Itinerary summary:
Day 1
Gwangali beach and surroundings
Day 2
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple - Dalmaji street and surroundings - Haeundae beach - Dongbaek island
Day 3
Gamcheon cultural village - Jagalchi Market - Nampo and surroundings
Day 4
Beomeosa temple - Pusan National University Youth street
Day 5
Taejongdae - Seomyeon
Day 6
Haeundae beach - Centum City - Pusan National University Youth Street
Day 7
Busan Museum - UN Memorial Cemetery
To get there, take the subway to Toseong station and get out at Exit 6. From the exit, turn right at the intersection and walk along the road until you reach a bus stop. There is usually a tourist guide at the stop to tell you which bus to take and the stop is right outside a hospital. You could get there either by bus 2 or bus 2-2.
Signature of the cultural village are these beautiful mural houses and quaint cafes. This place is touted to be Santorini of the east but I've only seen one structure that has all white walls with a blue dome and it was a photography spot. The rest of the place seems to resemble the slum of Brazil more than Santorini, unless you consider all the blue water tanks on each village house as a good resemblance.
It was a cultural weekend in Gamcheon. There were many booths set up for children to draw and paint. These fish murals are one of the key attractions on the walls of Gamcheon so this could well be a nice momento if you're looking for one. There were also flea market for people to sell homemade goods and there were performances by school bands as well. The whole area was very lively, although it was just a short little street.
There were also areas for children to enjoy traditional games and an old ahjumma selling cookies to children which they can carved on. Another key attraction is the status of The Little Prince, and you'd see a long queue of young girls who can really think of many types of poses to take with this prince sitting at the edge of the cliff. There were also toy alpacas on display, all decked out in sunnies as well!
Children also get to experience what it is like to carry two heavy tongs of water using the traditional method up the slope. It will probably give them a better appreciation that they've had their lives easy born in this day and age.
And I finally had a taste of hotteok. This is different from the ones in Seoul because it it filled with nuts, and this is by far the best one that I've had in Busan!
After a nice morning walk around Gamcheon, wee have nothing else in mind so we decided to fast forward our plan to visit Jagalchi and Nampo.
We were greeted with sights of seafood, and creatures that we can't even recognise along the street to the market area. There were also many stalls selling dried sea products and kimchis. There were fishes within and outside the market area, and the whole place was bustling with morning activity of seafood trading everywhere.
The ground floor is where you could buy loads of fresh living seafood. There were so many people around and despite this being a wet market, it wasn't really smelly like some of the wet markets that I've been to.
On the second floor, you would find the eateries on one side and the stalls that sell dried products on the other. There were many ahjummas having their very own gathering there with soju and sashimi. We were just trying to tick off our travel list, which is to try the seafood at the market area. There were many restaurants an we finally went with one that speaks Chinese to ease the process of ordering food. We opted for the seafood pot instead of trying the sashimi and it was not too bad. I don't think it was as sumptuous as what I've had in Jeju but this is not too bad as well. The pot costs us 20,000KRW and it was really filled with loads of mussels and clams. There were less exotic seafood but the soup itself was quite sweet due to the freshness of the seafood.
From the market area, we walked towards Nampo and went into the Lotte mall there. It was a huge mall, with a humongous Line cafe there. The characters were undoubtedly a hit among the girls and kids who love talking selfie. There was also a really nice fountain show that comes on every hour. It was quite a sight, like the ones you can find in the casinos in Macau.
We also went to the supermarket. I was so excited to see these orange capsicums. I've not seen any in orange before! There were also loads of bakery and snack shops at the basement and you could walk around and sample food if you like!
Nampo is just like Myeongdong in Seoul but of a smaller scale. There are ample of skincare shops, fashion shops and you could find performance in the middle of the square. There were snacks for you to purchase at every corner and you'll never be able to leave hungry.
Along the way, we stumbled upon BIFF square and once again, snacks are everywhere. You could find pajeon, mandu, tteokbokki and fried chicken and fritters almost at every turn along the way. If you're up for some shopping, you could also grab a few pieces here or even at the underground malls.
I chanced upon Paik Jung Won's jajangmyeon shop and I just had to try because I don't see this picture anywhere else (yes, I order most of my food based on the picture on the menu/wall). Jajangmyeon is really quite delicious although it was quite a simple meal. That humongous bowl costs us 5,000KRW (we added another portion for an additional 1,000KRW) and the fried mandu costs us another 6,000KRW. It was really filling and I had a free flow of pickled radish which is really yummy! It was a really simple and nice meal to end the day.
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