A very rainy day in Busan – Day 8 in South Korea

We have been watching out for the change in weather forecast in Busan for the date of our arrival. For two weeks the prediction has not changed – it said rainy with thunderstorms. I was still optimistic, this was a forecast after all. The day that we will be arriving was the original planned date for the Busan International Fireworks Festival. The weather has been good all through out our stay in Gyeongju, and I prayed that it will stay the same in Busan.

We went to Shingyeongju station early enough to buy tickets and have a quick breakfast. Our previous experience with KTX was not that good, no one to blame though. The ride that we will be using to Busan was KTX and was pretty cheap considered we will be there for only 30 minutes.

Shingyeongju station was pretty cool, and though it was smaller compared to Suwon KTX station, I think I liked it better as there was a TV for people waiting for their ride. Teehee for the couch potato in me :)

And yes, on the day that we were supposed to go to Busan, it was raining cats and dogs! Thick nimbus clouds qwre everywhere and I can’t help but think this will be another day wherein we won’t be able to do anything.

Dark nimbus clouds almost close to where I was standing

Wet tracks

There was a waiting room that had the heater on (during autumn and winter) and I suppose it’s cold inside during summer.

This time I got the right platform as there were signs – not unlike in Busan station!

Now this were the sign I wanted to see in Suwon Station!

The ride was very quick however the experience of riding the KTX was not really not special as I expected it to be, maybe it would be different once I have tried the Shinkansen of Japan.

My friend “stole” this magazine that had the pictures of her favorite Korean male artists once we were inside the train. Made her bag quite heavy though.

We arrived at Busan before 12PM, and our host was supposed to meet us lunchtime, however due to change of his schedule, we had to wait for him until 4PM, which was okay as it was raining very hard everywhere in Busan and we couldn’t have gone anywhere with this weather anyway.

We spent our day waiting at the Busan KTX station and I still can’t forgot the curry tonkatsu I ate there which was very yummy and cheap! I might go back to Busan just for that tonkatsu!

When we left the KTX station to transfer to the metro subway, the weather was still bad. We had to transfer with our big bags and poodles of water everywhere. We must have looked like street children! My impression of the people of Busan was that they were not that helpful compared to other Koreans. In the cities that we have previously visited, people would usually offer to help us with our luggage, however, the same kindness was not extended to us in Busan. Also, once we have ridden the subway, I have noticed that people inside were very talkative (more like loud?), everyone was talking in big voices to their companions, to their cellphones, etc.

Anyway, we have met with our host safely and spent the night chatting with him as we later knew that the Firework Festival was cancelled due to the heavy pouring of rain. Our host gladly helped us on cancelling our plane tickets with AirBusan that only had 1000 Won penalty – it was so cheap I can’t believe it! We have then booked a different flight with JejuAir to Jeju from Busan Gimhae Airport.

We enjoyed the night with our host who was nice enough to cook a Korean meal for us. He would also be accompanying us around the city and to the festival in the evening. Here’s me hoping for a much better weather for next day so that we can finally have some tour of the city.

Follow my footsteps in South Korea!

Day 1: Gangwon-do Chuncheon and Nami Island	Day 2: Gangwon-do Mt.Seorak (Seoraksan)	Day 3: Gyeonggi-do Yongin and Food Tour	Day 4: Gyeonggi-do Suwon: Hwaseong Fortress, Korean Folk Village	Day 5: Gyeonggi-do Everland	Day 6: Gyeongju Food Tour	Day 7: Gyeongju Seokguram Grotto Bulguksa Temple Cheomseongdae and Anapji Pond
Day 8: Busan Railway Train in Korea	Day 9: Busan Igidae Coast Busan Fireworks Festival	Day 10: Busan Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Flying with Jeju Air	Day 11: Jeju (E) Food Tour- Altang Dragon Rock Jusangjeolli Cliff Teddy Bear Museum The Seaes Resort	Day 12: Jeju (W) Sunrise Peak Seopjikoji Trick Art Folk Village Sangamburi Crater, Mt.Halla Manjanggul Cave, Maze Park Jjimjilbang	Day 13: Seoul Flying with T'way Airlines Couchsurfing in Korea	Day 14: Seoul Palaces and Bukchon Village
Day 15&16: Seoul Myeongdong and Ewha University N Seoul Tower	Booking Flights via T'way Airlines	Travel Report for South Korea 16 days travel itinerary and tips