Charming Busan, South Korea

Lop Ponciano & siblings with their new found friends in Busan, Korea watching the 2014 World Cup at Thursday party bar. They have foosball, tv for watching sports, beerpong and reasonably priced drinks. :)

Lop Ponciano on Busan, South Korea
Lead Vocalist, The No Name Band
Owner/Therapist, Ponciano Clinic (with complimentary Chinese Medicine treatments and non-invasive liposuction) located at Rm. 915 Medical Plaza Bldg., San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas

Lop's sister, Juts

Lop's brother Ivan

 
1. What brought me there:

Groupie at the Kyani Convention at Bexco Convention Center

Kyani, Convention at BEXCO Convention Center...  a mostly expense-paid trip.

2. Must-try food: 

A. When in Haeundae Beach in Busan, try Turkish ice cream!!! The texture is very different from all the ice cream I've tasted... It's more chewy, almost like bubble gum but after my first lick, I wanted to bring home the whole cart!! It's that good!! 

We found it on one of the alleys in front of the sea animal aquarium one afternoon. It's really a must try for only $3 / KW3,000.00.  

B. It's a small restaurant ran by a curly-haired, bespectacled and thin ahjumma (mature woman) I forgot the name but the location is very fresh in my mind like it was yesterday. Hihi!
forgot the name but the clams, pajeon, and noodle soup are good! We ordered one of everything. Hehe! It's good to eat their food with sake especially on a cold night.
Go to the street on the right side of Haeundae Grand Hotel. It's the first restaurant to the left. It's small and it's between a convenient store and a Japanese restaurant.  

C. For more seafood options and when you have more time to go farther, go to Gwangalli Beach and there's the Millak Hoe Town Market and you can satisfy your seafood cravings there.
 
3. Must-go to:

My brother Randy walking on the shore of Haeundai Beach

A.) Haeundae Beach

I was told that it's one of the famous beaches in Korea... Uh, still nothing like our Boracay but it's all they have. Hehe.

The Westin Chosun Hotel, the place to be

Note: If you are to splurge on a hotel: choose WESTIN CHOSUN hotel. It's connected to the beach. As soon you step out the back entrance, you'll step on sand already and the view is not bad at all from your hotel room. Secondly, the hotel has a nice lap pool and American Indian Teepee (Indian tents made of animal skin) near the pool area where kids can play at. There's also a wooden swing, and barbecue grill and the view from there overlooks all of Haeundae Beach. 

View of Haeundae Beach from our hotel room

 

Lop and siblings playing beer pong

Lop & siblings playing foosball

Sometimes, too they have concerts and other events at the beach so explore, lose yourselves in the alleys (but not too lose) and make friends in the bars. There are a lot of friendly people there especially when we were watching the World Cup together. ;)

 

Exploring Dongbaek Island with siblings and good friend :)

B. Dongbaek Park also connects to Westin Chosun Hotel. It's a great place for jogging, walking, and picture taking. You can already see so much  just in this park. 

At the light house with my sister Juts and our friend Jaeseok aka Jessie (he had his internship at Philippine Bank inside the UP Campus. :)

 - Light House

Inside the APEC Memorial (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation) where all the countries involved gathered for the meeting. :)

 - APEC Memorial (where the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation Leader's Meeting happened in 2005) Included in the meeting was former President Gloria Arroyo. 

Hanging bridge at Dongbaek Park

- hanging bridge
- a view of Haeundae
- and a whole lot of history. Which you can read about here .

C. go to Spa Land, Korea's most outrageous sauna in Centum City.

D. Haedong Yonggungsa Temple at Gijang-gun is also great! A lot of people head over there for the view and it's said to be the best in Busan if not the whole of Korea.

E. Visit my friend's family-owned noodle restaurant, "Yang Nam Noodle," located at Gyung Ju Si - Yang Nam Meon - Su ryeom Ri - 108-11. Look for Jessie and tell him Lop sent you.

4. What I saw:
Busan compared to Seoul is more laid back. (see a tour review of it here.)

But based on a research I saw, prices of goods are higher in Busan than in Seoul, but rent and restaurants charge lower in Busan. In terms of shopping, I was surprised that Busan was more expensive than in Seoul. Check this site out for a detailed comparison.
 
Though over all, I had more fun in Seoul probably because I mapped out my own itinerary with my friend Lorre. In Busan, most of my time was spent attending a convention. :)

5. Most memorable/awesome thing I saw....
It was the first time I've been to a red light district anywhere and my first time happens to be here.

Taking a groupie inside Lotte Hotel with an imitation of the Trevi fountain at the background.

 Also at Lotte hotel, my friend Jessie took us to the food court. You have to go around first and choose from all the food they have: soup, ramen, kimbap, tonkatsu, and all the other yummy food in big servings with side dishes all ranging from KW5,000-7,000 each.

6. Thrilling budget find:
I'd have to say good food for good price like the restaurant I mentioned before and at the Lotte Hotel food court.

Shopping in the subway...

Shopping again in the subway station at Lotte Hotel. We got a lot of freebies from Inesfree and Faceshop. :))
Yogurt drinks in different flavors, apple, strawberry, mixed berries, and coffee drinks all for KW1 each.

7. Local's advice?

 I didn't get any but I have some advice based on my experience.

 
When you get to the subway at Lotte Hotel, remember where you passed by because it's easy to get lost there without a guide.

8. What I expected:
I expected to be needing my adaptor for Korea but the hotel had outlets for the normal sockets. Yey!

I didn't expect to see more foreigners in Busan than in Seoul.

9. Travel tips: 
 
A. Trade your money at the bank. You get more won that way! B. Check out the way to your destination in Google maps so the taxi driver can't cheat you easily. Sometimes they'll take the long cut even if the place is just near by and you end up paying more.
C. Plan ahead, but be open to surprises!

Korean words that may come in handy:
1) Kamsahamnida - thank you
2) Hwajangshil odisoyo? - where is the comfort room?
3) chomgak ajuseyo - discount please.
4) Annyeonghaseyo - hello/ goodbye!