← PreviousBusan, port cityOn a long bike-touring adventure, you must always allow yourself rest days, even if you feel fine. It's the golden rule, and we make the most of it. Busan is full of sights, and even though it's impossible to see everything, we try to pick places likely to interest us as well as Clémence.
This little girl loves taking public transport, and her curiosity is always very sweet. She tries her best to understand why we don't take the first bus that comes and to grasp what the colours on the metro mean ("Mummy, which colour line did we take?"). So the sometimes long distances we cover on public transport don't bother her. This morning we head to the little coastal neighbourhood of Huinnyeoul, once a village of Korean War refugees, now a charming cultural and artistic village with countless colourful murals, picturesque lanes and relaxing cafés with sea views. It's often compared to Santorini (much less famous and touristy, luckily for us).
Sea fog lays an eerie mist over the bay and the humidity is off the charts. Good thing it isn't too hot yet, or we'd be sweating without moving. Clémence is always a hit, and sometimes people even take her photo.
We've decided to split up a bit this afternoon. Cassandre stays with Clémence to take her to Busan Citizens Park, a huge city-centre park very popular with locals, while Stéphane takes care of some much-needed laundry. We meet up in the late afternoon at the very pretty Dadaepo beach, at the very end of our metro line. It's very pleasant, as it's much less built up than the beaches in the city. The beach is very long and surrounded by forest, which adds to the wild feel of the place.
We eat there and settle in the fountain square to watch a sound and light show Cassandre found. Several water jets spread across a 2,500-square-metre central square are synchronised with music and lights of every colour. The central jet reaches an impressive 55 metres, and the whole fountain can form all kinds of shapes. The show is breathtaking in its technical prowess, and Clémence and we are all enchanted.
Monday 9 June
Haeundae is on the list of Busan's key places. Trendy, it's very popular with foreigners for its big beach lined with futuristic buildings and its multicultural atmosphere. It's also a surf spot, which naturally draws people from all over the world. At the north end of the beach is the Blueline. Instead of tearing up a run-down railway, the city chose to keep the tracks and create a 4-kilometre tourist line alongside an all-wooden footpath. Twenty metres above the train, you can also "get away from it all" in Sky Capsules, small colourful cabins for up to eight people that follow the same route. The steep price of €30 one way puts us off a bit, and we decide to take the train.
So here we are on a little train trundling slowly along the coast. The seats all face the big windows and you can admire the rugged cliffs. The North-South conflict is never far away, as part of the coast is closed off by walls. In the early 1980s, a North Korean spy ship managed to land before being stopped, and that particular spot has been closed to the public ever since. At the end of the line you can get off to enjoy the beach there, and we don't miss the chance to dip our feet in the water. In less than two days, Clémence has gone from panic-stricken fear of the waves to wanting to go right into the water. This trip is making her grow up in so many ways.
On the way back, which we decide to walk, we stop on a glass skywalk 20 metres above the ground. It's a strange feeling; you can see the water under your feet as if you were about to fall. Some tourists are terrified and carefully avoid the parts where you can see the drop. Clémence isn't scared at all and makes her way through the crowd. For something more playful, Stéphane takes her to the city aquarium on the Haeundae beach promenade while Cassandre goes for a run. It isn't gigantic, but it's big enough to satisfy a child. There are giant turtles and huge fish. Clémence comes out with her first pun, pointing at a huge ray (in French, "raie" sounds like "arrêt") and saying "look, it's like a bus stop-ray". We spend a long time looking at all the marine species.
Cassandre joins them at the exit, then we take the metro back to the hotel. Tonight we go to bed early, as tomorrow morning we have to cross Busan by bike to reach a long-distance bus station.