Well last time we started off our Adventure in Busan, South Korea with our first day out to the Cultural Village and the Beach (read it here) This week we want to tell you all about what we found next and it’s an intriguing and unusual tale, so read on and see what happened during the rest of our time in Busan…
Day Two out and about in Busan started with a longer bus ride, having come to terms with Naver and thus the buses – Naver tells you when the bus is due, what stop to get on and off and the price, as well as a plethora of other stuff that works so well, compared to Google’s miserable attempts at an app! We took one bus filled with students on their way to University and headed out towards the eastern coast.
Our destination Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, a 14th Century Zen Buddhist Temple. The bus deposited us and a mass of other tourists as well as a few natives at the side of a hilly, winding road and we started to trek. The walk took about 10 minutes and would have been quicker if we weren’t stuck on the narrow pavement behind a group of gravity affected Italians – why is it European Tourists always walk so slowly? Even in Oxford Street, they seem to struggle with walking at anything other than snail’s pace. But after weaving and eluding them we found a massive car park and a row of tourist trap kiosks and shops selling fake ‘Real Korean Artefacts’ and a ton of actual local Korea Street food, but we held off on those till later, instead we followed the path to the gates of the temple and the row of statues of Deities. The Chinese Zodiac type, human like figures with the head of a pig, goat, chicken, cow, etc as well as other monoliths and a massive gate leading down old stone stairs.
It was at this point, winding down towards the temple itself, that Bob discovered a form of enlightenment (we’re not kidding) at a bend in the descent, she announced she had Deja-vu, but not just a shadow memory, an actual real vision and memory of the place. So much so that she was able to point out the secret store of candles that would have lit the path, these days it was empty, but the stone box was not obvious to the tourists eye.
The sense of Deja-Vu continued and a sense of serenity washed over her as she walked into the ancient shrine and although the place was filled with hundreds of other wandering souls – most of which were more into praying to the God – Selfie, rather than Buddha. Bob and Ash tried to ignore them and take in the vista, the views of the sea and the huge, dramatic and truly beautiful temple, with it’s stone carved dragons, amazing tiled roofs and the incredible prayer rooms. We meandered about, threw a few coins in the wishing well, cleansed ourselves at the well and then took our leave of the temple in favour of the coastal path and the rocks, where Ash added to a popular tradition of Cairn Building, creating a stack of rocks that resembled more than a few stones balanced on top of each other and more like a little hooded monk praying on a large boulder! After a sit down a a few more photos we headed back, climbing those 9,000 steps!
Once back up top we took a time to get a drink from the local convenience store and to try a couple of the snacks from the grumpy woman in the kiosk, the only veggie friendly foods were a potato twist and a deep fried doughnut, which were pretty good and then Bob set about trying to befriend the local cat population. As before, they were indifferent to her usual charms, instead favouring the little girl who bought a tin of tuna from the shop to entice them!
We headed back to the bus stop, navigated the confusion of where to go next and headed back to Haeundae Beach. The plan had been to go to the Sealife Aquarium, but upon entry we discovered they only take payment via credit card and we only had cash, so that plan ended abruptly. Instead we took to the beach and looked at the International Haeundae Sand Festival, with some interesting and some peculiar massive constructions.
While the local populace snapped the endless supply of selfies, we waded through the surf, enjoying the warm water and sand between our toes and aimed to the western end of the beach and a beer. The Gorilla Brewing Co. turns out to be a little bar that at 6pm was empty until we ordered a pair of beers and sat down, marvelling more at how pretty the staff were (male and female) and how good the beers were.
The next day – our last whole day in Busan we headed north first to seek out a Moongoojeom Vegan Bakery that is renowned on Happy Cow and rightly so!
Then a quick wander into the famed Lotte Department Store, basically Selfridges on Steroids, nothing for us, but worth a brief skirt through, then we headed for Hwangnyeong Mountain, yes an actual mountain in the centre of a city!
Our goal the Hwangnyeong Mountain Observatory and a famous view of the city. We took the little hill climbing bus as far as it went then set off up a steeeeeeeep hill towards the summit. Detouring to another magnificent Buddhist Temple and one that looked familiar to K-Drama watchers, the hideout of Han So-hee’s adopted father in My Name. After admiring the temple we set off on our mission, climbing the steep road and paths towards the top, a few rests and stops to admire the growing view and then after a brief stop for water and to ponder the need for another gym atop the mountain, we reached the observatory.
The view is quite enthralling and amazing. We took a rest in the Cafe that remains open until 2am, for all the nighttime viewers of the city.
But we sat and enjoyed coffee and cake before setting off back down, via a more natural path. We may have got a bit off the desired track, but after a long descent through a dense forest and past funeral cairns, we eventually and rather tiredly found ourselves in one of the huge housing complexes, that we had viewed from above.
These estates of blocks are often 30 storeys high, with 10 or more apartments per floor and have 10-20 blocks in a complex and are highly sort after, tenants have to enter a lottery to be allocated one. The daunting structures sore skywards as we weaved around the car park in search of the exit and the nearest bus stop. Then we started to plot our next mission, food. We quickly discovered a problem, restaurants in Korea seems to close rather early, 8pm sometimes 9pm, if you are lucky, of course if you want Barbecue with beer and soju then they are open until 3am, but a veggie version isn’t readily available. So instead we hunted and then got on another bus across the estuary and sought out Vegenarang.
This is a lesson we learnt quickly in Korea and Japan, ‘look up’ and Naver is right, sometimes the restaurant is down a back street, round a corner, through an alleyway and in someone’s converted garage or on the 15th floor of an office block! Bars and restaurants can often be located on higher floors than we would have in the west.
Vegenarang was on the 9th floor of a building which looked more like an office block with an industrial elevator, at first we headed to the basement, but only after seeing a sign and another group enter the tiny lift did we understand. The restaurant is a unique and quite amazing place, all food is mushroom based and all is pretty good, but why oh why do most vegan restaurants only sell alcohol free beers? (A full review of food will be posted in a couple of weeks).
Anyway after this we took a walk and followed the crowds along the strange waterfront, there is no beach here only a concrete slab that runs into the water. But further on as you turn onto Gwangalli Beach the typical beach views come into sight as well as Gwangan Bridge which at night is illuminated with a show of multicoloured lights and fireworks. We watched and did a bit of souvenir shopping before getting the bus and heading back to the BS Hotel!
We headed back to the hotel to pack and collapse after a long, tiring day, ready to fly the next day.
But more of that next time!
Climbing Moss 