Dynamic Busan, Part Three

The trip back to Korea last Friday was in jeopardy throughout the entire trip. The waves were three meters tall, which meant choppy seas and not desirable travel conditions when skating along the water in a hydrofoil. Two of our group got seasick and ralphed in the small airplane toilet. I thought it was a blast. At one point we were airborne for a second. I said, "whee, whee, whee," all the way home. The captain had to swerve much more than on the trip in and a couple of times I thought he was throwing in the towel and turning back to Fukuoka. It was nice to see Busan again because I was ready to get back to Korea and was completely out of the money I allotted for myself.

We met up with some Chinese friends at Haeundae Beach and jammed there for the remainder of the evening. I had been to that area before but until this time, I had never stepped foot onto the famous beach. Haeundae Beach is famous, damn it. Any Korean will tell you that. Actually, I have heard it is the most crowded beach in the world, but that's only in the designated "summer season" that Koreans collectively and arbitrarily make up every year. We missed that window by a few weeks, I think.

We even stayed in the same love motel I stayed in last time. The reason I chose it again is because the old woman at the desk is clearly on drugs. Every time I have seen her, she is barely conscious and definitely incoherent. Nevermind that she speaks only Korean. I can conduct a business transaction in my host country's language just fine, but with her it's definitely a chore. Last time, she randomly went into our rooms and once came out wearing one of our party's shoes. This time, she seemed too drugged to move much. Surprisingly, she still managed to take our money and give us a key. Maybe the meth hadn't taken full effect yet.

What set this trip apart is that I got to hit my first Korean casino. Yes, there are casinos in Korea, and a couple of them are smack dab in Haeundae. I even got a card for this one because I plan on going back. What are some differences between American and Korean casinos? To be honest, not much. Only two things that I can think of:

1) War. Yes, that's right. You can play war. For money. The ultimate game of chance. I watched a man lose more than I spent on my entire trip to Japan on one war hand.

2) In Korea, Steve Holcomb is up $50 in gambling. Yeah, I played war. I won $50 from war. So what? Paid for my subsequent night out. I think I like the simple games most. The poor man's roulette in America and war in Korea. Hmm, those last three words don't sound right together.

Not much else to say. I suppose this wraps up my Chuseok trip. Back to the grind with nonsensical posts about random crap that not even I care about. Tomorrow's post: Musings on the Coffee Maker at Work.