blue color,) grabbed some caffeine and waited on the sun. It was beautiful and reminded me of Nora Jones' Sunrise, Love Song (Jason Morant) and this great songwriter here in Korea (Derek Fekkes). We walked along the coastline to a lighthouse, crossing a rope bridge in the process. The lighthouse made me miss Diddy (dad). I can see Diddy sailing out in the Korean Strait (or Sea of Japan, dependent upon which country you are from.) We enjoyed/sat through two films on Sunday: Beautiful Islands (enjoyed) and The Forest (sat through). Back on the beach, we each had some time to have a quiet moment. It was great to see my traveling companions personalities come out in what we each chose to do. I journaled. It was a moment to sit and write out everything that bounces around in my mind. It wouldn't be a good trip without some pain, so while attempting to do some cart wheels and round offs on the beach, I re-injured my wrist. It seems to be perpetually hurting and healing. Dinner on Sunday was my favorite thus far...COLDSTONE CREAMERY! Can't beat ice cream. The return journey found us all a bit quiet, reflecting, I think, on the weekend. The ride smooth, the conversations personal and refreshing, we said our goodbyes to each other and made our way home. If you were out walking the streets at 1:00am Monday morning, then you might have witnessed Amanda and I running across the overpass to our apartment. Tired and anticipating sleep, I laid awake for a while thinking I am so blessed to be here and to have supportive and encouraging friends, the opportunity to travel and the grace of God's love. I slept peacefully. Great weekend! I hope this weekend proves to be the same. Here is a video of our time in Busan. Hope you enjoy.