Masan

A few weekends ago ( yes, I am not totally sure when) we headed to Masan, to see what was there. Our friends Dani and Malcolm had told us wonderful stories of a huge mall similar to the ones in the states in Masan, so we wanted to do some shopping. We hopped on a bus in the early afternoon and about 2 hours later we were there.

Masan was actually quite a nice mix of big city elements (McDonalds, lots of english) as well as the small town feel we are comfortable with in Geoje. It was big, but not too big. We found ourselves simply wanting to walk around, much like our first few days here on the island. Just wanting to see the sights!

One thing for sure, the locals are very kind. This gentleman (I almost snapped the picture before he turned his head) was kind and wanted to help us find our way around the city. He said he spoke only a little English, but the more we praised his ability the more English he found he could speak. He asked us if we were from America, and we said "yes, North Carolina". With sudden enthusiasm he dove into a story in broken English, how he knew Marines ( he kept saying, "Army no, Navy no".... so I suggested "marines?", and he was so excited he screamed "YES YES") from North Carolina. With a bit of reverance, ( as anyone would have when remembering the Korean war) he told us "yes, North Carolina, very good"... "men are good" and at that point I noticed he had vibrant blue eyes... ( which is why I was so mad he turned his head)

He had to get going, but he pointed us in the right direction of a market place, and then leaned over and informed us that he " Has drink today" which I can only assume meant some kind of alcohol, because as we crossed the street together before we parted, he was having a bit of trouble walking straight. He was fantastic to meet.

Gotta love those public beer ads! this is for the City of Masan, guess what they are famous for?!?! Ask our new friend....

Cool statue we saw in Masan



There were more of them.


We walked around for a few good hours and never came close to finding the Mall we had heard about, I guess we will have to convince Dani and Malcolm to take us back to Masan and show us where to go. We spent the rest of the day walking around, just enjoying the new scenery. Stopped in a few shops and managed to eat a bite at MacDonalds.


Not a very exciting day, but better than watching videos on the computer all saturday. Maybe next time we go, I will remember to take more pictures!

More to come, we got two boxes this week, so we are fantastically happy, and completely stocked with western food...Big Thank you's to our families!