Korea your way to Line Cafe

Korean trip cannot be complete without a trip to Line Cafe.

 

Line Cafe is a spin-off from the popular Line app, it’s a communication app; similar to Whatsapp but way cooler.

I am a proponent of Line. Have you checked their stickers out yet?

Line stickers are quirky, funny and to the point. Some things need not be said, just thumb a sticker over to the other party, job done, as simple as that.

But, Line on the web has immortalised itself to a full fledge store in Korea where it’s originally from. If seeing the animated and cute stickers on the app make your heart go awwww, wait till you see these stickers in a form of note books, pens, cups, bedroom slippers, plushies and many other things that you didn’t think you need until then……

I know many visiting Seoul had gone to the Line Cafe in Garousil, but instead moi went to the one in Busan’s Lotte Departmental Store.

Gosh, imagine me squealing away at the ginormous Brown at the entrance of the cafe. This apparently is the trademark of Line Cafe.

If I could carry it home, I would!

Seating arrangement was limited, obviously food wasn’t the first priority, but a subset of the merchandise, a place for you to rest your tired legs and mend your broken heart once purchases done in a speed of the lightning.

Cuteness aside, I must tell you that the food is not fantastic. The waffle tasted like cardboard (to put it bluntly), but the concepts really win everything else. Taste became secondary when all you could take in is the cuteness of it all.

Ordered ice-cream in a cup. See what I mean when I said concept is everything?

 

 

Second best: Busan

Busan, unlike its more glamorous and cosmopolitan cousin, is always underrated, undertouristed and for that, it deserves to be my favourite city in the whole of Korea.

Busan is like a second home for me, each time I return to Korea, I had to go to Busan to pay homage to my favourite places. Busan is no longer the poorer and less sophisticated cousin of Seoul. In fact, if you asked me, I would put them on par; shoulder to shoulder with each other.

What is not to like about Busan? Other than the accent? *just kidding, don’t rain the stones on me just yet.

At the mere mention of Busan, immediately the picture of Jagalchi market or Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) came to mind, but did you know there is more to Busan ?

Busan is a home to many natural parks and, oh…have you seen the temple sitting on the rock atop the Pacific Ocean? I bet you haven’t.

Yonggungsa Temple is one such temple.

 

Romancing Taejong..

Busan, as I mentioned countless time before is my hometown. My favourite city in Korea. There is so much to Busan than meets the eyes.

And, one of it is the Taejong National Park sitting nicely at the tip of the Korean peninsula where on good day, Japan can be seen across the sea.

Taejong National Park is approximately 45-60 mins from Haeundae Beach; very easily accessible by bus no 181 directly outside Haeundae station, exit 3.

Korea is a well connected city and there is nowhere in Korea that is not accessible by public transport. This is the beauty of Korea that I totally in love with.

Well….back to Taejong (I digressed)…..

The first stop at Taejong is the short beach where one could take a ferry tour across the island.

It was a downward hill of rocks.

Treacherous terrain but doable!

Sea is their livelihood here. There is a makeshift seafood stall set up serving fresh catch from the ocean. My mouth just waters recalling this goodness.

Second stop: The viewing point

To get here, you need to climb the up slope mount. Of course, you could hop on the train that will bring you from one point to the next without breaking a sweat. But, where’s the beauty in that.

The fresh spring air…….makes all the huffs and puffs worth it.

Third stop: a temple

There’s a beautiful temple sitting right in the middle of the mount. The sound of water fall running from the mountain to their well is so therapeutic. There are many crows on the trees adding on the air of eeriness. No one was spot while I was there.

Fourth spot: The famous cliff

It was rather foggy. Otherwise, directly opposite this cliff is Japan.

I was quite a walk to the cliff. Tips: wear a good pair of shoes. And, you will thank me later.

The view from the cliff is amazing.

Fifth point: the lighthouse

There were about 400 steps up the lighthouse. And, sorry folks, there’s no elevator.

I didn’t manage to climb up to the very top.

So, I heard the view up there is even more splendid. Yes, I regretted not making it up. But, there’s always next time.

To note, there are many other stops along the way which I didn’t stop for.

The entire tour from the bottom to the top will take approximately 2 hrs depending on your stamina and speed. If you like me, would stop every now and then for pictures, you might take longer.

The best time to go would be spring and autumn. I couldn’t imagine going back there in summer with the heat and humidity at their peak. But, of course, you are a summer person, do hazard ahead.

Santorini of the East: Gamcheon Cultural Village

The first thing anyone arriving to Busan via the KTX would notice is the colourful blocks of houses sitting prettily atop the hill.

On a good day, the sunlight shining proudly on this village and the colours that was reflected back was mind blowing.

Suspense no more, the colourful village I was talking about is Gamcheon Village.

Unlike Santorini which sits directly at the sea level, Gamcheon Village is slightly elevated but the sea is a stone throw away. There’s no mystery there, Busan is a seaport and its livelihood is the ocean. The great ocean.

The best time to visit Gamcheon would be in the morning or before the sunsets. I was rather late in arriving at Gamcheon and had a very limited light exposure for photo-taking.

Anyhow, Gamcheon really does not disappoint. Up close, it is as pretty as it is afar.

Gamcheon is a cultureal village, so throughout the walk, I see the intentional effort puts in to make Gamcheon Petite Prince-esque.

Old denims were used to dress up the flower pots.

A gargoyle or leprechaun-ish creature with elfy body and human face. A little creepy if you asked me.

There are tonnes of cafes in Gamcheon, selling artisan teas, coffees to typical local fares.

The guardian angel.

As Gamcheon is sitting the hill, a good pair of walking shoes is necessary. It’s not a hard climb, however, it does require a little bit of stamina if you are not locals and are not use to the high plains.

Otherwise, have fun exploring Gamcheon.

I will be back again to see the other part that I didn’t get to see.