A Day in Busan

Day 6
November 1, 2011
Busan

After almost an hour of bus ride, we reached Taejongdae resort park, a natural park in Busan with magnificent cliffs facing an open sea. The Sinseon Rock, probably the only part of the park worth visiting, took most of our time in the park.

Later in the afternoon, we had our late lunch at a restaurant across the park.

We then went to Busan tower at Yongdusan Park and Gwangbokro Shopping street.

Later in the night, we went to see the Gwangan (Diamond) Bridge at the Gwangalli Beach.

First night in Busan

Day 5
October 31, 2011
Seoul and Busan

Our last day in Seoul was spent in Yonsan Eletronics Market to check out the prices of the latest gadgets. Later in the afternoon, we travelled to Busan by train for 2.5 hours. After finding our hotel - Blue backpackers - we ate dinner at one of the restaurants nearby. Afterwards, we surveyed the place around the hotel and found out that we were in the red-light district... haha.

Guided tour in Gyeongbokgung Palace

Day 4

October 30, 2011
Seoul

On our fourth day, we transferred to another unit in the same building as we were unable to reserve Ann Guesthouse for another day. We moved to Hongdae Guesthouse. It was not as homey as Ann which would account for the cheaper price.

We then went out for brunch at Loteria, the local equivalent of Jollibee. We made a quick stop at Kinki Robot along the way.

At Gyeongbokgung Palace, we were treated to a free guided tour by a Korean grade school student. The tour was, first and foremost, a way for students to practice the English language. I found the tour very informative and the student very engaging. It was refreshing to find a kid who is very passionate and proud about his country's history and culture.

We then went to Gwanghwamum Square located across the palace before heading to dinner.

We then made our way to catch the last showing of the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain on Banpo Bridge at the Han river. We thought the last showing was at 930 PM. Alas, it was actually 900 PM so we missed it. We just spent the night instead with some coffee and dessert at the Sunrise (or was it Sunset?) tower of the bridge.

Fall in Nami Island

Day 3
October 29, 2011
Nami Island

On our third day, we took a 1 hour train trip to get to the picturesque Nami Island. The place is made famous by the Korean drama 'Winter Sonata' among others. I thought it was great that Korea is able to attract tourists thru its soap operas (not to mention K-pop artists). Before boarding the ferry to get to the island though, we had lunch in a restaurant across the ferry dock.

After a quick ferry ride, we reached the Nami island. Fall colors were in full blast. It was a great day for picture taking.

After a dinner of traditional Korean food (and the difficult task of ordering that comes with it), we went to Doosan Tower or Doota in Dongdaemum to buy souvenirs and pasalubong.

Before calling it a day, we checked out the Holloween party that went on near our hotel. Koreans and tourists alike put out all stops in their impressive costumes. Loud (and familiar) music was all around as well (Apparently, Koreans are fond as well of doing covers of songs by International artists). The crowd was huge that at one point I actually got separated from my friends. Good thing I found them some 30 minutes after as I forgot the way back to the hotel.