When we initially looked at Busan, the Haeundae beach kept coming up as a potential attraction we could visit. But because our hotel was near Nampo we had to look for alternatives because Haeundae was at least an hour away. We settled for visiting the Songdo beach and surrounding area, which ended up being a delightful surprise.
We got on the bus and off we went. The ride took about 15 minutes and the driver didn’t speak any English but just looking at us he knew where we wanted to get off, so he politely confirmed “Songdo” with us and soon signaled it would be the next stop.
The bright sun combined with the high humidity meant the beach was entirely covered by a thick fog. And what a sight it was.
There was almost no living soul on the sand, but surprisingly there were people swimming and diving from a turtle-themed platform out in the water. The kids played for a bit in the sand while the grown-ups were taking pictures and the fog slowly but surely eased off.
We then made our way to the Songdo Cloud Trails, a skywalk built above the water with some glass floors and a lot of connecting paths, giving you beautiful views of the ocean and the big buildings that hug the beach.
Our bellies were rumbling at this point and so we started to look for options. There were many restaurants but only one thing on the menu: seafood. And some of the items on display outside were intimidating to say the least. To make things even more challenging there were no English menus around. “Cool”, we thought, ”the food should be pretty legit if they only cater to Koreans”.
After some back and forth we picked 바닷속 조개왕국 to have lunch at, and ordered the shell fish platter for two. It came with prawns, abalone, and a variety of clams and scallops. In addition to that, they bring you Banchan, a assortment of small dishes like rice, kimchi, cabbage, edamame, and more. These are all included in the price of the meal. Two large beers and a short tutorial on how to cook these at the table and we were ready to get down to business.
This ended up being one of the best meals we had in Korea. The food couldn’t be more fresh — I mean, the clams were alive when they got to our table — and everyone at the restaurant was super nice and kind despite not speaking a word of English. Really delicious food and memorable experience.
After the obligatory stop at yet another Twosome place for some dessert and cold drinks, we made our way to Bay Station where you can catch the cable car to Amnam Park.
Between walks through the hills, the kids playing a bunch, and chasing cats around, we kind of lost track of time at the park. It felt great to have no plans other than enjoy our time there until it was time to catch one of the last cable cars back.
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