Busan is Good
I've long held an enthusiasm for long-distance train travel, which is even better when abroad. And so it proved, travelling from Seoul to South Korea's second city on a super comfortable train with space for luggage and humans alike. I say that as these basic features are increasingly rare at home, where luggage racks don't fit a standard cabin case, more seats are sold than are available, and nobody dreams of a pocket for your phone to wirelessly charge. Zero ticket check interruptions too. Bliss.
It was too early for a hot breakfast for me, so while the beloved grabbed some McDonald's, I lined up for fancy pastries from Paris Gourmet. I much later found out this was very much worth it, when I unpacked enormous croissants to have with coffee on the train. A very good start.
Day One
Once unpacked at the hotel, we had a short exploration of the neighbourhood for lunch. I was determined to tick off the excellent coffee chains that had so far eluded us in Seoul, and Holly's was the first one we spotted. A relaxing toastie and hot drink concoction later, we jumped on a ride to Gamcheon Culture Village.
As our little bus navigated the slim streets and steep hills, I already knew our bus ticket provided superb value for this unique slice of the port city. Once we'd climbed past hundreds of ancient, colourful little houses, we were lucky to find a coffee shop with a view and clung on to our first class seats at Post Coffee before giving them up for the next pair of tourists.
The place was bustling. We picked up Snoopy luggage tags to add to my Charlie Brown collection before being intensely drawn in by artists sketching characters. Had they been outside, I'd have walked past; but because this meant sitting inside for a few minutes, we ventured into Fairytale Caricatures and waited until two artists became free to draw us simultaneously. I never thought I'd actually like a picture of myself! These are now proudly framed at home, fighting for space amongst the full walls of art and travel memories.
There was much to experience in Gamcheon, including the rooftop observatory, and even as we waited for our bus back at the bottom of the hill, the view was one to behold. A very good start to the Busan adventure.
Before dinner, we took a long walk along the famous waterside, where the fishing folk were finishing clearing up for the day, before heading into Lotte for dinner. As is the norm, department stores here are the places to go for a variety of food options. After the success in Seoul, we settled on another satisfying Chinese meal at Din Tai Fung. I loved that, not for the first time, our chopsticks, napkins, and anything else we needed were to be found in a drawer attached to the underside of the table. No waiting for staff to bring anything other than the food itself, which was often ordered from a screen at the table. This is particularly handy when needing to translate the menu to identify the dishes.
An after-dinner walk through the city ticked off another wish list item: coffee and desserts in one of the hundreds of late-opening coffee shops. From our seats in Coffee Bean, we could see all the lights still on display from Christmas, lingering beautifully for the upcoming Lunar New Year.
Day Two
The next day started at Haeundae Beach, with breakfast at Aussie Table (says exactly what it does on the tin) and coffee at Deep Flow, a space we shared with two coffee-loving nuns, and where T's coffee arrived in a wine glass. In between, we did a lot of gazing out at the water. No matter where I am in the world, the sea and all of nature never stops fascinating me.
This is also the area where I spotted a cobbler's shop with a colourful display of heels outside - quite the genius move. And talking of innovative, our first encounter with shoe cleaners, spraying air to remove sand from your shoes on the beach.
All this before jumping on the bus to the world's largest store, Shinsegae, at a rather staggering 3,163,000 square feet. We had coffee at Arket, one of our favourite European stores and another we have carelessly lost at home. I remember becoming quite besotted with a silky bomber jacket-style top from where I was sitting. I didn't buy it, but I've seen several versions of it on the high street since.
Back in our local area, we had our holiday standby: burgers of a size I can actually finish, at Life Burgers, caught just before they closed for the day. Then on to Gwangalli Beach, a much more tourist-attracting spot. After approximately 264 photos of the famous bridge, our coffee nightcap nearly eluded us until we found a tiny Dancing Cup. This was the only time on the trip we shared a space with noisy, drunk people, it being Friday night. There were only three of them, but that had quite an impact in a country where this is very much the exception.
Day Three
Saturday began with breakfast at the super-popular Egg Drop, after an incredibly long wait. It was on our list after something similar at a Japanese place in Toronto, and it was worth every minute.
This set us up nicely for Arte Museum, a highlight of the entire trip, much as the immersive art experience was the highlight of Tokyo the year before. Which meant we also had to have a drink at the café, even if it could in no way match our immersive Japanese tea experience. I did choose tea rather than coffee, the intriguingly named Chamomile Medley, with lemongrass, lemon verbena, and spearmint. I have been looking for it ever since.
After approximately 249 more photos, we went to Park Café, where we were mesmerised both by the array of bakery goods on offer and by just how busy it was. We saved our next coffee for the most swanky of the trip, closer to home: upstairs at Avery Coffee, which had the air of a designer store meets five-star hotel. Simply stunning.
We went low-key for dinner, back at Lotte. The streets were heaving with Saturday night tourists and we ended up at Guns & Shrimp, where I recall we shared a pizza and pasta between us. Then back to the hotel to do laundry, with a view of the brightly lit bridges.
Day Four
On our final day, heading to the air cruise, we grabbed a quick muffin and coffee at the excellent Black Up Coffee, which we'd clocked previously at Lotte. A bus took us to pick up a cable car to Songdo Sky Park, where we enjoyed much nature, and a hot dog from the market below. I did not walk the suspension bridge. The beloved did, while I zoomed in and took photographs. The big climb to Amnan Park was worth every step, and provided an excellent step count.
From there it was on to the Seomyon area and FM Coffee, where we picked up a couple of tiny branded plates as Christmas mementoes. No doubt I will forget about them entirely until I unpack Christmas 2027.
Another shopping centre, another dinner: my Mexican food craving was satisfied at Habanero, and my Japanese craving at another Muji. We also rather delightfully came across a Tupperware stand and stocked up.
Back in the neighbourhood, the last night in Busan went to a nightcap at A Twosome Place, a big memory from Seoul last time. Being in this smaller, more walkable city, we were much closer to the action and could stroll home from our nightly dessert stops.
#BusanisGood is the city's agreeable slogan.
January 2025
