Monday
I woke up at 9:30am and tried out Mrs. Park's Korean breakfast. It was really delicious and she said that her family eats this sort of breakfast everyday. I think Korean homemade dishes are better. Here is a picture of the breakfast that Mrs. Park made:
I also got to meet Sooyoung for the first time. She was really friendly and spoke fluent English in American accent. Sooyoung also told me about the direct buses from her house and it was very convenient that there was a bus from her house to downtown Busan. She also suggested a few places for me to go. In the end, I have decided on my original plan to visit Beomeosa temple, Oncheoncheon and Geumjong mountain.
It was rainy and windy today. It took about one hour for me to reach Beomeosa station and I took bus no. 90 to go up to the temple. It was a steep and winding road. Located on the mountain, the sight of the temple was different compared to our temples in Malaysia. Coupled with the rainy weather, mist of clouds were hovering the mountain. The surroundings was quiet and calm, and occasionally I saw people walking down from the mountain trail. Buddhist monks and nuns could be spotted around the corner too.
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| Beameosa Temple |
I climbed up the temple and the interior was similar to our temple with golden statues. I really liked the atmosphere here and I think it is a good place for meditation and spiritual healing. On the side on the temple there were this "sea of rocks". Out of curiosity, I hiked my way along these rocks to sea where it would lead to. The higher I went, the better the view. But there was no one around. I just took my time to enjoy the cool and calm atmosphere here. When I was heading down, I saw a lady hiking up the rocks like I did earlier.
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| Sea of Rocks |
After having lunch at the foot of the mountain, I wanted to go to Oncheoncheon. If someone says there's Cheongyecheon in Seoul, then there is Oncheoncheon in Busan. However, Oncheoncheon is bigger and it is a natural stream. However, due to the weather, I couldn't see the Oncheoncheon that I was expecting. There were no one cycling by the river and there was mud all over. I was a bit disappointed. I think this place will be great in summer. Then I moved on to m next destination which was Geunjong mountain. It is a famous mountain range in Busan near Beomeosa. And there is a cable car to the top.
I tried to find my way to Geumjong mountain through Geumgang park from website routes but failed. In the end I met this young lady who was eager to help. She cound't speak English but fortunately she could understand my broken Korean. She brought me to a taxi and told the taxi driver my situation. I thanked her and took a cab to Geumgang park. The taxi fare in Busan was quite cheap, only 4000 Won for fifteen minutes ride. But today wasn't a good day for me. When I reached Geumgang park, I fond that the cable car was under maintenance. Hugely disappointed, I had to plan the rest of the day impromptu.
I made a decision to visit Yongdusan Park and Busan Tower and maybe Nampodong at downtown Busan. When I reached Yongdusan Park, I went on this 3 tier escalator. And as I walked my way up to the park I could see Busan Tower. There was this guardian statue like "Guan Gong" in front of the tower, overseeing Busan. There weren't as many tourist as I expected, partly because of Monday and the cold weather I guess. When I was about to enter Busan tower, the elevator ladies asked us to follow them to the elevator entrance before I could find the ticket office. And up we went to the observatory deck. It was free of charge! Something to cheer about after some disappointing encounters. The Busan tower observatory deck has multiple window panes in 360 degrees. Each window capture a particular famous area of Busan such as Jagalchi Market, Gamcheon Culture Village, Yeongdo Bridge, Oryukdo etc.
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| Beautiful View of Busan Captured from Busan Tower |
With a Busan map on hand, I walked around the observatory deck a few rounds, trying to figure out the landscape of Busan according to the map. I could locate the island that houses Taejongdae although Taejongdae was hidden from view. But I knew from the map that that island is the island that I will travel to tomorrow. I spent quite a long time up there capturing the view of entire Busan town area.
After Busan Tower, I went down to the town area somewhere around Nampodong. The streets were nice but it was too cold, so I went into a shopping mall instead. I think it was a Lotte shopping mall. On the ground floor I saw this musical fountain that was three storeys high. The fountain not only ejects water from the bottom but also from the top, forming beautiful patterns.
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| Fountain Show |
It was already 8:30pm and it has been a tiring day for me. So I headed home and had a rest to prepare for tomorrow's Taejongdae trip before travelling back to Seoul.
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