Busan, Korea: Itinery Day 1 (January 25, 2014)

After a lot of hoo-hah over getting winter attire and stuff, we are off for our Korea trip last January. The weather forecast were all about how cold it will be during our trip which is from 17 - 24 January. Undaunted, we set off and once we get off the plane, the first thing to do is to secure our Travel Card for all the trains and buses. We landed in Busan International Airport and the guy from the 7-11 recommended the XX Card to us with OnePiece design on it. LOL.

We started off from the airport to our hotel:

Comma Hotel

858-65 Beomcheon1-dong, 

Busanjin-gu,

Soemyeon/Busanjin-gu,

Busan, South Korea

The hotel is behind the main road, but it looked adorable even though surrounding it are some very garish (which I am sure will be nice inside) hotels (think love hotels with themes ;)..

The room we got for both times (the start of the trip when we came back from all the walking and sightseeing and for our last day) are wonderful.

Since it is still very early we left our bags there. They have locker for our bags with key and stuff (thumbs up!), and we left there with a cup of hot coffee *feels so loved*. I would say the service here is excellent, room clean and comfy. We stayed here on our first 3 days and the last day as well.  Soemyeon area is wonderful with lotsa shopping areas in the vicinity.

We made our way to Busan Aquariam and Haeundae Beach. All wrapped up and snug, the journey took a while only. A word of caution though, the bus drivers in Korea are mostly in a rush for time, so unless you managed to get a seat, hold on TIGHTLY or risk toppling over.  From there we made our way to Haedong Yonggungsa Temple (해동 용궁사) which is definitely worth a visit. Most temples in Korea are not built by the shorelines so this detail alone makes Haedong Yonggungsa unique. This temple was first built in 1376 by the great Buddhist teacher known as Naong during the Goryeo Dynasty and consisted of a few structures namely Haesu Gwaneum Daebul (Seawater Great Goddess Buddha), Daeungjeon Main Sanctuary, Yongwangdang Shrine, Gulbeop Buddhist Sanctum, and a three-story pagoda with four lions.
**Check out my post and photos about Busan Aquarium

Gwangalli Beach is next on the line. It took a while from the temple but instead of stopping at Beomnaegol Station, we got of Soemyeon to take in the sights and stopped at a side-stall, always shown in Korean dramas and such.
 

The famed staircase to heaven's bridge :)

Surprisingly, the food is good but more expensive than normal... It is pricier IMO to eat at such places as compared to eating in some restaurants in Korea. However, the experience is worth it! Even though the i-mo (auntie) who was manning the stall does not speak a word of English, through gestures and some fellow friendly patrons, we managed to order some stir-fried beef and dumplings. Each dish we ordered was accompanied by a free egg-based dish like SPAM with egg omelette and fried eggs. With a syoju as accompaniment, it is a pretty amazing experience.

[[This is a pretty half-hearted post it was supposed to be longer but it was left as a draft for so long that I might as well post it up..LOL]]