Visiting Jeju Island during Typhoon Mitag - Day 1

Flight from Busan to Jeju Island by Jeju Air (Experiencing local domestic flight) - South Korea

From Busan, we flew using Jeju Air (domestic airline) to Jeju Island, on October 1st, 2019. In the evening after we reached Jeju, I heard about the typhoon Mitag. From the internet, they said the typhoon would pass by China, Japan, and South Korea, and that too to area where we went - Busan and Jeju.

Safe flight - Busan to Jeju Island :)

Omg!!! Months of September and October were not really good to travel around Southeast of China, Japan, and Korea. The typhoon came more often these past few years.

So upon reaching Jeju, I immediately sent the message to Mr Won (who would drive us around Jeju island on our second day in Jeju) about the possibility of the typhoon. He too conveyed his concern since safety was the most important issue that he had while traveling with his guests, and he was willing to cancel our arrangement if the typhoon was getting bad the next day.

Welcome to Jeju Island - South Korea

It was raining when we flew from Busan and it was still raining even after reaching Jeju Island. After putting our luggage at the hotel, rain did not deter us from walking all the way to Dongmun Market - a must visit place when you go to Jeju. Everyone wanted to have lunch inside the air-conditioned restaurant and have proper meal (in their case, rice set), while I insisted of eating at my favorite stall selling more like Korean street food kind.

I went there last time with hubby on my first visit to Jeju and still reminisced the taste and feeling we both had on the food served. Even if I had to be alone, the Universe decided otherwise. As I chose my seat - I sat and shared table with one granny - she smiled at me, and even offered me the Kimbab (rolled rice) that she was having together with her Tteobbokki (spicy rice cake).

Lunch at my favorite stall in Dongmun Market - Jeju Island, South Korea

I ordered one plate of Tteobbokki as well and hesitated of ordering the Kimbab - which was my favorite. I was afraid I could not finish it as it was too filling - carbohydrates from rice and rice cake. Therefore, I ordered one portion of Odeng (fish cake with soup) - 3 sticks were served. She still offered me her Kimbab, so in return, I offered her my Odeng. Hahaha.... This way, both of us could eat more variety without having to eat too full!!! Thank you Ahjumma for your kindness!!! I could not stop smiling while eating the food :)

Try their mandarin orange juice - Jeju specialty fruit and Hotteok (sweet pancake) at Dongmun Market - Jeju Island

Finished my meal with a bottle of cold mandarin orange juice - the Jeju specialty fruit - with its cute bottle at KRW 3,000 each, and Hotteok (sweet pancake) from one of the stalls near the exit.

Dongmun Market - Jeju Island

There were many other snacks available and souvenir shops too. It was better to buy the Jeju souvenir here. The price was slightly cheaper than the souvenir shops at touristic area.

Afterwards we took taxi to visit the Yongduam Rock. It was located not too far from the Dongmun Market. By taxi it cost us KRW 3,400 only. The wind was very big once we went down from our taxi. But miraculously, the rain stopped, and so did the wind. It allowed us to take photos with no hassle and kept us dry!!! Thank SB!!! :)

With Dol Hareubang (Grandfather rock) at Yongduam Rock - Jeju Island

Or perhaps it were Dol Hareubang (Grandfather rock) who were protecting us from the wind and the rain when we visited the place. Fyi, Dol Hareubangs were the two large rock statues, considered to be gods offering both protection and fertility and were placed outside of gates for protection against demons travelling between realities (usually found only in Jeju Island) - see the above photo :)

Posed with the Mermaid at Yongduam Rock - Jeju Island

Yongduam Rock is a popular oceanfront volcanic rock formation in the shape of a dragon's head, a must visit place if you go to Jeju Island. Legend said it serves as the symbol of the dragon's unfulfilled dream. Read more of its story here.

Yongduam Rock (the volcanic rock in the shape of Dragon's Head) in Jeju Island

We went back to hotel to have some rest and at night, we asked the hotel staff on where to eat the Jeju black pork BBQ. Lucky that he pointed us to the local restaurant located not too far from where we stayed as the rain was still there on and off, and all was the effect from the Typhoon Mitag that happened at the surrounding area.

Donsachon - Korean BBQ Black Pork in Jeju Island

We ordered a portion of white pork and three portion of black pork (two portions were rejected as it was too little). Four portions were still too much for five of us as we were all ladies and some ate very less. So, as the youngest, I had to try my best not to waste the food, and that was why I gained so much weight from this trip :P

The BBQ white and black pork with Hallasan Soju and Terra Beer - Donsachun in Jeju Island

I used to detest the taste of Korean Soju, until Sam (our driver in Seoul - who was actually a very rich businessman) introduced us "Bum" - the mixture of Soju and beer. When mixed together, the taste of Soju was not that obvious and both combination became tastier. So that day onwards, I always had Bum mixture instead of Soju or beer alone :) And if you go to Jeju, Hallasan Soju is a must have!! :)

Not forgetting the Korean ramen at aside :D - Donsachun, Jeju Island

Yes, not forgetting to order the Korean noodle soup at aside. It tasted really delicious in such cold night. Perfect with the BBQ pork :)

See our happy faces??? :D

Mom and sisters :)

Our happy faces as per shown above, before we became overeating. Hahahahahaha..... :P So, will share another post on where to visit during Typhoon Mitag in Jeju Island!! Oh, as for additional info, after going back to hotel and watching news, we found out that many flights were cancelled flying from Busan and Jeju Island on that day. Luckily we reached Jeju the day before from Busan and it did not affect us. SB was really helping us and let our journey went on smoothly. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!!! :)

Places to go when visiting Busan - Last part :)

Go around Busan with bus :)

We started our day by taking public transport - in this case, bus - to visit Gukje Market, the largest traditional market in Busan. Fyi, it was convenient to travel around South Korea using public transport, such as: bus or metro. Train and domestic flight were easy to book as well. So no worry about traveling to South Korea without any knowledge of their language because English was available at most places.

My cute T-money card :)

What you need to purchase was T-money card - which you could get at any convenience store or metro station at KRW 4,000 each - usually with no value inside, and you could also top up the charge amount at the same shop or using machine (English language instruction was available).

I used Google map to get direction from one place to another in South Korea. But sometimes I still had to use their own apps like Kakao map and Kakao metro to get better information. In anyway, I would find any way to reach my destination as I had to lead my group to the place in the most possible best way :D

Gukje Market in Busan, South Korea

We went to the market with empty stomach because we knew that there would be many delicious local dishes that we should try. As I said in previous post, this was my second visit to South Korea, and the first time I went was five years ago. That time, I did not explore as much as I did now, since these days, I could easily get information from internet - through blogs, Korea tourism website, and so on. And this time, of course, I would be more daring exploring public transport and visit more local market to experience their culture and life style.

Breakfast at Gukje Market - Busan, South Korea

Sitting down on low chair, choosing what we wanted to eat, and sharing our food together was one of the things you should try in South Korea. Do not always go into air-conditioned restaurant where menu was given and what you had to do was just order and waited for your food to be delivered!!!

So, there we were!!! Since we came too early, we could only patron this shop (the next door stall was still not started their operation yet). They served pretty similar food anyway. And since it was still early, we got all items freshly prepared with fresh oil to fry the ingredients (for better health, cheers!!! :D)

Gukje Market - Busan, South Korea

Once we filled our stomach, we browsed around the market, walking from one row to another. The market was so huge. The place where we ate earlier was food street market selling not only cooked food, but also fresh vegetables, meat, seafood plus their famous banchan (side dishes like marinated seaweed, kimchi, etc.).

Hustle bustle street around Gukje Market - Busan, South Korea

They had many other areas apart from that one. And they sold many items there, like clothes, household necessities, bags, and so on. When buying clothes, we had to ask where were they made from. Hahaha... Because we tried not to get made in China product when we were there and willing to pay slightly more to get the made in Korea products :P

Angel-in-us Cafe - Busan, South Korea

When got tired, we decided to find a place to sit and sip some energy booster from local cafe. Here, we ensured that we only patron the local brand cafe instead of supporting the usual Starbucks or the Coffee Bean, in a way supporting their economy :P So we sat down at Angel-in-us to have some rest before deciding where to go next :)

Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) Square - Busan,South Korea

We took another bus ride to reach the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) Square. You can find more information about the BIFF here. For me, the reason I came to this place was to try their street food. Hahahahaha.... :P :P :P

Ssiat Hotteok (sweet pancake with seed) - Must try food in Busan!!! :D

Yes, this is one thing that you should try when you go to Busan - Ssiat Hotteok (sweet pancake filled with sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, cinnamon, and brown sugar). In BIFF Square you will find many stalls selling the same thing. Some with long queue and some is without. So it is up to you from which stall you prefer to get. This thing is prepared on the spot - fried, cut and filled with to serve with freshness. Just give some time before eating it as it was still piping hot by then time it reaches your hand.

Must try street food in BIFF Square - Tteokbokki (spicy rice cake), Sundae (blood sausage), Kimbab (rolled rice), Mandu (fried dumpling)

While my two elder sisters and mom preferred having their lunch in the restaurant nearby, my third sister and I preferred to explore and have various street food there at BIFF Square. We had Tteokbokki (spicy rice cake), Sundae (blood sausage), Kimbab (rolled rice), and Mandu (fried dumpling) for our lunch. It was very filling and of course, delicious!!! :)))

Twisted Ice Cream as tall as 32 cm (including the cone, sadly) hahaha... :P

And as a closure, we purchased the twisted 32-cm tall ice cream (yoghurt with mango taste), sadly the measurement was included the height of the cone, not the ice cream alone. Hahahaha..... :P

Gigantic Melon Ice Flakes from Cafe Cloud Bam at BIFF Square, Busan, South Korea

Oh, it was not closure yet... Hahaha.... As we descended from where my siblings ate their lunch, we bumped into this dessert shop. We decided to enter the shop and order this gigantic Melon Ice Flakes. It costs KRW 18,000, containing a whole piece of melon being scrapped off, flakes ice poured with melon milky syrup, and one melon ice cream. Five of us were having hard time finished it as we were just having our lunch. And afterwards, we saw two Korean young girls ordered the same thing and only them eating. Hahahaha....

Well, if you go to Korea, you will find out that all the food portion there is very huge!!! Sometimes I wondered how come Korean could maintain their body shapes slim while the food portion was that much!!! Even for 5 of us, we often had to order less (like 3 to 4 portions) for us to share. We often asked for less, but many restaurants did not allow us to order less (they wanted their customers to order a portion for each person, but we managed to bargain to order only 4 portions for 5 of us). And, yes, those 2 young ladies might take that gigantic Melon Ice Flakes for their dinner instead of just a dessert.

Our dinner at Lotte Food Court - Busan, South Korea

We took turn browsing around the area for some shopping too. And on our way back towards metro station, we saw the Lotte Department Store ahead and decided to go there for having our dinner before going back home. Fyi, Busan is also famous for Milmyeon (cold wheat noodles). That was why I ordered the spicy cold noodle for my dinner while my sister ordered beef Bibimbap (Korean mixed rice).

My last photo from Kakao Friends - Aqua Mall Busan, South Korea

Before leaving the mall, pose with these cute characters from Kakao Friends shop.

Delicious fish cake from Samjin Eomuk at Busan Station - Must try!!! Or you will regret!!! :)

And before leaving Busan, make sure you go down to Samjin Eomuk fishcake store at Busan Station. They sell varieties of fish cake products - fried and non-fried (for takeaway and cook at home). In Singapore, I never like eating fish cake, as the texture and taste are not to my liking. But the fish cake here from this store, I can never forget the taste and I have never eaten such a delicious fish cake like this before!!! So I am really glad that I purposely went down to the shop (even after getting so tired from whole day walking outside), to purchase and try few varieties of fish cakes. Yummy!!!! :)

So, that's all my post and recommendation for places and food to eat in Busan. Hope you enjoy and hope it helps you when you decide to go there and experience it yourself. Have fun!!! :)

Places to go when visiting Busan - Part 2

We were all five altogether. And we would require 2 normal taxi or 1 jumbo taxi to travel around. We did not book car rent with driver in Busan as when my sister inquired, it cost quite a lot (about KRW 300,000 per day). Therefore, the next day, we decided to just go to one place - Haedong Yonggung Temple - which was located quite inconvenient if we had to take public transport and carry hand carry luggage.

My sister asked the front office staff to book a jumbo taxi to all of us to this place. He said it would cost KRW 40,000 for one way. Be it!! We agreed and the driver came. It was quite a huge car he was driving and we all sat down conveniently. As the car drove through, the driver offered us a day tour using his car, which beforehand, my sister and I had already thought of requesting him and discussed on the price we were willing to pay.

Seemed like the Universe really heard us and we were granted the good driver, good car and good fee as well!!! He charged us KRW 180,000 from 9.30am to 6pm and he promised to bring us to 6 places. Wow!!! Could you believe it??? It was lower fee that we imagined and we did not have to bargain through. He was even offering us to visit more places that we initially could think of!!! Above all, we were granted with a beautiful weather!!! Sun, wind, what else??? :)

1. Haedong Yonggung Temple - probably the most beautiful temple in Korea! :)

First place to go and must visit in Busan - Haedong Yonggung Temple :)

The temple was built back in 1376 and was originally known as Bomun Temple. It was destroyed during the Japanese invasion to Korea and was rebuilt in 1930s and renamed as Haedong Yonggung Temple in 1974. (Source: wikipedia.org). The temple complex is large and one of few in Korea to be set on the seaside. Personally I felt that this place was really worth visiting! :)

Selling local delicacies on the way towards the Haedong Yonggung Temple - Busan, South Korea

From the entrance we passed by many roadside shops selling local delicacies. From dried seafood stuffs to fried sweet dough. Korean snacks like Odeng (boiled fish cakes) were available too.

Selling fresh vegetables - Haedong Yonggung Temple in Busan, South Korea

Local farmers were selling their fresh vegetable produce there too, reminding me of my Bhutanese friends who were doing the same :)

Haedong Yonggung Temple - Busan, South Korea

Tadaaa... - Haedong Yonggung Temple - Busan, South Korea

Beautiful view of Haedong Yonggung Temple in Busan, South Korea

I loved the beautiful view surrounding this temple. As said earlier, it was located along the seaside and many beautiful rocks beautified this place.

The main temple to pray - Haedong Yonggung Temple, Busan - South Korea

Underground water - holy water to drink :) at Haedong Yonggung Temple in Busan, South Korea

Goddess of Mercy, Laughing Buddha, Turtle rock at Haedong Yonggung Temple in Busan, South Korea

Beautiful view from the top and front view from seaside - Haedong Yonggung Temple in Busan, South Korea

The view at the other side. The stacked stones are beautiful! :)

We spent some time inside the temple to pray, to enjoy their beauty, to express our gratitude for being there, to freeze some beautiful pictures, and finally continued our next destination :)

2. Oryukdo Skywalk

Oryukdo Skywalk - Busan, South Korea

"The old regional name for the area of Oryukdo Skywalk was Seungdumal, as the shape resembles a saddle, and it was originally called Seungduma as well as Jallokgae by residents and women divers.

The construction of Oryukdo Skywalk finished on September 12, 2012 at the Seungdumal area, which is regarded as the dividing point between the East Sea and the South Sea, and started operating on October 18, 2013, with the theme of "Walking over the sky.”

View surrounding the Oryukdo Skywalk

Iron columns were set up over a 35-meter-high coastal cliff, and a 15-meter glass bridge comprised of 24 glass plates and shaped like a horse’s hoof connect the iron columns. The bottom of the glass was specially produced with four attached 12-millimeter glass pieces coated with a bulletproof film that has a thickness of 55.49 millimeters, making the structure quite safe.

Hazy view from Oryukdo Skywalk - Busan, South Korea

Visitors will be thrilled with the view of the waves while looking down through the transparent floor. The sea stretches out ahead of the skywalk, perfect for a photo op, as well as the best spot to see Daemado Island on sunny days." - Source: visitkorea.or.kr

And too bad that the skywalk was undergoing repair when we were there. Anyway, it did not look big too and personally, I think you can skip this place if you do not have enough time to browse Busan.

3. Seafood lunch at Jagalchi Market

Busandaegyo Bridge - Busan, South Korea

Busan is very famous for its fresh seafood due to its location. And when the driver was asking us on what we would like to eat for lunch, no doubt we requested for having delicious local fresh seafood and he brought us to one of the restaurant at the Jagalchi Market. The place is worldly famous for its fresh fish and seafood.

Row of fresh seafood restaurants at Jagalchi Market area - Busan, South Korea

The driver must have like the food so much from this restaurant as he pointed us directly to this particular seafood restaurant (perhaps he was getting discount or who knew, even free meal for bringing us there :P). No matter what it was, we were very happy with all the food we ordered.

Seafood restaurant at Jagalchi Market - Busan, South Korea

We decided to order a small portion of seafood soup (KRW 40,000), a small portion of grilled abalone (KRW 50,000) that contained 5 small pieces - just nice a piece for each of us, Abalone rice porridge (KRW 15,000) - must try food!!!, and a small portion of grilled fish (KRW 30,000). We also ordered one bottle of Soju and 2 bottles of Terra beer to complete our meal :)

Delicious fresh seafood dishes from Jagalchi Market - Busan, South Korea

And despite what we ordered were all small portions, it fed us just enough. The taste was simple yet the ingredients were all fresh and good.

4. Busan Taejongdae Park

I heard it first time about this place. Since it was included in the 6 places promised by the driver, we just followed through with his plan. Taejongdae is a natural park with magnificent cliffs facing the open sea on the southernmost tip of Yeongdo-gu island.

Maps and directions of Busan Taejongdae Park and Danubi Train that transported us around - Busan, South Korea

The whole park was really big. If I had plenty of time there, I think I would spend a day browsing around the park, having a good refreshing walk surrounded by the beautiful nature. But since we had many more places to visit within the rest of the day, the driver told us to just drop by at the stop where we could walk the staircases towards the Yeongdo Lighthouse and Structure of Light Beyond Limitation.

Busan Taejongdae Park - Yeongdo Lighthouse and Structure of Light Beyond Limitation - Busan, South Korea

We only had to pay KRW 3,000 for the Danubi train that transported us to the nearest location of Yeongdo Lighthouse and many other stops that we did not cover. Again, if you do not have much time in Busan, I will not recommend you to visit this place :D

5. Songdo Skywalk

Songdo Beach - Busan, South Korea

Songdo Skywalk was a place where you could see a beautiful sea view, located near Songdo Beach.

Songdo Skywalk - Busan, South Korea

And if the Skywalk was not enough, you could even ride the cable car from Song Marine Cable Car to see the view from the top. We chose not to take the cable car since the sky was not clear enough (hazy kind).

Song Marine Cable Car - Busan, South Korea

Half an hour would be enough to walk through the skywalk and take some photos.

6. Gamcheon Cultural Village - A must visit in Busan!!!

Gamcheon Cultural Village - Busan, South Korea

Yes, I said that this was a must visit place if you visit Busan!!!

Mural art at Gamcheon Cultural Village - Busan, South Korea

Mural art at Gamcheon Cultural Village - Busan, South Korea

More mural arts at Gamcheon Cultural Village - Busan, South Korea

And more.... - Gamcheon Cultural Village in Busan, South Korea

This place showed a picturesque view of a village that contained colorful houses, painted murals, shops, and cafes. I saw it many times from TV (Korean shows) and my friends' posting photos in social media. I was very happy that I finally had a chance to go there!! :)

The colorful houses at Gamcheon Cultural Village - Busan, South Korea

The most sought after taking photo place - beside the Little Prince at Gamcheon Cultural Village - Busan, South Korea

And the above was the most sought after taking photo place at the Gamcheon Cultural Village. Everyone - be it boys and girls - wanted to sit beside the Little Prince, overlooking the beautiful colorful houses of Gamcheon village. I did not have enough patience to join the queue though and better using my time licking the delicious ice cream from the shop nearby :P

So much selections of sweet desserts and souvenir - Gamcheon Cultural Village

We did a bit shopping too - socks and souvenir from the shops nearby :D

7. Busan Tower at Yongdusan Park

Busan Tower at Yongdusan Park - Busan, South Korea

And last but not least, our last destination of the day was Busan Tower, which was located at Yongdusan Park. With that, we ended our journey with our driver and he sent us back to our hotel.

8. Pork soup dinner with rice at Bonjeon Dwaeji Gugbap (not far from Busan Station)

As for dinner, we asked the hotel staff the recommended local food located not far from our hotel and she asked us to go to Bonjeon Dwaeji Gugbap for having the delicious pork soup!!! She gave us her hand-drawn map and once we reached, we recalled of the long-queued restaurant we passed just the day before.

Delicious local pork soup at Bonjeon Dwaeji Gugbap near Busan Station - Busan, South Korea

Luckily there were not such long queue when we reached. We just had to wait for a while before our turn. We ordered the pork soup and sliced pork with soup. They provided side dishes of spicy chives, kimchi, raw garlic and chili to accompany the soup.

Wow!!! I did not expect that the soup was really tasty!!! The milky broth must have been boiled over hours to produce such a simple yet nutritious and delicious taste!! Fell in love with it almost immediately. We even added one more portion of sliced pork as it turned out to be soft, tender and no frozen pork smell!!! I really recommend you to visit this restaurant too!!! From Busan Station, you just have to walk in less than 5 minutes. Must visit lah!!!

So, let me wrap up the day here and more places in Busan will come out soon. Stay tune!!! :)