igoiseeishoot: Busan

8 May 2012.

Yongdusan (literally meaning Dragon Head Hill) is located on high ground overlooking the Gwangbok-ro and Nampodong area. It was called Yongdusan, as the mountain peak was shaped similar to a dragon's head (yongdu), protecting the area from foreign invaders coming from the sea.

We accessed Yongdusan Park via the escalator along the Gwangbok-ro Shopping Street, a short distance away from the Nampodong subway station.

Colourful lanterns, probably to celebrate Buddha’s birthday were seen on the way up via the escalator.

Two prominent attractions at the park were the Bell Pavilion and Busan Tower. It is also home to a variety of monuments, including Cheokhwabi Monument, Chunghontap Pagoda, 4.19 Revolution Monument, a statue of Admiral Yi Sun-shin.

Bell Pavilion.

Beautiful Roof form of the Bell Pavilion with the Busan Tower in the background.

Chinese mythological dragon at Yongdusan (Dragon Head Hill).

Busan Tower sticks out prominently at the park. This is a place for romantic couples, especially at night. Like Seoul N Tower, there are locks of love to be found but on a smaller scale compared to the Seoul Tower.

Locks of love at foot of Busan Tower.

Couples pledging their love through locks chained to the fence. The keys were then thrown away.

Busan Tower... At the top is an observatory.

The foot of the Busan Tower is a nice place for a drink, relaxation and watching the colourful city lights.

Colourful and changing patterns of the lights of the Gwangbok branch of Lotte Department Store as seen from foot of Busan Tower.

9 May 2012

After a relaxing morning of breakfast at Coffee Bene near the Busan Ibis Ambassador Hotel, we checked out from our hotel and took the Subway Line 1 to the Busan station. The KTX train station is located at the Busan Station but in a different building. We followed directional signs at the metro station that we could see but we could not find any covered or connected linkway between the metro station and the KTX/Train station. So we had to lug our luggage up several flight of stairs to exit the subway station, made our way across a plaza to get into the KTX station. Sweat! Once in the KTX station, the rest of the journey to Seoul was a breeze.

I think the best way to get to Seoul from Busan is via the KTX (Korea’s High Speed Rail), although one could also take the plane (more expensive) or the bus (much slower). Our KTX tickets were pre-booked from the internet and had to be collected from the KORAIL ticket booth at the Busan KTX station. There are frequent services from Busan to Seoul. We booked Train 002 which was a non-stop service from Busan to Seoul. ETD 13.50 hr and ETA 16.03 hr. Ticket costs 57,700 KRW per person. Some service would make a few stops along the way. The journey for such service would take slightly longer and the tickets would cost slightly lower.

We would stay in Seoul for 3 nights and get around using the Seoul subway system. So a hotel like the Metro Hotel near Myeongdong (shopping area) and within walking distance to a subway station would be ideal for us. Metro Hotel is located within Myeongdong and 5 minutes walk to the Euljiro 1ga Station alng Line #2.

Our plan for the evening was to go explore the Apgujeong district. Apgujeong is Seoul's luxury fashion district located in the Gangnam area, south of the Han River. We took the Seoul subway to the Apgujeong Station and went to look for Rodeo Street. Rodeo Street is filled with cafes, restaurants and bars. We had an errand to run at Apgujeong’s Rodeo Street. We searched for the EverySing outlet , found it and went upstairs to buy souvenirs and merchandise featuring SM Entertainment’s K-pop stars (Shinee) as per request from the daughter back at home.

Then it was a stroll through the streets of Apgujeong, in the direction towards Dosan Park. In particular, we wanted to check out the restaurant used to film the Korean drama “Pasta”. The actual restaurant is called Buonasera and is an Italian fine dining restaurant.

Interesting decor for a shop in Seoul, located in Apgujeong.

It was easy to find the Buonasera restaurant (called La Sfera in the “Pasta” drama). A huge banner was hung at the front of the restaurant, featuring the lead actors and actresses.

Buonasera restaurant called “La Sfera” in the “Pasta” drama.

We shot some “being there, seen that” photos and went to check the menu. Not cheap but then, this is a fine-dining restaurant! We decided it was not an occasion to spurge for Italian fine-dining and went to check out the various other cafes and restaurants in this area.

We saw a restaurant selling live puffer fish which is extremely poisonous and needed a skilled chef to prepare the sashimi. Else, that sashimi would have been the last meal.

Restaurant selling Puffer Fish.