Busan - Seoul 2019 Day 3 Part 1: Flight from Busan to Seoul and Holiday Inn Express Hongdae Review

Day 3 already! And I cannot believe that I was worried prior to my trip that we are spending too many days in Busan, actually not lor!!

Our flight was at 10.40am but we are the typical kiasu Singaporeans and decided to reach the airport at least 1.5 hours before although it is a domestic flight.

So we chionged for the Airport Bus really early, the one right outside our hotel here. We opted for the 8.13am bus after having breakfast at our hotel.

can I just PSA: THE BUS UNCLE WENT OFF EARLIER THAN 8.13AM LOL My mum was super kiasu and insisted we stand at the bus stop from 7.55am ded. But guess she was right coz the bus came at about 8.09am. After hopping on the bus, the bus uncle actually drove off at 8.11am LOL WALAO. So please please please be there early. 

Hihi BTS everywhere~

Our journey was super chill coz... we skipped all the stops and there were NO PASSANGERS ROFL.

Heng uncle could speak a bit of english because he actually wanted to alight us at the international airport, which was the stop prior to the domestic airport. 

The domestic airport was simple and fuss free but only has a few eateries like Angeinus Coffee and Dunkin Donuts. Don't expect to find a full meal here! Though I am sure there might be a food court somewhere.

Something to note is to remember that FLIGHTS ARE INDEED UNPREDICTABLE AND DELAYS DO HAPPEN. 

The staff for Korean Air gave us the option of changing our flight to the 9.40am one, which will be delayed for 1 hour instead of taking our original 10.40am one, which is delayed for 10 minutes.

We were like HUH but since we did not check in online due to difficulties with the online system and our inability to read korean comprehensively.... we had the chance of changing our flight as suggested by the staff.

We were glad we did so, because even after changing, we only took off at about 11.05am! So if we had taken our original flight I think it would have been worse.

Aiya I forgot to take a picture of the plane itself but my seats were so comfortable and the space for my legs was much more than my sad silk air flight lol.

We landed at Gimpo International Airport, which is actually nearer to the city than Incheon International airport. Follow the signs to take the Airport Express towards the city! And don't be surprised by how far you have to walk.. I think the distance was about a 7-10 minute walk, or walking within Dhoby Ghaut Station from red line platform to purple line platform and back again lol.

Holiday Inn Express Hongdae Review

Getting here was super convenient because the moment we reached Hongdae, exit 5 was right above the Airport/Arex Line and once we tapped out, took an escalator up and turned right, the entrance to Aekyung Tower was there and the lobby to the hotel was at level 7.

Aekyung Tower is this new building with 5 stories of shopping.

What I liked

As a 3-star hotel it was fuss-free and no-frills. I can sleep comfortably and go out to explore for the whole day and come back to a nice and clean room.

I also liked the wide selection available for breakfast and the super convenient location to Hongdae.

Other than exit 5, which is unfortunately an open-air exit, there is also exit 4, which is the other side of Aekyung Tower that is sheltered. Look for this exit and make the detour through Aekyung Tower level 1 to get to the main lobby with the 3 lifts that bring you to the hotel.

I also liked the service staff at the reception desk they were super helpful! They even gave us early check in and late check out because of my mum's membership or something wew. 

What I did not like

Because this place was so new... taking a cab here was VERY HARD.

Like. I have to write korean and uncle use GPS and we still sorta can't get here kinda hard.

One of the reasons is because this play is NEW and even putting in holiday inn express in the GPS (assuming you can convey the name of the hotel to the driver) could give no results.

SOOOOOO ask the reception for help to have a piece of paper with the address in korean, coz the keycard holder doesn't have it.

Other than that, the roads leading up to Aekyung Tower are quite tricky, with one-way roads and no right turns and other traps that make me think this is a navigation test route area. Urgh

Last complaint is that I have to queue like a typical Singaporean for breakfast...

I mean, this was really a turn off on day one but they also warn us that this long line occurs only during the 'peak hour' of 8am to 9.30am.... So head out for breakfast or come earlier! Breakfast ends officially at 9.30am

Overall, I would stay here again and my mum agrees! We do like the service and the convenience of this location, getting from here to anywhere we want in Seoul was quite a breeze.

Part 2 is next, where we spent our day completely in Hongdae and nowhere else. 

Busan - Seoul 2019 Day 2 Part 2: Haeundae Beach, Sea Life Aquarium, Gwangalli Beach

Headed to Haeundae Beach from Centum City Station, a mere three stations away. 

Come out of exit 5 and you will see this long road in front of you. There are eateries and shops on both sides.

Mum went to research this famous fish cake store (omuk) and it is called Goresa Fish Cake (고래사어묵 해운대점) 

We did not order any thing as we did not have the time and we did not really know how it worked. Do we pick the omuk and pay at the counter.. where do we make hot the omuk... do we get the soup... Slight regrets again, as I heard the omuk in Busan is famous and taste different from that of Seoul.

There were a lot of stalls set up along the side of the road. Perhaps this only happens on Fridays and on the weekends? There were stalls selling temporary tattoos, trinkets, even tarrot card reading aiyo.

At the end of the 500 metre walk (omy), we finally reached this road crossing which would bring us to Haeundae Beach!

But first, we wanted to see the SEA LIFE Busan Aquarium. This was an agenda I added to the itinerary that my mum kindly allowed hehe.

Look out for the shark on the right (absolutely can't miss), walk past the carpark and turn left when you see the sign. 

If you take the busan city tour bus you might get 10% off for a ticket here. Tickets are a bit hefty at 29,000 won each and I think it goes into really preserving the environment for the sea creatures to thrive in.

A map of the place!

I wanted to catch a glimpse of the manta ray feeding session which was why we rushed to enter this place at 5pm, but turns out it was instead 5pm for the mermaid story at the main tank?! Perhaps the information I received from the main website was inaccurate T_____T

The mermaid show was okay la. Hard work for the divers, the mermaid did not have a tank and had to do a deep dive each time. Some of the fishes kept swimming nonchalantly around her, right at the front of the tank also... #attentionseeking

I liked that the displays and signs had english, so I could read most of it and enjoy identifying the sea creatures hehe. There was a touch pool as well but I didn't want to stress the starfishes so I just decided to look.

These stingrays were the ABSOLUTE CUTEST. LITTLE PUPPIES OF THE SEA.

There were creative displays as well of fishes kept in a glass tank shaped like a dresser table, perfume and ice cream but I have to upload them again as they are stuck in my camera! ><

We left the aquarium without getting any souvenirs from the souvenir store. Didn't find anything too interesting to buy from there.

We then headed to Haeundae Beach itself to walk about but.... very nice meh? D:

I clearly did not put in any effort in taking these photos. I do like the sea breeze and the feeling of sand on my feet but living on a sunny island like Singapore... a beach is still a beach to me sorry D:

Perhaps it would be better if we had time to go a bit further to see the ocean view like at Oryuku Islands but we really didn't have enough time in the two days we were there sobs.

By this time, about 6pm, the streets were really bustling and all the stops were properly set up. We were looking for a kbbq place to eat and I suddenly realised I had a recommended eatery saved on my phone in google maps, so we headed there to eat.

Obanjang BBQ is a fuss free, charcoal grilled bbq place. Cheap and good :D
Address:20 Gunam-ro 24beon-gil, U-dong, Haeundae, Busan, South Korea

We ordered just a portion of pork belly and pork collar. Truth to be told we were a bit confused as the english translation, the chinese translation and what we finally ate for pork collar all didn't coincide so we don't think the translations are accurate tbh. Regardless it was delicious, and our meal only cost 23,000 won.

Thereafter we took a train to Gwangalli beach... or rather to Gwangan station and walked for almost 15 mins to the beach. WHY THE TRAIN STATION SO FAR WALAO.

Got to the beach and waited about 30 minutes for the 8pm light show. The show wasn't much tbh... Just watch on youtube la #typicalmillenials

But I do like this particular view the beach and the soft glow in the sky is really pretty. Unfortunately there was a small showcase at the side which explains the super bright spotlights and the bright sand.

We realised later after taking a cab that if you walked to the right for about 5 minutes, you will get to a calmer part of the beach where you can take a much clearer and darker picture of the beach and of the Gwangandaegyo Bridge with less human traffic.

We stayed for just the light show and then headed back to our hotel to rest up for our early morning the next day to FLY TO SEOUL WEW.

Busan - Seoul 2019 Day 2 Part 1: 168 Steps and Shinsegae Centum City

Looking back we did way too much on day 1. Even if I wasn't sleep deprived I think I would have been dead beat.

I think it's good to mention now that my itinerary was very weather based because a lot of places in Korea is not sheltered and the inconvenience of getting drenched is really high. So imagine my disappointment when weather forecast said it would pour on the two days we were in Busan :( #criesincatsanddogs #okaynothatsnothowitisused But thank God, there wasn't rain at all the two days we were there, and even for our time in Seoul it only rained a little despite the weather forecast. So we were really grateful.

Breakfast at Toyoko-Inn is not bad! Quite a variety of food and we saw different food items during the two mornings we ate there. While it's true that we ought to have gone out to eat but it was just convenient. They had porridge, kimchi/seaweed soup, pasta salad, rice, anchovies, sausages, eggs, toast, coffee (tasted great) etc.

The view overlooking the side of Busan Train Station was good too.

Thereafter we went to this place called 168 steps. I actually found this on someone's video blog and goodness the taxi driver we talked to actually couldn't figure out where it was. It didn't help that neither google maps nor naver maps seem to be able to adequately inform the taxi driver on how to get there.

Soooooo I set at the front and then gave directions using hand gestures. The people of Busan are really too kind already. The Uncle legit trust me to give the correct directions and we somehow landed at the foot of the 168 steps. The journey up via car had a super steep incline and it was drizzling slightly, I'm glad we took a cab from Busan Station (5000 won).

Isn't it cuteeeeeeee and look, there is a cute monorail!

Apparently the history behind the steps was that it would help to connect the people living above quickly to the main area below (closer to busan station) instead of having to walk a huge round. To help with the fact that the steps are super steep, this monorail is built.

You don't have to pay for it, just enter the monorail on the second floor of this entrance on the right of the stairs.

When you enter, remember to press '3' and then close the door, the monorail will then go up on its own.

Some of the things we saw on the way upppppppp and when we went down the stairs later.

Check out the view! You can probably take some nice pictures here against the various backdrops. There are about 3 of them, and give me the same vibes as Gamcheon Culture Village.

We walked down the stairs and it was THE MISTAKE OF OUR DAY. Haha no la basically climbing up is A LOT EASIER than climbing down. It didn't take us very long but we had to be careful walking down (accident prone here) and at least we had (rusty) railings to grab onto for support.

Learn from our errors, climb UP and take photos along the way, then monorail down. This pretty part with loads of little houses was around the middle of the steps but somehow there were a lot of koreans also taking pictures here (and they all took a while) so I grabbed some photos and left~

We then headed towards Busan Station and literally winged it on the walk down. But I tried to take some pictures as I can to help direct you to 168 steps walking from Busan Station so here it is:

From Busan Station, cross the road to the other side where you should see Angelinus Coffee and Lotteria.

Along the way you would see these signs so hopefully they help you guide you!

At this particular intersection (sooooo sorry I couldn't figure out where exactly this was...) there was this display of a bus and a female bus conductor. If you look at the lamp post, the brown signs provide directions to 168 steps.

The sign is in essence pointing to this tiny alleyway which will bring you through the homes instead of having to walk one big round (as instructed by google maps).

And then this sign...

Walk straight...

At this point of the road, you will see this alleyway with pictures and things mounted on the wall talking about the history of this place

At the end of this alley you will see this.

At this point we saw an old uncle bringing chinese speaking tourists around and he asked in korean if we were looking for the 168 steps. I tried to explain we have just gone and he was so nice he sort of insisted we can follow him and he would bring us there. People of Busan you guys are da best~

After climbing those colourful steps, your google maps should be able to bring you in the general direction to reach the foot of this staircase (40 steps with flowerpots in the middle), where I bought this sugar candy (Ppopgi 뽑기) from the ahjumma manning the small shop on the left. She was so sweet she kept telling me she is giving me the one she just made and that it was still warm. I took a while to understand but thanked her when I finally understood hehehehe.

Also this sugar candy lasted me the entire day as a snack.

After these steps, turn right and walk and the 168 steps should be immediately on your left!

After this we headed back to Busan Station to take a bus to Shinsegae Centum City (신세계 센텀시티). I noticed the train would take longer and since it was past peak hour we took a bus there instead. Bus 1001 took us from the bus stop just outside Busan Station all the way to a bus stop which was outside Shinsegae also. Bus ride was only 40 minutes!

This was the only bus ride we took the entire trip and we could not figure out from the internet if we need to tap out as well. In any case we copied the people before us and 80% of them tapped their card when they exited the bus. I was happily playing Pokemon Go on the way there.

After alighting we looked around and decided the easiest way was to go underground towards the subway to head to Shinsegae. We took the lift/stairs at exit 1 and after just a minute of walking and following the signs saw this big atrium area and the signs for Shinsegae.

Shinsegae Centum City holds the Guinness Book of Records for the largest shopping complex in the entire world. Our itinerary only allowed us 3 hours here sobs. 

Surprisingly, probably due to the fact we had very little time and we skipped a ton of floors, we did not find this place all that difficult to walk or confusing in any way (coughs at suntec city singapore) and we did enjoy the shops that caught our attention. There was also duty free here so we had immediate refunds on many of the items we purchased here. Grab a map of this place to help you zoom in on places you want to go, and which floors which might not be of interest to you.

This is the counter of Peter Jansen, a brand based in the UK that had the cutest souvenirs and stationery all in the shape of this odd rabbit. 

We ate at the food park here which had loads of korean food and even fast food like KFC. Interestingly, there was a skating rink behind the food park and I enjoyed listening to kpop while having our food. 

The food park works using a centralised ordering and payment system from this one counter pictured above. If you ask for an english menu you will receive one to help with your ordering.

After paying you will be given a buzzer with a number, and you need to pay attention to the screen to see when your number buzzes.

Then we realised. Siao liao. When we ordered we didn't take note of which stall we were ordering from, and every stall on the screen was in korean. LOL. Winged it by walking up to the only store that seemed to be calling for a customer and it was 100% ours. Dead. 

Here's our food!!

The above is samgyeopsal (pork belly) rice set. 

The above is a seafood noodle soup. Even contained crab inside woaaah.

I didn't take a lot of pictures while I was shopping but I would say the selection is limited to people in their 20s to 40s for the floors focused on fashion. We did walk around the floor designated for sports and some of the shoes, bags, etc were rather affordable!

Thereafter we were too tired and had to take a break at a cafe called Dore Dore. You will find this place in parts of Seoul as well, and the cafe specialises in cakes.

We bought this cake and we had NO IDEA WHAT WE WERE EATING. We concluded it was a chocolate cake, although I ordered it thinking it might have been a red velvet cake. I struggled to read the sign D: It was delicious and we sort of managed to finish the entire thing although it was a huge slide heh.

Most people would know that there is a Spa Land here in Shinsagae but due to the lack of time we decided not to go to the spa (as we also did not back in 2017 lol) and just head off to the beaches of Busan! A bit regrets though >< However I had actually done way too much shopping here and so did my mum so we were wondering how to also handle all our shopping bags when we go into the spa. Can the locker even fit haha. Next time then!