Busan city tour

Day 6 – Busan city tour

Tuesday, 10 April 2012

Slow to get moving this morning, due in most part to how nice it is to linger over breakfast and the time it takes when technology is not working as it should!

The dining room is decorated in muted blues, browns and maroons with patchwork place mats and branded crockery. We’re seated next to big picture windows facing out from the front of the hotel. There is an extensive range of breakfast offerings including Korean and western dishes. The peanut porridge was surprisingly delicious – congee with chopped peanuts. Anthony enjoyed the Bircher museli with finely chopped fruit.

I also enjoyed fresh yoghurt that comes in little glass bottles and green tea that comes in a lovely little cup with its own lid. I don’t mind the idea of salad for breakfast – is it a western thing to only eat cereal at breakfast or the invention of Kellogg’s to make money?

Our musician friends taught us well and it was straightforward retracing our steps to the train station and metro to Busan station. The metro is colour coded and each station is numbered which makes it easy to remember. On the train the next station is indicated on the board including its English name and number. We are on line 1 which is orange, and Busan railway station is number 109 and Oncheonjang is number 127.

We decided to do a Busan city tour leaving from Busan station. This was a hop on hop off bus tour for 10,000 KRW each. For the price we had access to two different routes – Haeundae and Taejongdae and a range of cultural, retail and scenic places to disembark. We got off at Shinsegae reputedly the largest department store in the world. I fell in love with a black leather handbag that was 20% off and now only 1,580,000 KRW! Alas I didn’t buy it.

At the Busan Museum of Art we saw a retrospective of a famous Korean photographer. The museum shop was very disappointing!

The final stop for us was Jagalchi market, the famous raw fish market. The number of stalls selling freshly caught seafood was overwhelming. And so many middle aged women working so hard, crouching and ever industrious. We didn’t fancy trying some of the BBQ fish or the pots of simmering red fish stews (too much kimchi for my liking).

We did stop for refreshments throughout the day – lunch at a railway station food hall needed a green tea ice cream to take away the chilli taste. Instead of dinner we had drinks at one of the hotel bars where our musician friends were playing Ray Charles numbers in English.

Then a quick spa before 10.00pm closing – discovered some lovely tall water jets and hot needle like showers.

Oh – I’ve forgotten about the spring blossoms. Busan is ablaze with cherry blossoms!

	Breakfast at the Nongshim [Map]		Ablaze of blossoms [Map]
	Railway vending machine [Map]		Shinsegae department sore [Map]
	That black bag [Map]		Busan Museum of Art [Map]
	Grilled fish at Jagalchi market [Map]		Fresh fish at Jagalchi market [Map]
	Our tour bus [Map]