It’s now the afternoon so I’ve really got myself mixed up now.
Yesterday was a sea day so pretty uneventful. I’d worked out I wasn’t as well prepared for this holiday as I’d originally thought. I’d packed a bunch of colourful summery dresses, and not only has it not been quite as warm as I’d expected, the locals have been much more subdued in their clothing than I thought they’d be. Muted conservative tones, and not much in the way of patterns. Also, it was another dress up evening, and Simon was keen to see if he could upgrade his outfit to something that at least appeared more suitable. The bow tie he bought made him look like a high school science teacher, so that was a bit of a flop, but he found a short sleeve shirt he could wear an ordinary tie with, as long as he kept his jacket on. He went to the trouble of begging a sewing kit off one of the crew so he could remove the little crocodile off the pocket because he thought it looked wanky.
I’ve bought several budget items I can only describe as resort wear. They’ll get worn on this trip but will likely then sit in a drawer for the next 20 years. Luckily I have an enormous ass compared to the majority of the tiny Japanese women on the ship, so there wasn’t much competition for outfits in my size.
Once again it was fun dressing up in the evening, especially when everyone else was also getting into it. After dinner I went to the show which was the musical “Top Hat”. It was only an hour long so I’m guessing it was an abbreviated version, but it was still very professional and great fun. I think it’s a fairly recent show but in the style of a 30’s musical spectacular. The music was by Irving Berlin. Fabulous.
An early start this morning for a tour Simon had booked of Busan. We visited a Buddhist temple up in the mountains and a couple of markets, but most of our time was spent sitting in the bus in slow moving traffic.
The temple was nice, in the process of being decorated for the Buddha’s birthday which is later this month. The exact date each year depends on the moon so it’s a moveable feast.
The fish markets were a real eye opener. All the sea life is kept alive in tanks, to keep them fresh. You can buy them to take away, or you can get them cooked for you to eat them right there, at no extra cost. I was not tempted.
We got back to the ship in time for a fake pub lunch – delicious! And then a wee nap before a yoga class, and now I’m writing this drinking a pina colada and waiting for us to begin sailing away from South Korea. Busan is a nice enough place – renowned for it’s beaches, apparently – but I won’t be racing to return.