Fireworks!

Today was the Busan International Fireworks Festival. I nearly didn't go. I didn't want to join 1 million other people on the beach but I wasn't sure where a good place to watch was. After a bit of googling I decided to take my chances on Hwangnyeong mountain.

I thought it was fairly likely I wouldn't get a good view. I read a couple of blogs where people went 8 hours ahead to secure their spot! I was reading it at 5pm in my hostel when the event started at 8pm and I still had to get the metro there and walk up the mountain.

I got there around 7pm and looked around for a good place. As expected, anywhere with a view was already full of people. After walking around for a short while I went back to where I had seen about 40-50 photographers with tripods set up. They were in an area which had been taped off with a sign in Korean. I decided to take my chances since I couldn't read the sign. It might have been for the media or just anyone with a tripod! So I ducked under the tape and squeezed my way in between the tripods to set up my gorilla pod. 

No one stopped me. One person was concerned I was in his shot so I moved a bit. They were mainly curious about the gorilla pod and worried my camera looked precarious and might fall off and over the railings down the hill. One even tied my camera strap around the railings as an extra safety precaution.

I took a lot of photos. This and the extra are the best.

I'm due to take the hydrofoil to Japan tomorrow morning. When I got back to the hostel just now I found an email from the booking company saying that it's cancelled. But I can't find any information from the company that operates the hydrofoil and there are no weather warnings as far as I can tell. So I guess I'll turn up at the port tomorrow and find out. Watch this space to find out which country I'll be in this time tomorrow!