In the last few months I was very stressed and bored at with my work. This happens occasionally when I keep doing same old same old stuff and not being challenged. I though I really need to get out of here and go somewhere to have some fun, reboot myself, meet new people and find inspiration. 

I decided to visit South Korea only 2 weeks in advance because recently I have been watching too many Korean soap operas on TV! I also have a Korean friend who I met in Australia when we were studying English together in 2008. It was excited to reunite with my classmate after 10 years!

Day 1 – Train to Busan

After I arrived at Inchoen Airport I went straight away to Busan by train. How many times in my life would I have a chance to take a train to Busan? Maybe just once. Therefore, I would like to dress like Gong Yoo in my favourite zombie movie “Train to Busan”. Gong Yoo wore a suit in the movie when he was on the train to Busan and fought with zombies, therefore I wore a suit on the train to Busan but no zombies to fight with! The funny moment was that after I landed and before going through the immigration, I went to a restroom and changed from pyjamas to a suit! I looked at myself in the mirror and l laughed a lot at my reflection, what the hell am I doing?! Well, after all I looked so smart in a suit and this was probably the reason that the immigration officer let me in to the country without hesitation!

I arrived in Busan at 3 pm and just walked a few minutes from Busan Station to the apartment that I booked via Airbnb. I very much like this place as it was a brand new apartment with perfect facilities. The location was the best and easy to get around the city by metro. I would stay here again if I ever return.

Day 2 – Cooking class & Gamcheon Culture Village

I booked the market tour + a cooking class via Airbnb Experience. We visited Jagalchi Market and Kkangtong Market from 9:30-12.00. Jagalchi market is full of fresh seafood, it was very impressive how many kinds of seafood they have and many things I’ve never seen in my life before. If you want to try seafood here, come in the evening when all seafood restaurants are open.

Kkangtong Market is full of pre-cooked food. You better come here when you are very hungry! If I was not in a hurry to return home for work, I would probably stay in Busan for a month and just come to eat here everyday!

After some appetiser at the market we went to the cooking studio. We learned 6 dishes in 3 hours and Junho was a very good at cooking. I love all of them and I really enjoyed eating Korean food with Soju! I also met 5 women from Malaysia, they were fun and very much enjoy eating!

After over eating at the cooking class, JunHo dropped me at the Gamcheon Culture Village located only 5 minutes from the cooking studio. It was a beautiful blue sky day and I enjoyed walking around the village for 2 hours.

Day 3 – Yonggung Temple & Busan Art

I started my day at 9:30 am by taking a bus from Busan station to Haedong Yonggungsa  Temple. I arrived at the temple around 10:30 am. The temple is located by the seaside with beautiful scenery. I did not enjoy much at the temple as there were too many tourists.

After an hour at the temple I went to an art tour in Haeudae located not far from the temple. I booked this art tour via Airbnb Experience with Kyungmi, a lovely young Korean artist girl. We started our trip by walking through the old railway and caught the view of the Gwangandaegyo bridge and beautiful Haeundae Beach. Here is the list of the galleries I visited;

• Jewelry Gallery Gong,
• Domahana
• Johyun Gallery
• IDM Gallery
• Dallot Gallery + Coffee shop

I very much enjoyed the art galleries that  Kyungmi took me to; some of the paintings were very beautiful and I just could not believe that what kind of person can create such beautiful art pieces!

Near the end of the tour Kyungmi brought me to a very stylish coffee shop + a gallery. I loved everything in this cafe, everything was modern and stylish. The interior was done by paying a lot of attention to detail and I have seen the most stylish cafe toilet here! We spent 3 hours together from 13:00-16:00. Kyungmi even bought her friend to join us and this made the trip even better. Kyungmi was a bright girl, full of energy, speaks perfect English and has a sense of humour like me, therefore we shared a lot of laughs.

After the art tour I went to the Busan Cinema Centre where they host Busan Film Festival every year. I came here to see the lights that would turn on at 6 pm but I arrived too early so I went cycling along the river in front of the cinema. This was not in my plan but I saw an OFO bike parked there. I enjoyed watching fish jumping in the river – never seen anything like this before, and seeing art everywhere along the river and a lot of local people around who were enjoying the weekend. It was a very relaxing atmosphere.

Later I returned to the cinema. It was really worth waiting. My day ended very colourfully and beautifully!

Day 4 – Busan Tower & night hiking

After a long day of tour on day 3, I decided not to do much on this day. I left my apartment at 12 noon for lunch and went to the Busan Tower located only 2 metro stations from my apartment. I did like normal tourist, went up to see the view over Busan, took photos and walked around the shopping area a bit before returning to the apartment around 3 pm. It was nothing special for being such a normal tourist, I needed more fun on my last day in Busan!

At 6.30 pm I met Young, a Korean hiking man and we went to a night hiking at Mt. Hwangryung. I booked this trip via Airbnb Experience. There was only 2 of us in the trip. We started hiking around 7 pm and it took us about 2 hours to reach the top. It was a new experience for me to hike at night and it was an easy hike. Along the way we stopped from time to time to enjoy the view. When we reached the top of the mountain there was a spectacular 360 degree view over Busan; the city was so brightly lit and very beautiful. After enjoying the view, Young unpacked food and Korean alcohol drink that he brought from home. The food was simple but I very much enjoyed it and I even joked with Young that this is a very romantic dinner, he laughed!

Young made me laugh a lot during the hike but the best one was when we were in the car on the way home, he asked me if he is handsome for Thai girls! He was very serious and even said to please give him an honest answer! He had given me much more difficult time than the hiking! I just could not stop laughing from his innocent question. I love you, Young Jin Jeon!

Young also asked me a very interesting question that why Thailand has so many transgenders like lady boy. I answered his question that because we are free to be whatever we want as long as it does not result in harm to others. And also our culture is quite open to this. Most of their family would not stop them from being a transgender as long as they are good people. I also said to Young that I believe that there would be a lot of transgenders in other counties, as much as in Thailand, if those countries are open to it. Unfortunately, they are not open like Thailand.

I very much enjoyed 2 hours of night hiking, talking and had dinner with the best view of Busan with Young. You can see this amazing view without hiking 2 hours but you would not have such an unique and fun experience with Young like I did if you just being an ordinary tourist.

Young also mentioned that I was the fastest walking guest since he started the business, something I can be proud of!

Day 5 – Train to Seoul

After had such a very good time in Busan for 4 nights I left for Seoul by taking a train. I wish there was a movie called ” Train to Seoul” starring Gong Yoo!

I booked an apartment just next to Samgakji metro station, located just next to the War Memorial of Korea. It was a residential apartment located only 2 metro stations from Seoul Station. It was the best location for me to get around in Seoul.

Day 6 – Making Kimchi & Haneul Park

I booked a cooking class in Mangwon via Airbnb Experience to make Kimchi because I love to eat Kimchi very much. We met up at 10 am at the Mangwon station. Jomin, our chef, took us to the market, did some shopping and we went to her house. There were 2 other girls in the class with me, Vanessa from Singapore and Bianca from Canada. I very much enjoyed the Kimchi class and Jomin was a professional chef, her cooking studio was comfortable, well prepared and her recipe book looks very professional with beautiful photos. Her class was high standard and she has many classes available not only Kimchi. I highly recommend Jomin if you are interested in Korean cuisine.

After the cooking class in Mangwon I visited Haneul Park located near the World Cup Stadium and only a few stations from Mangwon. This place was beautiful and full of tourists.

Day 7 – Gyeongbok Palace & Bukchon Hanok Village

As my place was next to the the National Museum of Korea, I went to kill time there before going to the Gyeongbok Palace at 11am. At the museum I met a group of Korean soldiers who were also visiting the museum. They seemed very passionate and proud to be soldiers and chatting with them inspired me to learn more about Korean history. I wish I could have more time with them as they offered to be my guide. Unfortunately, I could not stay longer.

After that I went back to the history of Korea by visiting the Gyeongbok Palace and dressed up in Hanbok. I booked this tour with Geo via Airbnb Experience. I decided to dress up in a male costume as I had inspiration from Gong Yoo in the Korean drama “Goblin”. I even brought my own accessories from home to be exactly like him! There were another 3 girls who joined the tour and they all dressed up in a female costume as ordinary girls. I very much enjoyed the experience dressed up in a male costume and it turned out to be so much fun with those girls!

After the Gyeongbok Palace I visited the Bukchon Hanok Village and Vanessa from Singapore and Karen from China also joined me. We enjoyed walking and ended up having a very nice tea in one of the traditional Hanok houses in the village. I had another wonderful day in Seoul.

Day 8 – War Memorial of Korea, Leeum Samsung Museum of Art & Cycling

I finally made an official visit to the War Memorial of Korea after stopping by 2 times! There were 3 main floors of the museum and there was also an art exhibition on the 1st floor which I enjoyed a lot. I learned a lot about the Korean war and the history of Korea, some of the stories in the war even brought tears to my eyes. I felt so sad for all of the people who had a hard time in their life during the Korean War and the period when colonised by Japan. In contrast, I admired those Korean heroes and many people that were very brave to fight for their country and for freedom. I believe that freedom creates better people and a better world.

After being harshly colonised by Japan for 35 years from 1910-1945, and the three years of the Korean War bloody fighting from 1950-1953 in which three million Koreans were killed, I very much admired South Korea for what the country has become nowadays and could not stop comparing it to Thailand. Thailand was never colonised by any countries and the wars in Thailand were not as bad as the Korean War but Thailand is still many steps behind South Korea in many ways.

I agree that history is relevant to the problem we face today and this reminds me about The sinking of Sewol that happened in 2014 in South Korea and killed 304 passengers and mostly secondary school students. I believe that if South Korea accepted help from The Japan Coast Guard, it would have saved more innocent children on that disaster ferry.

History is a great thing to remember and to be proud of our predecessors who fight for our countries. However, people should not let history affect life nowadays by not accepting help from other countries when your country is in trouble because you are too proud, and at the end it doesn’t help to develop anything, only losing.  I wish all the readers who run their countries nowadays would make important decisions for their countries base on the present situation and what the countries and people need most right now, more than based on history that we can never change. History doesn’t change, but a better understanding of it can change the world to be a better place.

If you have kids you should not miss to take them to see those outdoor showcase. Some of them you can even see inside.

Later I went to visit the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art. I loved the design and decor of the museum much more than all the ceramics and old paintings that are challenging to understand!

Later I went cycling along the Han River with Jason who hosted this experience via Airbnb and Clotilde from France also joined us. We cycled for an hour around the island and there was beautiful scenery; I enjoyed it. After that we were supposed to order a delivery of food and eat near the river but I asked Jason if he could take us to eat like locals. He made my wish come true by taking us to Gwangjang market to eat Yukhoi which is a dish of raw beef, enhanced by fresh egg yolk on the top, joined by fresh pears and with a touch of sesame oil. One of the most sensitive and special dishes among all Korean traditional dishes. We also ate live Octopus! It was the most exciting eating experience in my life and I loved it! The evening turned out to be very enjoyable as we also had Soju with those dishes. Soju is a common alcohol in Korea with different kinds of fruit favour. The food was good, the drink was excellent and my companions were the best! Thanks to Jason who was an extraordinary host. My day ended very drunk!

Day 9 – Rainy day

I had been very lucky with the weather since I arrived but today, unfortunately, I needed to cancel all outdoor activities and I only visited the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), a very modern and stylish looking building designed by Zaha Hadid, a famous British Iraqi architect. I very much admired and was jealous that South Korea could create this major urban development landmark which Thailand lacks.

Day 10 – Namsan Park & Songdo Central Park

The temperature was around 10 degrees today, it was the coldest since I arrived – winter is coming! I visited Namsan Park in the morning with Clotilde, who I cycled with the other day. It was too cold then I ran home!

In the late afternoon I decided at the last minute to visit Songdo Central Park in Incheon. It was recommended by Kwon, a lovely young soldier who I met at the museum the other day. The park is the centrepiece of Songdo IBD’s green space plan, inspired by New York City’s Central Park. The park also displays sculpture and artwork such as the swooping neofuturistic metallic architecture of the Tri-Bowl. In front of the park there is the Songdo Hanok complex. Hanok is traditional Korean architecture. The complex  includes traditional culture and tourism facilities, including 30 traditional ondol-type hotel rooms, a guest house for banquets, restaurants, culture experience halls, a concert hall, and a marketplace. I had Korean Beef Bulgogi at HANYANG, one of the restaurants in the complex and it was really good and looked very popular for the locals. Songdo is a perfect combination of the traditional and modern style.  I would diffidently stay here a few nights on my next visit.

Day 11 – 12 Healience Seonmaeul

I reunited with my Korean friend, Kiwon who I met 10 years ago in Australia when we were studying English together. Kiwon greeted me by taking me to stay one night in the Healience Seonmaeul in Hongcheon. They advertised themselves as a Korea’s first “well-aging” and healing centre that will help you learn good eating and exercise habits, in addition to maintaining a peaceful mind and a rhythmic life cycle, all for ageing in a healthy way.

The location of the resort is up a mountain which has no telephone signal. They provide a hot spring, spa, sauna, meditation class, Yoga class, hiking, healthy food, etc. The resort seemed very popular with Koreans; I was probably the only foreigner there which is what I loved the most! Kiwon and I very much enjoyed the experience there and we wish we could stay longer. I felt like I could live for 100 years if I stayed in this resort for the rest of my life! The air was so fresh, the food was so delicious and healthy and all the activities that they provided were great.   This treatment was what I really needed after travelling for nearly 2 weeks.  If you want to get away from a busy lifestyle, find somewhere peaceful, reboot yourself, live with nature, you can’t miss out this place. My holiday in South Korea ended so healthy and perfectly!

Day 13 – Homestay

I experienced Korean homestay by staying one night with Kiwon and her mother at their house in Seoul. Kiwon is the most caring friend that anyone could ever ask for and I appreciated a lot her hospitality. 10 years ago in Australia she cooked Bibimbap for me and this time I returned by cooking chicken green curry for her and she loved it!

I very much enjoyed my 13 days in South Korea. Even though I traveled on my own, I met many interesting and nice people, both locals and foreigners. There was not a single day in South Korea that I was lonely! Only going to visit all the tourist attractions that recommend on the Internet e.g. top 10 things to do and see, to me it sounds very boring and not being any extraordinary tourist at all. My trip was much more enjoyable than I expected because I met local people and  those local people took me to do local things. My 13 days in South Korea from 18-30 Oct 2018 is one of the best autumn and awesome trips in my life!

Hope you enjoy reading!