Busan was the second major city in South Korea that we wanted to visit so we hopped on a train leaving Seoul and enjoyed the scenic countryside. We had heard about a noodle shop that made nothing but one traditional soup located outside the train station so with our luggage in tow we made our way down the street and found the tiny hole in the wall shop. There was a line out front and no one spoke English but the shop owners saw us and took our luggage for us and then found us a seat. We had no idea what or how to order so we just sat patiently until the food arrived. The owner showed us how to et it and then left us to it, The soup was pretty good but the experience was amazing. From here we took our bags and walked to our hotel , got cleaned up and headed back out on foot to find dinner, This turned out to be so much fun. We fell in love with the vibe of the city right away. For dinner we found the best Korean Fried Chicken place and stuffed our bellies before wandering around the streets.
Day Two ended up being one of those travel days you can never plan but will never forget. The plan was to walk around the city and find all the interesting spots. On our way to the first stop, a park, our phones warned us not to be alarmed by loud explosions and gun fire as it was Veterans Day and a lot of celebrating was about to begin. When we entered the park we caught the end of a ceremony where some widows were honoring their spouses. They invited us to join them and share some snacks. We were a bit confused about why they were so inviting but welcomed the hospitality. They even gave us snacks to take away with us that we ended up giving to some kids in the park. We thought this was the big celebration until we entered the main park and found a national ceremony beginning. We wandered into the National Cemetery and found ourselves in the middle of a day honoring all the foreign soldiers (mostly US) who gave their lives in the Korean War. We spent several hours wandering around talking with Veterans and thanking them for their service. Most were as surprised to see us there honoring them as we were to find them. The local news even interviewed Alyssa. It turned into an emotional, proud day.
Our second day in Busan now had so much more on the schedule since we ended up spending the day before in the park. We began by getting a bus pass for the day and we headed down the coast for a walk on the Sky Walk Viewing platform. The stop was out of the way and not too interesting but while we were in the area we wandered off down some back streets and found an unusual hamburger omelet dish we had read about. It was weird but delicious. From there we headed to a cliff side temple outside of the city that offered insane views off the coast. The picturesque temple was over crowded though, probably because we arrived so late in the day. After spending a couple of hours there we caught a bus back into the city and headed to the beach area for a drone saw. This ended up being our favorite area not only Busan but all of South Korea. They launched 600 drones up over the sea and put on an impressive show. After the drone saw on the beach we walked around town drinking hot chocolate and deciding that when we returned that was the area we wanted to stay in. Such an awesome Vibe.
On our last day we wanted to check out the Gamcheon Cultural Village. It’s a quirky village restoration project that is worth a visit just for the views and cultural experience. Its very hilly and can take several hours to explore. We had one last mission before leaving and that was to find the best night market in Busan and try every treat we could find. The Busan IFF Night Market was just the place we needed. Full of all kinds of treats. We must have tried around 6 different odd foods from Tear Drop Cake to Frozen Smores. Odd fish soups and delicious dumplings. The perfect ending to a country that exceeded all expectations. We will be back soon!
