For breakfast we ventured out to the streets where virtually no store was opened besides restaurants and some cafes. In comparison to the busy atmosphere in the afternoon and evenings, mornings before 11am turned the streets into a ghost town.
We came across this famous chain restaurant known for their chicken ginseng soup so we decided to try it out. Their standard ones for 14 000W are a huge stone pot of ginseng soup with chicken stuffed with ginseng and rice. Unfortunately the flavor was pretty bland compared to their Seoul counterparts.
The first destination we visited was Igidae Park, where we can take a picturesque view of Busan and its famous Gwangsan or Diamond Bridge. I followed the directions from this website where it outlines the trail from the train station in Namcheon to Igidae Park (http://cityawesome.com/busan1/2011/10/a-walk-through-igidae/). It was pretty easy to follow, but it did get a bit confusing once we reached the intersection after MegaMart. Below is a photo of where we stood and looking back after heading straight past the intersection and under the Gwangandaegyo bridge above us. We then crossed the lower bridge and up on the pink wooden boardwalk on the left hand side facing the coast.
As we continued walking, we slowly left the city behind us.
Gwangandaegyo bridge towards Haeundae
Off in the distance was a trapezoid looking glass building on top of the cliff, which was where we're heading.
Once we scaled past the coastline, we had to walk up the hill to get to the viewing area at the edge of the small cliff that overlooks the northern side of Busan. In the photo below, that's below the glass building (which was called 'The View'). In terms of the weather, it looked nice and sunny but the real chill came from the wind >.<
Below is the view that we came for at Dongsaengmal Observatory. On the left is the Diamond Bridge, and on the far right is Haeundae Beach. The entire journey took us 30 minutes.
Although we didn't walk the entire course, we strolled across the boardwalk that's built on the edge of the coast.
By the time we turned back, I was very keen to take the taxi after all that walking to our next destination: Gamcheon Culture Village. If not taxi, there are other ways to get there such as either 1) training to Toseng station and taking the bus (Bus 2 or 2-2) in front of the hospital or 2) taxi after arriving at Toseng station.
The village is known to be the artistic and crafty side of Busan, where their cute colorful houses stacked on the mountainside facing the sea is iconic to the area. It was constructed by refugees during the Korean War, and later locals and artists decorated the town as a conservation art project.
Because it was a popular tourist area for locals and foreigners, a trail map was provided for us as a guideline to explore what the town has to offer. At the very start of the trail, we came across these thin toffee candy. Initially the owner makes them in a circle and a shape is pressed in the center. What's fun about this is that customers will use pins (shown on the left) to try and pry out the shape without breaking it. It's actually harder than it sounds, and it depends on the shape. Usually the owners will give them away for free if the customer can avoid breaking it (sadly we broke ours, but the result was still nice and sweet).
Another snack we came across were red bean cakes in the shape of cute turtles. Below is the photo of the owner quickly squeezing bags of red bean filling onto the cake batter before snapping shut the cooking plate to heat them.
I really wanted to take more shots of this statue, but there were people waiting behind us so I only took this one shot of the little prince, based on the French novel "The Little Prince" overlooking the village.
As we ventured our way further up the village, we came across the observation tower, which serves as the perfect point to soak in the sight of the entire town and its charm.
Walking down the stairs can be super scary since it's a very steep way down.
Since we had to take the KTX back to Seoul at 5pm from Busan station, the tour around Gamcheon was cut short in order to head back to our hotel and grab our luggage. Once again, we bought bread from the bakeries at Busan station for lunch. It's really not hard to miss a chain bakery in Korea.
Back at Seoul, it was already dark and we were tired from our train ride. The taxi brought us to our new lodgings at Gyengbokgung where we stayed at a traditional style house (https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/1734950). This house was located in a small alleyway but its wooden traditional style doors luckily gave it away.
The entrance taken in the morning
In terms of the room, even though it's made for 3 people, personally I think it should fit 2 because it can easily become very cramped. The bedding was surprisingly heavy, so setting it up on the floor whilst we were tired and sleepy was a 'challenge'.
The living room was very nice, fitted with dozens of the owner's books, a laptop for guests to use, TV, electric kettle, water, tea, coffee and cups. Each room has its own bathroom, and the house fits about 4 families.
Although despite it all, tragedy struck. I was food poisoned by a doughnut that I bought at Paris Baguette so for the next 24 hours, my experience in this part of Korea was halted and became a nightmare. GARGHHHHHHH!!!
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