[Korea Trip] Part 1: I Left My Soul in Busan

October 26, 2015

8.30 a.m. (Malaysia time 7.30 a.m.), landed Gimhae International Airport safely.  It was a 6 hours flight from KLIA 2 to Busan, tiring but I couldn't burry the excitement from my face. "Finally I'm stepping onto this land!", I yelled out loud from my heart.  Love every bits of Korea since I started watching K-drama: the language, the culture, the words and of course the Korean guys, hahaha.

Sunny day, gentle breeze.  Pity the Malaysians who had to breath in the hazy and dusty air.  Heading to the subway station after spending almost an hour at immigration hall, kickstarted my journey officially!

Took subway from Gimhae airport to take a transit to subway Line 2 at Sasang station.  At Seomyeon station, jump onto subway Line 1 to reach Jagalchi station, where our guesthouse located.

Woori Guesthouse

 7-2, Gwangbok-ro, Jung-gu, Busan.

Dropped our luggage there since we reached much earlier than our check in time.  Strolling across the streets and I fell in love with this town immediately.  Felt like coming home to be surrounded by Korean language (I guess I'm to obsessed with this country).  Even walking under sun can be so wonderful.

First meal in Korea: Gimbap (2000 won) and mandu (3000 won)

Gamcheon Cultural Village 감천문화마을

Also known as "Busan Santorini", which truely deserves the name.  The pastel houses across the hillside and beautiful sculptures hiding in every corners, formed a facinating and breath-taking layout of Busan.  

Each alley leads to a different surprise, as described by CNN reporter.  I would say this quaint village is definitely a place worth to spend time with.

Photo credits to Lee Xien

To go there:
Take subway to Toseong station (Line 1), exit at Exit 6.  At intersection, turn right at corner and walk straight until a hospital on your right.  Take bus number 2 or 2-2 at the bus stop is right in front of the hospital and you will reach Gamcheon village.

Traditional Market

One of the best way to explore a town is by walking through the streets, watching people from all walks of life.  Traditional market is a place that tells story of people in this town, in a detail way.

往往被計劃以外的際遇而感動

Yoogane Chicken Dak Galbi 유가네 닭갈비

If you read my previous post, you will know how much I love dak galbi, a must-eat in Korea.  Yoogane has various branches throughout the whole nation.  The one we visited was located at 31, BIFF Gwangjang-ro. 

One of the reason I like dakgalbi is simply because of I like watching the way they fried the dishes in front of you, moreover if the one who serve you is a handsome Korean guy hahaha!  Needless to comment much about the food, I would rate 10/10. 

Best served with ra-myeon and rice :D

Surprisingly, all these cost us 35000 won only, less than 10000 won per person!
I would definitely visit again if I'm living in Busan T.T

Unlike Taiwan, most shops in Korea close at 10pm. Nothing much to do at night, we ended our first day in Korea with 2 bottles of soju. 

For your information, soju is the cheapest drink in Korea other than mineral water.
It was selling at around 1000 won, which is about RM 4 and I couldn't believe my eyes to see the price in Malaysia which goes up to RM 20 per bottle, OMG

October 27, 2015

Rainy day. Yet, beautiful still.  Holding a cup of hot Americano, walking by the street, pretending as a Korean.  Love the coffee culture here, everyone seems enjoy drinking coffee and cafes are easily assesible.  Without any planning, we walked around the town before leaving for Seoul.  Frankly speaking, I don't mind to live there forever!

My eonni and I 

連杯子都那麼萌，叫我如何捨得離開～～～
@Paris Baguette, Busan station

From Busan to Seoul

There are several ways to travel from Busan to Seoul.  For instance, regular train, bus, plane or KTX express.  Out of those few options, we had chosen KTX express to save our time from 5 hours trip via regular train or bus to a 3 hours journey. 

To get the ticket:

We bought our ticket a day earlier at Busan KTX station, which cost us 59800 won per pax (around RM 226).  If you're travelling during peak season, to be safe, you may buy your ticket earlier at Korail website too :)

From there, we left Busan.
For most tourists, Busan might not as happening as Seoul, but this is the reason I love Busan.  I would rather spend a few hours strolling across quiet streets than getting into crowded tourist spot.
2 days 1 night was just too short for me.
Here, I left my soul in Busan...