Must-Visit Places in Busan | Korea

I love Busan for what it has. Busan is a second largest city in South Korea after Seoul being the main largest city. I haven't been to Seoul, people been telling me that it is very similar to Seoul but with more chillax situation. 

Though we only spent 2 days in Busan, I was surprised with how much we covered in a day itinerary without rushing our time. We spent the first day in Busan by visiting places below and then spent our second day visiting Gamcheon Culture Village which I've blogged about it HERE.

The first place we visit in the morning was this huge temple called Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. I always fancy visiting temples in different countries to check out what are the uniqueness and difference between theirs and ours. Haedong Yonggungsa Temple is situated on the coast of the north-eastern portion of Busan. It is also one of top tourist attraction because it is such a rare find of a temple along the shore line. There're so many things to explore in the temple and consists of few sections -  Haesu Gwaneum Daebul (Seawater Great Goddess Buddha), Daeungjeon Main Sanctuary, Yongwangdang Shrine, Gulbeop Buddhist Sanctum (enclosed in a cave), and a three-story pagoda with four lions (symbolizing joy, anger, sadness, and happiness).

Other special sites at the temple are the 108 stairs and stone lanterns lining the rocky landscape. After going down the 108 steps, one will be delighted with the beauty of the temple. Midway down the 108 steps one can stop and enjoy the calming sounds of the waves, and view the majestic sunrise. 

After done visiting the temple, we headed to Dalamjigil Road which also known as Cafe Street in Busan. Dalmaji-gil Road is a small walkway on the corner to Songjeong Beach and boasts beautiful cherry blossoms and pine trees, which are located just beyond Haeundae Beach, on the slope of Mt.Wausan. This is where you can find plenty of cafes and coffee shops along the road. For those who enjoy doing the cafe hopping, this is definitely an amazing place for you to explore and trying out the coffees and cakes at each cafes! 

After enjoyed our cuppas at one of the cafes at the cafe street, we then headed to Hajinene in Haeundae for our lunch. We've had one of the awesome grilled seafood lunch with couple bottles of flavored soju here. Please do a favor to yourself by enjoy the seafood here, the food were really fresh and tasted great! It is no wonder why there's a lot of KPOP Idols and artists actually enjoy the food there! 

After the awesome lunch, we proceeded with enjoy walking along the Haeundae beach. The pleasant weather during autumn season made all of us didn't feel any tiredness after the super long walk. We enjoyed the chill breeze instead. Haeundae Beach - probably the main reason why I love Busan. It totally reminds me of my hometown, Kota Kinabalu, where I can go to the beach as it is super close to the city. 

If you ever spot this machine whilst you enjoy walking along the beach, you can actually snap picture and send it to your email right away. 

As you walk to the end of the beach, you will then find a staircase that will lead you to Dongbaeksom Island. The first thing you would see is the mermaid statue which represents the legendary heart breaking love story of the princess of Topaz from the Naranda country beyond the sea.

Dongbaekseom Island in Busan used to be an island, but is now part of the mainland. Dongbaekseom Island is a very small, and many dongbaek trees and evergreens thrive there. At the top of the island, there is a statue and a monument of Choe Chi-Won, a scholar and writer during the Silla Kingdom (BC 59 ~ AD 932).

Next to Dongbaeksom Island is the Nurimaru APEC House, which is noted for its beautiful, natural landscape accented by dense camellia and pine trees, Nurimaru APEC House has been used as a memorial hall and a prestigious international conference hall since the APEC summit meeting. Nurimaru, a 3-story building, is a modernistic expression of “jeongja,” a pavilion in traditional Korean architectural style. Its roof shape symbolizes the ridgeline of Dongbaekseom Island. Its interior design is a visual display of Korea’s creative traditional culture.

As you continue walk, you will reach Dongbaek Park and soon back to the main city road. We then headed to The Bay 101, a yacht club  located at Haeundae beach, boasting itself as the no.1 Marine Sport facility in the largest marine city of Busan. With state-of-the-art facilities and equipment along with marine sports professionals, Public Marina offers a cozy and snug place for private dining and other cultural activities. 

Marine sports can be enjoyed by all ages at The Bay 101, as marine-related sports and services, such as the 360 spinning Jet Boat or Semi-submarine Boat, Speed Boat, Jetski, Peanut boat and Banana boat are available in one place.

If you fancy yachting, do try out Yacht B, a luxury yacht where they have pampering facilities for their guests onboard. We actually went for a yacht session at Jeju before we come to Busan and I shall talk about it later on. There's a slight difference as this was night session and it's way more luxurious compares to the earlier one. 

The night view whilst yachting was pretty awesome as we could see the mighty looking Gwangan Bridge with splendid lights on! The lights change everyday and every season too! Also, we were not only served with light snacks, they also prepared fun BBQ session and get to light up the lantern too! It was fun and memorable!

Yours truly was having terrible seasick earlier upon board on the yacht and guess what? They actually asked me to have a rest at this comfy cabin with huge teddy to accompany me too! Such lovely service that I would never forget for the rest of my life!

Other than above places, there's still other places and fun activities to do in Busan such as visit the local groceries store as everything is cheaper than the ones in convenient stores! Did I mention the sunset was very lovely too? ;)

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