Busan, South Korea

Throughout the planning for our trip into Busan it was clear that it was going to be a challenging few days before port.  All of the previous carriers who have come into the port have called the mooring process the worst ever!  So our plan coming between Japan and Korea while trying to conduct flight ops was subject to questions...

The night before we pulled into Busan, we wanted to fly so that the pilots could stay within their 7 day currency window for night landings.  We failed to account for the fact that at night...the fishing fleets are out in force-- for squid.  With today's technology, squid fishermen have the ability to produce a light to draw the squids to the surface which is as bright as the sun!!!!  At least that's the way it seemed on the bridge picking our way through HUNDREDS of contacts at night...while we were trying to fly airplanes!  Crazy!!!!  To make matters even more difficult, we were working in an area where the Japanese Air Defense Zone, Korean Air Defense Zone, and Air Traffic Control Centers airspaces all overlap.  Very complex!

The next morning setting up for the port entry, things calmed down a lot and the sunrise produced an amazing day--albeit a little cold!  The high temps for our visit were in the mid-30deg F.  Brr...

USS CARL VINSON pulling in to Busan, South Korea at sunrise

The first day in port, there was a meeting with the ROK Navy about the exercise we were doing with them when we left.  It was a long meeting, and we didn't accomplish, too much...just the basics about what we would do during the exercise.

Our first night out was marked by a dinner I organized at a raw fish restaurant that I found on the interweb...Named Gobukesan...which is supposedly a word for Turtle Ship.

Anywho, we met at our hotel and I gave the driver the address.  Fortunately, he found it because the building didn't even look like a restaurant.
The 7 of us went in, were greeted by a lady and shown to a small room with table and chairs on the second floor, overlooking some similar rooms on the first floor.  Shoes off.  Floor is warm.  Ahh...
She brings a menu in Korean.  Some small nondescript pictures. And no words in English were being uttered from her mouth.  Pointing seemed to work.  1 Here... ok.   1 here... ok.  and a small one of these, too...no.  Well, I guess she doesn't think we're that hungry!
So the food started coming out:  So octopus, some oysters, and some orange mushy fish come out on little plates.  Mmm...  Then she came through the door with a big platter.  Set it on the table...as everyone looks at the fish head, still gasping for water...  The fish was all laid out for us on the platter with the fish from whence it came underneath the bed of radish-strips.  Wow!  Talk about fresh!!!  mmm...
But wait, that's not all!  The next few small plates were filled with eel and squid.  Just like their fishy friend: STILL MOVING!!!  The squid was especially challenging to eat since you had to pull the pieces towards the edge of the plate, then pry them off.  Once in your mouth, they continued to stick themselves to whatever they touched-- like the roof of your mouth!  Weird!

Soup with all the parts of fish in it closed out the meal.

The rest of the visit was really neat.  South Korea was very clean, the people were all courteous.  In true Asian fashion, everything was very efficient.  Even when the apparently homeless man was on the subway train and smelled awful, the other Koreans (while holding their hands over their nose and mouth) did not make any other comments to the man.  Very polite.  The largest mall in the world (or maybe just Korea) was there...lots of karaoke, Korean BBQ dinners, and warm coffee kept me going.

Next stop-- Kuala Lumpur!