Summer Vacation in Busan
I arrived at the Busan airport at noon from Jeju. I took the metro to Haeundae station to drop off my luggage at K-Guesthouse before heading back to Jeonpo station to meet up with a friend.
We first went to Gongjeon Sangga for a quick drink. We both ordered iced teas. The interior and exterior decor was quite unique.
We went right to Mori Dojoong after finishing at the previous cafe. The interior was quite dark and there was a cool rock that dropped water and the ripples would reflect onto a white wall on the first floor.
The next cafe is called Silver Lake Coffee Works. It was quite big and nobody was there. The drink and dessert I ordered was quite good. The music really fit with the vibe of the cafe.
We had had our fill of drinks and desserts so we ordered dinner at 수수하지만굉장해. It is probably the best tonkatsu I’ve ever had. It was delicious. It is there only option on the menu.
I said goodbye to my friend and went to Mitta Coffee to chill. I just ordered a grapefruit ade and read my book.
I returned to Haeundae and walked along the beach. I sat at the pier and just watched the waves. It was a calming end to a long day.
I wasn’t too tired yet, so I went and walked around the Haeundae Market. They have tons of food and snack options. Very interested in trying some of the food there.
Day 2
We took a bus to Jukseong Dream Filmset. The bus didn’t come for a while to the transfer stop so we ended up walking half an hour in the countryside. We walked along the coast near the filmset. The water was so pretty. We also grabbed a meal at one of the food stalls there. We ordered abalone rice porridge.
We took another long bus ride to Haedong Yonggunsa. It was quite crowded but still really fun to look around. It did start raining a bit even though it was supposedly not supposed to rain yesterday. Some guy was seeking inner peace for his relationship problems. He was having quite a heart to heart with someone on the phone while at the temple.
We took the bus to Songjeong Beach. Lily went to put on her swimsuit and while I was waiting for her there was a sudden flash rain. It started majorly downpouring. I dashed to the changing rooms but couldn’t find shelter there, so I ran to Ediya Coffee and went inside. By then, I was soaking wet. I got a drink and settled in on the upper floor to dry off. Lily went to swim in the ocean and I just chilled and read my book.
After, we took the bus back to Haeundae and went to Mipo Station to take the capsule cars but sadly they were all sold out. So, we went to the Busan market and chose to eat eel for dinner. It was delicious but very pricey for the small amount ($40!!!). After dinner, we got some hotteok with sunflower seeds inside. It was a delicious end to the day.
Day 3
Since it was predicted to be the last day of good weather, I wanted to hike to a temple while it wasn’t raining. I hopped in a taxi and the taxi driver has no clue where the temple was. He was super kind and kept getting out of his car to ask directions to make sure he was going in the right direction. There was a parking lot area but he kept heading up the very steep, narrow road. Honestly, I was terrified that we wouldn’t be able to make it up the roads in the taxi. However, I made it safely and said goodbye to the driver. He went above and beyond to get us as close to the temple as possible, so, in the end we barely had to hike up to the temple.
Seokbulsa Temple is known for the many carvings in the stone walls that surround the temple area. It was surprisingly smaller than I thought it would be. It was breathtakingly beautiful to see the view from the temple of Busan. Everyone who was there was older and all decked out in hiking gear.
I left the temple and walked down the mountain, when we reached the end of the mountain boardwalk, Naver Maps was directing me in a nonexistent route. Thankfully, there was a taxi passing by that I hailed down.
I took the taxi to Geumgang Park where I bought a ticket and took the cable car up to the top of the mountain. I walked the short hike to the observatory where I got an amazing view of Busan.
There was a restaurant at the top of the mountain so I ordered some tofu and kimchi (두부김치) and a seafood pancake(해물파전). The food was delicious and much needed after all the hiking.
I took the bus to Gwangalli Beach to relax at for the rest of the afternoon. It was super bright and hot so I went into Lavitche Cafe. I ordered the watermelon juice and mango yogurt ice cream.
Yesterday, when I couldn’t go on the capsule car I booked tickets online to go today at 6:30. Before going to the capsule cars I wanted to eat dinner since it could possibly take a lot of time to get back. So, I went back to Haeundae and ate dinner at a Thai restaurant.
I made it to Mipo Station and waited in line to board the capsule cars. They move super slowly along a coastal track for approximately half an hour. I timed it perfectly so we were able to see the sunset. On the way back we took the short seven minute beach train back to Mipo Station.
Day 4
It was raining this morning so we had a slow morning just relaxing in the hotel room. The bus ride to Songdo was about an hour. We took the Songdo Marine Cable Car over the water. Luckily, the rain had stopped and we were able to enjoy some beautiful views of the water and buildings.
There were restaurants lining the street near there so we went and ate spicy rockfish soup. It was so yummy.
After waking around the boardwalk there, we took the bus to Huinnyeol Culture Village. There were many, many couples there taking tons of photos together. Busan has been full of couples. This attraction is a coastal walk and has a good view of the Songdo area we were just previously at.
For dinner, we returned to Haeundae and found an Indian restaurant. Their food was phenomenal. Probably the best Indian food that I’ve had in a long time. The owners gave us free drinks, too!! Highly recommend going to this place if you’re ever in Busan.
Day 5
It is my last full day in Busan. I can’t believe that vacation has gone by so quickly. Today was a fairly chill day.
For lunch, I entered a fish cake specialty shop. Busan is known for its fish cake. There were so many different types. I got lobster, spicy fish, shrimp, and some fish cake soup.
We took a quick bus ride to Dalmaji Road and went to Bibibidang. It is a traditional tea house. We got a beautiful view of the ocean from our window seating. I ordered a three-course tea service. It was amazing. The first course was a cake-like dessert and hot red bean soup. The second course was jellies and cold sikhye (traditional drink with rice in it). The final course was some firmer jellies and tea. Lily ordered a pumpkin bingsu (shaved ice). Overall, it was really relaxing and everything was delicious.
This concludes my adventures in Busan. Day 6 consisted of waking up, checking out and taking the KTX to Seoul.
Vacation was fun and it was nice seeing some new sights in both these places that I’ve been before. Now, ready for some rest before returning to work on Monday!