Korea 2015 - Busan

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Busan

We didnt really spend a lot of time at Busan as firstly, I fell sick going there and secondly, it was raining on the 2nd day and so we cut short our time at Busan and went back to Seoul. =(

How to go Busan from Seoul

Option 1: Book the regular Korail train online (Use OCBC Frank Card to enjoy 6% cash rebate!). A return ticket costs about 100,000 won per pax.

Option 2: Book the KR pass online. A 3 day pass costs 83,700 won per pax under Saver (for 2-5 pax per group).  For this option, you need to change the eticket to the Korail ticket, which can be done at any of the KTX station. You can choose your seats (if available) when you have converted the tickets.

Obviously, we took the option 2. However, our trip to Busan clashed with the public holiday, so many people were going Busan and all the seats were full! We ended up with 'standing tickets' lor. Imagine standing for 2.5hours for the whole journey. I reckon I fell sick because of poor ventilation in the train as we can only find space to stand in the passage way connecting the cabins where the luggage/toilets were. In short, there was no dedicated standing cabin and standing all the way to Busan was a bad decision. So on our way back, we were glad to secure seat numbers coz the thought of standing 2.5hr back to Seoul was bad enuff.


So hor, if you are a family with kids, probably option 1 is better since seat numbers are secured. Alternatively, try to travel on weekdays to avoid the crowd going Busan. 
When you are at Busan, do get the 1 Day Pass (4,500 won), which can be bought at the ticket machine in Busan subway stations. 

Jagalchi Market (자갈치시장(부산)   
Subway: Jagalchi Station, Exit 10
Direction:  Turn right onto Jagalchi 3(sam)-gil Street. Walk for 5min, then turn left to arrive at Jagalchi Market
The way to Jagalchi Market was so packed with people and seafood stalls! You can buy the seafood from the stalls and get the restaurant at 2nd floor of the market to cook for you at a fee. We chose the easy way out to just buy directly from the restaurant. 
We decided to have the crab set which included pancake, hot fish soup, grilled fish and of coz crab and side dishes. Everything for 60,000 won, not a cheap meal.

The crab was so so leh, not very meaty. Seafood pancake was good; in fact all the pancakes that we had in Korea was really nice. The hot fish soup came 'handy' as it was actually quite cold at the market since it was right beside the sea. 

BIFF Square 
Subway: Jagalchi Station, Exit 7
Direction: 5min walk from the station (Walk straight and turn left)
We continued to walk around BIFF square while waiting to check in our hotel.
Not really keen on shopping at BIFF square, so we snacked again after our seafood lunch. Hmm, basically we just kept eating.. no such things as 3 meals a day in Korea. LOL

We tried this street snack called 호떡 hotteok - a base of wheat flour, water, milk, sugar and yeast. Filled with a mixture of brown sugar, honey, chopped peanuts and cinnamon. Quite nice and not too sweet! We also had the injeolmi toast and milk ice shaving at Sulbing. Hee

Oryukdo Skywalk (오륙도 스카이워크)
137, Oryukdo-ro, Nam-gu, Busan  / 부산 남구 오륙도로 137 일원
Subway: Kyungsung University Station
Directions:
1) Take Bus 27 near Exit 10 of Busan Station (Busan Subway Line 1) and get off at the last stop at the back gate of Oryukdo SK View Apartment (25 bus stops away / an hour journey). Walk ahead about 275m to reach the destination.
2) 5 minute taxi ride from Kyungsung University  station
3) Take bus #2-1 from  Kyungsun Univ station and get off at Oryukdo wharf.

Hmm, we took option 2 ~ taxi, so couldn't 'validate' the other 2 options! Couldn't find the bus number  #2-1 at all... ~_~  Busan not as tourist friendly as Seoul. Taxi driver also couldn't understand English, so heng I got the location printed in Korean, otherwise we would stuck there.
And finally we reached Oryukdo Skywalk. Be prepared to queue here, coz they limit the number of pax at one time at the skywalk. Probably for safety reasons lah.

Haeundae Beach
Subway: Haeundae Station, Exit 5
Directions: Head straight and you will arrive at Haeundae Beach ( 5 to 10 min)
We 'cheated' and just took a cab to Haeundae Beach. Erm, nothing much here though and so we left for dinner.

Wanted to have grilled beef at Somunnan Amso Galbi (소문난 암소갈비), but it was damn crowded and no proper queue. Everyone was like standing around and we couldn't communicate with the staff, who spoke Korean only. Left and just find a random place to makan. By then, my throat was already killing and so we ended Day 1 in Busan with dinner. 

Initially, we planned to go Gamcheon Cultural Village(감천마을) and Taejongdae (태종대) on Day 2. But it rained!!!! Everything called off lor. LL and went back to Seoul without doing much in Busan. Haiz, it was a series of unfortunate events for us at Busan. EPIC. 

Take note that Korea don't sell lozenges, yes no strepsils, no vicks, no fisherman! I ended up going pharmacy to buy throat tablets after searching high and low at the convenient stores. =_="

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1 comments:

Hey there, loved your article, and I'm sorry that you weren't feeling well when you visited Busan.

And I know the feeling when it comes to the taxi drivers! If it weren't for my mother-in-law, getting around would've been a nightmare the first time I visited.

If you ever decide to return, please feel free to email me and we'll offer you special rates for our homestay near Haeundae Beach, and other services (airport/KTX pickup, driving service, tour, etc.)

There's so much more to Busan!

My email add is rayahomestay@gmail.com :)