Insane weekend II, part 3: Busan

My friend and I woke up the next day to a somewhat overcast day, which was a huge improvement over the previous day, when it was pouring rain. Considering that this was our last day in Busan and some of the stuff we wanted to do was outdoors, it was quite a lucky break.

The first place we decided to go to was Haeundae Beach, which is often considered the best beach in Korea. It is also the most famous, and is often crowded with people. The sun was peaking out at times, but it wasn't too busy when we were there.

The gorgeous Haeundae Beach.

Considering that Seoul isn't close to the water and the nearest coastline in Incheon is pretty gritty, and that the Han River that runs through Seoul is so polluted that my friend and I saw a dead fish floating there once, seeing a beach like this was refreshing.

After the beach, we went for a sushi lunch at Centum City, and then decided to wander around. We eventually hit a beach called Gwangalli, where we had a great view of the Busan skyline.

The Busan skyline from Gwangalli.

After Gwangalli, we went on the visit the United Nations cemetery. The UN has a special place in this city because Busan was one of the only two major cities (along with Daegu) not to fall under North Korean control during the Korean War.

Flags of Korean War participants at the UN Cemetery.


The monument for Canadian, British, Australian and South African soldiers.


Canadian graves at the UN Cemetery.


The monument for Canadian soldiers.



General view of graves at the UN Cemetery.


The wall of foreign Korean War military casualties.


The Canadian section of the wall.

We were rather late by the time we finished, and the guard actually locked the gates by the time we got there. But the guard was nowhere to be found. Somehow, we managed to find someone who could track him down, and we finally left for Busan Station. We got there a little later than I would've liked but we made it.

The KTX trip back to Seoul was timely and hassle-free, but it was raining by the time we got back -- a big shift from the sunshine we had in Busan. Apparently it was raining even harder in Seoul the day before than Busan, so I guess we shouldn't complain.

Insane weekend II, part 2: Busan

After arriving at Yongsan Station from Gwangju, I went straight home, had a VERY late dinner, and went to bed around 1:00am. At around 6:00am, I woke up once again to travel across South Korea. This time, my destination was Busan (부산/釜山).

I've only been to Busan once before, and that was only during a layover en route to Fukuoka. This time, I went with a friend and the plan was to stay overnight there before heading back the next evening.

The trip to Busan was faster than the trip to Gwangju, thanks to high-speed rails continuing all the way to Daegu -- almost twice as much as the route to Gwangju. We imagined going to the beaches in Busan and enjoying the open air, a refreshing change from the crowds of Seoul.

And then we arrived. And it was RAINING HARD. Damn.

The first thing we did was head towards our hostel. It was a bit hard to find, but the guy who runs the hostel was very helpful and led us to it. I was at a hostel in Japan in May, and it was kind of what I expected. But this hostel was much different.

The view of Busan from the hostel.

For starters, this hostel was on the 15th floor of an apartment building. It had a great view of Busan, unlike the hostel in Japan, which had a great view of... the parking lot.

Also, this hostel was pretty big. Its common area was huge and spacious. The place was built as an apartment, so it felt more like a home than a hostel. The layout of the place encouraged more mingling among guests. One thing that I also noticed was that the place was incredibly clean; apparently it won a cleanest hostel award a while back. The host, June, was extremely helpful in offering advice about where to sightsee, even on this rainy day.

After looking for a while for a place to eat, we settled on bibimbap. It was pretty decently priced and good.

Since it was one of the rainiest days in a long time, indoor activities seemed best. So the first place we went to was the Shinsegae Centum City department store, which is the largest one in the world.

The underground subway entrance to Shinsegae Centum City.

The fountain at the underground entrance to Shinsegae Centum City.

Interior view of Shinsegae Centum City.

Across from Shinsegae Centum City is the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO), which is one of the largest convention centers in the country and has the largest exhibition hall in the world.

Interior view of BEXCO.

Needless to say, the place was huge.

After that, we went to have dinner. We settled on barbecued chicken, which was a bit spicy but I didn't show signs of distress, with me being the macho man and all. (Granted, this macho man listens to Miley Cyrus, but... actually, yeah. Scratch that. I'm not macho.)

We went to the hostel afterwards and hoped for better weather the next day -- and promptly fell asleep.

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Coming next:

To Busan, day 2

Suggestive-looking fish in Korea

I'm not sure if eating one of these for dinner would make me look... um... Well, I'll let you decide.

Seen in Busan, South Korea: