Busan: Last Day in Busan, and Back to Seoul

Another shot of the Daejeongdae beach. A splendidly spectacular view of the beach. A  deliberately slanted view of the beach to give it an unusual perspective...and THAT...if it even worked...^^

On our way down the hill toward the parking lot after visiting Daejeongdae. Though it may not be that clear....far beyond ...the seaport city of Busan was visible. I just wanted to say that this so-called Daejeongdae was practically situated on a slope of the hills...

..that's why visitors were going up and down the hills should they want to enjoy the view.

But what I mostly remembered was how blue the sky on that day.

With Ms. Kim M.S. who was kind enough to take us around Busan and its vicinity. 

What would a Busan Trip without having to go to Jagalchi market where most of the fish and seafood are freshly or dried sold. ^^

In that sense in mind, we went to a market selling all kinds of fish products. Well, we just bought ojingo or dried squids and anchovies.(?).

Right before leaving Busan, we had lunch at China Town. It looked so empty, right? I did not know why. It surely says that this place was  and is...the place for foreigners..but I did not see many of them. Oh, well..maybe it was not the right time to visit? Anyhow, I managed to capture a pic. of my wife in front of one of the many gates gearing towards China Town. Oh, for anyone who might be wondering as to where it was, it is located just in front of the Busan Station. 

Now..we are on board KTX train. The fastest train on the peninsula or in the world? Its speed  boasts as fast as 300 km/hour. What? Yes, the electronic signboard inside the train indeed showed that fact. But, as soon as it reached 300 km/hour it slowed a bit into 299, 298,297..or I could say that this train runs at the average of 290 km/hour. 

That's the reason as to why it takes only 2.5 hours from Busan to Seoul. (remember my story of taking Mugunghwa train that took us almost 6 hours from Seoul to Busan?)

So, this train indeed speeds up the activities and goods & people's exchanges inside the Peninsula. 

As for us, it saved us ...some energy and valuable time, though frankly speaking.....it did not help us whatsoever in saving some money. ^^hahahahahaha.

Finally got back safely in Seoul. 

Lots of families with their children were on the same compartment as we were. Guess, weekend trip in intercity train like this speed KTX train ...to some extent.....does help boost the tourism industry in Korea. 

Bye---Bye...KTX train. Till we meet again..on our trip to other cities soon.^^

Dynamic Busan (part 10): Jagalchi Sijang

Elias and Chinmi .....^^ Had fun time enjoying your dinner, friends?

Time to have Dinner. It was the specialties of Busan that we did have, indeed. So, most of us were having shushi-like 회or war-fish served with other banchan or side-dishes.

First thing first: Jagalchi sijang or Jagalchi market is the place to be for anyone who savors for fish and all kinds of seafood humans could dream of....literally.

This is the front facade of the market. It looks clean, right? It does. The smell or....should I say...the fragrance of seafood was right on our very nose to enjoy. This is  indeed a sight to see. Ready?

BEHOLD: all kinds of edible sea creatures are right there to see. The most fun part of it is the fact that....as fishy and slimy as they look, they must be so yummy to the eyes of the BEHOLDER.^^

crabs, king crabs, lobsters ( is there?^^), sure. crabs, octopus, and ....other fellow friends....^^ are right there.

This is very entertaining to see the ones we'd never seen before. More than that...they are all alive and fresh. For seafood lovers, I could pretty much associate this place as an epitome of their heaven. 

Just as the way I would dream of seeing a fruit market myself.^^

This is the mall of seafood.^^ As far as I could see, customers and sellers and onlookers like me, were all piled up in a one place in Jagalchi Market. See the above notice: 'Yeah! Jagalchi. ...

친절한 자길치. 다시 오고 싶은 자길치

"Friendly Jagalchi. Jagalchi that we'd love to revisit again"

After having a full-tummy, we had a very limited time to enjoy the seaside port right behind the Jagalchi market. So, we rushed there and had ourselves a chance to capture the afternoon delight. 

Is this really a market? Yes, pretty much so. This sophisticated and futuristic-looking building is actually where the seafood market known as Jagalchi Market located. Pretty impressive, er? 

That's the reason why I took out my I LIKE BUSAN see-through card and take a snapshot of it.

As a token of remembrance, why not take a picture of ourselves? Surely, we did. Me, Dana, and Chinmi...once again were immortalized in our pictures at Jagalchi Market, Busan.

Dynamic Busan (part 6): Beyond ..

This is the first glimpse of view where I set my eyes as soon as I got on thee top of the Busan Tower at Yongdusan Park--one of the famous places in Busan. The Busan harbor was visible beyond.

Don't get me wrong..but I felt like gazing at the buildings in Gaza. Just an image on my mind, though. But, surely it is different. This is Busan, of course. The seemingly endless arrays of grey-looking buildings sprouting as far as our eyes could see...

But...then...if we take a closer look at the city, it is bustling with activities...(especially when it is enjoyed through the looking glasses provided there). The Jagalchi Market--the winged-white building over there.. ^^. See? 

I love taking a look at the tiny people and cars and any other activities beneath. What impressed me most was something that I learned before: Busan being the 2nd largest city in Korea. Indeed, what I saw from above the tower indeed showed the mere fact that it is indeed a big city.

What differentiates it most from Seoul is the fact that three striking features are visible at the same time: city, beach, and mountain. Land, water, mountain are three distinctive traits that Busan possesses. 

I like^^

I LIKE BUSAN^^

This huge building is Lotte Department store. At night it glows with lots of LED lights that would imbue its beauty and add to the sparkling lights of Busan city.

oops...this is our silhouette. Since I did not own any good camera.....it did not do justice to the beauty that it should have captured. Anyway...it was my friend, Kim Min Gi and me. 

Another angle or view of Busan city from atop the Busan Tower. Another view of how cities and mountains mingled into one. 

So, once you are in Busan, I think....Yongdusan park where Busan Tower lies is a worth-visiting place.

Visit-meter: ***** (out of 5)

BUsan Fam Trip (part 1)

On board KTX with Bushan to Busan.

This must be one of the most memorable trips EVER. Now that I've come to Busan, I felt like something in me has left its traces back there in Busan. I miss Busan already. 

Ok...to start with, I came to Busan with other 29 friends of mine--comprising of  15 foreign students and 15 Korean students. Thanks to Korea Brand Communicator and the Busan Metropolitan Mayor through its governmental officers who have invited all of us there.

our lovely bus that took us around for 3 straight days^^

After about two and a half hour ride by KTX from Seoul to Busan, we were greeted by one of them...Matthew Stanley Ambrosia, an American who --from what I learned-- has been a devout resident of Busan. He is our so-called Busan ambassador who welcome us on board the bus that said on its sign: ONLY BUSAN FAM TOUR. Ok, here we go. 

The first entry of this blog would be the first highlights of the seemingly endless fun in Busan.

With my friends: Elias& Chinmi in front of Jagalchi Market

Like I said earlier, this first entry of my trip to Busan will just highlight some of the best places that I've been to during the 2 night-3 day trip to Busan. Well, I had actually expected that this would be so refreshingly entertaining trip--since I know Busan as the sea-side city that I've been desperately wanting to see. And here I was. 

from July 2-4, 2012....I got one of the irresistible moments in my experiences of adventuring in Korea. 

Now...this is also one of the best highlights that I got to share and jot down on this blog^^ I felt like I came to a futuristic city at a seaside at night--where the lights dotted the high-rises apartments and buildings. I guess it was near the Nurimaru Apec house where we could see the magnificent night-view of Hanwa Resort, Trump Tower and other famous landmarks in the realm of high-rise luxurious apartment complex in Busan. 

This one: I would never change this experience for anything^^.

Well, the truth: I felt like I was experiencing a kind of dejavu. Not that I've been here before. But, as weird as it may seem, I felt like I was re-visiting Sidney harbor and taking a trip on a cruise and going underneath the famous Harbor Bridge. But, I was not imagining. ^^

In fact, this simply asserts the fact that Busan is the Sydney of Korea. (well, some may not agree with me, that's okay^^). 

I think....going on a yacht and passing underneath the famous Gwangan Bridge or Diamond Bridge in Busan....was simply wonderful. 

Awesome. 

There must be some reasons as to why I put some of the photos of me on board the Yacht at Busan. Yes, this is me on board the YACHT tour. The yacht B--that's what it is called^^ 

This is the FIRST yacht experience EVER. AND it was the best tour that Busan has given us. The best of the best.^^ 

Breathtaking view like Diamond Bridge is the simple reason as to why people need to experience Busan via this yacht. Busan must be so proud of having this esteemed and renowned bridge to share with the world. I think this has somewhat become one of the major landmarks of this bustling port city.

and...what is this? Water? Alcohol? Juice? It's just simply water. We were at WATER BAR. the only water bar ever. I never thought that such a unique idea as simple as providing water from all over the globe indeed does work. Inside the Shinsagae Department Store in Busan, there is this what is best known as Water Bar. 

We were soooo lucky to be able to experience and dip into each taste of the water. 

Thanks for the opportunity given...otherwise we would have never known it.

(more stories on this later on my other posts)

Who does not know the Cannes of Asia? What? Yes, this is pretty much what BIFF or Busan International Film Festival is...(or back then it was widely knowns as PIFF or Pusan International Film Festival).

This is the very gate that promulgates the 'maiden' voyage of BIFF up to now. This place is located in the famous PIFF square at Nampodong.

It is one of the must-visit place should we want to experience Hollywood wall-of-fame kind of place.

Worth-going indeed. 

(more stories on this on other posts on this blog--check this out)