Falling for South Korea - Busan & Gyeongju

Day 7 : Busan & Haeundae Beach


Whilst this year is Visit Korea Year, Korean government and the Korean Tourism Organization have  offered free return shuttle services Seoul - Busan and Seoul-Jeonju to international tourists worldwide. Booking of the free seats must be made through the internet and 10 days prior to departure, they will issue the tickets to those who are selected (in case of applications are more than the available seats). So we managed to get a free return transfer Seoul - Busan.

Early in the morning, we checked out from Yims Guest House and took the metro to Gwanghwamun station, as the shuttle would leave Seoul for Busan from the Gwanghwamun Lotte Duty Free shopping mall. Around 8 pm, the bus departed Seoul. It was a 5 hour ride though estimated time of arrival was 6 hours later.

The shuttle bus service ends at Lotte Hotel Busan, which the nearest subway is Seongmyeon station. From Seongmyeon station, we took the metro to Busan Station. Getting out of the station at exit 10, we could easily find our accommodation, Pusan Inn Motel, which is just a few minutes from the station. We checked-in and to my surprise, each of our room is equipped with a computer, mattress heater, our own hot and cold water dispenser and DVD player. So we took some time accessing the internet from the desktop computer. If I am not mistaken, this is one of the cheapest hotel in Busan which is very close to the KTX and metro-station.

Our lunch for today, kimchi, fish roe and rice

Before we take the metro to Haeundae, we had lunch at one of the Korean food outlet the the KTX Busan Station. We could not see any pork served on the menu list, so we thought it was ok to have our meal there. We ordered fish roe and vegetables in hot pot with rice, served with pickled radish and kimchi. We finished everything that was served and with full stomach, we made our way to Haeundae. I read somewhere that T-money cannot be used in Busan, but it is usable here though we could not enjoy cheaper metro fares here. T-money can be reloaded at the GS-25 convenient stores. I am not sure if it can be reloaded at other convenience stores.
Haeundae is famous for its beach, as what I have read from the Wikitravel. But when we arrived there, it was getting dark and the view was not at its best. We sat by the beach, watching and observing people, until my buddy spotted a couple, husband and wife, who were fishing there. But oddly, they were not using the common artificial baits or worms for wishing, but rather they used fish heads and cuttings of nets as baits. We approached the couple and then only we realized they were catching crabs instead of fish. They managed to get 4-8 crabs per catch. It was not easy to handle the caught crabs given that this organism really knew when to use its pincers. The couples efficiently removed the crabs' pincers using a pliers, and placed them in a container containing seawater. It was such a nice experience to learn how they catch the crabs and how to handle them.

I wonder, how many people might have been the victims of the crabs pincers when there are so many of them, especially in summer. This is the reason why I do not enjoy beach-bathing especially when I could not see the bottom, and do not know what creatures are inhabiting the seabed.

Just to make sure our visit to this beach was not a waste, we waited a little longer when the buildings started to glow their colorful neon lights. It was a pleasant view though and this was the time where photography could be a little challenging, without a tripod. We even exploited the colorful neon lights by experimenting our knowledge in photography to take considerably colorful pictures. By prolonging the shutter speed and varying the motions of our camera, the results were pretty satisfying. Our experimental results were shown below.

High-rise hotel buildings on the right side of Haeundae Beach

The way they catch the crabs

Experimenting with our cameras

Trigonometry: a sinusoidal graph

When there was nothing much that we could do, we decided to leave Haeundae. While heading back to the metro station, we passed through a market. We thought we could get something nice but this market does not sell souvenirs alike, only seafood, meats, vegetables and fruits. Interestingly, they do sell bizarre looking fish which I have never seen before. The market, however, was clean and neatly arranged though the hanging meats did nauseate me a bit. At the end of the of the market street, vegetables and fruits were on sale, and they looked so tempting. We bought ripe persimmons for KRW 5000, and headed to the metro station.

I thought of spending some time at Gwangalli beach where the view of Gwangan Grand bridge is at its best during night time.Planning was easy, but given that my buddy was not so interested with such thing, so we straight away returned to the hotel. To be honest, there were several attractions in Busan which I have planned for today but only one attraction was successfully visited. Why? Let me just keep it to myself...  

A market which sells food stuff, especially seafood, not a place for souvenir shopping

Night view at Busan Station

In less than an hour, we arrived the hotel, cleaned ourselves and I did some research for the plan next day.

Day 8 : Gyeongju

I woke up with a feeling of excitement because today I will be visiting a charming town of Gyeongju. Without wasting anymore time, we went out from the hotel around 8.00, took the metro heading to Nopo-dong terminal station. The station is connected to the inter-city bus terminal so it was easy to look for it. Just follow the signs. The counters were visible from the entrance and there were not many people there. We did not have to line up at all because many counters are available. We bought 2 tickets to Gyeongju, KRW 4500 each. Be sure of the destination or else you might end up going somewhere else. There are several cities which when pronounce in Korean, would be almost similar, Gyeongju, Jeonju, Gwangju etc. Before printing the ticket, the staff showed us a list of cities, and we indicated the staff the actual city we intent to go. We took the 9.30 bus. The journey took 1 hour, with very light traffic on the highway.

Along the journey to Gyeongju, I was mesmerized with the landscape along the highway. It is hilly and and the paddy field was golden-yellow in color. Autumn foliage was still at its early stage but I gave up on that already.

When the bus was approaching Gyeongju city, I started to feel the change in the atmosphere, literally. There was no high buildings, less buildings, less traffics and generally it has different colors. The bus then reached the inter-city bus station and we got off, looking for information center. We obtained a map and asked several questions on the mode of transportation around Gyeongju. Before we start the visiting thing, we had light breakfast at a Western-like, small and cozy coffee shop near the bus terminal, and got ourselves a cup of caramel macchiato and a piece of cheesecake. It was really a perfect breakfast though it was not the right meal for breakfast. Haha...

Cozy and small coffee shop near Gyeongju Inter-city bus terminal

After breakfast, here we go.

BULGUKSA TEMPLE

We got on the bus # 11 and used the T-money to pay for the bus fare. Mind you that the bus fare in Gyeongju is more expensive than the metro fare in Seoul and Gyeongju. So get the T-money reloaded earlier  to avoid any difficulties later. Of course you can always use the the coins and notes to pay the fares.
It takes around 30 minutes or more to get to this serene temple. The entrance fee is KRW 4000 per person.

Since I am neither a storyteller nor a History teacher, i leave the detail explanation to Miss Wikipedia, check it out ----> Bulguksa Temple

It was really fun to do the photography here though patience is required when the swarming tourists kept on 'accidentally inter-framing' the view.

Most commonly photographed spot at Bulguksa Temple

Perspective

When walking uphill and downhill, to and from the temple, the surrounding view was really amazing with the colors of the leaves started to change. The blending of red, orange, yellow and green leaves left a dramatic effect and breath-taking landscape. 

There is another UNESCO World Heritage which lies a few kilometers east of this temple, which is the Seokguram Grottoe. To get there, just hop on the bus #12, but we did not go there as my buddy seemed reluctant to take a peek at this place. Instead of taking bus #12, we took another bus heading to the Gyeongju city, and got off at the opposite stop of a museum which is next to the Wolseong belt of Gyeongju Historic Areas. There are 3 more areas which are also gazetted as Gyeongju Historic Areas: Mt. Namsan belt, Tumuli Park belt and Hwangyongsa.

Autumn is nicer here

I am loving this

The attractions within the Wolseong belt are the Wolseong Fortress, Anapji pond, Gyerim forest, Cheomseongdae observatory tower, and the ruins of the Imhaejeon Palace. We visited all except for the ruins of Imhaejeon Palace because our pairs of feet started to rebel for too much of work done. 

Before getting to the historic area, we passed through a land full of beautiful white and pink flowers like the one we saw in Jeju. Until today, I do not have the slightest idea what it is call. This is the starting point where I spent much time capturing hundreds of pictures. When we walked further, I realized that the land full of flowers are actually just next to the Anapji pond, or perhaps it is part of it. 

The sky was cloudless and the sun ray seemed to blind me a bit. And the UV ray burned my face which I noticed when we returned to the hotel. Yaikkksss....it was worse than getting sunburn while SCUBA diving!!  As a lesson, do not underestimate what UV ray can do to the skin even at the higher latitude countries. And cold does not mean no sunburn

Just can't get myself calm when seeing these lovely flowers scattering all over the land

The views around Anapji pond would be great during spring when the lotuses and other flowers are blooming, filling the land with beautiful colors. Wild ducks were having feeding frenzy around the pond but immediately flew away when the sensed human presence. 

We crossed the road heading to the opposite area. We passed through a line of shop-lots. They look small, cute and tide. Most of them are coffee-shops, perfect for having some rest after a long walk. But we did not spend our time there because we were 'seducted' with the attractions around this area. And mind that everything in Gyeongju is slightly more expensive than in the metropolitan cities like Seoul, but does not mean you cannot spend anything there. It is all depending on your necessities or how much money you are willing to spend.

Wilting lotuses at Anapji pond

Small and decent row of shops near the tumuli

Opposite Anapji pond is the Wolseong fortress, but I could not see the fort or at least the remnants of the fort, except a small little bridge. Again, this fortress is at its best during spring. The grave hills, or tumulis, the Cheomseongdae tower and the Gyerim forest can be seen from Anapji pond too. I felt a little relieve because all of the attractions are located at one place where we would not have to walk too much. All of the attractions mentioned are free of charge except for the Cheomseongdae observatory tower which costs KRW 500. Unless you want a picture of yourself really close to the tower, it is OK to pay that much, or else, just take the picture from outside the fenced area.

Cheomseongdae observatory tower

Gyerim forest is a nice spot for relaxing, picnicking or just strolling around. It is not really a forest but it is full trees which is really cooling and refreshing. The view is great and even greater when the autumn has came to its peak. There were squirrels lurking for food and did not bother the presence of humans at all.

Gyerim Forest

Autumn foliage in Gyerim Forest

The tumulis remind me of a nice place called 'Chocolate Hills' which located in Bohol, Philippines. I have not been there yet but who knows I will be able to go there one day. The tumulis are the final resting place for the royalties in the past. The hills were neatly formed and reached the height of 3 - 4 meters. There were many tumuli parks around this area.

Royal tombs, or tumuli  next to Gyerim Forest

Spooky (according to my pair of eyes)

After having a long day at Gyeongju, we headed to the Gyeongju inter-city bus terminal to catch the 6 pm bus to Nopo-dong bus terminal.

We had dinner at the same restaurant at Busan station, and the same meal. All in all, I was satisfied and felt good with our visit to Gyeongju

Day 9 : Busan - Seoul

There was nothing much we did today, except a short walk in the Chinatown, which is opposite Busan Station. To be honest, there was nothing much there (maybe because it was a little too early for business operation) and weirdly, there were many shops with Russian writings. There were several shops which have been opened, and they sell all hiking and camping equipment. They looked cheap though but we did not have anything to buy here.There is also a halal restaurant owned by an Uzbekistani serving their kind of food.

Around 12 noon, we headed for the Lotte Hotel to catch the returning free shuttle bus to Busan.