haeundae – The things I've seen. The places I've been.

Today, we are heading to Gyeongju. Gyeongyu was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla from 57 BC to 935 AD. It is often referred to as The Museum Without Walls. But before going on a bus to Gyeongyu, we took the Sky Capsule from Mipo to Cheongsapo in Busan. The Sky Capsule is really cute and it was fun to have a tiny train all to ourselves on such a scenic ride!

Then from Cheongsapo, we rode the Beach Train all the way to Songjeong. We enjoyed a short walk by the beach and ate the most delicious and beautifully prepared seafood before heading back on a Beach Train.

Then it was time to leave Busan. We took a bus from the Haeundae Intercity Bus Terminal which is basically just a bus stop. There is a ticket machine there and the staff who was just about to leave, stayed to help me buy the tickets. Before she left, she even told the other staff that we were going to Gyeongju just so we are directed to the right bus. She was really kind. The bus was just an hour ride and cost 10,000 KRW per person which is around 7 EUR.

Gyeongju is very pretty and I wished we had stayed longer. It was also here where we stayed at a Hanok. It was such a memorable experience! The Hanok has an extension which accommodates a bathroom and a small kitchen. The floor was really warm and I love the feel of it! There are many cool restaurants and cute cafes near our accommodation. And lots of street food too. One thing that is a must try is the famous Gyeongju Bread. People seem to be carrying a box of it for souvenirs and they are only sold in a set of 10 pieces or more. We got a box of freshly baked ones and they were very good. Our Hanok is also a walking distance to the Daereungwon Tomb Complex and the Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond. These places were really pretty with Cherry Blossom in full bloom. The streets of Gyeongju was also lined with Cherry Blossom. I think I fell in love with Gyeongju!

We stayed 2 nights in Gyeongju. We decided against taking a 4 hours plus bus ride to Jeonju so we decide to return to Busan. The bus terminal was a 15 minutes walk from our Hanok and the bus ticket only cost 5,700 KRW per person which was around 4 EUR. And as usual, the bus was really comfortable with large seats and almost empty.

Check out the reels here:

Today in Busan and Gyeongju

Gyeongju, South Korea

More photos from Gyeongju by Ari Vitikainen can be found here.

I wasn’t really keen in visiting Busan. I had this idea that it would be good to visit during the summer as it is a city by the sea. But who can resist a Train to Busan as a title! Yes, we took the KTX train to Busan which took us 2 hours and 15 minutes while the regular trains will take up to 6 hours. (The KTX trains are the Korean equivalent to the Japanese Bullet trains yet so much less expensive.) It was a smooth, uneventful train ride. Although, a question was posted on my TikTok asking if there were zombies! 🙂

Our hotel was right infront of the Haeundae Beach and across the Busan X the Sky, a 100 floors building . Our room was facing the ocean so it was so lovely! Haeundae beach is really clean and beautiful. It was fun to look at the skyscrapers coming to life at dusk. For dinner, we had huge dumplings and noodles at a nearby restaurant and was blessed by a short, light rain on the way back to the hotel. The next morning was spent exploring the Busan X the Sky before heading to Jinhae.

I heard that Jinhae has around 350,000 Cherry Blossom trees which makes it a must place to visit during the Cherry Blossom season. We took a tour with Trazy on a very comfortable bus and Jinhae didn’t fail us at all. It was indeed very pretty but there were also lots of people! I really enjoyed trying out the street food and I especially like the Strawberry Milk and Strawberry Mochis. I also enjoyed watching how Dalgonas are made – melting sugar, pouring it gently to form a circle then stamping a character on it with a hot metal. Dinner was Kimchi potato pancakes at a very homely restaurant with only three long tables. It had a very friendly atmosphere and the people from the next table showed us their food so that we can order. There was no English at all and I really liked how everyone participated so that we can get food. It was really a fun day in Jinhae. We returned to our hotel in Busan at 23:30 and I can’t believe that I was indeed under the Cherry Blossom. At this point, I felt like I was Cherried Blossomed! 😀 And of course, while we were waiting for our ride to Jinhae, we went in a selfie booth and got a selfie for the first time ever in our entire lives. We have so much fun and laughter!