This post is part of an ongoing travelogue. To start at the beginning, click here.
Day 6, our last full day in Korea! Unfortunately, my wife was still suffering from the food poisoning from the jajangmyeon the night before. So we had to cut down on our itinerary for the day. Originally, we planned to spend the entire day in Haeundae area. There are many tourist attractions here, so planned to visit Haedong Yonggungsa Temple in the morning, then visit Dalmaji Road, followed Daritdol Observatory before ending the day in the famed Haeundae beach. We cut out Dongbaekseom island and Haeundae market from our itinerary to reduce walking. Dongbaekseom is not really an island, it is a hilltop park on a peninsula at the end of Haeundae beach, quite similar to Taejongdae. It’s a lot of walking, so naturally we gave it a pass.
So, first stop for the day is Haedong Yonggungsa temple. This temple is also very popular in Busan, a must visit for any tourist here. Unlike most temples in Korea that are located at hilltops or in forest, this temple is located next to the sea.
As we mentioned earlier, Busan is a very big city, Haeundae is located about 45 minutes bus ride away from our hotel, going over some hilly terrain. The bus ride took us past the beach. From the last bus stop we took a cab to the temple complex. Yonggungsa is very popular, on the day of our visit (on a Saturday) the carpark was full and tourists pouring into the complex like a festival day.
There is a short stretch to walk with stalls on both sides selling snacks, souvenirs and religious paraphernalia.
We tried that seed-filled pastry again that is so popular in Busan.
Even before you reach the temple complex, there are lots of things to see. Here they have statues of all 12 animals of the zodiac. This is mine.
To get to the temple complex, you need to descend lots of steep and narrow steps. Once you turn the last corner, the view of Yonggungsa grabs you.
Try to land your coin in the bowl for good fortune.
We didn’t really spend too much time here since there were a lot of people. Instead, we went back out to the entrance and spent some time eating snacks and drinking coffee at the convenience store.
From Yonggungsa we took a cab to Dalmaji Road. This place is a seaside road lined with cherry blossom trees, famed for its beauty and serenity. There’s a row of shops here, mostly are art galleries and coffee bars. Unfortunately we were a week too early for the cherry blossoms, but the avenue is beautiful nonetheless.
At the centre of Dalmaji Road there is a park where a free public concert was held at the time we reached there.
There was also a flea market going on, filled with Koreans out walking with their tiny dogs.
At the end of the park is the Haewoljeong Pavilion, a traditional place to watch the full moon. From here, you can have a wonderful view of the sea.
Next – Daritdol Observatory and Haeundae beach.