took the photocycles to dalmaji hill for sound picnic 3, our last lovely outdoor music fest before the first frost.

it was in this gorgeous amphitheatre. you could see the little islands off the coast of busan receding into the haze.

we had a good time.

but please god, no more late-90s pop-punk covers.

you could barely take a picture of your friends without someone in it holding a camera. so many memories were recorded!

thanks, rad city.

now the bragging shall commence: busan fireworks festival is a clusterfuck of epic proportions. traffic jams, inexplicable police blockades, ajimas sitting on strangers, cars abandoned in the middle of the road. i was not trying to get to gwangali beach at 1:30 to save a spot for the 8 o’clock show, all the while fighting aggressive korean mat-impingers. so we hung at dalmaji until about 7, when it was suggested that we try to go check out the fest. so hwan, jeff, matt and i wove through standstill traffic, down from the hill to the homer hotel, where we arrived just in time to see the show from the warm comfort of a friend’s apartment. probably had one of the best views in the city. and there was cold beer, a roasted chicken and readily available facilities! what a stroke of good luck.

the fireworks were off the chain.

this is the chain: ———- these were the fireworks: *!*!*!*!*!

AND THEN THE WHOLE SKY TURNED GOLD! ALL OF IT!

and then, among the crowds and the totally incomprehensible (and equally impenetrable) goose-inspired Flying V police formations, things started to get kind of weird…

that fire juggling may be the best dancing i’ve seen since i got here. step up your game, k-pop superstars.