beauty of busan

korea from the train window....on my way to the port city of busan, the last weekend of september.i met christina and we headed up geumnyeon mountain. we literally stepped off of the subway in the middle of the city and began to climb the mountain!
a view of gwangan grand bridge:we stopped for a little traction.half way to the top!we made it!! breathtaking...in all directions.on top of the world.christina pointed out the traditional village nestled in the green with the modern city of concrete in the backdrop.sister travelerswords can't describe the beauty and aliveness of this stone.queen of the mountainwe rounded a corner and suddenly were surrounded by evangelicals! "do you love jesus? do you love jesus?!?" yikes. with complimentary instant coffee in hand, christina busied herself with handing over false contact information. some woman cornered me, pointing to my heart saying, "jesus?" then a guy showed up out of nowhere shouting "hallelujah" with one fist raised in the air. it seemed as though he'd been drinking soju instead of coffee! so, i raised my fist in the air and shouted back "hallelujah!" they loved it! we slurped down the syrupy coffee and high tailed it out of there! a day in korea without running into rabid christians, a true rarity. i don't know why it continues to shock me. it must retrigger the religious trauma from my youth sending me into a state of panic everytime!gathering atop the mountain right before sunseteggshells, sunsets, and a whole lotta smilin'!this guy had a thing for lavender and he certainly loved us! he grabbed my camera out of my hands and took our picture with the sunset.there we are with his hiking group and their banner!! i've never encountered so many banners as here in korea.and here we are with the sunset...damn.bright lights, big city. busan at night.runch, anyone?!we got such a kick out of this little guy and his trainer chopsticks at the hole in the wall bibimbap place we stopped at for dinner.gwangan grand bridge...for a moment i thought i was home.near gwanganli beach there was some serious saxophone karaoke going on! this guy dressed the part, i tell ya!a couple of fellow onlookers and appreciators of the jazzy tunes!later that night, we took a cab and happened to snag a driver who was completely wasted. here's a little snippet of our ride.
i bought my ticket home at the last minute so there was standing room only on the train. these two women insisted that i sit with them. i argued and resisted until finally one of them grabbed me by the hips and pulled me down beside her! it was the most precious train ride i've ever had. we held hands and made the best conversation we could with my limited korean the whole way home. i bought them treats from the snack cart as a thank you, which they argued and resisted until i physically put the drinks and cookies right into their laps. then they began nibbling away as happy as clams!