A good day starts with a good breakfast, and we started our good day with toasts from Issac Toast. A long queue has already form, so to utilize the time, while the husband queued for the toast, I spent my time shopping for cute, good quality and cheap socks in Myeongdong underground shopping area. After 30mins of queuing, we got our toast, and headed back to the warmth of our hotel (which is just across the street) to enjoy the toast. The generous servings of lettuce and meat patty coupled with some special sauce made us vow to come back for more toasts while we pack our bags for our trip to Busan.
Issac Toast & Coffee
Address: 105 Toegye-ro, Chungmuro 1(il)-ga, Jung-gu South Korea
Exit 5 of Myeongdong station
(There are also many outlets in South Korea)
Tips: A long queue will form after 9.30am daily, so do be there earlier than 9.30am if you want to enjoy the toast without queuing up for too long.
We left our big luggage at the care of the hotel staffs, and headed towards Seoul Station by metro with our backpack to catch our KTX train to Busan. The KTX station is situated on top of Seoul Metro Station, and we found our way by following the English signs as we walked out of the metro station. We bought a 3 days Korail Pass (KR Pass - which is only available for foreigners) from Trazy.com, which allows us to ride on certain KTX trains for a unlimited number of times. There are also 1-7 days packages available. Economically, it works out to be cheaper than buying a 2 way KTX tickets to and fro Busan.
Unfortunately, I under-estimated the number of people who will be travelling to Busan from Seoul, and did not make any prior seat bookings. Even though there are trains between the 2 cities every 30mins, as it was the New Year Period, there were just too many travelers, and we are unable to get any seats and can only make do with "standing tickets".
Lesson Learnt - Buy your KTX tickets as early as possible, especially if your travel period falls within the holiday season and remember to reserve your seats. If you are buy a KR Pass (like us), redeem the ticket and make a seat booking at the KTX station on the day you reach Seoul.
The welcoming sight of Busan as we step out of the KTX station
We took Bus 41 from the bus stop outside the KTX station, and after 15 stops (~40mins), we alighted at Gwangil Mansion, and found the hotel we will be staying at - Dawn Beach Hotel Busan in a couple of minutes.
Dawn Beach Hotel Busan is located at Gwangalli Beach; while most people stays near Seomyeon, Busan station or Haeundae while in Busan, we made an untypical choice and choose to stay in Gwangalli Beach in order to watch the first sunrise of the year with the iconic Busan Gwangandaegyo Bridge (better known as Diamond Bridge) as the backdrop (see my later post - coming soon). To further enhance the experience, we reserved a sea facing room that we could watch the sunrise at the comfort of our room.
View of the Diamond Bridge from our room
It was already quite late in the afternoon, and we decide to cure our stomach before we formally start our Busan adventure. We had some Korean instant noodle at the 7-11 convenience stall across the street from our hotel.
Some cute Snoopy inspired milk packaging found at 7-11
Ice-cream always taste better in winter (try it if you do not believe so), so we bought some ice cream after our noodle, and stroll towards the Gwangalli Beach to enjoy the cool sea breeze.
From Gwangalli Beach, we made our way to Seomyeon shopping district by metro. The closest metro station from Gwangalli Beach is Geumnyeonsan Station is about a 15mins walk away, and it takes around 30mins to reach Seomyeon station. As we walk out of the metro station, the Seomyeon Underground Shopping Center ignited my shopping spirit and we spent some time browsing at clothes, shoes and accessories before we finally made it to the Seomyeon shopping and food street, where we spent the evening walking, eating and shopping randomly.
Delicious tteokbokki from the street vendor
Coffee Break at Hollys Coffee
We chance upon Kyochon Chicken, and decided that we need to satisfy our Korean fried chicken craving. If you only have chance for 1 Korean fried chicken meal, just go to Kyochon Chicken and forget about the rest; the juicy and tender chicken will definitely make a lasting impression in your mind.
Kyochon Chicken
Address: 261-10-dong, Bujeon 1(il)-dong, Busan
Near Seomyeon station Exit 15
After a pleasant evening at Seomyeon, we headed back to our hotel, and before we end our day, we had another stroll at Gwangalli Beach for the night view of the beach, and of course, to see the Diamond Bridge shining in the night.
Up Next: South Korea Trip Day 4 Part 1 - Busan
Previously: South Korea Trip Day 2 - Seoul
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