Finally made it to Busan! Also, new pics on Flickr :) ...and I get asked to work on a Saturday without pay.

Well, I finally made it to Busan yesterday. I was afraid that it would become another Seattle (Seattle is so close to where I live in Canada that I kept saying "oh, I'll go there the next time I'm in the area...I'll just drop by one weekend, etc." I have now been to something like 14 states and a bunch of provinces and yet I haven't been to Seattle...).

I woke up nice and early yesterday and went for a run first thing in the morning. After that, I met up with Mark and Kez and we headed into Changwon, where Mark bought a 50 1.8 (yay!) and I picked up a UV filter for my 50 1.8. The filter I got is a Kenko multicoated UV filter (ie: good stuff) and it cost 12,500 won (or roughly $11!!!). Back home, a filter like that would be $35-ish. Kez picked up a Matin neutral density filter for about $40 (again, way cheap). At first I was a little skeptical about it, since I've never heard of that brand, but the results are impressive! There is almost no visible colour cast, and what little of it there is is just slightly gray...I might have to pick one up myself!

Then we headed to Busan and I have to say I don't envy the drivers...the traffic in/out of Busan sucks!

But, once you're there, it's an awesome place! We first went to a smaller (but still big) beach and just hung out there. It was gorgeous and warm, with a bit of wind, smooth sand for kilometres and, interestingly enough, tons of foreigners. I'd say 1/3 of the people on the beach were foreigners. We hung out and soaked up the sun. It was great to just sit and do nothing, then go for a little stroll around the beach. Soooo relaxing.

First picture of the day :)

The beach was also popular with surfers, who were out in droves...these guys were doing a lesson, I think:

And this guy was just awesome:

w00t...the 16-35L at 35mm and f2.8...

Then, we headed to Busan's famous Haeundae Beach. This place is amazing! Miles and miles of beautiful sand, cafes, lively people, boardwalk, and stunning ocean views!

We got there around sunset and managed to snap a few decent Magic Hour shots:

After sunset, it became pretty chilly and the waves picked up, so it was neat :)

We walked to a little point at the end of the beach (I really want to walk around there some more next time)...and I tried my hand at some long-exposure - 8 seconds - ocean shots)...

Cool hotel at the end of the beach:

After that, we went to the Fuzzy Navel, a cool foreigner bar where we had delicious (and surprisingly cheap) Mexican food...all in all an excellent day. The only downside was that I missed Ross and Nicole's Cinco de Mayo party, which I was really looking forward to :(

Today's been pretty easy, but I got a good laugh out of this...my school wanted me to come in first thing in the morning (as in be here for 8:30 a.m.) on a Saturday and teach a class WITHOUT PAY. Umm...yeah. Good luck with that. It took me a bit to convince myself to say I'd come in when I thought I was getting paid, but this is too much.

So...I might go to Busan with Ross and Nicole to check out what's going on for Buddha's birthday! :)

Okay...I have some emails to catch up on...I'm outta here! Have a great weekend boys and girls...

T