We had a fabulous time in Busan about 2 weeks ago. Our trip started at the train station.
We rode the train from Namyeong Station to Seoul Station to catch the KTX to Busan. The train ride was about 3 hours which seemed like forever. Aniyah sat beside me in the window seat and slept for a majority of the way. We were initially going to drive but the traffic here in Korea can be a pain so we took the train instead. Once we arrived in Busan, we caught a taxi to our Hotel. Check in was a breeze and we were so shocked at how nice it was. It was so much better than we thought. The room had a computer in it with wifi along with a 70 inch TV. The drinks were free and they provided robes and complimentary toiletries. The only downfall was that the beds felt like bricks, literally. It felt like we were sleeping on concrete but that was the only complaint we had. Other than that, it was perfect. The location was perfect and it was really nice. It also helped that they had a coffee/cappuccino machine downstairs that Aniyah had each time we went down. We stayed in room 303 and had to put the key in the electronic slot by the door to turn on all the lights and electricity. What I will say about this hotel is that it seems like it’s in the “love district”. There was a mirror over the bed and the painting on the wall may be a little extreme for kids. Many of the hotels around it were love themed so definitely a place for couples. After we checked in, we walked out to the beach before catching the train to Jalgachi to see the fish market. The beach was beautiful and everything I expected. The wind was definitely present and the chill was in the air. The train ride was pretty long from Haeundae Station to Jalgachi Station but it was nice catching the subway in another city. We got to Jalgachi and found the market. Of course it didn't smell the freshest but it was still amazing to see nonetheless. We wanted to eat some crab that we saw at one of the other restaurants along the strip but when we found out that 1 crab was going to be over $182 we decided to leave. We caught the train back to Gwagnam station since that's where Gwangalli Beach is and I wanted to eat at a restaurant called Sharkeys. We walked for probably 30 minutes trying to find the beach and eventually caught a taxi. The view of Diamond Bridge was so beautiful to see. Our feet were so tired and sore from all the walking but it was completely worth it. We found Sharkeys and Aniyah had a mushroom cheese burger and I had the original cheeseburger. Our burgers were really good. After dinner we walked along the beach where we saw people shooting fireworks. We bought some from an old lady and Aniyah lit fireworks along the beach for about 30 minutes. Unfortunately my phone was dead so I couldn’t get any photos but I will definitely remember the great time we had on our first day in Busan. We caught the train back to the hotel and called it a night.
We woke up early (around 7) to catch the beach at sunrise. It was so relaxing to walk along the beach. I snapped as many photos as I could on my iphone as we walked the Dalmaji trail. We were supposed to be finding a place to have breakfast but the walk had us so occupied. After about an hour we decided grab breakfast. We couldn't find anything to eat. We walked inside the Westin Chosun for breakfast but after finding out that it cost $42 per person, we decided against it and left. We eventually ended up eating at Pascucci and had ham panini's. They were ok but still left us a bit hungry. We went back to the hotel to finish packing and checked out. We walked to the train station and rode to Gwangnam station to find our new hotel. We ended up walking for about 45 minutes but finally found the Park Hyatt. The hotel itself was beautiful. The main lobby was on the 30th floor overlooking the marina and Diamond Bridge. We checked in early and decided to go to the Shinsegae Department store. We ended up at Spa Land in the mall and let me tell you, that was an experience. We walked in and had to take our shoes off and place all your belongings into lockers. From there they provided a change of clothes so we entered the Women's Locker Room and changed among the multitude of naked women young and old. It almost felt uncomfortable with Aniyah so we immediately went out of the locker room and into the main area where all the spa rooms were. We visited a few of them along with the outside foot bath. Most of the rooms were extremely hot that we could only sit in for about 10 minutes before moving to the next room. After about an hour and a half we caught a taxi back to the hotel so Aniyah could spend some time at the pool. I sat in the hot tub and I just relaxed for a few hours. We changed and decided to head back out to Gwalgalli Beach for dinner. It started raining so we enjoyed dinner along the strip at "Who" restaurant. I had some pasta, Aniyah had ribs. After dinner we caught a cab back to the hotel and that was the end of day 2.
We woke up and spent our last morning in the Hotel. We caught a taxi back to Busan Station and changed our tickets to leave at an earlier time. The train ride back was quicker than the ride going. We slept for a majority of the way. Aniyah sat in the aisle seat this time and I sat across from her. Overall Busan was a great trip. I would definitely love to revisit when the weather is warmer.
Check out my IG @_seoul14 to see all the photos from the trip. Definitely going back before our time here is up.
