20 Mar 2014 - 통영 Here I come!!!

The itinerary for the day was a day trip to 통영.
So looking forward to this trip and the day has finally arrived!
It was drizzling that morning but it did not dampen my mood ^^

I have to take a bus from Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal to 통영 Tongyeong. The bus terminal was only 5 mins from my hotel ^^  I reached the bus terminal at 6.30am.

The bus ticket cost KRW10900 and to take the bus at bay no.13.
I asked the staff when is the next bus leaving for Tongyeong as there was no time indicated on the ticket.

She wrote "6.40am" and "7.10am"
Obviously, I will make a dash for the bus departing at 6.40am.

It was about 6.36am but there was no bus at bay no. 13. However, I saw a bus with the word "통영" on the windscreen, parking at bay no. 12. I waited. 10 mins went by and the bus is still here. I showed my bus ticket to the bus driver and he told me this was not the bus. He told me to wait at bay no. 13. Not long later, he drove off. Huh??? What's going on??

What's the difference between "Local" and "Direct" ??

This bus drove into bay no.13 at 6.47am and displayed the next departure time as 7.10am. Although I don't really understand why I could not get on that bus but this was the correct bus. I still have about 20mins before the bus leave. Therefore, I decided to get my breakfast from the convenience store in the bus terminal. 

My breakfast ^^

I supposed my sausage muffin is catagorised at hamburger??
So that will be 20-30 seconds??

Yummy!!
It tasted like the muffin from Dunkin' Donuts ^^

Good news??

I think my updates came a bit late. Just saw a good news via FB from KTO about hotel tax refund wef 1 April 2014.  Hence, greedy me sent a msg to KTO if they have a list of hotels that we can claim tax refund.

Their reply is :

"You can find the list here http://bit.ly/1kEuek And yes, it is only applicable to hotels, not guesthouses or motels."

내가만든매운어묵볶음

Before I continue with my Spring trip updates, let me post something that I tried cooking yesterday. I followed the recipe from Aeriskitchen to cook 매운어묵볶음 Spicy fried fish cake.  It was not difficult to cook this. 

I am satisfied with my first attempt ^^

19 Mar 2014 - Exploring 깡통시장 Bupyeong Kkangtong Night Market

Omgggg!!! 호림분식!! This was the place that I wanted to go for my 비빔당면 Bibim Dangmyeon!!! It was inside the market. Not far from the entrance!! Walk straight from entrance for 2 mins and it will be on your left...arggghhhh....
I thought of having a second bowl of 비빔당면 but I think I better save it for something else later. Guess what I wanted to eat later?? It is a local snack ^^ 

깡통시장 is a very big and interesting market where one should drop by if you are in Busan.

I think these powders were ground from some herbs/grains. Some stalls have Chinese translations to describe their properties and I was very tempted to buy. Did not take much pictures here becos both my mobile phone and camera were almost flat despite having extra batteries  ㅠㅠ

This was what I wanted to eat before I leave Busan ^^

씨앗호떡 ^^
너무 맛있네.
Only KRW1000.  
So cheap and yummy!!

I was about to proceed to the subway station when I saw 도민준 calling out to me ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ
도민준 was practically everywhere especially in Seoul.

19 Mar 2014 - Eating 비빔당면 at 깡통시장

I took the subway to Jagalchi Station, exit 3 and reached around 5pm.
From exit 3, I walked straight for a minute before I saw this row of street stalls on my left.
They were still closed.
I walked straight down all the way to 부평시장 Bupyeong market aka 깡통시장 Kkangtong Market.

I passed by this eatery selling 동래파전.
I don't want 동래파전....

It took me less than 10 mins to reach 부평시장 Bupyeong market.
I wanted to try 비빔당면 Bibim Dangmyeon and I had a place in mind.
However, I think the online infor I got was inaccurate(or maybe I got it wrong).
It said to turn left before entering the market for the eatery that I wanted to go.

I couldn't find the eatery and decided to settle for this place instead.
I think it was the fourth shop after turning left.

I still get to try 비빔당면 Bibim Dangmyeon ^^

It looks refreshing and not fattening ㅋㅋㅋ

Yup Yup!!  It tasted good ^^
Was it spicy??  Nope.
There was no receipt given.
Did I pay KRW4000 for this bowl of 비빔당면??
미안 해요 I can't remember.
I want to try cooking this dish one day ㅋㅋㅋ

19 Mar 2014 - Taking bus from 방어진 외버스터미널 Bangeojin intercity bus terminal back to Nopo-dong Bus Terminal

I left the park at around 1.30pm. Walked out of the carpark and saw there is another carpark on my right below. I think that is 일산해수욕장 Ilsan Beach in the background. You can walk through this carpark to get to the beach. I was not sure where to take a bus but I walked towards the beach. 

Oh. I think there is a walking trail from Daewangam Park leading to the beach. 

After walking through the carpark, I saw this staircase on my right.

...and the beach on my left.
Ooooo....it was sooooo cold 진짜 추위 >_<
BTW, there were many restaurants opposite the beach.

I walked along the beach until I reached this big map.

Ilsan Beach and Daewangam Park are next to each other.
This is like "Killing two birds with one stone"  ㅋㅋㅋ
I hope to visit Ulsan again ^^

You will see this roundabout beside the map.
I did not see any bus stop as I walked along the beach.
There was also hardly any taxi around ㅠㅠ
어떻게....어떻게...
I decided to walk towards the main road as shown by the arrow.

I walked straight and crossed the road.
Why did I cross the road?
I don't know. I simply walk wherever my legs would take me.
After crossing the road, I turned to my left and saw this bus stop.

Hmmm..5002 goes back to Ulsan KTX station but I was not sure whether this was the correct direction.

Aisshhhh...I don't like this kind of bus directory hahaahahahaha
cos I am not sure which direction is the bus heading to.
Well, I saw there are buses heading to the Intercity Bus Terminal(401) as well as Ulsan airport and Ulsan station.

This picture was taken from the bus stop.
As shown by the arrow, 일산해수욕장 Ilsan Beach is behind these buildings.

There were a number of motels across the road.

I wanted to try a different route back to Busan instead of going back to 태화 로타리Taehwa Rotary to take my bus. Hence, I took a taxi to the nearest bus terminal, which is 방어진 외버스터미널 Bangeojin Intercity Bus Terminal. I got on a black taxi at 1.55pm. The starting fare was KRW2800. I reached Bangeojin Intercity Bus Terminal at 2pm and paid KRW2800 for my taxi fare ㅋㅋㅋ I walked around the terminal but could not find any ticket counter. Where should I buy my bus ticket??  How do I know when is the next bus arriving for Busan??  This was the first time I encountered a bus terminal with no ticket counter!

This looks like the timetable for buses from this bus terminal to Haeundae.
Time taken is 1hr 30mins and bus fare is KRW6400.
I think there are some other stops along the journey but its a direct bus to Haeundae.
Kindly correct me if I am wrong :)

Is this the timetable for my bus to 노포 Nopo?
The next bus departing for Nopo is 2.30pm and seems like it will proceed to 통영 Tongyeong as well.
통영!!!  통영을 가고 싶어!

This looks like the timetable from this bus terminal to 대구 Daegu.
I wonder how long will the bus journey be.

I think this timetable is the same as the one above, from Bangeojin intercity bus terminal to Nopo & Tongyeong.

I still have about 20 mins before my bus arrives. Saw a port nearby and walked towards it. Nothing much. There is a washroom here if you want to use. There is also a washroom at the bus terminal. 

At 2.20pm, this bus to Nopo drove out from the parking lot and parked itself at the exit/entrance. How do I know this was the bus to Nopo??  I think there was an indication on the bus, otherwise how would I know ㅋㅋㅋ  I further confirmed with the bus driver before boarding the bus. What about payment for the bus fare??  His body gesture told me that payment is later.  The bus drove off at 2.30pm sharp.  At 2.52pm, a lady got on the bus to collect our bus fare, which was KRW6400. I paid in cash. She was not wearing any uniform.  I reached Nopo Bus Terminal at 4.06pm.