Busan, here we come!!

Wednesday Feb 09, 2011

Jen and I decided to go on abit of a road trip to Busan.

Busan is about a 50 minute bus trip. We figured it would be a great way to see the city and would be easy enough to get too. It was fool proof, as there were two of us and worse comes to worse, I'm sure we could both figure it out.

Jen came over at around 10am. Shops in Korea tend to open from 10am onwards. We crossed the road over to the bus terminal. She was awesome enough to get the hotel reception to write on a piece of paper- 'Busan to Changwon', which we would later use when we needed to buy the bus ticket back home.

Both our tickets cost 11,000 won and was easy enough to explain to the cashier what we needed and where we were going. We did this by pointing alot and by showing her a little map we had. It's alot of fun using hand signals to explains things to people.

We moved to the side and the little man stamped our tickets and motioned for us to wait outside. I was reaaalllllyyyy hoping this wasn't going to be a long time because it was cold. Very cold. As we waiting at terminal 10, our bus rolled up and we got on. Our tickets were collected and off we were on our adventure to Busan!

Jen had been to Busan before, but this time, we had a mission. We were going to Shinsegae- The world's Largest Department Store. Ever!!!
This was exciting. Two shop-a-holics- running loose in the store!!!

The trip to Busan was lovely, as we got to see alot of the city and terrain. The bus wasn't packed and leading up to the Bus stop in Busan, we made about 7 stops in total. Once at the bus terminal, we thought "right..... now what lol" We went onto the main street and hailed a taxi and jen said to him we were going to Shinsegae. He knew exactly what we meant! I love it when they know what you want. Makes life that bit easier

We pulled up outside the store, looked up and wow...... It was so high and big.... and we were here! This place has an ice rink, a golfing range, a spa land, alot of clothing stores and designer stores- Gucci, Tiffany & Co, to name a few, as well as restaurants, cafes, a gallery, the Kyobo book store and the sky park- a space where you can practically touch the sky! you can relax on the spacious lawn or take in the beautiful vista from the observation deck.

Me and the Proof that Shinsegae is the World's Largest Department Store

View from atop Shinsegae

I managed to find and buy my snow gear at Killtec. I wa sooooooo happy, seeing as where going to the Muju Snowfields on Sunday and I don't own anything snowgear-ish. I got my Purple jacket, black pants and purple goggles and I look cute! I've got a face mask which jen gave me, so all I really need are a pair of gloves, which I'm going to try and get tomorrow. I can borrow the boarding equipment at the snowfields.

After much shopping around, Jen and I went to the foodcourt and ordered some food. The have a ticketing system here. In order to get the food you want, they have a TV screen which displays different meal options. Once you decide what you want, you go to the middle where theres a chasier and pay your purchase. You then go and sit down and wait until your number is displayed on another screen and once it's ready, you can go and get it from the food stall that it comes from e.g. if it's McDonald's, then you go to the McDonald's food stall..

We ended up ordering a plate of sushi. It had alot of variety, including Kimchi. I think they give you this everywhere you go! It's basically cabbage in chili. I'm not a fan. I hate chili. Lunch was a good way to rest our little feet and watch the ice skaters do their thing.

My Lunch of sushi

At around 2pm, we decide to head back home. There's was alot more shopping to do, but we figured we could easily come back another day. In fact, we decide to come back on Monday. But this time, we're going to go and check out the big EMart and Lotte Mart they have here in Busan. We head to the taxi rank outside Shinsegae and Jen shows him the little piece of paper with "Busan to Changwon" written on it. we also said "Bus Terminal" Hoping he understands, he repeats us and nods and we thinki "yay- success!!"

As were riding in the taxi, we both notice that this seems to be a different route and it seems as though he is making his way to Changwon. Maybe he's taking us to Changwon???? ahhhh damit! he misunderstood us... ohh well.... we better, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride..... but we soon realise he is pulling up to a terminal. Its the bus terminal in Seomyeon. From there we were able to catch a connecting bus that would take us right back to Changwon Bus Terminal, which is where we caught it in the morning.

It didn't take us long to figure it out, so it was pretty smooth sailing. I quite like their bus system. The buses seem to come every 15 minutes and is a simple ticketing system. Although I don't think it's the same as catching a metro bus. That might just work with payment.

We had a great day, and we're definately going back to Busan. There's so much to see and do, but it's best to pace yourself so you don't get too overwhelmed with all the shopping to be done lol
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