Monday 1 September 2014

Ewha Summer Studies Day #13: Busan Part 1!

Hello everybody!! Today's post is a super exciting post cuz it's about my first trip to Busan!!! ^_^

YAYYYYYYYY!!!

I've finally got the chance to visit Busan! My previous trips were too rushed and short to really travel around Korea (out of Seoul to be exact) so I'm really excited for this trip actually!! :)

In addition, YX's PEACE Buddy followed us to Busan as well!! So thankful for that and really grateful that she took a lot of effort to bring us around Busan and have fun with us! And I'm glad that she managed to take this opportunity to go back to her hometown as well (her hometown is about an hour drive from Busan called Jinheng!!)

I will be splitting my Busan trip into two cuz I went there for 2D1N and there's a lot of stuffs to see!! ^_^

So without further ado, here comes Busan Part 1!! :)

Ewha University Summer Studies Program Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog singapore

We set off from Seoul Station which is about 15mins (cost around 4500won) drive away from Ewha University!

It's advisable to take a taxi if you're staying closely to Seoul Station cuz it'll end up be cheaper than their subway fares after splitting the cost (if you're traveling as a group of course)!!

Ewha University Summer Studies Program Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog singapore

Selfie before we go in! :)

Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Inside Seoul Station!


Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore


Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Boarding our train!!!


Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore


Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

It's pretty interesting that nobody is there to verify our train tickets as we board the train! O.O According to YX's buddy, the only time you'll need your tickets is when you find people sitting at your seat in the train. :O

Honestly, they have a lot of trust in their people that they will purchase tickets and board legitimately man. That definitely won't happen in Singapore I'm sure. Last time drink water in MRT also will kenna fine. In Korea, I see people eating MEALS inside subways but yet I don't see any single litters or trash in the cabins. It's all about cultivating good habits! (Y)


Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Off to Busan!! :)

Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

It took us roughly about 3 hours to reach Busan and you'll see this board below to show you which direction you can go to change to the respective transportation that you are looking for. :)


Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

For us, YX's buddy's father came to pick us up! It's really nice of him cuz he actually drove 1 hour plus up from Jinheng (their home) just to fetch us and show us around Busan :)

The first stop was this really traditional Korean restaurant called 흙시루!! :)


흙시루 Restaurant Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore


흙시루 Restaurant Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore


흙시루 Restaurant Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore


흙시루 Restaurant Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

This restaurant is really super unique and they even make their own sauces through traditional methods!! :D

흙시루 Restaurant Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

They also have small and cozy rooms which has special walls (I forgot the name of the walls so sorry ><) around it!

흙시루 Restaurant Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Cozy and very suitable for couples and small families :)

Moving on to the food :)
흙시루 Restaurant Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore


흙시루 Restaurant Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

흙시루 Restaurant Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

This is the menu of the restaurant! We ordered from the Set Menu section that cost 56,000 won!!

흙시루 Restaurant Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

And it's Pumpkin Duck + a whole big plate of different kinds of vegetables!!


흙시루 Restaurant Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore


흙시루 Restaurant Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

It taste awesomely AWESOME MAN!!! So glad that they brought us here cuz we wouldn't have know this place if we were to come to Busan on our own!! Moreover, this restaurant is rather isolated too (cuz it's really big too so requires a lot of space!!) so coming here by car is probably the only method that will get us here without getting lost hahaha.

흙시루 Restaurant Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

This restaurant also has a mini gallery where they showcase all the antiques that they collect!! Here is a picture of super old textbooks!! Some dates back to 1940s!

After having lunch, we went to the famous Haedong Yonggungsa Temple!!
The view is extremely beautiful over here! :)
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

According to YX's buddy, every new year Koreans will come to this temple to see the sunrise so this place is really famous for seeing sunrises! :)

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore 

As we were walking out towards our car after visiting the temple, we come across this interesting drink stall which serves drinks made from tree trunks!! :O

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

YX's buddy's dad bought a tiny little bit for us to try the taste of it and it's supposedly to be very good for people's health (yeah, you can imagine the extreme herbal taste already right! :/). This is really an eye opener haha

Then, he got us this interesting looking Korean snack which I really don't know how to describe it haha 

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

The lady had to smash the candy so that it'll become into smaller pieces!

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

It tastes sweet and the only part I don't like about it is it will get stuck onto your teeth after you've chewed it for quite sometime!! >_< But overall it was still a great experience haha

After that, YX's buddy's dad drove us to this place called 연화리 YeonHwaRi where there are a lot of tents which are located just beside the sea and 
they are all selling FRESH seafood!! 

연화리 Yeon Hwa Ri Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

And what I mean by fresh is, they are still alive!!!

연화리 Yeon Hwa Ri Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore


연화리 Yeon Hwa Ri Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

연화리 Yeon Hwa Ri Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Look at all those buckets in front of the old lady? They are all the various types of seafood which the old ladies personally catch in the seawater beside the tent (refer to the picture below) and they do that every single day in the morning without fail to make a living!

연화리 Yeon Hwa Ri Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

연화리 Yeon Hwa Ri Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore


연화리 Yeon Hwa Ri Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

연화리 Yeon Hwa Ri Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Assorted raw seafood which I can't even identify which is which ><


산낙지 Sannakji 연화리 Yeon Hwa Ri Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

This one over here is 산낙지 which is freshly cut and raw Octopus and they are still moving when it is served!!!

You can check out a video of it on my instagram!!

At first it was rather scary to look at it keep on moving and squirming around, but it's actually pretty tasty! In fact, the 산낙지 tastes the best among all the raw seafood that we ordered.

Korean Fresh Abalone Porridge 연화리 Yeon Hwa Ri Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

We also ordered Abalone Porridge ;) This one taste super awesome and it's actually good for the health too!! :)

I really enjoyed this meal because we had the opportunity to try lots of local delicacies in a place which tour agencies will never bring you to!! :D Love it! <3

After our awesome high tea meal, we went to the extremely famous and hot spot of Busan, the Haeundae Beach!! :)

Haeundae Beach Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Haeundae Beach Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Haeundae Beach Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Haeundae Beach Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore


Haeundae Beach Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

The water is REALLY COLD btw!! hahaha

Haeundae Beach Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Mermaid statue that we saw by the sea!

Next, we went to a one-way railway track which goes through a large portion of Busan! I forgot what's the name of this place though (so sorry! ><)!

It has a really nice view though and it leads to Haeundae Beach if I'm not wrong (hopefully) ><

Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore


Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore


Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

This shot is more meant for couples actually hahahaha


Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore


After walking and chilling at the railway tracks, we finally bid farewell with YX's buddy's father and checked into our hostel - Stay 7 Centum Business Hostel.

Even though it is a hostel, the interior design and room size of this hostel is really clean and big and it looks totally like a hotel instead of a hostel!! (Y)

And it's situated at the 14th floor of Centum Dream World haha

I will definitely stay at tihs place again if I have the chance to visit Busan again cuz I really like the atmosphere and the environment of this hostel. Plus, it's not very pricey as well but I'm not so sure how do you book this hostel cuz it was YX's buddy who managed to find this hostel and booked it for us haha

Stay 7 Centum Business Hostel Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Stay 7 Centum Business Hostel Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Stay 7 Centum Business Hostel Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

They have a common kitchenette just opposite the reception counter.

Stay 7 Centum Business Hostel Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Nicely furnished hallway!

Stay 7 Centum Business Hostel Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

The room interior is very nice and modern as well :)

But the bed can be kinda hard so it may not suit people who likes to sleep on soft mattresses. For me I'm used to sleeping on sturdy mattress so I don't really mind the hardness of it :) In fact, sturdy mattresses supports our spine better when we sleep (just a side note haha) !! :)



Stay 7 Centum Business Hostel Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore


Stay 7 Centum Business Hostel Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

After resting for about an hour or so, we head out again to have somemore seafood for dinner!!

And this time is SASHIMI!!!

I've always wanted to try (for once in my lifetime) sashimi that are freshly cut from the fish itself and compare it to those kinds that are normally served in our local Japanese restaurants like Sakae, Itacho and etc.

So I gave YX's buddy this special request when she asked us what would we like to eat or visit when we were still in Seoul. And voila!! Here we are at a Sashimi supermarket!!

회 Sashimi Supermarket Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

This is where a lot of kinds of fishes are being sold as a whole and the sashimi are served only when you order!!


회 Sashimi Supermarket Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

The competition is very high here in the supermarket cuz there are a lot of stalls selling the same thing so everyone here is trying to lure and snatch customer(s) to buy from their stall. 


회 Sashimi Supermarket Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

So we bought one of the fishes called 광어 Gwangeoh and went to find a spot at Gwanganri to chill while waiting for the sashimi to be done.


회 Gwanganri GwangAn Bridge Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Apparently, Busan people like to chill out here as well eating sashimi and other food that can be found along this area! You can even call delivery for fried chicken, jokbal (pig trotter) and etc to be delivered to this place for you!!


회 Gwanganri GwangAn Bridge Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore


Gwanganri GwangAn Bridge Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Happen to spot an old man with a middle age woman in a dancing position? But they are not a couple though haha.


회 Korean Sashimi PaJeon Pancake Gwanganri GwangAn Bridge Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Tadah!! Our freshly made sashimi and green onion pancake!! ^_^

They are both super delicious!! The sashimi is really fresh and chewy! Tastes pretty different from the ones we normally get Singapore restaurants!!

We also bought Maekgeolli from 7-Eleven to go along with our dinner hahaha


Gwanganri GwangAn Bridge Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Selfie!!

And after seeing other people eating Jokbal, I cannot resist myself from it so we decided to call for delivery for some Jokbal!!!


Jokbal Gwanganri GwangAn Bridge Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

It's super delicious and huge in serving as well!! I realized that here in Busan, the food here are much cheaper and comes in larger quantity & better quality compared to Seoul! It's much more value for money!! *Thumb upupup!!!*


Gwanganri GwangAn Bridge Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

Beautiful night view of GwangAn Bridge!! :D


Gwanganri GwangAn Bridge Busan Korea lunarrive Travel blog Singapore

As the night gets deeper, the number of people by the sea increases super quickly and by the time when we are about to leave, look at all the people that are chilling here man!!! It's really super crowded here and a hotspot for local teenagers to hangout with their friends here haha.

Our first day in Busan was really a very wonderful one and we managed to experience a lot of new things and food!! I love Busan man!!! The people here are much more friendlier and welcoming to foreigners compared to Seoul in my opinion! Makes me don't feel like going back to Seoul as the atmosphere and pace here in Busan is much more relaxing and less stress. ><

Really thankful for YX's buddy and her father once again for all the unique experiences!! ^_^

Do stay tune for Busan Part 2!! :)

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