Thursday, April 16, 2015

falling in love with busan in 17 hours

Due to the short term notice nature of my trip to Japan I had to keep flight prices in mind (since it was also Easter Weekend and on top of that prime Cherry Blossom season) so I ended up booking a trip over Korean Air with a 17 hour layover in Busan on the first leg of my trip.
 
Japan April 2015 030
 
Busan is South Korea’s second most populous city after Seoul and is nestled between mountains and the sea on the southern-most tip of Korea.
 
I had been to Korea before in 2012 to Seoul but never Busan and welcomed this short stopover as a good opportunity to get a glimpse of this city. After some issues with public transportation (due to late arrival at Gimhae Airport and lack of Korean language skills) I arrived at my couchsurfing host for the night. Luckily, Koreans are some of the most friendly and helpful people I have ever met, so I managed to get to my host just after midnight. He lives in a cute little apartment right next to the beach with stunning views of the beach and the towering high rises along the coast (see picture above). 
 
The next morning I set out to explore the area by the beach and head down to a street supposedly lined with cherry blossom trees. The weather wasn’t too great but I enjoyed the walk on the beach, people playing with their puppies and jogging along the shore. After a delicious pastry from a cute bakery on the way I took a stroll through the streets lined with cherry blossom trees. Magnificent!
 
Japan April 2015 019 Japan April 2015 022 Japan April 2015 024 Japan April 2015 025 
Since my flight was at 4pm in the afternoon I decided to collect my things and make my way to another area of Busan, Gamcheon Culture Village. It was again a bit of a challenge to get there, but once again the people of Busan were so helpful and friendly (someone even paid for my bus fare as I didn’t have any change and only large bills!) so I managed to get there in the end. You have to take a tiny little bus that takes you up the winding little streets up to the “village”, which is famous for it’s colorful houses nestled close to each other on the mountain. They even call it the “Favelas” of Korea!
 
Japan April 2015 036 Japan April 2015 052 Japan April 2015 055
 
I was lucky that the sun came out for a bit while I was there but unfortunately I didn’t have a lot of time to explore the little alleys due to my tight schedule… so I hailed a cab and headed back to the airport, where I tried some seafood noodles that proved that I have no tolerance towards spiciness…
 
Japan April 2015 062 Japan April 2015 066

 

I am really glad I had the opportunity to combine two places in one trip – and one thing is for sure: This wasn’t my last time in Busan… :)


xxx
Ines

15 comments:

  1. Never would have guesed this was a city in South Korea! Stunning!! xx

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  2. A great post !

    monkey-with-the-crown.blogspot.com

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  3. Wie wuuunderschön sind diese Bäume? Traumhaft!

    XX aus Nürnberg
    Jecky
    Want Get Repeat

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  4. wow. these cherry blossom trees and the food :-O

    www.thefashionfraction.com

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  5. Wow, wundervolle Bilder mit den schönen Blüten und den bunten Häusern.

    Liebe Grüße
    Anika von MISS ANNIE

    >Shopping-Gutscheine gewinnen<

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  6. What a wonderful place, I didn't know about it, I'd love to visit ! <3

    Fashion and Cookies

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  7. Perfect post :)

    Bisous de France
    Sandy

    www.taimemode-fashionblog.com

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  8. Such gorgeous pictures, I love the colourful houses and the pretty trees!

    Much love xxx
    CHRISTINANISTA.COM

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  9. OMG! Those flowers are just sooooo gorgeous! Your pics are unbelievable!!!!!!
    We really need to go there!!
    xo Beckerman Girls
    www.BeckermanBlog.com

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  10. It looks really, really beautiful! I have to admit that I didn't have a picture of South Korea in my mind, but now it is a very lovely picture :)

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  11. Those blooming trees are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing your adventures!

    xx,emily
    http://barry818.com/

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  12. Looks like a great trip... nice photos!
    http://sepatuholig.blogspot.com
    instagram.com/grace_njio

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  13. I cannot stop myself to thank you for giving this info. Please keep sharing this.
    What Passion Drives Yous

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