Busan and Ulleungdo

I managed to get out of the city for two weekends in September. Raye and I took a short weekend trip to the south to get reacquainted with the beach. Then for my Chuseok holiday we went on an Adventure Korea trip to the south eastern island of Ulleungdo.
Busan (pronounced Pusan) is South Korea's 2nd largest metropolitan city after Seoul and a perfect mix of asphalt jungle with beaches (that are mostly man made but still awesome nonetheless). The most popular beach is Haeundae,I'm told that your lucky to receive a patch of sand lay on in the summer month, but since we went in premature fall the beach was less packed and we were able to lay out in the sunshine.

This trip was very relaxed and most of our time was spent on the beach lounging around. For accommodations, Raye and I couchsurfed with a Canadian named Simon. He ended up living about 45mins from Haeundae, but it was nice to save some money. TIP: If you do decide to go to Busan, make sure to get familiar with the bus system. The subway lines are not very well interconnected and often a short trip can be transformed into a never ending journey.

Two places I recommend going if you make it to Busan:

Gwangalli Beach

Because this beach is encompassed with high rises, I recommend visiting it for the sunrise/ sunset or at night. We got sucked into the coastal serenity and ended up spending hours on the sand, drinking beer and listening to live street performers. There were Korean woman walking around on the beach selling Roman candles and sparklers. I bought Raye her first Roman candle and couldn't help put smile as she pointed it to the Korean skyline. 

Fuzzy Navel

This is a go-to bar for many foreigners. Mainly because it is a Mexican restaurant and I mean let's face it all of us on our year tour will have nacho, bean, cheese and tortilla cravings ever so often (especially myself coming from a city so close to Mexico). Also they have flare bartenders who throw bottles, use fire and make a mean margarita. My friends told me it is often hard to find a table downstairs near the bar on the weekend, but Raye and I went on a Sunday night. There are two locations that I know of: Haunedae beach and Seomyeon youth street (on the 4th floor).

The next weekend I had 5 days work free due to the Chuseok holiday, which is a lunar festival dedicated to giving thanks and recognizing elders. According to my students, Koreans usually spend this weekend with their grandparents feasting on traditional dishes. Because it was a national holiday, my friends encouraged me to do a packaged trip as to avoid the stress of planning accommodations during such a busy period. I decided to book a trip with Adventure Korea. For newbies or people who are looking to take the back seat when it comes to planning travel, I highly encourage you to use this company. 

The majority of our meals were taken care of, as well as transportation, and hotel. A bus guided tour was also included in the fee. When it comes to travelling in large groups, lets be honest, I am not a fan. I hate stalling my plans for people who like to sleep in or take abnormally long periods of time to admire things. Although, I have to say on this trip I wasn't all too annoyed.

Ulleungdo

About a 3 hour boat ride from the mainland, Ulleungdo is a volcanic island mostly known for its squid and pumpkin candies. Only about 7,000 people inhabit the island, but our tour guide told us that they would be expecting thousands of tourists to swarm the rock on this holiday weekend. I really liked Ulleungdo for its authentic Korean atmosphere. It is very uncommon to travel somewhere untainted by major hotel corporations (I'm pretty sure I've posted about this before). In exchange for authentic culture there was virtually no nightlife, but I was willing to make the swap for the weekend.

Seonginbong Hiking Trail

Our group went on a 3 hour hiking trail to one of the highest peaks on the mountain. I'm not going to lie with the third or fourth vertical staircase I was a wheezing mess, but so were a lot of other people in the group. When we finally reached the peak it was foggy and hard to realize just how high up we were, but the fog cleared on the way down. I was able to see the East Sea sand much of the island's rocky coastlines.

I am really surprised Korea doesn't have a larger international tourism industry. These two trips only made me more excited to explore this country and its diverse terrain over the next year.