TBH the original plan was to travel to Japan, but dad was quite indecisive and the prices got up really high and therefore we ended up travelling to Korea. We booked the air tickets in October and I remember I got really excited and ended up doing lots of research when I am supposed to study for AS *coughs* We (more like mum & I) decided to plan the trip by ourselves rather than to follow a tour. 

Pros: You get to go to places you want, skipping all the shopping stops, explore the country by yourself etc.

Cons: You'll somehow get less information about the places you're visiting without the tour guide telling you the history and stuff, you have to do lots of homework before the trip (like really really alot eg reading hundreds of websites/blogs i'm not even exaggerating with the hundreds i really mean it), taking the risk of getting lost on the streets/taking the wrong subway/bus.

Tip: Visit the Korean Tourism Organization (KTO) office at Menara Hap Seng, KL and get some leaflets, booklets, maps etc because they really come in handy! I am subscribed to their newsletter and managed to receive some useful info and get a coupon booklet + free T money card.

25th December 2015

Our flight was due at 1am and we arrived at Gimhae International Airport, Busan around 9KST. We took a taxi to this hotel we've booked through Agoda/ Airbnb (I forgot). The taxi driver really pissed me off omg he couldn't communicate in English, plus he didn't know where the hotel is although we gave him the address (and he has a gps in the taxi wth). We took around one whole hour looking for this place pfffftttt metered taxi btw!! If you're traveling in a larger group, I would recommend you taking this private taxi (Gimhae Airport/Busan Station ↔ Busan City Transfer - Private Taxi/Mini Bus) to prevent all the unnecessary troubles.

We stayed 2 nights at Global Inn Busan and I have to say that this hotel has a really strategic location! It's just a minute's walk away from the Nampo subway station and Lotte Department Store, Yongdusan Park & Busan Tower are situated around the area.

After checking in the hotel, we had no idea where to have lunch. We walked into the subway station and ended up walking towards the Lotte Department Store exit and had lunch in their food court.

The food court here is slightly different from Malaysia's. There's a counter for ordering and they will give you the digital beep beep thingy like those you get in Snowflake, and you walk to the respective food stalls to collect your food once they're ready. They also provide free drinking water over there.

Lunch: Fishcake noodles, Sundubu Jigae (Tofu Stew) and seafood fried rice ranging from ₩5000-7000.

After lunch, we headed to the Gamcheon Culture Village.

Directions: Get on a metro to Toseong (Orange Line 1), walk out exit 6, look for the bus stop, hop on bus number 1-1, number 2 or number 2-2.

It took us quite some time to reach there because it was a public holiday and there were lots of tourists (more of Koreans than of foreigners) and the traffic was quite bad. There's no entrance fee to the village, but I advise you to pay ₩2000 to get a guide map, collect 9 stamps at certain spots and claim 2 post cards.

The numbers below the photos are the artwork and photo zone information as shown on the map.

I was a lil' bit disappointed when I saw the view up here at the observatory... It wasn't as pretty as those photos I've seen on the websites and guide books lmao. The buildings are not in bright colours but more of a pastel hue. Here you go, the non-edited photos of the village hahahahha.

Korean street food #1: Hotteok (호떡) filled with nuts, it's like a pancake and usually eaten in the winter.

Korean street food #2: Odeng (오뎅) = fishcakes

Some really unique and instagrammable water mochi.

Look at the all the couples lololol everyone here uses a selfie stick i'm not kidding! 

I need a wide-angle lens for this :((((((

Look at the queue to go up for love locks/ get a nicer view of the village..

Lots of people were having these cute lil plants on their heads! It costs ₩1000.

Cheondeoksu well-

If you notice the numbers, we actually skipped alot of them lol we kinda got lost inside the village because it's like a maze and we couldn't collect all the stamps too. We even got on to the wrong bus lololol I was so worried we couldn't get back to the station mannn. 

If you're visiting Busan when there's snow already, I suggest you to join this skiing package! Gamcheon Culture Village & Eden Valley Ski Resort 1 Day Package

After grabbing a quick rest at the hotel, we walked over to the Yongdusan Park which is located behind the hotel.

Directions: Get out of Nampo station exit 1 (Orange Line 1), walk straight for about 200m and turn right into the Gwangbok-dong fashion street and use the escalator to get up to the park.

The tickets to go up to the observatory costs ₩3000-5000.

Spot the love locks thingy lol it's everywhere..

Alternatively, Trazy do provide a 2 hours Busan tour at night. Do check them out for more info! Busan at Night: Special City Night Tour I found out about this only after I came back :((( would love to see Gwangan Bridge lit up at night.

Gwangbok street-

After walking down the park (the escalator is only for going up btw), we had Samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) at Wonjo Seoul Samgyetang for dinner.

Directions: Walk straight from Nampo station exit 1, take the first right, first left and walk straights towards the near end of the block and you shall see this restaurant. 

After dinner, we walked around the streets for awhile and it was too cold so we went back to the hotel. That's all for day 1! Stay tuned for more ;)