i think the Haeundae Sand Festival was the last big thing i attended. i'll be leaving and going back to Malaysia, back to reality tomorrow. this farewell is bittersweet. how do i leave the one place that i've been wanting to go and now that i've had 9 months here, why doesn't it feel enough?

i definitely miss Malaysian food, my friends, my family and the familiarity that comes with home. but to go and leave Busan and all the friends and memories i've made here, oh, i'm so reluctant. my heart and feet are heavy.

i know there isn't any way out of this. farewells and goodbyes are part of life and life must go on. i leave Busan and S. Korea with beautiful memories and experiences that i will always cherish and hold dear. there have been so many lessons, so much growing and maturing here that cannot be replaced. i am so grateful, so thankful to everyone who made this journey possible for me. 

for more of my adventures and experiences in Korea, you can head over to my personal blog (link on the side). i might come back here once in a while to reminisce. i will surely miss this place, it feels like i'm leaving a piece of my heart here. 

안녕~

p.s. yes, i know i'm the sole contributor of this blog, the other two are just not crazy about documenting and writing as i am but rest assured, they enjoyed Busan/S.Korea as much as i did. ^^

- Joan C: 27.06.13

 

apart from the main event, they had other stuff going on named aptly fringe event. i guess it ensured that more people came flocking to the festival but i wasn't able to enjoy every bit of it. also, maybe because i was a tad too short to peer over people's shoulders. still, they had a lot of things going on and it was a really good festival; there was a little bit for everyone, children, adults, families, couples, locals, foreigners and all. i must say, S.Korea does know how to put on a great festival.

here are some pics (or lots) to paint the picture.

whats a sand festival doing if it doesn't have ginormous sand sculptures?

they had lots of things going on at the same time. i went on the first day of the festival, so there was an opening ceremony and all that. first days are always the best to attend on any festival.

there was an air show, my very first air show and it was so so amazing! mind blowing! how can they be so in sync and symmetrical and synchronized? it was crazy.

they even drew a heart!

this was the fringe event i mentioned just now.

and within this fringe festival, there are other ongoing performances such as the one below. oh, and also a parade.

when the important people cut the ribbon during the opening ceremony, a robot flew out! it was really cool.

during the opening ceremony, First (a mixed idol group that i know nothing of) and No Brain performed!

and to end an awesome day, of course, like any festival - Sand Club yo! music and dance on the sand, by the sea. can it get any better? wait, just a tiny little problem; the music! why always electronic? i no get it. oh well, gotta take what i can get. haha.

oh! i can't possibly end this post without a picture of the people/friends i was with.

there was Henry, Nay, Rodrigo and a few others but this is the only picture i have with them. eek.

what can i say? i love Korean festivals, they have a way with it. they are always amazing!

- Joan C: 08.06.13

yup, i can now safely say that i've lived and breathed Busan because i went to a Lotte Giants baseball game. :D and the best part? Lotte Giants won!

warm up.

the crowd.

 

the bond over baseball.

the crowd was craaazy. it was an eye-opener. through dramas and variety shows, i know that baseball is a big thing in Korea and i think this is considered small scale because this one was held in Busan. but the people do not lose in spirit and cheers, they sing along to every cheer song and shout and support their players. it was awesome. i loved it and at the same time, so amused by it. oh, i was very confused too. haha. i knew the most basic of the game which was the home run thing but watching the game, i learned that there is much more to baseball than that. thankfully, my Korean friends helped out with the translations. ㅎㅎ

친구들~

and another proof that i have fully immersed in the Korean baseball culture; presenting the plastic bags!

Selca ^^

it was an experience of a lifetime. so grateful for my Korean friends and Henry (lol). i'm really glad to have made friends with them and to spend a day like this with them, immersing in an authentic Korean experience. 

it was 대박! 

Silla Holic is the name for this year's university festival. its a three day event with different themes each day, thus different performers and events on each day too. this is why i like S.Korea, you know. they have uni festivals where they serve alcohol and have competitions on who can smoke the fastest and of course, have celebrities over to perform and all this for free!

this festival was my first and last time experiencing one, so i took it upon myself to thoroughly enjoy it sort of. haha. the idea of the festival was that each department has their own stalls where they sell a variety of food and a steady supply of alcohol. the food are mostly meat, ramyun and other street stall food. the alcohol were mostly soju or beer or a combination. there were also stalls selling jewelry and like the picture below, artists offering their services for a donation of 100won and above. i looked prettier that day compared to the caricature sketch! hrrmphhh~

the festival was held on the field and the blue tents are stalls. other than the performances by celebrities, they had things going on like dance, band, orchestra performances and Voice of Silla and lucky draws.



and now! the celebrities! Leessang was a crowd favorite but i only got to see them from afar.


Baekchigi was not as well known but there were fans around. 10cm was another popular one and of course, Ailee. she was super adorable! and all around me, the guys were going, "she's so cute!". ㅋㅋ she started off with Beyonce's Crazy In Love, sang her two title songs and some OST song. hearing her sing live was mind-blowing. i got goosebumps!



 the only setback was the short time all the performances were. i think the longest performance was 10cm. most of them last only half an hour or so. D: still, can't complain now, can i?

some friends I was hanging with during the festival.



omo! my face so red! *><*

haha. i gotta say i will miss these kind of festivals they always seem to have. oh, i envy them so.

on Saturday, i went hiking in Busan Children's Park (어린이대공원). i was reluctant at first but i'm glad i went. not only did i have a good time fellow-shipping with the church members but the park was really nice. 

 

again, this is what i like about Busan/S.Korea. they have all these parks and beaches and recreation places that are safe and free and people/children-friendly. it really encourages people to go out, enjoy the outdoors and spend real quality time with nature and loved ones. not only that, these places are all well-planned, well-kept and inviting. i think you can tell from the pictures below.

 these walkways are built for the people to walk into the park and if a tree is in the way, they just built around it. awesome right? plus, don't the trees look too orderly and lined up? if they did plant the trees in rows, then this park must have taken years of planning to happen. wow!

 this is actually a dam but i guess it functions as a lake as well. you find this after climbing up the trail. the fact that you find this in the middle of the city is pretty cool.

a children's park gotta have its playground right?

these are the church members i spent the day with.

i ended the day with a bowl of cold, refreshing and slightly strange-tasting (strange because it was kinda tasteless) black soybean noodles.

안녕!

- Joan C: 25.05.13

yesterday, i finally got myself to the Dadaepo Sunset Fountain of Dream! and along with me were Yan Yee, Henry and Victor. the musical fountain show was simply mesmerizing, magical and a must-go. 

it was definitely worth the one hour plus trip there for a 30 minutes show. it was so pretty and somehow, the fountain managed to interpret the feelings of the songs. 

they played a total of 5 songs and the fountain operates every day at 8pm and on weekends, they have two shows. you can even request songs to be played. 

good times. ^^

i'm gonna leave you with a short video i took of two songs; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw3MJZ8U4a4 (:

- Joan C: 24.05.13