Walking and Hiking Tours of Busan

Bio:  Michael is a Canadian English professor, but traveller and trekker at heart.  He has been living and working in Asia since 1997, having called Pusan his home for six of those years.  When he is not binge watching television or eating out with Taiwanese wife, Carol, he is hiking in the beautiful mountains of Pusan or visiting one of the local markets. Walks with Michael The Jeonpo Cafe Street and Antique Market Walk by Michael Lesser On a typically crisp Pusan winter day in January, my friend and I took off walking from the Seomyeon subway station towards Hwamyeong San (Mountain), along Seo-Jeon Road.  (Please note that if you aren't interested in the scenic route, you can always get off at Jenpo Station or the Busan International Finance Centre Stations on the Green Line #2).  Along the way, you can find the urban pipe markets, shoe cobblers, as well as motor-boating engine stores.  Quite an eclectic group of stores and mark...

TANA-TORAJA, SULAWESI When the bus pulled into Toraja, we were blown away by the majestic scenery.  Lakes of pillow like clouds hung low in the mountain valleys, while steam rose from the rice terraces and fields below.  We felt like we were in Guilin or Laos, but it was actually even more stunning.  We were on a package tour, so we got dropped off at our upper mid-range hotel, a short jaunt from the main road, through some rice terraces.  Our room was right in front of the pool. We slept for four hours, grabbed breakfast, and then went on a tour with our first "friendly" Indonesian to guide.  He took us to a very large funeral ceremony, where we witnessed the slaughtering of a pig.  While he was still alive, they were gutting him, full on stomach and intestines all oozing out, while a startled and shocked water buffalo stood by wondering if he was next, which of course, he was.  This beast had it's neck cut, and he bled out for about 10 mi...