13 Apr, 10:30am: I started the day a bit late since I wasn't able to wake up as early as I wanted after a wonderful sleep haha. At this time, I was partway up a sustained uphill walk towards the entrance of the Gamcheon Culture Village. I could've taken a bus obviously, but the previous night's me (1) felt that 1.2km from the train station was an easy distance and (2) didn't know that most of it would be at an angle of 45 degrees. While steep slopes are not as punishing on the knees compared to stairs, my glutes definitely put in lots of hard work xD
The road I was following was called Ami-ro and contained its own set of attractions that helped to make the uphill more worthwhile, including a preview of the views to come. I also really liked those little ceramic house models lined up on someone's wall.
10:50am: Omg finally. Ok but, as taxing as it was to get here, thanks mainly to my own geykiang-ness, this was the correct place to start since there was a tourist centre that sold detailed maps of the visitable area. I bought one and used it ragged while following the longest route possible (of course) - the blue one with an estimated walking time of 2h. It was also the best place to start coz everything was downhill from there xD
This location was one of the most immersive experiences I've had on my travels so far. It's somewhat like a man-made version of nature trails? In that there are various things to see and appreciate along a route, both up close and afar. Lots of colourful stairs and buildings, winding alleyways and the view of the entire lego-like village to marvel at at almost every point along the way!
Featuring some cake-ish thing I bought from a Little Prince-themed bakery. It was an interesting form of sustenance.
See this view!!! Ok let me credit the weather again first, coz sunshine = good views and the cool weather made it very easy to be out and about amidst so much concrete. And the colours all came out so brightly that it made me so happy, no kidding.
There was a long line of people waiting to take a photo with the Little Prince and the fox. I don't spend time waiting for these things, so I went over and waited to get a clear shot of just the two of them.
Didn't think I'd ever see "해리포터" (Harry Potter) and "어린왕자" (The Little Prince) in the same frame.
More great views! This time a little closer as I made my way downhill through the village, stopping to sit at one of the observation points and chew on the second chocolate thing I bought.
There were a few art installations along the route, but I can't say I knew how to appreciate them xD
It felt really fun to move along these narrow pathways next to rooftops - made me feel like I was running around in my own Assassin's Creed kinda game haha.
The route mostly went along sloping pathways but there were options to take stairs at some points e.g. to get to specific cafes/art workshops. Then there were these "Stairs to See Stars" which made me laugh. I opted not to take them up or down xD
The village was a real residential area, so when the route passed through narrow areas close to peoples' houses like this, there were signs requesting quietness and courtesy.
There wasn't a single boring alley, stairway or wall in the village with all these cute murals and artworks.
Came across the bottom of the "Stairs to See Stars" and was so glad it wasn't part of the route xD
The last bit of the route went through a covered market that had fake shops and real ones with souvenirs. Clearly, the boss of the area was a cat.
After slightly over 2h of detailed exploring, I emerged at the other end of the village. Went past the 3 ahjummas to take a bus and was back down at the metro in no time haha. There would be more walking to do after lunch anyway.
1:30pm: Can't come to Busan and not have some form of seafood! So the famous Jagalchi Market it was. I wasn't too sure what I could eat as a solo small eater, but was determined to try and order something. But first, some views around the complex.
I decided against picking my own raw seafood since I had no idea how to and my online research told me that it was better to do that in a group. Instead, I went in to the level where they cooked the food and looked at some default menu options. Ordered the clam and shrimp soup that caught my eye and actually managed to finish most of it without rice! The soup itself was the star tho! I finished pretty much all of it since it was so tasty, leaving lots of big taugey at the bottom (they always come in such large quantities in Korean soups...).
Feeling nice and full, I went to check out the other levels of the complex - the rooftop and the indoor market itself. There were sooo many stalls at the market and I don't think I've ever seen seafood packed so tightly in tanks. It's a wonder how much they managed to fish out of the ocean :o
3pm: I crossed over into the islet near Jagalchi by bus. Think most regular tourists would've been done for the day after walking the Gamcheon Culture Village, and then there was me commencing the post-lunch portion of my itinerary with the Jeoryeong Coastal Trail (3km)! Walk 3 on Busan Day 3 started with an easy-going first half on a very very pretty coast-side path.
There was even foot reflexology for anyone who wanted it.
Along the way, there were a few access points up to the Huinnyeoul Culture Village i.e. long flights of stairs. I really like how they take the effort to make all these simple things look pretty. The village was for later on, and I pressed on along the trail.
The Huinnyeoul Coastal Tunnel sort of marked a halfway point on the trail. I was surprised to find a whole crowd of people facing me once I entered the tunnel xD So it turned out that they were waiting to get a shot of the city view framed by the tunnel entrance. I must say it was a very romantic view, but I could only get a shot from the side since I didn't want to disrupt the people actually queueing for it. It's ok, more important that my eyes saw the view :)
The second part of the trail began at the other end of the tunnel. No more pretty concrete pavement, hello nature! Again, before commencing walks such as this, I had to make sure that wayfinding wouldn't be an issue and I wouldn't end up getting lost or having to turn back. Turns out I didn't have to worry much because I just had to follow the coastline and the route observable to a fault haha...
After a generous helping of pebbly beach terrain, I started to encounter stairs. Lots and lots of them.
There was a random brightly coloured suspension bridge to inject some fun!
And this was what I meant by "observable". This wasn't the same as staring upwards from the bottom of one long flight of stairs. This me was staring a few long flights of stairs from a distance away and being glad for all the nice food I had eaten up to that time hahaha. I usually carry emergency milo bars on my travels, and it was a good time to chew on one of them while ruminating the effort I was putting in on holiday xD
Reached the top of said flights of stairs and congratulated myself while taking in the view of the gorgeous coast and the how-long-more-there-was-to-go on the observable path xD
The last 20% or so of the trail was made up of rocky fields that required some dexterity. There weren't many photos from this stretch as I was consistently bracing on sloping/uneven boulder surfaces. In general, I moved very slowly out of consideration for my knees and ankles xD They'd been through a lot and I didn't want to injure anything on Day 3 out of 9.
Finally, I observed a flat path in the distance, yay! From where I was in the photo, there were more stairs to get through but not the uniform wooden kind. Those stairs were cut into the rock and much more narrow. Though there were other older people around who seemed to be having an easier time, I shamelessly clung to every available handrail and descended cautiously, landing both feet on each stair.
Never been so happy to walk on a colourful, FLAT path hahaha. I reached the furthest point of my walk at Jungni Beach where there was a small settlement that I didn't really have the energy to explore. Maybe next time I come to Busan, I'll get to go all the way to Taejongdae at the end of the islet, but it wasn't for that day.
4:30pm: This walk came with a return journey so it was time to turn back while it was still bright and sunny. Thankfully I didn't have to go through the rockiness again and could instead take a very comfortable stroll on the Jeoryeong Haerang-Gil (3km), a boardwalk at the cliff top, running parallel to the sea.
Good sea views from up there too! Including the Yeongdo Sky Observatory and one more round of braving a glass walking surface for VIEWS!
Anyway this was my final t-shirt-and-sunglasses day in the trip :') I really love Busan, and the 3 days I spent there came with the best conditions I could ever have asked for.
Next on the itinerary was to explore Huinnyeoul Culture Village where the walk started and ended.
5pm: But first I decided I needed a rest and a treat and zoomed into the first cafe in my path. At first it was just the pink fizzy drink since I was contemplating dinner plans. But the apple cinnamon croffle on the menu gave such a great pull of temptation that I gave in and added it to the order. Holiday = eat whatever I want, whenever I want! It was such a wonderful choice. I was also lucky to get a good table since it wasn't crowded. That croffle was legit one of my favourite things I ate on that trip and omg look at the view that came with it.
If I start to forget everything in the future, this memory will probably remain as one of the final distinct things in my mind. So thanks for the simple but impactful experience, Cafe Fira.
5:40pm: It really hit me that my Busan leg was ending, and I didn't have anything specific planned after the Huinnyeoul Culture Village. So I googled "Busan sunset" for some ideas on what to do after that since I wanted to rove as much as possible instead of staying put.
The village itself was quaint and had some pretty spots. But it felt somewhat commercialised with cafes and souvenir shops at almost every step of the way. It didn't take me long to get through in the end.
That said, this was where I had my final dose of Busan sunshine. I later discovered that my arms had turned a few shades darker (enough to show a watch tan), but my face was still the same ghostly pale as usual xD Proved the power of Anessa SPF 50++ sunscreen!
6:55pm: So my google search compelled me to visit Daedapo Beach which was apparently one of the best beaches for sunset-viewing in Busan. To put into context, it's almost like heading to Pasir Ris Beach (final stop!). When I reached, it was unfortunately quite apparent that the sunset had either ended or was blocked by the clouds. Though it was a very long metro journey I didn't regret going there just to take a look since I had all the time in the world. The beach felt quite different to the ones nearer the centre - coarser sand with lalang fields, flanked by a park. Somewhat like a Pasir Ris Beach xD
8:30pm: Well, there wasn't much else I could do at Daedapo, so I took the metro back. I'd realised that I'd forgotten one spot that I could've gone to - Gwangalli Beach. And thus I headed there.
Next time, I will see the sunset from one of Busan's beaches. Fortunately Gwangalli is also known for being the most beautiful beach to be at night, so it was never too late to visit! It sure didn't disappoint, with the brightly-coloured reflections on the dark water, and the white Gwangan Bridge spanning the horizon in the background.
9pm: After filling my stomach and heart with the croffle earlier, I was wondering if I'd have to forgo a final dinner in Busan. And then I found myself suddenly very hungry while strolling along Gwangalli. The beach was lined with mostly western restaurants (I guess to cater to the usual profile) and I chose a combi that never goes wrong: burger, cheese fries and draft beer.
It occurred to me that I was having the best appetite of all my travels thus far. For me, appetite is a stress indicator. And by finishing my entire meal, I recognised how at ease I was feeling.
9:30pm: It was so difficult to peel myself away from Gwangalli, and I guess Busan in general. All those people who wrote online guides proclaiming that 3 days would be enough to cover Busan clearly didn't like it as much as I did hahaha. I still had the whole Songdo area to cover, and I never stepped into the city centre at Seomyeon despite changing trains there sooo many times xD
But no choice, I had to get to Seoul by 14 Apr by design. What this means is simply that I still have good reason to return to Busan, and I hope the conditions will be just as good then!
>>Seoul
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