Day 3 in South Korea - Busan

Dear Kimchi Fans,

Today was finally the day: our long-awaited trip to Busan! By now, we have truly arrived in Korea, so the excitement this time was surprisingly low. We got up at 7 AM, quickly got ready, and headed straight to the train station. There, we had a small breakfast – and then we were off. With the KTX high-speed train in first class! The surcharge was only about 10€, for whatever reason – but hey, we can scrape together that 10€. We sat among the Korean business people, had plenty of space, and the ride was pleasantly quiet and comfortable. Arrival in Busan – and for the first time... no good feeling! Our hotel didn’t make a particularly inviting impression: no reception, little atmosphere. And since we arrived a few hours early, we couldn’t check in yet. Somehow, everything felt a bit off.

First, we secured our luggage and headed straight for our first excursion: the Sky Train by the beach was on the agenda – travel time about an hour. Along the way, we quickly noticed: We were apparently the only tourists around and felt briefly like two aliens 😅 no worries, at the supposedly Sky Train Station, they were suddenly all back – the tourists. Supposedly, because: We were at the wrong station. Although we could still buy tickets there, we had to quickly take a taxi to the correct departure point, or we would have missed our train. And that taxi ride was... let’s say: an adventure in itself. The car: a futuristic IONIQ 5 - The driver: a friendly elderly gentleman, who unfortunately could neither operate the taxi app nor speak a word of English. He tried to explain something to us – without success. His solution: just say it again. Only louder 😄 even with the language translator, it didn’t quite work out - But it didn’t matter – we made it! The Sky Train itself was fun. We had the little capsule all to ourselves and could roll over the beach, take pictures, and enjoy. Afterwards, we had street food in Busan for the first time: Tteokbokki.

After the excursion, we headed back to the hotel. We noticed something: Around Haeundae Beach there are a few tourists, but in downtown Busan – exactly where our hotel is located – we see almost exclusively locals. In the evening, we strolled around our neighborhood a bit. Every restaurant was well-frequented, but only with South Koreans. I would argue: Here we are experiencing Korea in a more authentic way - which is actually great. It just feels a bit odd after the hyper-modern, tourist-friendly metropolis of Seoul - raw and real. Let’s see how we feel tomorrow. Ramona has been in my ear for hours now, saying we should please go back to Seoul 😄