Dongbaekseom, Haeundae Beach and BEXCO (Day 2)

For those interested in learning Korean vocab, the suffix 'seom' refers to island while 'dongbaek' means Camellias. Hence, the name literally translates to "Island of Camellias" and there is no surprise why: camellias are known to bloom everywhere during winter to spring. Dongbaekseom was originally an island, but due to years of sand accumulation, it is now connected to the mainland. Don’t let the word “island” fool you though. In reality, Dongbaekseom is rather small and we managed to walk around the island in less than an hour.

Besides the famed mermaid statue, the other major attraction at Dongbaekseom is the Nurimaru APEC House which was built especially for the 2006 APEC meeting. Everything is preserved as it was and visitors are able to view the round table where the various heads of state sat as well as meeting rooms where negotiations took place. It was a rather strange place to visit and I suppose it will only be appealing to the hardcore history buffs.

Dalmaji-gil in Haeundae (해운대 달맞이길) (Day 2)

After visiting Haedong Yonggungsa, we took a taxi to Dalmaji-gil for lunch.  The vibrant, yet tranquil neighbourhood is often called the “Montmartre” of Busan by locals, because it is located on top of a hill overlooking the sea and has many upscale restaurants that are perfect for a romantic night out. I hear this is also the place where the elite kids from the upper class (think Heirs) and celebs like to hang out, and indeed, it is not uncommon to see a line of luxury cars parked along the side of the road!

The cab driver was a bit puzzled when we told him that we wanted to go to Dalmaji-gil. From what little Korean I know, I think the driver was trying to tell us that Dalmaji-gil was a long stretch of road and he wanted to know where we wanted to alight. Thankfully I had a photo of the place I wanted to go on my phone and he instantly recognized the place when I showed him the picture.

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, Busan (Day 2)

Day 2 of our Busan itinerary centred around the Haeundae area. We began with a trip to the revered seaside temple Haedong Yonggungsa (해동 용궁사). From Busan Station, we took the subway to Haeundae Station and waited for Bus 181.



The bus was crowded with many ahjummas on board and we actually missed our stop coz the place we were supposed to alight at was pretty nondescript! As soon as we realised our mistake, we wanted to alight and catch a cab to our destination but the bus travelled deeper and deeper into the ulu areas! We were in the middle of nowhere! Then suddenly, we came to a bus stop where all the ahjummas alighted so we decided to get off too to see what was going on. Somehow we ended up at a roadside market by the sea! The ahjummas came here to buy super fresh fish and seaweed! OMG! We wanted to catch a bus on the opposite side of the road, but thankfully we saw there were a line of taxis waiting there! YOSH! We quickly climbed on board one and headed towards the temple. We were there within five minutes (3600KRW)! If we had taken the bus and gotten off at the correct stop, we would have to make a 15-min trek uphill to get to the temple. Maybe getting lost wasn’t such a bad idea after all!

Busan Station and Surrounding Areas

During our stay in Busan, our hotel was located near the Busan Station, so we had a lot of time to explore the area. Most travellers passing through will  only know the concourse of the station, but there is more to the station than this!

Inside the station

There are many eateries, cafes and restaurants within the Busan Station, making it very easy to grab a bite on the go. The places I can remember are Paris Baguette, Mango Six, Smoothie King, Lotteria and Dunkin Donuts. If fast food restaurants are not your thing, there are also several Korean restaurants and cafes to choose from, selling rice and noodle dishes, gimbap etc.

The most famous store in Busan Station is none other than Samjin Eomuk (부산어묵) and is easily recognisable by the long queues that snake outside, regardless of the time of day. The shop is famed for their wide selection of eomuk or fishcakes as we call it, that are made right here in Busan.

Be prepared for long queues!

The concept of this shop is very much like a bakery. You grab a tray and pick whatever fishcakes you want, then pay at the counter. Besides a dizzying array of fishcakes to choose from, Samjin Eomuk also sell croquettes in assorted flavours like cheese, curry, sweet potato, prawn as well as large packs of frozen fishcakes that you can buy home. Imagine making your own oden soup! Yum! Do note that there are separate queues for fishcakes and croquettes so you will end up having to tackle the massive queues twice. Pro tip: Do not attempt to queue at this store if you are rushing for the train. It might take a while to reach your turn as people tend to take a long time selecting their fishcakes. Who can blame them? There are simply too many to choose from.

Photo Credit: Daum