Gimhae Exploration
Gimhae Exploration
After looking around the aquarium, we headed straight for Gimhae.
Gimhae was so close to Busan that people called it a bedroom community; getting there and back took less than thirty minutes.
I'd heard there was also a light rail that ran from Busan Sasang, past Gimhae Airport, and straight into Gimhae.
I wanted to ride it sometime.
"You've never ridden a light rail before?"
"No. And now we have our own car, so."
"Last year Seoul opened the Ui-Sinseol Line, you know? If you're curious, want to go ride it with me sometime?"
"I'd rather try the Busan-Gimhae Light Rail first."
I'd heard you could see the Nakdong River from it.
The Nakdong River I'd seen when we first entered Busan had been nothing like the rumors described.
Maybe it was because the sunlight had made the water's surface sparkle.
The sparkling had been just as beautiful as a Han River view.
"Have you ridden light rails a lot, noona?"
"I used to ride them all the time back in school."
"So you must have ridden one almost every single day."
I'd also seen that the buses around here were pretty well run.
Riding the light rail must have been faster and cheaper.
"But are there decent hotels in Gimhae?"
"There are! You can't look down on Gimhae!"
"I'm not looking down on it, it's just that I didn't see any the last time we were here."
I could have suggested going to the house where A-ra's parents used to live, but I had a feeling she wouldn't be able to handle it, so we'd decided not to.
Even just mentioning her parents made her face cloud over....
A-ra hadn't suggested going to her parents' house either.
We were here to have fun anyway — no reason for pointless sadness!
I wasn't sure what Gimhae had, but having fun was the whole point.
"So, what fun things does your proud Gimhae have?"
"Fun things? A movie theater, a department store, an art museum, a museum..."
"Aren't all of those in Busan and Seoul too?"
"Of course not! Gimhae's the old capital of Gaya, right? The stuff inside the museums here is totally different!"
The former seat of Geumgwan Gaya, the leading state of the last ancient kingdom on the Korean peninsula.
Places like Seoul, Gyeongju, Gimhae, and Cheonan had each been a major power center for so long that I'd heard their museum collections ran deep.
"And there's an observatory in Gimhae, too."
"That's the place you used to visit a lot, right?"
"Yeah. It's all just memories now."
Apparently, when she was little she hadn't liked stargazing all that much.
Even so, her parents used to drag her up to the observatory under the pretense of a walk....
She'd hated it back then, but now that it was only a memory, she looked incredibly wistful.
*
"Seong-hwan-a, over there! Over there!"
Once we arrived in Gimhae, we were thinking about taking a walk with Pipsqueak along Haebancheon Stream,
but A-ra suggested that instead of just walking, we try riding an electric bicycle.
"Pfft..."
"The name's funny, right?"
The spot where a whole bunch of electric bicycles were parked had a sign that read 'Tago Gaya.'
It was a playful pun, and honestly, I thought it was pretty clever.
Anyway, I noticed there were separate bikes with baskets on the front.
The setup seemed to have been designed with real thought for tourists on day trips and locals carrying things.
"Would it be okay to put Tiny here?"
"The basket's pretty deep, so I don't think he'd fall out."
Dogs are one thing, but cats aren't exactly animals you walk, so you can't really put them on a leash.
Still, if we left him in the car, even a baby kitten would sulk, wouldn't he?
We'd come on a family trip, so we ought to have fun together.
Putting Tiny in the basket seemed best.
"But... Haebancheon Stream? How long is it?"
"About eleven kilometers, I think. From upstream all the way down to the bottom."
Even on a bike, riding eleven kilometers would be tough.
We were out for a stroll, not for a workout.
Our Lil' One and Pipsqueak couldn't handle that kind of distance in one go, either.
People and doggos alike have to keep their exercise in moderation.
"Lil' One, come here."
"Myaang."
When I gently set him on the ground, Tiny, who had been glued right to Lil' One's side, padded slowly over to me.
I lifted him up and slipped him snugly into the basket of the bike A-ra would be riding.
"The basket's woven nice and tight, but he should still be able to see outside."
"Earlier, I noticed quite a few people riding around with a dog or a cat on top."
That was a sight you didn't often see in Seoul.
Maybe it was possible here because the area had fewer people and was quiet and peaceful.
"You're not treating the place like it's the boonies, are you?"
"Not at all — it's just that with fewer people, the way people take pets for a walk is bound to be different."
In Seoul, it was all either within the apartment complex or walking with a leash somewhere quiet.
But here — maybe because it was a weekday, or maybe because foot traffic was just low — the setting was absolutely perfect for a walk.
And earlier, while we were parking, I'd seen it.
At the Daeseong-dong Tombs Museum, there was a low hill and a straight walking path, and quite a few people were out walking their dogs on leashes.
"Right over there is a Shinsegae Department Store, and if you look over there, there's a Homeplus, too..."
"Okay, okay. My noona really gets worked up if anyone calls Gimhae the countryside."
"Ugh..."
It seemed she didn't appreciate having her hometown treated like the boonies.
But back when A-ra first introduced herself to me, hadn't she said she was from the countryside herself?
"Back then it was the countryside, but it's not the countryside anymore, is it?"
"That was only a few years ago, at most..."
"Anyway! It's not the countryside anymore!"
I nearly burst out laughing, but I managed to keep it in and just nodded.
A-ra's face had turned red from embarrassment as she climbed onto her bike, pulled the throttle, and took off ahead of me.
It was an electric bike after all, so it did look a lot more comfortable than a regular bicycle.
You didn't even have to pedal — it seemed like you just pulled the throttle like a scooter.
*
Of course, she hadn't pulled the throttle too hard.
The bike leash we'd bought at the pet shop earlier had its limits — if you went too fast, the doggos couldn't keep up.
So she had to slow down here and there, going about walking speed,
and that way a small breed like a Pomeranian could follow along.
"Noona! Let's start heading back now!"
"Got it!"
I raised my voice toward A-ra, who was riding slowly up ahead.
Pipsqueak was trotting along behind her, tail swaying gently, but she seemed a little tired because her tongue was lolling out.
We unfastened the leashes, and I scooped up Lil' One while A-ra scooped up Pipsqueak.
Right in front of us was a tiered concrete ledge, the kind you see at schools, that could be used as a makeshift bench.
"The plastic saucers are... right here."
I took two plastic saucers out of the little bag I had slung over my shoulder and poured water into them.
As soon as I set them on the ground, Lil' One and Pipsqueak dashed over and started drinking.
"Here, noona."
"Thanks."
I handed A-ra a chilled Pocari.
Lil' One and Pipsqueak had finished all the water, so there was none left.
With a small pop, the cap opened, and A-ra put it to her lips and began drinking slowly.
Since it was an electric bicycle, we weren't exactly sweating, but the way a little trickle of Pocari ran down her throat was extremely sensual.
"Hehe, my husband's kind of weak to this sort of thing, huh?"
"Ahem..."
She'd clearly done that on purpose.
The fact that she knew exactly what I liked meant there really was no hiding anything from my wife.
"I did it, so now you do it for me too, Seong-hwan?"
"D-do what? Spill Pocari on myself?"
"Yeah."
She gave a short reply and nodded.
I didn't really know how to stage something like that...
But A-ra wanted it, and I couldn't exactly refuse.
Oh, whatever!
"Gulp, gulp... puhup..."
I'd twisted the cap, intending to let only the tiniest bit spill, but just then I saw Pipsqueak sniffing Lil' One's rear, and I burst out.
If you suddenly see a scene like that, anybody would spit out whatever they were drinking.
"Cough, cough..."
"A-are you okay?"
"I'm fine... whew..."
Pocari had gushed out of my nose, too, so I pulled out the handkerchief I'd kept in my pocket.
I nearly died.
"Whew..."
While I sat on the tiered ledge, wiping the Pocari off my face and clothes, Tiny, who had been resting quietly, climbed onto my lap.
He seemed a little chilly.
The basket Tiny had been riding in was perfectly insulated with a warm blanket, so he couldn't have been cold then.
But now that he was down here and exposed to the chilly wind, he'd naturally be cold.
"Myaang."
"Tiny, do you want some water too?"
Thinking he might be thirsty, I took out one more plastic bowl from the little bag.
I slowly poured in the little remaining water and set it in front of him, and he stuck out his tongue and began lapping it up.
"Still, maybe because it's a weekday, there really aren't many people."
"Yeah. On weekends, though, it gets packed."
"Well, we'll be heading back up to Seoul tomorrow, so I guess we won't get to see that."
"Next time, let's come down when it's crowded. Gimhae even has a festival in April, you know."
I wasn't sure what kind of festival it was, but a festival probably meant something fun.
When I thought about it, though, nothing in particular came to mind as a Gimhae specialty...
Jinyeong Sweet Persimmons seemed pretty well-known, at least.