Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Busan Attractions (Part 2)

Busan is a very interesting city with many attractions. I did not visit all the places that trip because I have plans to visit again in near future when my wife goes mountain hiking with her gang of hikers. I am not welcomed to join the hikers because I was slow like a tortoise. The last time we hiked up Mount Kinabalu, she finished in 4.5 hours before lunch. I took over 9 hours to reach the top when the skies turned pitched dark with the moon laughing at me. So damn malu!! You wanna hear the reasons?


Haedong Yonggungsa Temple
Address: 86 Yonggung-gil, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan, South Korea.



This popular idyllic temple sits by the rocky seaside that offers very spectacular view of the whole ocean and natural landscaping of beautiful rocks. There are plenty of steps to navigate yourself to visit this place, so your knees should be strong.




They are rated as "The Most Beautiful Temple in Korea" as all the temples are located high on mountains but this one sits by the hilly rocks and overlooks the sea.



This ancient temple was first built by the Great Buddhist Teacher named Naong in the year 1376, during the Goryeo Dynasty.



You can spend hours alone to admire the peaceful scenery with the huge rolling waves splashing on the rocks. It really calmed my feelings. The waves took away my blues and whatever sadness into the ocean very faraway. Busan has many beautiful rocky areas by the sea for us to check it out.



The main Mahavira hall of the temple.




The monk was reciting some prayers inside the hall.




 My Korean friend sat and waited for me patiently wherever I went. 
That's what best friends are for.



I think that statue is the Bodhisatva Di Zang Wang Pusa by judging on the long pole that he carries. He was a Royal Prince from Korea who went to do his cultivation in the Mount Jiuhua in Anhui China. This Bodhisatva's statues can be seen widely all over Japan, China, Taiwan including Malaysia. I visited the pagoda where his body was kept in China. You can see it HERE.




There is a tall pagoda outside the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. 
Can you spot the 2 Love Birds??




The 2 Love Birds.





Gamcheon Culture Village
Address: Gamnae 2-ro, Saha-gu, Busan.



That's my friend who drove me up the hilly slopes of Busan to see the amazing "Santorini" village. 



The whole village was once the poorest slum area since the Korean War. Today it has magically turned into a top tourist area with so many colourful streets, corners and cafes for good photography. They have endless of Artistic Walls, Sculptures and Murals. I am just showing you the monkey side of me. 




So many Korean lady-wannabes wearing their pretty traditional "Hanbok".




Please remember that this whole Gamcheon Village consists of all clustered houses stacked up on the hilly slopes with tiny winding steps. My friend being a heavy smoker was gasping for his breaths and dear life, climbing the winding stairs. It was amazing to see how the Korean families lived there.



We found a roof top of a cafe to peek the view of Gamcheon Village but it was not the right angle.




I went up to the stage to sing Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock".



So we had to walk down all over again and walked up other narrow steps to find the right place. We failed again and had to drive the car to another side of the big hill.




Now this angle looked more interesting.




I found the perfect spot!


My postcard photo. Hope you enjoyed the tour.



***







31 comments:

  1. Yes, want to know the reasons. You took a dump on the way up?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha! You are so curious. The serious bike accident I had in secondary school had somehow misaligned some tendons on my left knee. The steps and track up Mount KK were too steep, causing sharp excruciating pain. My crazy wife actually ran up very fast like being chased by wild lions!
      Then I also carried a DSLR camera to snap many photos along the way. That day it rained very heavily a few times and my backpack was soaked. I had to hide under big trees to protect the camera, more than myself who was shivering in the cold temperature below 10C. End of story.

      When we hiked down, I was faster than my wife and the weather was sunny and dry.

      Delete
    2. So it is not because you are not fit that you are slow. It is because you have very good reasons to be slow. Write that in your article above la instead of making it sound like you are not fit.

      Delete
    3. This post is supposed to be about my trip only and I could write pages of all my various accidents. Today I am definitely fitter than most friends after proving that I could go boxing weekly🥊

      Delete
  2. Your friend must have been to those tourist spots many times until he prefers his hp to sight seeing. The many steps of Gamcheon Culture Village reminds me of 9 fen in Taiwan. Have you been to 9 fen in Taiwan? Thanks for sharing all the lovely photos. Your wife will swoon at your postcard triplets photo at the end.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My friend had only visited Busan twice in his life and the temple was his first. I was told that all the people in Seoul and almost whole Korea loathed the Busan folks for being rude. I found it very hard to believe.

      I have visited Taiwan many times but yet to explore this Jiufen. I googled that place today and it's very impressive to me. We have an open ticket to Taipei now after MAS had to cancel our coming flight. I will definitely visit Jiufen for sure. TQ!

      Delete
    2. Yes, do visit 9fen. I believe you will like it. Kitten's eyes are not blue, they are yellow.

      Delete
    3. I have put priority to visit Jiufen when I land in Taipei.

      Hope you will keep this kitten since it's fated.

      Delete
  3. I havent been to Busan but heard from a friend, it was a nice place to visit. Nice spot to view the place from top.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is very exciting to visit South Korea as they have many unique tourist spots besides their best ski resorts that hosted the Winter Olympics. Their language and authentic food is the only kind in the world. They have the best and advanced medical hospitals and cosmetics in the world today too.

      Delete
  4. Beautiful! I love the view of the temple on the rocks. No wonder you want to go back there again. I would enjoy walking those stairs especially that part with potted flowers. Your wife is so super fit. She can hike up Mt Kinabalu in half your time. Salute!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should bring your lahling to have honeymoon there and eat all the spicy food. You will go crazy with their shopping too.

      If the lions chased you, I am sure you will reach the peak of Mount KK in 2 hours!

      Delete
  5. Your wife is a very fit hiker. I am curious why you took so long to reach the top. Busan is a beautiful and interesting place to visit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My wife is very active in all activities from Wushu to Ironman 70.3 and cycling up to Cameron Highlands and around inter states.

      In my comments above, I have given lame excuses of knee injury and heavy downpour as the reasons. That was years ago and now I have built leg muscles from boxing and gym workout. My knee does not hurt anymore and can easily run up 22 floors. Heeheehee

      Delete
  6. Busan looks nice! Especially the rocky cliffs and sea

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. I was stunned to see the rocky cliffs as we don't have this in Malaysia unlike Australia and UK. I hope to visit Busan again.

      Delete
  7. Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos, i love looking at them. I only learned about busan from the movie train to busan. I like the pagoda photo the most.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the compliments. It was a surprise for me to discover Busan's exotic places and long romantic coastal roads.

      Delete
  8. The village looks so retro with so many colourful houses and colourful flowers, i like!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I had more time and energy, I would have loved to walk down every steps to explore the tiny and colourful houses. They are so crammed and full of unexpected surprises to hear dogs barking, flowers blooming and opened windows to peep inside their homes in full view. All the folks are friendly and helpful to each other in that village.

      Delete
  9. Oh my, so many stairs! Your friend is like the dutiful husband when the wife goes shopping.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are hilarious! My friend is no Derek but he runs the errands for his banker wife instead.

      Delete
  10. The only thing I know about Busan, besides being known for its mountains, beaches & temples, is the zombies movie...Train to Busan (which I enjoyed tremendously)...wakakakakaka! :D The Gamcheon village is very colourful. Did you eat any raw fish while you were there?

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am afraid to say that I have not watched "Train to Busan". I should watch tomorrow since the MCO is ongoing. I have watched their most thrilling and 4 Oscar Awards winning movie "Parasite" which I highly recommend to everyone. No wonder Hollywood judges said the Koreans have the wildest and creative imaginations beyond anyone's expectations.

    I ate some raw fishes and squids in Seoul before suffering from food poisoning. I suspected the fermented rice wine that turned my stomach upside down with severe diarrhea for 5 days. I was happy to be 2 kgs lighter. LOLOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That "Parasite" movie was the bomb! This Korean film (and the Korean film makers & people) deserves all the credit that's due to them.

      Delete
    2. Only Trump gave very nasty and sarcastic remarks about that movie without watching it.

      I really enjoyed that movie!

      Delete
  12. wah, u guys really can track up those steep staircase/narrow alleys to find the best angle to snap picture...I salute u guys! I would hav give up in chasing that panoramic view!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My friend had no choice but to please me since I came from far. It's silly that we climbed the entire village just for a nice shot. I should buy a drone for my next trips.

      Delete
  13. I heard and saw before these places that you visited in this post, very touristy but it's a must when visiting Busan, right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I visited that place out of curiosity and it gave me real insight how people lived in that slum area before which their living standards had improved so much today with lots of income from tourism for its unique concept. You will like that place but don't visit during hot summer.

      Delete








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