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
This is my second visit to the land of South Korea and this is by far, my most relaxing holiday ever. We practically ran out of places to visit by the end of Day 3 and was just doing random things along the way. Nevertheless, it was a good time there as we relax from a hectic first half of the year.
\
Upon arrival at Gimpo International airport, we walked across to the light rail transit station to get to the city center. Getting around by train is not that difficult especially if you're mostly visiting the famous touristy areas. At these stops, the notification system would usually be in Chinese, English and Korean so that the tourists will not be lost. We didn't find it too difficult to navigate around on our own but it is definitely not as easy to ask directions because we couldn't communicate in Korean.
This time around, we tried using AirBnb and chose a place near Gwangali Beach. On hindsight, where we stayed for the week wasn't very convenient but by knowing how to get to the nearest subway station by bus definitely makes the stay a lot better. In fact, it was probably better as it was quieter than being smack in the middle of touristy area as the residential area is a lot quieter.
That photo above is our first meal upon arrival as we look for our Bnb. Not quite the Korean food that I should have feasted but it's good enough for two hungry tummies! Prices of food in Gwangan tends to be steeper given the touristy appeal but this was quite a large portion and quite affordable, at about 6,000KRW per set.
The area near Gwangali beach is filled with loads of eateries and motels You'll never run out of food to eat there!
We arrived on a fairly cloudy day. In fact, we thought it was going to rain so we didn't want to go too far from where we stayed. The beach was pretty much deserted on a weekday but there were some conservation activists preparing for some activities for the weekend.
Just right next to the beach, you'd find this fish store which is a way smaller version of what you could find at Jagalchi market. Nevertheless, Gwangali beach is where you could find a ten-storey fish market for you to feast on their freshest sea products.
But instead of feasting of fresh sashimi, we entered the convenience store (GS25) and bought this fake fish ice-cream. Failed tourist. Haha.
We walked the entire stretch of the beach, and short of heading to Namcheon area. Then we didn't that we'll call it a day and have a nice dinner while waiting for the nightly light show at Gwangali beach. We found a nearby Korean BBQ and decided to walk in although we failed to communicate with the shop owner on what we were looking for. In the end, we somehow managed to understand that there's usually a minimum order of 300g with most BBQ shops and we ordered successfully.
Being the first customers for the day, we also had the privilege of the shop owner BBQ-ing for us and showing us how to eat and make use of all the panchan that they provide. It's hard to believe but this was my maiden Korean BBQ experience and I never know that they eat it with raw garlic and onions dipped in diluted vinegar and soy sauce. The lady owner also showed us that we should eat them with some 豆瓣酱. It was quite a pricey dinner as BBQ around Gwangali beach isn't cheap. We purchased the cheapest meat available and it costs about 9,000KRW per 100g. Nevertheless, it was a good meal and they gave us the freshest lettuce and mint to eat with the meat.
The weather was really nice when we were there. It was hovering at about 18c all day and dropped to about 12c by night time. We had a nice cup of coffee while waiting for the light techno show to begin.
The famous Gwangandaegyo bridge. It was really quite nice at night and there were quite a lot of activities going on. There was a mini concert on one side of the beach by late evening and there were loads of young couples and young families strolling along the beach.
You'd also be entertained by buskers. I am so amazed by their enthusiasm. Most of them were just enjoying their music without asking for money. They're just performing their talent and almost every group that gathers have amplifiers and some even with instruments. Busan definitely has an artsy side to it!
No comments:
Post a Comment