The interior of the train was very snug and clean, with nice cushioned seats for the long ride. There was also a place to store our luggage near the doors. All the seats are assigned, with fold down tables, a foot rest and coat hangers next to the windows.
And unlike Melbourne trains, the KTX leaves at 9.30 on the dot.
Along the trip, a food cart would wheel through with drinks and snacks (chips, sausages, dried food, etc). Although we didn't purchase any, we had our famous flavoured drinks on hand. Below are the strawberry, banana and melon flavored milk. Banana is still my favorite =)
It took 2.5 hours to reach Busan, and during that time there were lovely views of the countryside covered with snow (although most of the time I spent dozing off to catch up on sleep). There were many passengers on the train, with a mixture of families, army boys and workers heading across the countryside.
Upon arrival at Busan station (below was the entrance we came out of), we rented the lockers on the side so that we could leave our big luggage inside. Our original plan was to leave them at Seoul station, but since they were all taken so quickly we had hoped to see some in Busan.
Each locker costs 3000W to open, then once the bags are stored it's 3000W to close. The key is kept on hand until we return.
The photo only shows one corner of the station, the actual interior was huge. We had to walk across the station in order to exit from the right side where the main road and taxis were. So if you came out from the side where it looks quiet and bare, that's the 'wrong' side.
Coming out of Busan station was a large courtyard, and to the left were a group of silver taxis waiting.
The hotel we booked - Aventree - was relatively new and located smack bang in the middle of a busy shopping district. The hotel actually shares the building with a shopping center, but the entrance was off to the side.
The room was pretty spacious for us 3, and clean with the typical bathroom facilities, bottled water, tea/coffee and kettle.
Behold our window view! Afar was the Lotte Mall. Off to the left where I didn't take a photo of was the Busan tower on a hill. It didn't seem much as first but tonight on New Years Eve, a fireworks display will be held next to the tower...so luckily we had the view!
After a short settle in, we decided to head off to the famous Jagalchi Fish Market, the largest fish market in Korea. Luckily it was close by so we walked through the city towards the harbor. Google Maps helped a lot here =)
Down at Jagalchi station, it wasn't hard to follow the signs and exit towards the market.
Also down at the station we came across some delicious snacks. Below are barley walnut cookies that were soft and warm to bite into with a rich walnut filling center.
Before entering the indoor market, the whole harbor was lined with numerous seafood stores displaying their fresh produces. The pathway was busy with tourists and locals, and the air smelled very strongly of fresh seafood mingled with the voices of the owners announcing their prices. Many of the store owners were middle-aged/married women, or so-called "Jagalchi Ajjumas".
Another snack we grabbed was this sausage wrapped with seaweed and deep-fried fish patter. SO GOOD.
Finally we made it inside the indoor fish market, where you get to see live produces in tanks, ready to be sold.
Upstairs was the restaurant area, where each restaurant were lined up down the entire floor. I think the menus were all pretty similar, or the prices might be different, but either way you'll get owners trying to lure you into sitting on their table. I recommend sitting by the window where you can enjoy scenery of Busan's coast. We however didn't because the lady speaking Chinese to us was very very insistent that their store was the best lol. It was also closest to the stairs entrance, so easy targets.
Many side dishes were given to us, including garlic, kelp, peppers, cabbage with hot sauce, carrots, peas, sweet potato, raddish, spinach and of course, kimchi.
And voila, this was what we ordered. We dared to have 2 dishes of raw seafood and 1 combo hotpot.
Ahh the raw octapus in sesame oil. Most of the tentacles were still moving =p I didn't want it to become stuck in my mouth so my method was to quickly chew and swallow!
Also randomly picked up the eye
The second raw dish, and the most expensive one, was the raw abalone, sea cucumber and sea squirt. Apparently it's a common dish for locals and very good for their overall health. Personally it wasn't really my favorite, the feeling was just squishy and...raw...I'd rather stick with the raw octopus.
The best dish though was the seafood hot pot. The combination of mussels, prawns, clams, radish and probably other crustaceans made the soup extra extra aromatic. It's a top favourite for any seafood fan.
From Jagalchi, we trained our way to Haeundae beach, the most famous beach in S Korea. Because it was New Year Eve, locals flocked there to watch the sunset. Fortunately the skies were clear so the scenery was beautiful.
For the rest of the evening we headed over to Centum City to do only one thing: Relax in Spa Land. This is a huge center that contains a large traditional spa and various saunas.
Prices vary according to age and time of entry and day, but since it was weekday and before 8pm we paid the full price of 13000W. After paying, we went up the escalators and the system starts there. First we went to the shoe rack area to deposit our shoes in our assigned locker and kept the key. This key was used to enter through the gates and into the facility. Later on we can use this key to pay for any foods, drinks or other extra services.
At a counter they gave us thick red cotton t-shirt and brown shorts to change into, along with 2 hand towels. Then we moved to the change rooms where we could change and store our belongings in our numbered lockers.
One thing that was quite an eye opener was that in the change rooms, everyone seems to be un-fazed about each other's nakeness. I on the other hand reacted the complete opposite, so I marched my way to the toilets to change and avoided going into the spa area where you can't wear anything but your own birthday suit.
Obviously only the spa area was separated by gender, so the saunas and relaxation area were mixed with men and women in the same red-brown cotton attire. The place was surprisingly huge, and had a nice ambiance that makes your whole body relax once you step into the building.
The relaxation room was pretty much a wide warm tiled floor area for visitors to relax after coming out from the sauna. Here we can also order food nearby and eat and chat on the floor. There are also other relaxation areas where they have large recliner chairs with individual TV screens, newspapers and magazine available.
In the relaxation room we ordered a bowl of red bean shaved ice and boiled eggs
There are 13 themed sauna or Jjimijibang rooms, each uniquely styled and at different temperatures. Below is the Roman Room.
And yep there are those that go up to 63.4C...
I have to confess, it was really hard to leave the place since we got so comfortable. When we did and changed back into our attire, all I wanted to do was to crawl into bed and sleep. Because we were still full from those eggs and shaved ice, we only bought some street snacks on our way back to the hotel. The chicken skewers are worth a try, and even in this type of weather, the tall soft cones too!
The streets were full of Christmas lights, and everyone was out to enjoy a stroll and later on the fireworks. Sadly I didn't get a good shot of fireworks, but watching them from our hotel room, it was a marvelous sight and feeling as the year 2015 rolled in.
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