2 April 2015 - Getting to 화개터미널 Hwagae Bus Terminal

The itinerary for the day was a day trip to Hwagae for their famous Cherry Blossom. Hwagae Cherry Blossom Festival commenced from 3 April till 5 April this year but I decided to check out the place a day before the festival(just in case there's some changes to the weather). I experienced light shower on quite a number of days for this trip...boring but I am still very thankful that I can get to see and visit the places that I have planned.  A big thanks to Siying who has given me valuable information to get around Hwagae.

I woke up late and reached Seobu Bus Terminal at 7.57am. Got my bus ticket at 7.59am but missed the bus by ONE minute...it drove off right in front of me at 8am sharp. The bus to Hwagae/Hadong is every hour, which means the next bus will come along at 9am. Decided to get my breakfast from the convenient store which is located beside the ticket counters. By the way, the nearest subway station exit to Seobu Bus Terminal is Sasang Station, exit 5. 

I decided to try this Kimchi cheese fried rice ^^

Microwave it for 3 mins.
Gosh....its quite tasty!
Yumsss!!

Just tell the counter staff, "Hwagae" or show them the words "화개" and they will understand.
No time stated on the ticket but the bus interval is one hour.
Made my way to platform 8.

Some buses will have English words for their destinations but not this bus.
Not to worry.
The bus driver or an uncle will usually be standing at the entrance of the bus.
You can always double confirm with them before boarding the bus.
The bus to Hwagae arrived at about 8.44am and drove off at 9am sharp. 

Spacious seating layout.

The bus arrived at this stopover at 10.08am for a toilet break. You can also get some snack here if you want. It drove off at 10.20am. The bus driver did a head count before he drove off. Never assume that bus drivers will do a head count before they drove off. Not all bus drivers do that.

At 10.39am, the bus reached Gon Yang Terminal 곤양공용터미널 and drove off at 10.40am after picking up some passengers. It arrived at Hadong Bus Terminal at 11.10am. There will be announcement on the current stop and the next stop in the bus but all announcements was in Korean.  Hwagae Bus Terminal is next after Hadong Bus Terminal.

Lots of passengers boarding and getting off the bus at Hadong. The bus drove off from Hadong Bus Terminal at 11.20am. 

The bus reached Hwagae Bus Terminal at 11.52am. If I did not hear wrongly, Gurye 구례 is next after Hwagae. Oh by the way, remember to keep your bus ticket properly as the bus driver will collect the bus ticket as you alight the bus.

This is Hwagae bus terminal 화개 터미널. The Blue arrow points to the direction of the Hwagae market place 화개장터, where I had my lunch. The Green arrow points to the direction for the Cherry Blossom Street 십리벚꽃길. You got to make a right U turn from the bus terminal (My green arrow is unable to show the U turn lol) The red arrow points to a minimart where you will buy your return bus ticket.

I didn't buy my return ticket back to Busan straight away. I bought my ticket only after I am done with my day trip in Hwagae becos I think they do not reflect the time on the bus ticket. You just got to take note of the bus schedule and gauge your own timing. 

Bearing in mind that the bus ride took 2hrs 52mins to reach Hwagae from Busan, I aimed to take the bus departing for Busan at 4.45pm. The next bus leaving for Busan will be at 5.45pm. 

1 April 2015 - BBQ dinner at 맛찬들왕소금구이

We came here for our dinner.
Sorry, didn't take a good picture that captured the name of this restaurant, 맛찬들왕소금구이.

We thought of ordering one serving of each type of meat but were told that we had to order at least 2 servings of each type of meat. So, we ordered the first two types of meat, ie pork belly and neck meat(I think so. Correct me if I'm wrong) with 2 servings each. Please correct me if I have wrongly labelled the types of meat.

Nearest subway station would be Seomyeon Station, exit 7.
This BBQ restaurant is also near to 삼광보리밥, where we had our lunch earlier on.

We went to Lotte dept for some grocery shopping and bought dessert from Sweet Monster Cheese Cake. I had always wanted to try their cheesecake and finally I had the chance! So happy ^^

We ordered the Traditional Tiramisu Cheesecake.

They had a promotion of free ice cream for every purchase of cheesecake.
The ice cream was too sweet and quite milky.
I like milky ice cream but not the sweetness ㅠㅠ

Much to my disappointment...
Too much cocoa powder and I felt I am eating powder.
The cheesecake was pretty light and I preferred a stronger cheese flavour.
Too much tiramisu which made the bottom of the cake too wet for my liking.
Well, I will try another flavour if I have the chance again ^^

A row of 포장마차 Pojangmacha along the street outside Lotte Hotel/Dept.
Basically, they were selling the same food.
We wanted to try but it was too cold to stand there to eat...

1 April 2015 - Lovely stroll along 온천천 Oncheoncheon ^^

We made a trip to 온천천 Oncheoncheon after lunch.
Dongnae station, take Exit 4 and made a right U turn upon exit.

We walked straight for about less than 10 mins before coming across this small patch of rapeflowers and some cherry blossom along the two sides of the slopes.

More cherry blossoms as we walked further down.

Wish I can stay here....

It was actually pretty cold but we couldn't bear to leave this beautiful place ㅋㅋㅋ
So glad to be back in Busan once again! 

1 April 2015 - First meal in Busan ^^

I had 2 friends with me most of the time in this trip. I brought them to this popular eatery,삼광보리밥 in Seomyeon for lunch. Long queue but the waiting time was quite alright. We waited about 20mins?? The lady thought we didn't know what the eatery offer. She brought me into the eatery and showed me what the rest of the customers were eating lol

The eatery is popular for its 김치전골 (Kimchi Pork with ramyeon hotpot).
Cheap right??
I think they don't have one person serving for this dish..

My poor friends had to bear with my phototaking as they salivate at the bubbling hotpot ㅋㅋㅋ
Poor thing right....This was just the beginning
Dear couple : Thanks for being so tolerance not just for this meal but throughout the whole trip ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ

All of us agreed that this meal was cheap & yummy!!
They used thin pork belly slices(which I think its not expensive), loads of kimchi and one packet of ramyeon(i think its one packet lol).
Highly recommened if you are staying in Seomyeon ^^

Seomyeon Station, exit 7 would be the nearest subway exit to reach this eatery.
It is next to Lotte Hotel.
Angel hotel is circled in red.

1 April 2015 - Angel Hotel 엔젤호텔

My Spring trip 2015 back to my second home began with a trip back to Busan and followed by Seoul. Yes. Busan again ^^ I don't know why but I just love Busan so much ㅋㅋㅋ Got on the night flight on 31 March 2015 and reached Incheon airport around 6.15am. Collected my lugguage and took the Arex to Gimpo airport for my domestic flight to Busan. 

I chose to stay in Seomyeon this time. Took the limousine bus from Gimhae airport to Seomyeon and got off at the stop "서면쥬디스 태화 Seomyeon Judes Tehwa", the stop right after Lotte Hotel. Couldn't remember how long was the bus ride but I paid 6000 won for the fare. Was it about 35mins??? Oh no..I can't recall ㅠㅠ I knew I got on the bus at 11am.

It would be good to tell the bus driver that you want to alight at "서면쥬디스 태화 Seomyeon Judes Tehwa" becos I didn't see the stop and the driver almost drove past it after the stop at Lotte Hotel. "서면쥬디스 태화 Seomyeon Judes Tehwa" is quite immediate after Lotte Hotel, so you got to be alert once the bus reaches Lotte Hotel. I got off diagonally opposite Judes Tehwa. My accommodation was opposite the road but no traffic light in sight...so I got to carry my heavy luggage down the stairs and use the underpass to get to the opposite side. Of course, it was another not so short flight up to the main road...*Sweat

Yup! I stayed in Angel Hotel this time.
Very convenient and good service unlike what was mentioned in the online comments about unfriendly lady receptionist.
I didn't encounter any lady receptionist during my stay ㅋㅋㅋ
I was standing about 4m away from the hotel to take this picture.
 This guy from the hotel came forward to lend me a helping hand with my luggage.
Much appreciated!
This guy is the type who does not smile much but takes his work seriously. 
Although he hardly smile but he is really helpful person ^^

The nearest subway station to Angel hotel is Jeonpo Station, exit 7.
Takes about 3 mins walk ^^
I took the taxi when I checked out the hotel at 9am for Gimhae airport.
It cost me about 25 mins to reach Gimhae airport.
The taxi fare was 13600won.

Tadaaaaa!
I reached the hotel about 11.50am and was able to check in before the official check in time cos room was available.
So soooo thankful for this!
Now, let me show you my room which I adored so much ^^
I booked this Korean style room becos I love sleeping on the floor ㅋㅋㅋ  

Clean, cosy and comfortable ^^

The ceiling ^^

Very pleased with my room, location of the hotel and friendly staff. It was not super easy to locate the hotel on my first day of arrival, but I soon get the hang of it. It was actually very easy. If anyone ask me for recommendation of hotels in Busan, I will strongly recommend Angel Hotel ^^ Actually, two of my friends were staying in this hotel during the same period as me and they loved the location too.

Back...

안녕하세요 여러분 !!
Just came back from second home last night. Still feeling tired and down with a bad flu as well. Don't know why I felt more tired in this trip as compared to my previous trips back home. Maybe becos I was already feeling a bit sick before my trip. Anyway, I feel better now after going for some Gua Sha, Cupping and acupuncture this afternoon. It was certainly a chore to pull myself out of bed to visit the Chinese physician but I knew I got to do it today. Updating of blog will be slower than usual...(although previously was already quite slow lol) cos I just had a change of job scope and I don't think I will have time to update my blog during weekdays.