We've been in Seoul for several months now and the time has gone so quickly. While we have visited other countries while here, including Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, and Malaysia, we actually haven't visited any other cities in Korea. With just a few short weeks left, we decided to plan a last minute extended weekend to Busan which is located in the southern region of South Korea.
Purchasing the tickets were easy, thanks to the English version of the KTX website. We opted to take the KTX train which was less than 3 hours from Seoul Station to Busan and cost round trip 117,000 KRW. There is a train option that is half the price, but double the time. I guess it makes sense for folks who are not in a hurry or on a budget.
The ride was smooth and I loved the assigned seating. The only negative is that we were going backward. You can ask for forward facing seats, but those are first to go. On the return trip, there were no forward facing seats left either.
Upon arrival in the Busan KTX station, we headed to the Tourist Information booth and they helped provide us the next set of directions. From here, it was about another 40 minute subway ride to Daehaeundae Beach where we were staying. Our T-Money cards worked here to so it was very easy transfer.
Checked our bag into the hotel. Since it was too early to officially check in, we decided to walk around the area and get acquainted.
Along the beach is a walkway which we followed toward the Westin Chosun hotel. Past there, the walkway continues to a scenic overlook where you can take some great photos and relax on some benches while listening to the ocean.
After our walk, we decided to grab some lunch at a place where we noticed a line earlier. Since Busan is known for their Guk Bap, we decided to check this place out. There are too many of these places to delineate what is the best, but we thought the steady stream of customers must make it worth a visit....and it was!
Full from lunch, we decided to burn off a few calories and also make most of the remaining hour before check-in. Across the street was Haeundae Outdoor Market which had a lot of merchants selling various foods, but mainly fresh seafood with eel being the most popular dish. Watching the eel get skinned alive was kinda creepy, but I'm in general not a fan of watching my protein killed.
Checked in promptly at 3PM.
Rested and then back to the beach. It was lovely.
Purchasing the tickets were easy, thanks to the English version of the KTX website. We opted to take the KTX train which was less than 3 hours from Seoul Station to Busan and cost round trip 117,000 KRW. There is a train option that is half the price, but double the time. I guess it makes sense for folks who are not in a hurry or on a budget.
 |
| Seoul Station |
Upon arrival in the Busan KTX station, we headed to the Tourist Information booth and they helped provide us the next set of directions. From here, it was about another 40 minute subway ride to Daehaeundae Beach where we were staying. Our T-Money cards worked here to so it was very easy transfer.
Checked our bag into the hotel. Since it was too early to officially check in, we decided to walk around the area and get acquainted.
Along the beach is a walkway which we followed toward the Westin Chosun hotel. Past there, the walkway continues to a scenic overlook where you can take some great photos and relax on some benches while listening to the ocean.
After our walk, we decided to grab some lunch at a place where we noticed a line earlier. Since Busan is known for their Guk Bap, we decided to check this place out. There are too many of these places to delineate what is the best, but we thought the steady stream of customers must make it worth a visit....and it was!
Full from lunch, we decided to burn off a few calories and also make most of the remaining hour before check-in. Across the street was Haeundae Outdoor Market which had a lot of merchants selling various foods, but mainly fresh seafood with eel being the most popular dish. Watching the eel get skinned alive was kinda creepy, but I'm in general not a fan of watching my protein killed.
Checked in promptly at 3PM.
Rested and then back to the beach. It was lovely.
