ROAMING THE STREETS OF BUSAN CITY

I had the chance to roam the streets of Busan City, maybe just a small part of it, only on the second day of my stay on the 23rd March 2019 as I was always on the on the first and third day. Busan was not as busy as Seoul, even there was less traffic on the road. The subway was not crammed with people and it was always convenient to move using the train.

Some interesting facts about Busan that might interest you are:

• Busan is the second highest populated city in South Korea, after Seoul.
• The port in Busan is the busiest in South Korea and the 5th busiest in the world.
• Busan is famous for its beaches but I only to one of them during the hop on hop off bus trip. 
• You could see people eating everywhere in the city, day and night and Busan is well-known for its fresh seafood that goes straight onto your dining table.

• Most of the signboards at the subway are written in three languages: Korean, English and Chinese.

Believe it or not, Busan could be made famous by this one horror movie entitled "The Train to Busan". And NO, I did not any zombies when I was there. 

There will be a sequence to this movie soon. I wonder will this make Busan become more popular for travelers.

[MY BUSAN TRIP MAIN PAGE]

PUS 101 - INTRODUCTION TO BUSAN

WHERE? I was on a very short trip to Busan, South Korea, from the 22nd to the 24th of March and flew out back on the 25th. This was my second trip to South Korea, after visiting Seoul [READ HERE] and Jeju Island [READ HERE] back in 2015. Busan is located at the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and is not as popular as Seoul. The weather was pleasant when I was there, but it was a bit too cold for me in the evening because the temperature could be as low as 5°C, especially when the wind was blowing. You could always fly to Busan as Airasia provides direct flighta from Kuala Lumpur 4 times a week, if I am not mistaken.

WHAT ARE THE ATTRACTIONS? Surprisingly Busan had a lot
to offer and my 3-day trip proved I needed to go back there one more time to explore more. Unlike Seoul which is a metropolitan city, Busan is more relaxed and things moved at a slower pace. During my stay, I walked among the houses and people at its cultural village, the fish market and the night market and also enjoyed the beautiful scene of the early stage of blooming sakura. I should have stayed much longer.

HOW TO MOVE AROUND? I must say after three days there, I must have walked for hundreds of kilometres day and night. I also took the subway train a lot, even the airport was connected with this method of transportation so you should not worry. I also used the bus service twice and the Koreans have very effective transportation system which could be a reason I chose to travel solo there. One more thing, it would be best for you to get the T-card, something like our local touch-and-go. 

DO PEOPLE SPEAK ENGLISH IN BUSAN? Very few people I met on the street could communicate well in English. I am the traditional type who still refer to paper map and ask locals for directions. People were very friendly and even though we spoke different languages, surprisingly I could still understand them well and managed to find my way around. I had met many kind people who helped me with directions in Korean. That should be the beauty of traveling - when you interact with people and be less dependent on technology.

WERE THERE HALAL RESTAURANTS? There should be but I was not on a gastronomic adventure. You definitely have to do some research before going if you want to eat out but the number of eating places for Muslims is very limited. Other than depending on my bread, instant noodles and rice brought from home, I bought the popular banana milk, the triangular rice filled with tuna and mayonnaise from 7-Eleven, bought a Turkish Lawash from the night market and had a shrimp burger at Lotteria.

WILL I GO BACK TO BUSAN AGAIN? Without any hesitation, I will say "YES" and I think you should go too. There are still a lot of things which I have not seen and places I have not visited. At least I have better ideas of what to do when I make a return trip. Any followers? For the time being, do come back later for my stories and experiences of my short trip to Busan in spring.

MY BUSAN TRIP RELATED LINKS

Gamcheon Culture Village [PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3] [PART 4]
Walking to Jagalchi Market
Inside Jagalchi Market [Part 1][PART 2] [PART 3] [PART 4]
Walking Away From Jagalchi Market [PART 1] [PART 2]
Gukje Market
Busan Modern History Museum [PART 1] [PART 2]
Busan Tower [PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3]
Busan Museum of Movies
Trick Eye Museum Inside Busan Museum of Movies
Hop On Hop Off Bus at Night
Walking the Streets of Jinhae [Part 1] [Part 2]
Changwon Naesumyon Park [Part 1] [Part 2]
Sakura at Gyeonghwa Train Station [Part 1] [Part 2]
Jinhae City Square
Jinhae Tower and Jinhae Museum of Changwon City
Shrimp Burger at Lotteria
Busan Train Station
Business Hotel Busan Station
Busan International Airport

JOHOR'S INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ISLAM AND HALAL IN TOWN

31st MARCH 2019 ~ There was this Johor's International Festival of Islam and Halal held at Persada Johor last weekends. I managed to get there on the very last day right after school.

The main attraction was the artifact of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) Exhibition which was done at one of the wings of the hall. The place was quite small actually for such a huge crowd.

The veils of the Kaabah were indeed very beautiful and many people were seen taking photos here even though there was a "NO CAMERA" sign could be seen there. And people were still touching the exhibit despite the fact there was a "DO NOT TOUCH" sign pinned on it.

I

The booths promoting and selling their (halal) products and services were put in the bigger and more comfortable hall. I think the exhibition of the artifacts should be placed here instead of the spot outside the hall.

I was there for like an hour but it was something new to have a festival like this once in a while. The response from the public was also encouraging so there could be similar event organized in the future.