Sea Change Okinawa: Korea

Gimhae Part 3 - A mountain adventure

On our last day in Gimhae (and our second last day in Korea), we drove out into the mountains to a river/stream near Miryang for a taste of nature. It was super smoggy and hazy the whole time we were in Korea, but it was nice to get out into nature and look at the gorgeous mountains surrounding us! The water was waaay too chilly for a swim (although my brother braved the cold) and poor little G was a bit sick/tired, so we didn't stay too long, but it was lovely.

On the way back to Gimhae we stopped in at a little traditional restaurant for lunch. It was super cute, and covered in vines, and we ate a pancake that was basically just whole chillies (and delcious!), some kind of soup, and H got a vegetarian bibimbap. It was great! Basically as soon as we got back to Gimhae, we had to grab our bags and hop in a taxi to the train station for our KTX back to Seoul. I feel like 2 nights in Gimhae, really wasn't enough, and we'll definitely be back! Next trip we'll definitely skip Seoul and fly straight into Gimhae.

Quiet mountain stream near Miryang, South Korea. Very cool waters, even in summer!

I really need this unicorn.

Cute interior of the restaurant we ate lunch at.

black rice bibimbap, soup, kimchi.

Overgrown restaurant

The restaurant was on the left. The right was basically a tree-house

Waiting for our KTX train back to Seoul

The KTX is a fast and relatively cheap way to get between major cities in South Korea. You can get from Seoul, in the north West, to Busan in the south east in 3 hours!

Bye Gimhae!

KTX train tickets can be booked online prior to travel on their website, and picked up at the station before you travel.

19:46
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Gimhae Part 2

Korea

On our second day in Gimhae, we woke up early and got a taxi over to my brother's for breakfast before heading out to a park to fly little G's new drone. We spent most of the morning walking, and briefly checked out the tomb of one of the old kings, then on to my brother's school to pick some fresh herbs and vegetables from his garden for our dinner later. After that we went to a local market which was awesome! I'm so jealous of the range of fresh produce that is available in Korea vs. Okinawa.

Drone flying

Gimhae tourist site - The tomb of King Suro

The tomb of King Suro, Gimhae, South Korea

The tomb of King Suro. He's buried under that mound.

Fresh produce market in Gimhae South Korea

Market in Gimhae

It was a crazy hot day, so after lunch we headed over to the new Shinsegae department store, where there was water fountains out the front. There were so many kids playing there, so we let G join in. He had an awesome time, even though he had a few knocks over with other kids. There was just way too much excitement to look where he was going!

Even though Gimhae isn't really on the Korean tourist map, I really grew to like it a lot. It has personality! Perhaps it was because we were being shown around by locals, but I will definitely be back.

Water spouts at the Shinsegae department store in Gimhae.

Vegetarian roast for H, made by my brother.

Lamb roast for me!

16:55
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Busan and Gimhae pt 1

Korea

After a couple of nights in Seoul, we hopped on a KTX fast train down to Busan to catch up with my brother and sister-in-law. The trip takes 3 hours and the train goes as fast as some of the shinkansen (bullet) trains in Japan, but is a third of the cost! They picked us up from the train station and we drove to the Gwangalli beach area for lunch. We originally hoped to go to a pizza place, but it was closed so we ended up at an Italian restaurant next to the beach. The food was average, but the company was great. It was so nice to be catching up with my brother for the first time since Christmas in Australia.

Gwangalli Beach, Busan

Gwangalli Beach in Busan is a large beach on the edge of the city surrounded by great restaurants and bars. An excellent place to spend a summer day!

Gwangalli Beach, Busan

Reunited with his Uncle

After lunch we drove out to Gimhae, where they live, and checked our stuff into our hotel then went back to my brother's apartment to hang out, have some drinks and catch up. Little G was SUPER excited when he got a special present from his uncle...A drone!!

After a while we headed down the road for dinner on what my brother calls "restaurant street". It's basically a street of Korean BBQ joints of various different varieties and other restaurants, with lots of outside seating, which was perfect in the warm weather. We went to a pork one, which was delicious, and because my brother is a regular, they were kind enough to let us bring a bunch of mushrooms and vegetables for H to grill on a meat-free BBQ because she's a vegetarian and let's face it, Korean BBQ restaurants don't offer much for a vegetarian. We drank plenty of beer as well as flavoured Soju (I think it was pomegranate) before catching a taxi back to the hotel when it was G's bedtime.

Maybe it was the fact that we were hanging out with people who lived there, but the south of South Korea had already captured my heart more than Seoul. It was an awesome start to our time down the south of Korea!

View from our hotel in Gimhae

Uncle and Aunty hangs

His new drone present

Gimhae- South Korea is a vibrant little city filled with restaurants lining the streets with outdoor seating.

Restaurant street, Gimhae

Poor suckers don't know what's coming

Our dinner venue for the night

BBQ!

17:20
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Seoul To do - Gyeongbokgung Palace

Korea

Still on day one of our exploration around Seoul. After wandering around Bukchon Hanok Village, we walked over to Gyeongbokgung Palace. It was just on 9am when it opened and it was already very hot! If you can't tell from my pictures below, this Palace had a lot of open space and little shade. Because of this we actually didn't spend as much time exploring as we might have on a cooler day. We did manage to find the air conditioned cafe/souvenir shop on the grounds though for a icy beverage and a rest before a little more wandering.

Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea is a colourful palace and a place to get a taste of Korea's rich history.

One thing I really like about Korea, compared to Japan (although Japan will always be number 1 in my heart), is all the colour in Korea. Check out the colour in the palace building in the photo above!! I feel like this was a thing all through Korea including temples and palaces.

As we were leaving Gyeongbokgung Palace, there was a procession of guards starting some sort of performance, which we caught the beginning of, but because it was so roasting hot and I didn't want to have a 4 year old with heat stroke, we only watched a little and then left to head to Insadong for lunch.

Love the colour!

Getting some respite from the heat outside

The procession of guards at the entrance to the Palace

Old and new - skyscrapers in the background.

Gyeongbokgung Palace is accessible from Gyeongbokgung Palace Station on the Seoul Subway Line 3. We, however got off at Anguk Station on line 3, headed to Bukchon Hanok Village and then walked to the Palace.

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