Birthday Series: Beautiful Busan

A little heads up, this was a very long overdue post. I traveled to Korea last September. It was as fun and awesome as I had expected.☺


Cold chilly air welcomed me upon arrival, I didn’t know what to expect but I was excited nonetheless. This was my first time in Korea and another first solo travel adventure. Busan strikes me to be very laid-back chill city and reminds me somewhat of Bondi beach in Sydney, from its seaside scenes to its cool but very sociable party loving people and its various coffee shop scattered all over the city.

I arrived in the late evening and I had to make way to the city on my own. First order of business was Gwanggan Beach. It’s one of the popular beaches in Busan and interesting to note that it's overlooking the Gwanggali Bridge. At night it was truly an awesome sight to behold and a perfect place to relax. So there I sat, with my lumbering backpack, in one of the shaded huts aligning the shore enjoying the tranquility of just enjoying the moment. There were young couples and their PDA like its nobody’s business, kids playing with lights and fireworks, musicians entertaining a small crowd and the occasional loud cars racing past the streets.

Gwanggali Beach amd Gwanggan Beach at night

Relaxed and feet rested, I took time to walk the shore and the street taking everything in. After awhile when the chilly winds can no longer be tolerated, I ended up in a cool cafe for some good coffee to warm up my senses.

The next day, it was time to roam the surrounding area of my accommodation. I was glad with my choice as it was just below two of the tourist spots in Busan. The BIFF or Busan International Film Festival street where there are stars ala Hollywood and not to mention the abundance of street food. The opposite street was Jagalchi Market and its fresher than fresh fish and seafood family emanating straight to your nostrils, as I said FRESH!

After a quick breakfast and short wander around the area, I headed to Gamcheon Cultural Village. It’s a colourful arts winding road that is an Instagram lover’s mecca, it’s quite a bit of a hike though so be prepared with some reliable and comfy footwear.

Gamcheon is known as Busan's Santorini and interestingly so, this place was on the dodgy side of town a couple of years ago and it was transformed to be one of the popular tourist destinations in the city. Plants wearing pants to a 3rd wheeling’ date with the little prince and his fox, colourful man-bird sculptures and giant fish abstracts are just a few of the wonderful things you can photograph in Gamcheon - not to mention the amazing bird’s eye view of the landscape.

Fast forward and i woke up after a quick nap with my stomach gurgling. I went down wanting to experience the local street food. I ended up trying Hotteok -  a pancake filled dessert filled with sesame seeds and some sort of sweets. I didn’t want to pass up the chance since a lot of locals said it’s a must try and the long lines were definitely a testament to their advice. I also tried their skewers and the chicken and rice cake combo that was truly quite filling. I wanted to try more but my stomach was up to its max already.

Hotteok 

Korean Chicken and rice cake 

I went home smiling with a happy tummy and lots of great memories to add to my adventure bin. I had an early day for tomorrow’s Seoul trip - this will be another grand adventure!