South Korea & Taiwan Blog 4: Seoul to Busan
Day 7 – Thursday, 13 April Seoul
Fine, hazy 19ºC
Up at 7:30am, went downstairs for breakfast at Butterfingers Pancake ( W27,000 ea for buffet ). Back to the room etc. and out at 10:00am, caught subway to Chungmuro then to Gyeongbokgung station and into Gyeongbokgung Palace at 10:30am ( tickets W3000 / $3.60 ea ).
Gyeongbokgung Palace is one of the 5 palaces in Seoul and was the main Royal Residence for the Kings and Queens during the Josean Dynasty. The Palace was destroyed twice ( in the 1500’s and in the early 20th Century, both times by the Japanese who have invaded Korea a few times ) and rebuilt twice. Gyeongbokgung Palace is a very formal palace, with many squares and building laid out in a logical pattern, but also has some more informal sections.
We walked up through the Palace ( very busy at the start but quieter the further we went into the Palace ). There were a lot of people in Hanbok clothing ( traditional clothing ) taking selfies etc ( entry is free if you are in Hanbok ). We walked through the various courtyards etc to the top of the palace then back down again and out at 12:30pm. A very interesting and pretty palace with some amazing reconstructed buildings, but it still feels like an an ‘empty’ / abandonded palace.
Had a coffee and bite to eat at Flash Coffee nearby, then subway back to hotel, dropped off our cameras etc and then subway again ( topped up cards with another W10000 ) to Yeouinaru station ( on the south side of the Han River ) at 2:30pm. We hired bikes ( W3000 ea for 1 hour ) in Yeouido Hangang Park and then rode along through park beside the river. We headed east for a bit then back through main part of park and back to hire station at 3:30pm.
Back on subway to Gangnam ( Sinnonhyeon Station ), and walked along main street with it’s glitzy shops and high rise buildings then back along older style street which ran parallel to main street ( it felt like 2 different worlds the contrast between the Main Street and the traditional street ). Looped back to Sinnonhyeon Station at 5pm, and then subway back to Myeongdong via Dongjak Station.
We rested briefly, then got tickets for our train to Busan printed by the hotel, then out for tea at 7pm, this time up a street on the hill, found a restaurant and had beef & black bean, fried veg noodles and beer for W30000.
We walked back to hotel via Daiso ( a chain of department stores ) which is opposite our hotel. Bought a couple of things. Most shops are open 10am to 8pm so it was quite busy at 7:30pm. Back to the hotel at 8pm.
Day 8 – Friday, 14 April Seoul to Busan
Fine, hazy in Seoul, hazy then rainy in Busan 19ºC
Up at 7am, downstairs for breakfast at Butter Finger Pancake then back up to finish packing our bags. We left the hotel/checked out at 8:45am, into the subway then 2 stops to Seoul Station. Found our way upstairs to the main train area at 9:30am, and sat, and waited for our train to appear on the board.
Once it appeared we headed down to Platform 7 and jumped on board. We booked 2 1st class seats ( W170,000 for 2 on KTX 163, Depart Seoul10:17am, Arrive Busan1:26pm ) but they were separated from each other. Got our seats and the train left on time at 10:17am
Good trip south, our train was slower that some due to the number of stops and the route that it took nearer Busan, but still arrived Busan Station on time at 1:26pm ( we touched 300km/h at times during the trip ); so just over 3 hours to cover 325km.
Got off the train and headed upstairs to the main concourse, grabbed some lunch at Subway ( W19000 ) then headed down to Line 1 on the subway ( our T Money cards work here too ), and travelled 7 stops north to Bujeon station, arriving at 2:30pm. We took the lift up to street level ( we were sick of humping bags up stairs ) and across the road to the Ibis Ambassador Hotel ( W195000 for 2 nights ). Up to 17th floor to check in then down to 16th floor to our room.
Rested for a bit then out, subway to Seomyeon, changed to Line 2 then east out to Jangsan Station, with the idea of going to Blueline Park, but it was raining when we emerged from the subway, but we took a bus towards the park anyway, got off, then because the rain had set in we got back on the next bus back to the Jangsan Station and then back to the hotel @ 5:15pm
We planned the next stage of the trip ( to Gyeongju ), booked a train and some accommodation, and then rested.
Headed out for tea: wandered around the streets behind the hotel for an hour looking for something suitable but wound up back at the hotel, and to a restaurant on the ground floor of the building ( W15000 for boiled beef soup and 1 beer ( 500ml ) ).
Back up to the room at 8:30,pm and relaxed