Blogs from Haeundae-gu, Busan, South Korea, Asia

Sunday, 13th October 2019 After breakfast at Toyoko Inn this morning, I embarked on a half day East Busan Exploration Tour with Klook to bring me to places that were not easily accessible via the Busan Metro. Our tour group today was small comprising of two ladies from Malaysia and another three visitors from South Africa. From the pick-up point at Busan Station, the six of us proceeded straight to the Oryukdo Skywalk, one of the many cantilever glass bottom skywalks scattered along the rugged coast of Busan. It was extremely windy when we arrived so we should count ourselves really lucky that the attraction had remained opened despite the bad weather. After spending about 30 minutes at the Skywalk, our mini-bus proceeded further along the coast to the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. This is a very ... read more

Busan International Film Festival is held every year, normally in early October. This year,the 20th film festival ran from the 1st to 10th October. This was the third time I have been to the film festival. The first time I just turned up and bought tickets on the day, last year I was slightly more organised, and this year, I think I cracked it. The film catalogue is released on online in mid-September. so you can see what films take your fancy. This is a huge selection, there are films from all over the world, with a special focus on Asian film. There is also a great timetable that shows what film will be shown on each day at each cinema. I find this invaluable when it come to planning. The cinemas are Busan Cinema Centre, ... read more

Leaving Japan was not a difficult choice, as I find that its time to leave a country when you know how expensive something is without converting it into your own currency, you can work your way around the cities subway with no problems whichever city you are in, and you know the response that you will get once you speak English to a local. If you read my last blog then you will know that I didn’t warm to Japan that much, so I wasn’t expecting much from South Korea. I got the slow ferry from Fukuoka to Busan and travelled for 6 hours in a cabin room with 2 old Japanese men who spoke no English, but helped me set up my ‘bed’ on the floor and the highlight of the trip was the TV ... read more

Hi Just to let you all know that we have had no internet whilst in Japan. It has been full on with four ports in Japan and now in South Korea. Japan has been great and hope you will enjoy the blogs when I get to put them up. Off to China next. Cheers... read more

Day 32 (Sun 7thOct) So my time has come to leave behind Beijing and China, a place that I have enjoyed very much. Next on the agenda is South Korea, and firstly Busan. The day started with a 5:30am start after getting in at half 1 so I was slightly tired. I tried to make as little noise as possible leaving the hostel room. Seems there’s 3 Siberians in 2 beds which means they’re multiplying as there were 2 the previous day. Made it to the airport and went through the usual procedures. Boarded the flight and away from China. The flight lasted around 2 hours to Busan Gimhae airport. Off the plane and through the painful customs processes, filling in questionnaires for health and illness, reason of visit and so on. This all takes longer ... read more