LEVINAPANGESTU: Busan

KOREA VACAY: FROZEN HAEUNDAE

Busan means Haeundae and Haeundae means Busan. Haeundae beach probably is the most popular Busan’s beach known by international tourists. It is located only 40 minutes from the downtown. This popular beach is also has a really easy access. On my 2nd day afternoon at Busan, I went to this beautiful beach. Got off at Haeundae Station and just walk straight for about 500 meters, and YES the beach will be in front of you :)

Along that 500 meters road to the beach, there are so many restaurants, cafes, and street food stalls. It kinds of remind me to Kuta and Legian area at Bali. Some local restaurants busily served the customers located in the alley. Not only food, there are also some clothing and makeup stores. Oh, and they said the makeup stores at Busan are cheaper than at Seoul. It was a cold afternoon maybe because we were near to the beach so we decided to drink a warm coffee and just took a rest for a while before going down to the beach.

It was a really cold day at Haeundae Beach. The wind was so strong that my bone could felt it. For me who comes from a tropical island, that day at the beach was one of the coldest days. Brain Freeze! However, Haeundae Beach gave me such a beautiful cold sea view with their popular bridge. It called Gwangandaegyo Bridge connects Haeundae-gu and Suyeong-gu. This white bridge is 7.420 meters long and stands strong on the cold sea. My hand phone couldn’t stop taking pictures of this majestic view. When summer comes, usually people will come out and hang out together here.

Around this beach, there are so many hotels and restaurants. If you watch a Korean reality Show, there is a hotel that the twins Seoeon Seojun stayed. And what I really love about this place, it has public wifi! Actually, many places at Korea already have a stable and fast public wifi. That’s why I love this country haha! After wifi-ing for a while, I walked to the other side and found a public facility. It turned out to be some kind of warm water pool that use to soaking your cold feet. Unfortunately, it closed already. The people there are very kind though. They told us with body languages haha. Some Ajusshi (Uncle) said that we are really brave to fly far from Indonesia to Busan and also without any tour guide.

How to get there:

By Public Transportation

1. Take Subway line 2 and get off at Haeundae Station.

2. Take exit 5 and walk straight for about 500 meters

Notes: Don’t hesitate to ask people around because it will be a little bit confusing to get to the museum.

For more information, visit this website:

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264155

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In Busan, KTX

VACAY GUIDES : TRAIN TO BUSAN!

Hello guys! Have you watched the recent popular South Korea movie, TRAIN TO BUSAN? That movie reminded me on my amazing trip to Busan earlier this year and yes I went there by train or KTX! On this post, I will give you information about KTX and ITX. KTX or Korea Train Express is operated by Korail. It is a high speed train system at South Korea. There are 4 lines that KTX facilitates, Gyeongbu Line, Honam Line, Gyeongjeon Line, and Jeolla Line. My destination is Busan so I will take the Gyeongbu Line KTX. Below here is the Gyeongbu Rail Line :

Source: http://info.korail.com

Incheon International Airport KTX Station

At my last trip to South Korea, I had a chance to visit Busan. You can check my Busan story here (NationalMaritime Museum, Gamcheon Cultural Village, and 12 Foods to Eat at Busan). I decided to go to Busan by KTX because it saves time. Actually, there is also public bus that will take you to Busan. It is cheaper but takes more time. So, how I, an international tourist, buy KTX ticket? Here I will tell you how.

I booked my KTX ticket from letskorail.com. Actually you can directly buy the ticket there, however booking it from the website is better. It will save time and there is a possibility that you will run out of tickets when you directly buy in the station locket. Here are the steps for booking KTX ticket:

1. When you open the website, this is the first look. It all in Korea Languages but don’t worry. There is a language setting at the top right, click it and change to English language.

2. After it changes to English language, here is the display on your screen. For KTX ticket booking, choose the RAIL TICKETS tab on the top left.

3. When you click the RAIL TICKETS tab, a form will be open in your screen.

For Travel Categories, please select Normal Train and Direct Travel Type. On Departure Time, just type your date when you want to visit Busan. However, remember that you only can check the train schedule and purchase it up to 1 month in advance. For departure you can choose either Incheon Airport or Seoul. On my trip, I started from Incheon International Airport Station and arrival at Busan. On Train tab, please select KTX. For Passengers, just fill according how many people that will take KTX. Last, click Inquiry to continue the booking process and check the price and schedules.

4. After you click on the Inquiry Button, the KTX schedule will be seen at your screen. Choose the schedule that fit your trip’s time. To check the fare, click on the button at the last column.

When you click the fare button, this will go up at your screen. There are fares for 1st class, Standard class, and standing/not assigned. The fare for adult and children are also different.

If you already know what class that you choose, just click the close button below.

5. Back to the KTX’s schedule page, now click the class button that you choose.

After you choose the class and time that you want, the Booking Online form will show up at your screen. Fill out your first and last name, gender, passport number, nationality, and e-mail. Don’t forget to check the terms and conditions and privacy policy. After that, click the next button below.

6. The next page will be about your payment process. The payment method is by your credit card. When you completed the payment process, they will give you e-ticket printouts. Print this e-ticket and exchange it later at KTX station's locket.

You can check your reservation by click My Reservation button. Fill out your name, passport number, and nationality then click the inquiry button.