After a relaxing morning I decided to re-explore the Gwangalli Area around the Busan Cinema Centre because on Tuesday when I was there it rained hard all day.
Today though was Sunny and I first went back to the Shinsegae CentumCity department store to get some lunch. I have concluded that shopping malls are the best place to eat for vegetarians in Busan. Today I had the traditional Korean dish of Bibimbap which is a mixture of vegetables, rice and fried egg in a stone bowl which cook the ingredients further when all stirred together. The rice becomes a little crunchy, which I think adds to the taste. One of the side dishes is the Korean national dish of Kim Chi which is fermented Cabbage with a spicy seasoning. The taste is growing on me, I liked this more than the Kim Chi I tried in Shanghai. The Koreans love this so much that it went into space with the astronauts, but only after a multi-million dollar research effort to kill the bacteria and lessen the odour without affecting taste and endangering the crew. That is how much Koreans love Kim Chi!
From there I wondered around the Gwagalli area to see the riverside and marina before walking along the bank to the mouth of the sea to the Gwangalli Beach. I really enjoyed this walk, smelling the salty air and seeing all the people sat along the sea front eating something fried, which I assume it there version fish and chips.
Strolling along the beach I felt very chilled and loved the contrast between the relaxing beach and the hectic two story bridge that broke up the landscape and the sea. I found a coffee shop and just sat enjoying the views, drinking my tea and reading my book.
After an hour or so I decided it was time to start the 45 minute walk back to the metro station so I could be at Sajik Baseball stadium for the evening game. I have never been to baseball before so I had no idea what to expect.
Once I got my ticket, which cost 12000 won ( About £7 ) and I was in the rather impressive Sajik Stadium to watch the Busan Lotte Giants play. I discovered I was near the front, which in football is good, but assume for the price of my ticket that this is not the case in baseball, that said I loved my view and enjoyed the game.
It took me a short while to fully understand the rules but the were not too difficult to pick up. The atmosphere really got going as the game progress and there was one guy and four cheerleaders whose job it was to whip the crowd in to a frenzy and they did their job really well as you can see below:
The stadium was far from full because they play about 4 games a week, whilst leaving the stadium I spoke a French guy called John Baptiste who said that on Sundays the Stadium gets packed. All the same I really loved this experience, especially at the 7th innings when for no apparent reason all the Giants fans wear orange carrier bags on their heads and go nuts. I have no idea why, but when in Rome, (or Busan) do as the Romans (or locals) do.
Even better was the final score of 8 – 3 to the Giants. The game lasted 3 hours and as soon as it was over I was off with the intention off avoiding the crowds at the metro station, which I managed to do and was back at the hostel with in 30 minutes.
