Explore Busan

The Madness in Bus from Busan to Seoul

2 June 20222 June 2022travelingpersecond

Slight interval between my arrival and bus departure sweetly paid off, so I didn’t have to wait too long for bus to depart. A few minutes ago, I had asked to one of drivers in order to find a bus which would I take at Busan Central Bus Terminal. His forefinger clearly pointed at the white fleet with a red color. I rushed to bus and asked to its driver who was sitting in front of the parked bus.

“Yes, this bus”, he said when I showed the ticket.

The ticket which I bought this morning with costs 23,000 Won.

He allowed me to get on early on the bus which its machine was slowly starting but bus still neatly parked at the platform. Bus seats were in two columns on each side and I acquired a seat slightly behind. By being on the bus, apart from getting peace of mind because I won’t be left behind, I also got warm air which made me felt comfortable.

One by one local passengers arrived and tried to find their respective seats. Until a minute before departure, bus seats were not full. The driver came and started checking each passenger with a manifest sheet in his left hand. After marking all lists in the manifest,then driver got off, reported to terminal’s officer, then began to sit behind the wheel. The bus was ready to start its long journey with more than half of its seats left empty.

Then bus was slowly moving away from Busan Central Bus Terminal and starting to show off new areas which I’ve never explored before. Bus entered a toll road by showing the silhouette of South Korea’s beautiful hills. Not infrequently bus entered tunnels which splitting the hill. The streets looked deserted at night, only showing night lights along the contours of Korean hills. Unbelievably beautiful.

Passengers have been asleep for a long time, while I, as a foreigner, prefered to enjoy evening shows while enjoying a few slices of bread which I bought from a minimarket in Busan Central Bus Terminal. Yup, I didn’t have time to have dinner properly, because I was being chased by time to catching bus departure since afternoon.

I didn’t realize I had been enjoying street scenery for so long, until finally driver took a break at Sunsan Service Area near Gumi City, precisely in Gyeongsangbuk Province. All passengers got off to just enjoying a cup of hot coffee or at least go for a moment into toilet. Meanwhile, I just decided to walk around rest area while waiting for driver to finishing their dinner.

Sunsan Service Area, where buses did break time.

Bus which I took (photo taken upon arrival at Seoul Express Bus Terminal).

Then that madness came….

Twenty minutes later, bus was ready to leave, and all passengers returned to their respective seats. I rushed to bus and sat back in my seat. After driver counted passengers, then bus headed again to Seoul.

I remembered that in my backpack there were still two t-shirts and a pair of socks which weren’t completely dry. Seeing a quiet situation in bus with all passengers were sleeping with their dream, I took out that t-shirt and socks and then spread them at headrest of seat in front of me, I deliberately did this to dry them out. “Ah, while all passangers are sleeping, it will be Okay …”, I thought while laughing amused.

Then I started to close my eyes to rest, because when I arrived in Seoul, I would stay overnight and have to stay awake at Seoul Express Bus Terminal to then immediately exploring Seoul City in the morning. I had to save energy for that….

I started to close my eyes, the bus would still arrive in next two hours….

Towards Busan Central Bus Terminal: Backward Three Stations

31 May 2022travelingpersecond

My gaze was just doing repetitions. Watches-route board-watches….and repeatly. Anxiety punished me by not being able to enjoying comfortable Humetro carriage. I still didn’t choose to sit down, my legs upright supporting my body at a pole near train door. I prepared to get off at Seomyeon Station to ending my journey at Humetro Line 2 (Green Line) to changing to Humetro Line 1 (Orange Line). I had to reach Beomnaegol Station as quickly as possible to retrieve my backpack which I was entrusted at reception desk of Kimchee Busan Guesthouse.

Finally I arrived. Quickly stepping out of the carriage, stepping on several escalators, I quickly reached the surface. Then started to lightly running down Hwangnyeong-daero Avenue towards guesthouse.

A few minutes later I panted, caught my breath in the front yard of guesthouse, and then headed to reception desk with regular breaths.

Me: “Sir, can I take my backpack which I entrusted to receptionist this morning?”.

Receptionist: “Can you show the label card which give to you?”.

Me: “This, Sir”

Receptionist: “OK, follow me!”

After checking the label card, he got up from his seat and headed out into the courtyard. I followed him from behind until I arrived at the side of large container box. Apparently all backpack which every guest in the guesthouse put was in there. Now I had got my blue backpack.

Me: “Thank you, Sir”

Receptionist: “You are welcome. Be carreful on your way”.

I said goodbye and waved him before turning around to leave the guesthouse.

See you Kimchee Busan Guesthouse!….

I went back down the street to station. It was getting dark. Bus departure time for Seoul was getting closer. 10 minutes of pounding made me arrived at the platform of Beomnaegol Station, waiting for Humetro Line1 (Orange Line). The beam of light was getting brighter and hit the bulkhead which separating the platform and Humetro’s path. The series of carriages I was waiting for had arrived, I entered the back carriage, put my backpack between my legs and stood against carriage’s wall right next to Humtero’s door.

This time I calmed down a bit, because there was no need to change lanes to get to Nopo Station. The train slowly left Busanjin District. Every station I passed made me feel more relieved, brought me closer to my destination.

Forty-five minutes later I arrived at Nopo Station. But something happened to my stomach, suddenly unstoppably twisting. I took an initiative to look for a sign to toilets throughout Nopo Station. But two different toilet which I found were far from ideal…. Urine smell, muddy and full of human traffic. Ah….Too bad.

How could I let this happen, if trip to Seoul would take four hours, then I would be tormented by this stomach ache. I looked back at my watch, there was still forty-five minutes before the bus left. I was thinking a little crazy now….I was going to go back two or three stations, looking for a quieter and ideal toilet. I jumped back into Humetro’s carriage and followed its pace. Then get off at third stop, Dusil Station.

As fast as lightning, I did a search for the toilet and finally I found a clean, fragrant and quiet toilet. Ah….Something just happened on my second day of adventure in Korea.

I now have twenty minutes left. I was already sitting in Humetro carriage again, repeating my way to Nopo Station. Ten minutes later I arrived and immediately ran towards Busan Central Bus Terminal which was integrated with Nopo Station.

“”Yes…”, I arrived at bus platform on ten minutes before departure.

“Puufffttt….”, The journey was tense and tiring.

Bye Busan…Love u.

Towards Centum City Station: Solving a Blind Map

29 May 202221 May 2022travelingpersecond

On 16:30 hours, anxiously sitting under the shade of a small bus stop at Gijang-daero Avenue, my eyes kept turning to the left, waiting for the arrival of bus number 181. A few minutes ago I was sentenced to be lost. An amateur journey just to find Haedong Yonggungsa Temple which was located on the edge of Korea Strait.

Two and a half hours of my time wasted in the eastern streets outside Busan City. Meanwhile, another threat came, i.e delay in catching my bus to Seoul which was leaving that night. In the midst of pale faces, the bus finally arrived. I was already waving when bus still seemed to be running from a distance. “I can’t miss that bus, this is my best chance to catch my bus to Seoul”.

The blinking of bus’s turn signal signaled that driver understood that I was a potential passenger. The bus stopped right in front of me, I swiftly jumped from front door and handed over 1,200 Won in fare box. Then I acquired one of middle seat.

Now my eyes were sweeping bus interior, looking for any destination marker or clues which could monitor bus’s whereabouts. My eyes were keen to see a manual route board on a side of upper compartment, while right behind the driver, there was LCD screens which kept changing its Hangeul characters when bus passed bus stops along Gijang-daero Avenue. “Yes….”, I found it but I couldn’t read it because it was a whole Hangeul script. I kept holding my breath, trying to stay calm. “Once again lost, I will be further, my chances of catching bus to Seoul will be lost”, I lowered my eyes closed. Imagine that horror.

Now I decided to stand right under the manual route board, all passengers were amazed because I stood when the bus was never full. I ignored the stares, I was busy saving my own destiny.

Looking closely the route map. Hangeul characters were so small and I didn’t really understand. “Yes, I find it”, my mind cheered with joy. There was a Humetro logo in that route map. That means that bus stop in question was integrated with Humetro station. While a Humetro map, I always hold it along the way. It was neatly folded in a back pocket of my pants.

That means I just needed to memorize that Hangeul alphabetical sequence which composed the name of bus stop and matched it with the same alphabet sequence which would be displayed in the LCD screen behind driver. If that string of names appeared, then I would get off at the bus stop in question. Ah, it turned out that the remnants of intelligence in my brain were still there.

I continued to observe the LCD screen and continued to match each letter with the manual route board in bus’ upper compartmen. That way I would know how many bus stops again when I have to get off. Perseverance and thorough in doing that, made me manage to get off at one of bus stops located near Humetro station, Centum City Station to be exact.

Alighting at bus stop, I rushed to the basement of Centum City Station to intercept the departure of nearest Humetro. I had to hurry to Kimchee Busan Guesthouse to pick up my backpack which I had left at reception desk since check-out this morning.

I ran down the escalator after a Humetro who had stopped a few seconds ago and prepared to close its door to leave. “Yes….”, I managed to enter its carriage before Humetro’s door actually closed. Now I was a little calm, of course I would quickly arrive at my destination. “Take your backpack and hurry to Busan Central Bus Terminal, Donny!”, I thought confirming an order to myself.

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple: Never Arrived….

27 May 202221 May 2022travelingpersecond

I hadn’t even reached Toseong Station yet, when my stomach tone sent a signal. “Oh yeah, I haven’t had lunch yet,” was the quick response in my mind. The last time I ate a Bungeoppang street snack was two hours ago at the same street where I stood now, Kkachigogae-ro Avenue.

Getting to Haedong Yonggungsa Temple took a long time. I paused for a moment at a side of sidewalk. Slowly sweeping my gaze to the row of shophouses along my eyes reach. At far side of road, I saw a restaurant which wasn’t that big, some local residents came out of that tiny restaurant with plastic bags filled with food. Quickly decided, “I’d better eat there, I don’t have much time”. Later, I sat down at a seat in that tiny restaurant.

“Annyeonghasimnika”…….

“Good afternoon, Sir. This is the menu. Enjoy your time here”

“Thank you Sir, give me time to choose the menu!”.

A young man with typical Korean bangs smiled with nodding and returned to his busy in preparing food for several customers who were still queuing near door. Meanwhile I started to busy choosing a food I would eat at menu list. My first filter was, of course, price, considering my budget was running low in my second day in Korea.

“Hello, Sir”, I called him after selecting the cheapest menu.

“Yes, Sir” he prepared to go to my table.

“This, Sir”

“Oh, Kimbap….OK…OK. Oh yes, Where are you come from, Sir?”, He quickly understood my order while opening another topic of conversation.

“Indonesia, Sir”

“Wow, Indonesia. I ever worked there for 3 years. Good afternoon, Sir”

I uncontrollably laughed watching him when recited some words from my country language.Hahaha.

“Do you eat pork?”, he joked again.

“No…No…..Hahahaha. Your Indonesian language is good”, I felt happy, as if I was in my own country.

“Are you moslem?”

“Yup. I am happy to hear Indonesia language in Busan, Sir”

“Yes….Yes….Yes….. I can speak a little Indonesian. Wait, I’ll make Kimbap. Only 10 minutes, Wait!”

“Yes, Sir”

He was busy concocting my order of Kimbap diligently and exactly ten minutes later, he picked up a Kimbap and brought it to me. Now Kimbap was ready to eat. But I ate it with a flat expression. Damn…I miss “Nasi Padang”.

Are you full if you eat lunch with that portion?

Paying after eating it, I chatted for a while until I finally found out that he was the owner of this tiny restaurant.

—-****——

I sat down in Humetro Line 1 (Orange Line) carriage, then changed to Humetro Line 2 (Green Line) at Seomyeon Station. Next I headed to Haeundae Station to continue my journey.

A destination which made me pale….I didn’t know if there will be enough time until I catched bus to Seoul at half past nine that night. Or would I be left behind by that bus.

My worries which had been going at along underground passages of Busan were stopped when a voice announcer announced that Humetro would soon be arrived in Haeundae Station. At the same time, my decision to going to my next destination was final…..I would visit it. I quickly rushed to station gate in the surface, when I got to the top, I nimbly stepped towards a bus stop located not far from station gate. The name of that bus stop was the same as the station name next to it, namely Haeundae Bus Stop, located on the edge of Haeun-daero Avenue

I carefully looked at some bus numbers at bus stop’s wall. That were the identities of several city buses which passed that bus stop. Yes….There was a number 181 tucked in between, that was a bus number which I was aiming for. I closely looked at every bus which was going to stop at Haeundae Bus Stop. I was agile to find the whereabouts of numbers location at bus’ front window. It took quite a while, several bus with another numbers past me at bus stop until the sixth bus with a number I was looking for arrived. Now I was getting ready to welcome that bus, which from a distance started turning on its turn signal as a sign that that bus would pick up its passengers at Haeundae Bus Stop.

The bus softly screeched in front of me, I immediately jumped in through its front door, entered the fare of 1,200 Won in a fare box next to driver while showing him a picture. “Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, Sir. Please drop me here…!.”.

“Hoohhh….hooohh”, a response that I believed that he understood.

All seats were full, made me stand alone in that city bus. Surprised local faces stared at me all the way, of course because I had a different skin color than them.

While in bus, there were no clues that can help to monitoring where I was at all times. I tried to calm myself apart from a fact that a small panic was starting to disturb my concentration. Thirty minutes had passed, countless, bus had stopped to picking up and dropping passengers, but driver seemed to continue to focus on driving the bus.

Finally I got up the courage to approach him and asked again about the picture of temple which I showed at the beginning of trip. “Sir, is this temple still far?”, I briefly asked. Then how did he react?….Amazing, hahaha.

“Hooohhhh….Hooohhhh”, while waving his hand as a sign of not knowing. Either I didn’t know that place or I didn’t know how to speak English. “Oh God, Imy request had be ignored from earlier by him”. Now I had no choice, I had to get off from bus even though I didn’t know where I was. “Sir. Drop me here now!”. And slowly, bus began to slow down towards a small bus stop in front of it.

My hunch from the beginning of trip was clear, I was now really lost in a lonely place. Meanwhile, it was half past five in the afternoon. I would try to find out if Haedong Yonggungsa Temple was still worth to be visited by walking.

Ten minutes of confusion and panic at a bus stop, I finally saw a young man jogging toward me. I mustered up the courage to stop him and ask him where he was going.

“It’s about 10 kilometers from here, you get off from bus but it was too far from this place”

“Ok thanks, Sir”

That means I couldn’t walk and it was also impossible to wait for next bus to get there….It would be too long and time consuming. I decided to immediately cancel and prepared to heading back towards downtown. I would better to secure my bus departure schedule to Seoul. If I was late then I had to prepare to compensate it with additional accommodation costs for a longer night’s stay in Busan.

With a sense of panic and disappointment…. And also a little fear because I was in a very quiet place at the edge of Gijang-daero Avenue, I finally waited for the arrival of bus number 181.

I was so sorry…. Haedong Yonggungsa Temple….It was like unrequited love.

Seeing Old Grandpa in Gamcheon Culture Village

25 May 202221 May 2022travelingpersecond

Eleven o’clock in the afternoon, Nopo-dong area, Geumjeong District….

Finally I got a bus ticket to Seoul. Because bus departed tonight, I decided to continue my exploration in Busan until afternoon. Now I was starting to leave Busan Central Bus Terminal, walking down an integration corridor towards Nopo Station.

Arriving at station, I didn’t have to wait long, Humetro Line 1 (Orange Line) took me to Toesong Station. It was twenty-four stations away. I arrived at destination station in almost an hour.

Getting off at Toesong Station, looking for directions to Gamcheon Culture Village.

Exiting west exit of Toesong Station, I then walked down Kkachigogae-ro Avenue. But before going any further, I found a street food which I had been aiming for before leaving for South Korea. Moreover, if it was not Bungeoppang, a street food made from flour and filled with chocolate. The uniqueness of this snack is its fish-shaped appearance which is very cute. I spent 1,000 Won to enjoying it.

I enjoyed a serving Bungeoppang in front of a middle-aged woman seller. Chewing while food was still hot made her laugh at me who was having a hard time chewing. Moments liked this made me always happy when traveling, joking with street food sellers who show their modesty, as they are.

From Kkachigogae-ro Avenue, I changed direction on Haedoji-ro Avenue heading south. The road was still flat, making me cross it with a smile. But I was only two hundred meters from Haedoji-ro Avenue section, because from then on I began to perfectly climb on Ami-ro Avenue.

Police station at Kkachigogae-ro Avenue.

I began to step at uphill road with a typical road topography, twisting, causing the road span to be longer. It was just that I didn’t want to be embarrassed by some of elderly residents who were nimbly climbing the road. Not even a few middle-aged residents happily jog up the hill. Extraordinary. I had to gasp up at Ami-ro Avenue to keep up with them.

I had walked one and a half kilometers until I finally arrived at the front gate of Gamcheon Culture Village. Meanwhile, it was half past one in the afternoon. Actually there was a public transportation number 2 which could take me from Toesong Station to Gamcheon Culture Village, but I was reluctant to use it, because walking is something that is fun and allows interacting with local residents.

After enjoying the atmosphere at the front gate of Gamcheon Culture Village which was full of art, I began to entering the cultural village which had been intensely given a touch of art since eleven years ago. It’s said that this village can be visited by more than one million tourists every year. Wow, you can imagine the magnitude of economic cycle in this former slum village. The village that used to be just a slum village, where the urban poor live, has now turned into a tourist village with extraordinary income.

The superior level of art has made Gamcheon Culture Village identified as the “Santorini of Korea”. Make Saha District pride, district where this tourist village area is.

Along the main village road, it was easy to find restaurants and cafes which pamper visitors. As far as the eye can see, there was ocean at the end of village when I enjoy its beauty from a house rooftop. Meanwhile, art and souvenir shops were scattered and easy to find.

At a point, I was attracted by one of homeowners who wore crutches at both arms. He told me that he was proud that his house was on the edge of the village’s main road and became an interesting spot for tourists to visit. I and a tourist of Chinese descent from Malaysia were invited to enter to see the interior of his house. Well this was the bonus of my trip.

But my time was so tight, it only took me an hour to walk around village and decided to immediately leave Gamcheon-dong area to go to another destination……

Getting Risk at Busan Central Bus Terminal

23 May 202221 May 2022travelingpersecond

Bathroom dramas often coloring my travel stories, considering that I often chose a dormitory as a place to stay during my adventures.

First night in Busan. I was really annoyed, I just flushed a closed toilet seat, I mean that I didn’t want to see “zonk” things when I opened it… But, water spilled everywhere along with its load.

Damn it….This must be a behavior of the man who a few minutes ago passed me at shared bathroom door.

Suddenly I went to another bathroom which was two floors above me. I had no desire to take a shower in bathroom even though there were still several more shower rooms available. In upstairs bathroom, conditions were cleaner, maybe guests were reluctant to bother going upstairs. Because of this incident, my heartburn suddenly disappeared. I prefered to go straight to shower room to wash my body with warm water.

Olala….Turned out I was a same jerk…..

After taking a shower, I lingered in front of the sink to dry my t-shirt and sock with a hair dryer, until they were completely dry. “Ah, It’s Okay. There’s no one. I’m paying to this hotel too,” a devil’s voice in my heart whispered. Understandably in this travel journey, I began to apply a strategy of carrying two pairs of socks to simplify my luggage. I will wash and dry unused socks in preparation for next use.

—-****—-

That morning I woke up on time. After Fajr prayer, I no longer felt asleep. I prefered to open itinerary sheets while waiting for light of the day. When sun started to come, I started to leave Kimchee Busan Guesthouse after taking a shower, considering that this inn didn’t provide breakfast for dormitory room.

I exited to the inn alley, and followed Hwangnyeong-daero Street heading west, to Beomnaegol Station to continue my journey. But of course I had to get breakfast before boarding to Humetro. I stopped at a CU minimarket to then enter it and hunted for breakfast in it. I found a handful of rice filled with corn at a special food rack, went to cashier, paid for it and then ate it on a seat inside the minimarket.

Soon I ate it. I immediately entered the station building and looked for a ticketing vending machine to buy a one day pass, then headed to platform after holding a one day pass for 4,500 Won.

That morning I would head to Busan Central Bus Terminal to buy a bus ticket to Seoul which would depart at night. Humetro Line 1 (Orange Line) softly screeched to a stop at platform. I immediately sat at one of its seats in a half-empty carriage to then follow the train to Nopo Station, a station where Busan Central Bus Terminal is integrated. I arrived in 45 minutes.

Getting out of the carriage I looked for clues that could lead me to the terminal. It’s not hard to find. A clue which then continued with the next clue directed me to arrive at the Busan Central Bus Terminal.

Busan Central Bus Terminal ticket sales counter.

“Hello, Miss. How much is a ticket to Seoul? “I asked to ticket sales staff in a long row of ticketing counters.

“32,000 Won, Sir. Bus will depart on around 16:00 hours”.

“Miss, What is the cheapest price and what time does the bus depart?”, I bluntly remembered that my pockets were running low.

“23,000 Won and bus will depart on 20:30 hours, Sir”.

“Okay, Wait Miss”.

I left her and sat at waiting chair. I started to calculate, if I departed early then I would be relatively safe because I would arrive in Seoul before nightfall. But that means I had to increase cost to rent a dormitory sooner. Of course it would be expensive.

If I took a night ticket, then inevitably, I would spend the night at Seoul City Bus Terminal, a little risky, but it was most possible choice with my money which was running out.

Okay, I would do that….. I got up from my seat and returned to a female staff.

“Yes, Ms. I take the night one”.

“Ok. Sir”

I handed her the money and she gave me a ticket to go to Seoul.

Busan-Seoul bus ticket costs 23,000 Won.

Okay, one important part I quickly finished. I would spend the remaining time in Busan that day.

Lantern Show at Gwangalli Beach

21 May 202215 May 2022travelingpersecond

It was almost nine in the evening when I decided to leave Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) Square in the Nampo-dong area. I started walking away from an official UNIQLO counter at BIFF Gwangjang-ro and then continued down the main street, Gudeok-ro. One hundred and fifty meters ahead was Gate 7 of Jagalchi Station which was the target of my steps to immediately leave Jung District.

I was heading underground ten minutes later. In warm basement, I didn’t have to bother looking for ticketing vending machine because I still had a small piece of One Day Pass I bought this afternoon when I arrived in Busan. Walking past automatic fare collection gate, I waited for arrival of Humetro Line 1 (Orange Line) at station platform.

The Humetro quickly arrived, opened its automatic doors and I quickly entered center carriage. Sitting on a seat, I kept an eye on the busyness of Busan residents after work. Humetro slowly crept through underground line, dropping me off at Seomyeon Station after passing through nine stations, then I changed to Humetro Line 2 (Green Line). And similarly, after passing through nine stations I arrived at Gwangan Station in Suyeong District. It felt that trip towards this station took quite a long time, forty-five minutes.

I rushed down the carriage and back to surface using escalator. Then took exit at Gate 5 of Gwangan Station which was directly opposite Gwangan-ro Avenue. The street’s air temperature was already at the level of one degree Celsius. I was forced to walk with an occasional shaking body for seven hundred meters towards beach. The presence of several groups of tourists heading in the same direction, made me a little calm, considering that it was almost ten o’clock at night.

I arrived at the beach twenty minutes later after walking nearly seven hundred meters. Standing on the beach as far as the eyes can see, the luminous stretch of the second longest bridge in “Ginseng Country” was truly stunning….Yup, that was Gwangandaegyo Bridge, a seven and a half kilometer long suspension bridge which connects Haeundae District and Suyeong District.

Now I have mingled with tourists and other locals enjoying the festive atmosphere at Gwangalli Beach. I continued to observe the show by residents airing mini-sized lanterns. Parents, young people and small children were almost all immersed in the excitement of show.

While some others seemed to enjoy decorative lights in the form of various kinds of fauna which were pleasing to eyes. In the other hand, the beach looked crammed with multi-storey buildings which gave an impression that the beach area had been touched by technology. But everything looked clean with a well-maintained and organized environment.

I was only able to withstand cold air for forty-five minutes. Surely the air would approach freezing point when night reached its peak. I hurried off the beach and headed back to station. Quickly stepping to escape growing cold, I arrived at station breathless, then rushed to platform and a few minutes later Humetro took me, to then drop me off at Seomyeon Station. Humetro then transferred me on Line 1 to Beomnaegol Station, a station where the hotel I was staying at was located….Yup, Kimchee Busan Guesthouse.

Now it was time to rest for next adventure tomorrow.

One Hundred and Twenty Thousand Won at Busan Immigration

19 May 202215 May 2022travelingpersecond

All Air Busan BX 123 passengers were already standing in cabin aisle to prepare to get off the plane. After one of flight attendants coordinated with ground staffs, finally an aerobridge perfectly sticked in the fuselage and the door was safe to open. Not long , then I followed the lead of passenger line to get out of the cabin.

Throughout the aerobridge, my worries weren’t as bad as when I entered Narita International Airport a few days ago. “I’ve been to entering Japan several days ago, It isn’t possible if I can’t enter Korea,” I thought to calm myself. I continued to steadily walk through corridor after corridor at arrival hall of Gimhae International Airport Terminal 1. Continued following signboards to immigration counter. After finding it, I immediately stucked to back end of one of the queue lines. I still look relaxed and full of smiles. And didn’t think that the drama had just started

I took the leftmost queue, tourists from China seemed to dominate in front. They looked very smooth going through immigration staff. “Looks like this will be easy”, I finally came to a conclusion. I was now at the head of queue, waiting for a female Chinese tourist to finish her process at counter. The bespectacled male officer quickly approved one by one Chinese tourists from earlier.

“Neexxxttt”….He called out with his eyes still staring at computer screen

Immigration Officer : “Have you been to South Korea before?”

Me : “Not yet Sir, this is the first time”

Immigration : “Where did you visit before South Korea?”

Me : “Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan, Sir”

He started suspiciously watching me.

Immigration : “Which other countries have you visited?”, he handed me a paper and pen for me to write

I started writing one by one until I copied eleven names of countries I had been to.

But his reaction was so unexpected, he just shook his head. I didn’t lose the initiative when he behaved like that. From inside my backpack, I took out my old passport which had one of its covers cut off, “You can check it out here, Sir”.

Immigration: “I don’t need this”, he pushed my old passport with his index finger at me as a sign he didn’t want to see it

Damn…..“Dag dig dug”, my heart started beating above its usual rhythm.

Immigration : ”Please take out your wallet!”

That short snapping made me automatically crouch with my hands rummaging through all contents of my backpack with an added panic. I got my wallet in a few moments, indeed I put my wallet in the innermost part to be safe.

I started to stand up and handed over my worn out wallet….Hmmhhh, a wallet with peeling leather upholstery on some ends. Made me helpless. The immigration officer began to open my wallet and counted each sheet in it. He shook his head when he only found 120,000 Won notes.

He started to stand up and walked out of immigration counter box and started to close the queue with a standing barrier and hung the words “CLOSE” in the middle. All tourists who queued behind me were asked by him to move to a counter next to him. Every tourist regularly moved while sadly looking at my misfortune, some looked astonished and curious.

“Wow,” my voice began to wry.

The immigration officer immediately stepped back into the counter and put my wallet in front of him. He started to stare at me intently.

Immigration : “Do you bring an ATM?”

Me: “No, Sir”…. My mind refuted, “Isn’t it that I already have a Visa, why bother?”

Immigration : “Credit Card?”

Me: “No, Sir”….My mind was muttering again, “Isn’t it important that I have enough money to travel in Korea?”

Immigration : “ID Card?”

Me: “No, Sir”….I thought back to fight, “Isn’t the ID Card for tourists a passport?”

Immigration : Browsing firmly with red face, “Aiissshhhh….No ATM….No Credit Card….No ID Card….You only have a small amount of money…. You can’t stay in Korea”

“Ouch, Deportation”, I thought to myself instantly.

Immigration : “What do you do in your country?”

Me: “Marketing”

Immigration : “Show your business card!”

Me: “I don’t bring it, Sir”

Immigration : ” Aiissshhhh …”

He started rubbing his forehead and eyes, not believing he had met a tourist like me. Now he had closed my passport. He stood back up and called his friend. Quickly his friend came over and started talking seriously leaving me on the verge of being deported.

I didn’t know what they’re talking about, it was definitely about me. I noticed he kept shaking his head and his friends occasionally looked at me like a suspect….Aahhh, this situation was really uncomfortable and made me nervous. But I tried my best to put on a calm face. I even prepared to clarify before he decided anything.

OK, he had finished his dialogue with his friend and sat back at the immigration counter. Before he uttered a word, I began to make a final plea. No matter what the result….

Me : “ I have a return ticket, Air Asia 5th January, from Incheon to Jakarta. I will stay at Kimchee Guesthouse Busan and Kimchee Guesthouse Seoul….these are my itinerary and my budgeting during in Korea.”

The immigration officer was angry and put a finger to his mouth… “Shhhhhhh”, a sign he was asking me not to babble too much in front of him. But the good thing was that he was willing to read my itinerary and budgeting sheet.

Me : ”Please Sir, I am just a backpacker…..just for sightseeing Korea this time….No more….Please…..I will go home….Believe me!”, I begged begging.

The immigration officer looked back at me, this time he really looked me in the eye, maybe he was testing my honesty. He seemed to be starting to feel pity. He started flipping through each page of my new passport and my old passport which a second ago he pulled from in front of me.

Immigration : ”OK, You can….You can….But promise me to return to your country!…. Or you’re in big trouble”

Knock….The arrival stamp was clearly affixed on my passport….Oh, what a beautiful moment that was.

I was very relieved

This was a valuable lesson that in the future I would become a backpacker who was more detailed and prepared things very well. After that incident, I always carried a business card, ID card, credit card (even though its limit was small) and an ATM (even though the values were minimal) every time I traveled to another country.

Thanks to good preparation, I was greatly helped by the existence of that cards when facing similar random checking at Woodlands Checkpoint in Singapore seven months after this incident.

The incident was over, I stepped out of immigration counter triumphantly.

Welcome Busan, Welcome South Korea!

Stare In Amazement: Air Busan BX 123 from Osaka (KIX) to Busan (PUS)

17 May 202215 May 2022travelingpersecond

Air Busan BX 123 flight path (sumber: https://flightaware.com/).

Air Busan is the 16th airline out of 28 different airlines I’ve tasted. This Low Cost Carrier (LCC) which come from “Ginseng Country” has a main hub at Gimhae International Airport. It wasn’t my intention to visit Busan, but because of the cheap ticket price offered by Air Busan, it was what made me decided to stop by in Busan before reaching my main destination, which was Seoul, the capital city of South Korea.

I myself got this cheap ticket seven months before departure at a price of less than 69.750 Won.

This was my story of riding an airline with three branding colors, white-blue-yellow…

—-****—-

“Sorry, sir….We don’t receive coins”, the KIX Currency Exchange clerk exclaimed with a smile.

“Oh, Okay…It’s no problem”, I pulled back my coins while waiting for the results of exchanging banknotes.

He nimbly pressed a few buttons on calculator then showed me a numbers in the LCD.

“Yes, Sir….”, I quickly agreed.

Successfully exchanging Yen for USD, now my mission was to spending coins to buy whatever supplies I could use for lunch, if necessary until dinner…. Was it bad?, That was a my way to saving budget.

I managed to find a FamilyMart in a hallway, entered it, hunted for onigiri and candies, paid it with my coins at cashie and saved it in my backpack. I never underestimate candy, two candies can meet 10% of the calories of an adult’s meal, that means it can hold your stomach for a while until you find a cheap food stall. This time I didn’t mince words by walking around the airport, my time was short, I decided to immediately go to check-in counter to exchange e-tickets with boarding pass. The main standard of airlines for passengers who will cross different countries is to check visas and return tickets from the destination country. But didn’t worry, my visa was perfectly attached to my passport and an Air Asia e-ticket to return from South Korea had also been ordered.

“Can you speak English, Sir,” a female check-in counter lightly asked.

“Yes, sure Ms. I Can”

“Do you want to sit in the emergency exit row?” she asked.

“Oh, yes, with pleasure”, I happily answered, when you are paying cheaper but get a row of seats which is more spacious, that is your prize.

“Ok, thank you Sir”

“You are welcome”.

I quickly got my boarding pass. Heading to immigration counter, I handed over my passport as soon as it arrived. The stage of leaving a country is what I like the most, because it’s fast and without questioning. Of course immigration officers will be happy and is helped if their country guests are disciplined to leave their country on time. After getting a departure stamp in my passport, I immediately headed to the gate to wait for Air Busan, which was about to arrive, maybe even ready. Arriving on time, indeed, the Airbus was standing proudly on the apron preparing to load all its passangers.

Well, given a coupon of 10,000 Won for gambling….Hahaha.

Towards half past eleven, boarding calls filled the airport ceiling, the queue line began to open and several ground staff started lining up at the gate to do final checking for each passenger. I steadily walked through it, showed my boarding pass and passport, then was allowed to board the plane. I walked through the aerobridge and was greeted by two flight attendants with typical faces of “Ginseng Country”.

“Annyeonghasimnika”, one of them smiled with a slight bow, asked for a boarding pass, briefly checked and then asked me to find a seat.

“Gamsahamnida”, ahhh, only a few Korean words I understand. I started looking for my seat.

I sat in the aisle seat in emergency exit row. Shortly after that three columns of seats were filled, a flight attendant came to say hello. The flight attendant explained in Korean about the regulations in emergency exit row, after knowing that the two passengers next to me were Korean nationals. After explaining to both of them, then that flight attendant explained again, this time in English, it was clear for me. While explaining that, we both looked at each other. Because of the ignorance of my heart, I never listened to the rules she said, instead I focused more on enjoying the beauty of her pure white Korean face. I understood, she felt that she was being watched by me, so she occasionally explained the rules with a smile, she got even more clumsy when I responded her with a smile while keeping my eyes on her eyes….I was really naughty.

After half an hour of completing boarding process, the aerobridge finally started to be pulled from plane door, flight attendants started to tightly close the door, passengers began to wear seat belts, the plane began to leave the apron while exhibiting flight safety demonstrations by several cabin crew. The demo ended when the plane was already on the runway and ready to take off from Kansai International Airport.

“Flight attendants, please prepare for take off”, were last words from flight captain who broken the silence in cabin.

The plane did a brake release, the engine rotated with full power, and finally airborne went smoothly, the plane quickly drove from Osaka. I was quite impressed with this plane because this was the first time I could see the plane’s presence in a earth map at an LCD.

When it was time to serve in-flight meal, I prefered to put an packaged food and drink in a folding bag. “Just make lunch,” I muttered to myself. I prefered to carefully read the inflight magazine to find information that might be useful for my adventures in South Korea.

Here it was…. A replacement for my lunch menu.

I didn’t realize that I had flown for 1 hour 30 minutes and the pilot gave an announcement to passengers that the plane was preparing to landing at Gimhae International Airport and informed the weather conditions in Busan which were sunny. Shortly after the announcement was completed, the cabin crew immediately checked every side of cabin and passengers to ensure a safe landing. Finally the plane smoothly landed in runway. How happy I was when I arrived in South Korea for the first time

Hmmm….I couldn’t wait to explore Busan. I still couldn’t stop my smile at my face.

I still didn’t expect that inside the airport terminal building, something serious would happen to me.

Welcome Busan….Welcome South Korea.

Alternatives for airline tickets from Osaka to Busan can be found in 12Go or the following link: https://12go.asia/?z=3283832