Busan: The Westin Chosun

We had a hard time choosing which hotel to stay in Busan. After doing much research, we decided to settle for The Westin Chosun, Busan.

We chose this hotel because:
 - we wanted to stay in a hotel by the Haeundae Beach
 - it was recommended by some forumers
 - brand name (everyone knows Westin, so we were quite sure that we will enjoy our stay there)
 - price (cheaper than Paradise hotel, though its just a little cheaper... but a bit of savings is better than none)

Don't really remember how much we paid for the hotel but i think it should be slightly less than S$300 per night and there's wifi access from our room. I'm actually quite surprised cos normally if you stay in Westin, free wifi is only limited to the lobby area and you'll have to pay if you want wifi access in your room.

The nearest metro station nearest to the hotel is Dongbeak station (Green Line, Station 204).

 

 

 

After coming out from Dongbeak Exit 1, walk straight all the way for approx. 800m and you'll be able to see the hotel on your left.

 

 

The hotel lobby

 

 

 

 



Sea view from our room

Our spacious bedroom

View of the hotel from Hauendae Beach

Another point that worth mentioning is that the hotel is near the Dongbeak Island Park. Coincidentally, we were there during the Busan International Fireworks Festival! We were not aware until we were there. We quickly head to the Dongbeak Island Park. From there, we could see the fireworks from the Gwangalli Beach. It was so beautiful and the fireworks lasted for around 1 hour!Come to think of it, actually they are quite rich to have this Firework Festival (i think for 2 days) every year. Heheh....

Seoul to Busan - KTX experience

While planning for our trip, we contemplated whether to book the train tickets online or to purchase them when we reach Seoul. We did some research online and concluded that its not really necessary to purchase the train tickets online.

Being a typical Singaporean (being kiasu), I decided to purchase the train tickets the very first day we arrive in Seoul (just in case we are not able to get the timing that we wanted). The benefit of purchasing the train ticket in advance is that you don't have to worry about not getting your preferred time slot. Once we arrive in Incheon Airport, we took AREX to Seoul Station. From Seoul station we had to transfer to Line 4 before we can get to Myeong Dong.

On the way to take the train to Myeong Dong, you will walk pass the ticketing office. There are also several ticketing machines available to purchase the train tickets. However, after playing around with the ticketing machine, we decided that it would be safer to join the queue at the ticketing office (because we read from some of the forums that the staff at the ticketing office can understand and speak simple english).


Such a long queue at the ticketing office.....

On the day of travel, please be sure to arrive early because the train waits for no one. Once you arrive at Seoul Station, look out for the train schedule. It will indicate the timing of the trains and the boarding platform.

 

 

We saw this and were surprised that no one checked our tickets!

Before you go down to the boarding platform, there are some stores selling food. (only managed to take a picture of one of the stores)

Once you get down to the boarding platform, proceed to the train car indicated on the KTX train ticket.

 

 

And so, we arrived in Busan approximately 120 minutes later.

For more details on KTX, pls visit http://info.korail.com/2007/eng/eng_index.jsp

Seoul: Ewha Womans University

Ewha Woman's university is located on the green line (Line 2), just 1 station away from Sinchon Station.

This area is one of the popular shopping areas in Seoul and it is commonly known as Ewha Woman's University Fashion Street. It is lined with stores selling clothes, cosmetics and fashion accessories at affordable prices for young women. The clothes are not only affordable but are of good quality as well.

Besides clothings and fashion accessories, there are also many restaurants around that area. We walked past a japanese restaurant and decided to give it a try.


Udon with tempura set

Chicken Katsu set

These 2 sets cost only 13,000 won in total! So cheap right? The portion is not small and the food is quite decent. I believe the other restaurants in this area also sells decent food at affordable prices. So if you are looking for decent food at low cost, you can come to this district.

Seoul: Dunkin' Donuts

Dunkin' Donuts! I guess everyone is familiar with Dunkin' Donuts since we can still see it in Singapore. Dunkin' Donuts was founded in 1950 and they have 2,600 stores in 30 countries outside U.S.
 
I can still remember the last time I've went to Dunkin' Donuts was more than 10 years ago. There used to be Dunkin' Donuts in NorthPoint, but that was many many years ago. Subsequently, they closed down all the outlets (or almost all). Then, it came back to Singapore again a couple of years ago.
 
It was rather easy to spot Dunkin' Donuts in Seoul. You can see it almost everywhere.
The Dunkin' Donuts in Seoul do not only sell donuts, they sell sandwiches, salad, churros and hot bread too and I love their hot bread.

Initially, I thought they only serve hot bread in the morning , but after that we realised that they serve hot bread all day.

 

 

Last Dunkin' Donut meal at the airport before coming back to Singapore, with our favourite green tea latte of course!

The buzzer

They not only have a wide selection of food, the cafe has a huge seating area as well.

Price wise, 13,000 won for 2 hot bread and 2 drinks.