Gyeongju-Busan-Seoul Day 5 (Part 3) – From Gyeongju to Busan by Express Bus and Gwangalli Beach at night

7 May 2012

The afternoon of Day 5 is planned for our travel to Busan from Gyeongju by bus. I think the best way to travel between Gyeongju and Busan is with the Express Bus or Intercity Bus( Intercity Bus is cheaper but slower).We could also go by KTX from Singyeongju station, but we would need to take a bus from Gyeongju to the station which meant more transfers.

We took a taxi to the Gyeongju Express (Gosok) Bus terminal (not the Intercity Bus terminal)  and bought our tickets on the spot. Ticket costs 3900 KRW per person and the bus leaves every 40 minutes. The journey to Busan took about 2 hours on the express bus.

Gyeongju Express Bus Terminal, seen from the lobby of the terminal.

Our ride to Busan. Leaving at 1300 hrs. Journey to Busan is about 2 hours.

The Express Bus terminal in Busan is the Busan Central Bus Terminal (not Seobu Bus Terminal) located at Nopodong. The terminal is the starting point of the Busan Subway Line 1. It was hence easy to board the subway train with our luggage and get a seat on board.

When planning for our hotel in Busan, I chose the Busan Ibis Ambassador Hotel since it is located along the same subway line (Subway Line 1) and will be a direct train to our hotel. It would be a hassle to change subway trains with our luggage.

We bought the T-money card for our subway rides in Busan at the Nopodong station. The cards can also be used in Seoul.

After check-in at the hotel, we did some shopping at Shinsagae and Lotte Departmental stores before finding our way to Gwangali Beach via subway. Cosmetics (both Korean and international brands) were relatively cheaper in Korea than back home.

Impressive replica of the Trevi Fountain in Lotte Departmental Store, Busan.

I think Gwangali Beach is best visited at night as the Gwangan Bridge is beautifully lit and it makes a good backdrop for a nice romantic stroll on the sandy beach. To get to the beach from the subway station, there is some distance to walk but was quite easy in the cool spring night.

Gwangan or Diamond Bridge as seen from the Gwangali beach, Busan.

Nicely lit buildings along the Gwangalli bayfront. One of these building is the Milak Raw Fish Center.

At the end of the beach, there were many seafood/sashimi restaurants, housed in a tall building called the Millak Heo (Raw Fish) Centre. Since Busan is famous for their fresh seafood and home of the largest fresh fish market in Korea, we decided to have a raw fish (sashimi) dinner in a seafood restaurant.

We picked a restaurant at random and were shown a table where we sat on the floor, traditional Korean style. We were brought to view and select our fish from several tanks. It was difficult communicating to the restaurant staff but we managed to pick a fish and agree on the price.

These were the appetisers.

The fish was prepared into thinly sliced sashimi and eaten with soy sauce and wasabi (Japanese style) or dipped into the Gochuchang (Korean red pepper paste). Soju (Korean rice wine) with the raw fish is a must.

Our sashimi dinner, as fresh as can be since it came from a live fish that we selected from a tank.

After we finished our sashimi, the head and bones were taken away to be made into a pot of boiling spicy fish soup or mae·untang. After eating all the raw stuff, the hot spicy soup was a good way to end the meal.

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Gyeongju-Busan-Seoul – Taking the Busan City Tour bus

8 May 2012 

The plan for Day 6 of our vacation was to explore the attractions in the city of Busan. Busan is a large city and we had to pick which were the places of interest to visit in one day.

The places planned for this day were the following:

1. Taejongdae Resort Park.  Taejongae is a peninsula and there are several places of interest to visit in the park.

The above picture is the Red and Blue artwork called “Light Beyond Limitation” at the Taejongdae lighthouse.

2. Lunch at Jagalchi Fish Market. Including a visit to the harbour docks and watch the fishing boats being unloaded

3. BIFF Square and Shopping around the Namp'o-dong area.

We decided to book the Busan City Tour as a convenient means of transport. There are various tour routes and the Tanjongdae Tour route  (**See note below **) was the most suitable one for us.

This is a hop-on hop-off service that would bring us to above places that we wanted to visit. The departure point is near the Busan Metro Station, a few stops away from our hotel along the Line Busan Metro or Subway system.

The Tanjongdae Tour route will cover the following stops:

• Busan Station
• Passenger Ferry Terminal
• 75 Square
• Taejongdae
• Internation Cruise Terminal
• Namhang Bridge
• Songdo Beach
• BIFF Square/Jagalchi Market
• Busan Station

** Note: the bus routes would be subject to change by the city tour bus operator. It is best to check the latest schedule, prices and itinerary here.

Tip: For larger groups or family, a one day tour by private van, with English speaking guide could be an option.

The cost was 10,000 KRW per person and we bought the tickets direct from the bus driver when we board the bus although it could also be bought online with a slight discount. We were given a brochure showing the arrival timings at each stop. The frequency of the bus is every 30 minutes.

We could use the other tour courses with the same one-day pass for a day without any additional charges. So, if time permits, one can potentially squeeze in a visit to one or two places on the other routes.

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Gyeongju-Busan-Seoul Day 6 (Part 1) – Taejongdae Resort Park

8 May 2012

We took the Busan City Tour bus to the Taejongdae Resort Park. The park is named after King Taejong (Muyeol) of the Shilla Dynasty who frequented this place. Taejongae is a peninsula and there are several places of interest to visit in the park. Best way to get around is via the Danubi train or one can chose to walk along the coastal road.

Danubi Train (Danubi means admiring the scenery in Korean) running a circular route of 4.3 km along the Taejongdae coastal road. A ticket costs 1500 KRW and means a lot less walking between points of interest. The train operates on a hop-on/hop-off basis and runs every 20 minutes.

Danubi train hop-on/hop-off train.

Our first stop on the train was the Taejongdae Pebble Beach.

Boat cruise departing from Taejongdae Pebble Beach.

To get to the beach, we went down a steep flight of steps.

The pebbles were more like rocks!

School seemed to be out and many Korean school kids were having a good time hurling pebbles (err…. rocks) into the sea.

We did not linger too long here as we want to board the next Danubi train that was due in 20 minutes time.

Cliff face at the Taejongdae Pebble Beach.

Steep climb back up to the top.

The next train was crowded but we managed to get on board. We got off at the Observation Deck where there seems to be some interesting items to view.

Observation Deck shaped like a flying saucer.

Jujeonjal (Tea Kettle) island seen from the Observation Deck.

Korean drama actress Jing Woo (of Winter Sonata fame) was having a photo exhibition inside the deck. Many of her photos, shot in Busan was displayed.

Nice photo of Jing Woo, taken at the aquarium in Busan.

Statue of Mother and Child as seen reflected off the glass wall of the Observation Deck. The statue is supposed to remind Koreans of motherly love and not take their own life (suicides) so easily.

From here, we took the next train to the Yeongdo Lighthouse. This site features a lighthouse (called the Yeongdo or Taejongdae Lighthouse), an art gallery, and a gallery of natural history. The lighthouse is somewhat overshadowed by a large circular Red and Blue artwork called “Light Beyond Limitation.

Stairs leading down to the Lighthouse and Sinseon Rock.

Explanation of the Light Beyond Limitation artwork.

There is an electronic information board explaining the key points of interest at the Yeongdo Lighthouse. We learnt that there are some fossilised dinosaur tracks here. 

Busts of some prominent figures .

Looking down, we can see the tiny figures of people exploring the flat rocky top of the Sinseon Rock. Then we spotted the dinosaur tracks. 

Fossilised Dinosaur Tracks shot from the top using a telephoto lens.

We took the path to Lighthouse and then went further down to the flat rock cliffs beyond the lighthouse and had a closer look at the dinosaur tracks.

Getting to the Sinseon Rock cliffs beyond the lighthouse.  The ship-shaped building houses a small exhibition of geology and natural history.

Exploring the Sinseon Rock and “Walking with Dinosaurs” .

Unfortunately, time and weathering had made the tracks looked like normal holes on the ground instead of clear-cut dinosaur footprints when seen up close.

Another feature on the Sinseon Rock is the Mangbu Rock (Legendary Rock of the Faithful Woman).

The tall rock on a flat rock is called the Mangbu Rock (Legendary Rock of the Faithful Woman). Tea Kettle island can be seen in the distance.

Legend behind the rock: There was a woman who once waited here for her husband who was taken by Japanese invaders. She waited in the same place comes rain or snow, and she eventually became a rock.

Steep cliff at Sinseon Rock. This place is not fenced off and one can sit right by the cliff’s edge.

It was a steep climb back up to the top. Then a short wait for the Danubi train to take us back to the entrance. From here, we caught the next Busan City Tour Hop-On/Hop-Off bus that will take us to the Jagalchi Fish Market.

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Gyeongju-Busan-Seoul Day 6 (Part 2) – Visit to the Jagalchi Fish Market in Busan

8 May 2012

When travelling to a different country or city, I would look forward to visiting the local market as this would be a good place to see the way of life and culture of the place. Busan is a city by the sea and home to  the largest fish market in South Korea. So a visit to the Jagalchi Fish Market is a must in my itinerary. In addition, it would be good to buy some fresh seafood and have it cooked and served in one of the restaurants there.

We took the Busan City Bus Tour on our visit to Busan and the fish market is one of the stops in the Busan City Tour. After alighting from the bus, we went into the nearby Tourist Information Center to get some maps. From the Information Centre, it was just a short walk to the market.

“Famous Fish Market. Come! See! Buy!” was on a huge sign marking the entrance to the area. There were many stalls selling live and fresh seafood in a large building but there were also stalls and shops(restaurants) lining the streets.

As it was about 2.45 PM when we arrived, we decided to have a quick look around, then go for our late lunch in one of the restaurants  before exploring the place further.

Stall selling sea squirts and other shellfish.

Main Jagalchi Fish Market building is the tall building.

Welcoming lobster at the entrance to the building.

Instead of going into the main Jagalchi Fish Market building, we strolled along the streets and ogled at the various sea creatures at the front of the various restaurants, and open air street stalls.

Open air stalls at Jagachi.

Nearby was the wharf where we could see workers unloading their catch from the boats.

Fishing boats at the wharf next to the market unloading their catch. Note the conveyor belt in use to increase productivity.

Some fish “paying for the crimes” by hanging. LOL.

Then we proceeded to a large shed (Suhyup Jagaocgi Market) housing many stalls selling and preparing fish for sale. This was like a typical wet market back home but the array of fish on sale was astounding. People (probably restaurant owners) were buying fish in bulk.

Shed housing many stalls with all sorts of fish, crustaceans, squids. 

“Come! See! Buy!”.

For us, it was more like “See!, Hear! Smell!”.

Some of the stall holders were OK with me snapping photos of them but some were not too pleased to have their photos taken. I had to be careful not to offend any of these ladies armed with sharp cleavers!

Rows of sting rays, cleaned and sliced.

Then it was time to choose our seafood for lunch. So a trip to the nearby street-side restaurants, each with their own array of sea critters on offer. Now is the time for “Come! See! Buy!”.

Octopus trying to make a break for its life.

The octopus did not make it.

We decided on a restaurant selling large crabs. We ordered a crab to share. The steamed crab was delicious but it was not too filling.

The restaurant also sells the Penis Fish or Gaebul. These gaebul were squirming about and quite disgusting. I think the Koreans ate them raw. But not for us.

Penis Fish or Gaebul on sale in the restaurant

Still hungry, we went into another restaurant selling grilled shellfish including abalone, scallops, mussels. The owner offered us a live, small (body size like a large hen’s egg), semi-transparent grey octopus as part of the package of shellfish we ordered. The locals would take the chopped octopus, dipped them in a sauce and gobble the wriggly parts up. We were not adventurous enough. Instead, we cooked them over the fire but it tasted like normal squid. On hindsight, I think it was a missed opportunity to experience something new but probably unpleasant.

The restaurant staff helped us to grill the shellfish over a charcoal fire set on the table. Actually the food looked misleadingly delicious but the taste was disappointing.


Our lunch of grilled shellfish and chopped live octopus

Lunch done, we went to the tall building that is the main Jagalchi FIsh Market but it was CLOSED! For some reasons, the market closed early today. What a shame. We have missed seeing the major part of Jagalchi Fish Market.

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Gyeongju-Busan-Seoul Day 6 (Part 3) – BIFF Square and shopping around the Nampo’ dong area

8 May 2012

The BIFF (Busan International Film Festival) Square was just across the road from the Jagalchi Fish Market and was the starting point of our shopping trip. There were hand-prints of international movie celebrities on the floor of BIFF Square but we failed to spot any that we could recognised.

One of the fun things to do at BIFF Square was to try the street food.

We spotted a pushcart vendor selling a dessert that consist of what looked like melon seeds and grounded peanuts on a fried dough. We bought one to share and it was good.

After passing through the gateway of BIFF Square, we went to the left where the Gukje and Bukyeong Markets were located. The products on sale were those targeted at locals and not something that we were particularly interested in.

BIFF Square, Busan.

Like Seoul, Busan is dotted with coffee shops all over. We spotted a Angel-in-Us coffee house and spent about an hour there sipping coffee and using the free wi-fi.

Then it was back to shopping, this time on Gwangbok-ro shopping belt. The shops here were more appealing to tourists and we spent some money on clothing.

City Spot Sculpture at junction of Bupyeong and Gwangbok road.

Details of the sculpture – icon of love, friendship, peace and harmony I supposed.

Boutiques along the Gwangbokjungang-ro.

Pedestrian-only at Gwangkok-ro Shopping Street.

This place is quite “arty” and lined with loads of coffee shops.

 

Somewhere along the Gwangbok Shopping Street, there is an escalator leading us to the Yongdusan Park. So, we took the detour and went to explore the Yongdusan Park at night (more about that in the next post).

It was about 9 PM when we came back down to the Gwangbok shopping street from the Yongusan Park and searching for a place to have our dinner. We chanced upon a restaurant called the Pasta Mama, located on the second floor, and thankfully it was still serving food at 9 PM while most shops below were preparing to close.

The restaurant was manned by a young Korean man who was very polite, speaks a little English and offered us quite good service (we were the only guest in the restaurant at that time). We sat on the table by the window and really enjoyed our pasta.

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