I’ve grown lazy in the heat. The photos show some of the city’s offerings but I’ve been sticking to my Dongnae district streets. The effect of familiarity maybe, not a lack of options. Busan’s self-governing rat race is more an amble. A major port city of three and a half million, she feels more a sprawling town, 770 square kilometers, the size of Calgary or Austin. It was the temporary capital during the Korean War when the North squeezed their opponents south and is closer to Japanese Kyushu than its own current capital of Seoul. For those who put stock in national longests, largests and world-record-setting, there’s the Nakdong River, Haeundae Beach and Shinsegae Department Store. The Guinness Book writ is out front. For the citizenry, they tend to be game. Waves will show up for an occasion and there are more by the year. Sand sculpture, fireworks and film have regular festival dates, seafood too with Jagalchi in October, but the new international pastime of oohing and ahhing with a beverage and a selfie stick has cause any day here. Water is a big reason why. Tourism and peace of mind make a point of granting access to all parts of the coast, from the cable car at Songdo to the cliffs of Oryukdo. Inland, the Oncheoncheon stream cuts a path beyond the elevated subway tracks at Busan National University to the more substantial Suyeong River. No surprise in Korea that it’s been adapted for human leisure with bike paths, badminton plots and swingy exercise machines that seniors seem to love. I’m scratching the surface. And scratching my head. Time to hit a mountain path at Geumgang Park or join the crowd on the Gwangalli strip. The patios fill up quick on a typhoonless summer night, patrons talking over their pints, watching the pedestrians watching everything else.