South Korea - Day 2 - Jinhae

After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, we headed by subway and bus to Jinhae, a small city west of Busan.

Jinhae is known for its cherry blossoms and though its official cherry blossom festival doesn't start for another nine days, we were hopeful we'd catch some early blooms. Unfortunately that didn't really pan out -- the cherry trees lining the streets, railroad, and stream were bare.

We nonetheless had a nice time strolling around the city, enjoying the change in pace from Busan. We had lunch alongside locals at a little restaurant, enjoying bibimbap (rice topped with vegetables and egg) and many accompanying sides.

After lunch we walked back to the bus station. Once back in Busan, we boarded a subway and then another bus to travel to the Haedong Yonggung Temple, a Buddhist temple dating back to 1376. We wandered around the temple complex, built right on the rugged shoreline. There were lots of nooks and crannies to explore, containing statues, prayer candles, or views of the sea.

As the sun set we headed back to our hotel, stopping to buy snacks in one of the many underground shops at the subway station.