Eulsuk Island, Annam Park, Songdo Beach & Nampo Dong

September 19, Monday – It was great and tired day. BJun and I departed from the dormitory at 8.15am. We planned to go to 4 places on this day – Eulsuk Island, Annam Park, Songdo Beach and Nampo Dong. We took a bus to Busan Station and then change bus to Hadan. For the first time, I felt something different with the views in Busan. It looked almost the same, but I somehow felt different as I was approaching Hadan. Hadan is located near to the river side, quite near to Gimhae Airport actually. We mistakenly took a big round to get there.

We waited for bus no.58 at a bus stand at Hadan for almost 30 minutes but the bus did not come. Thus, we decided to walk over to Eulsuk Island instead. I bought a cup of Mocha McFlurry at 1,500 won. It was rather small compared to Malaysia’s but very tasty. There is a bridge connecting to the island and easily noticeable with the guidance of the map. As we were walking along the bridge, we noticed that there were many huge seasonal birds by the side of it. They look very graceful as they fly. There are mainly 2 species, white & smaller size and dark gray & bigger size.

There are 2 parks shortly after the bridge. One is for recreation whereas the other one is for the habitation of the birds. We visited the park for recreation first. It was not very big but beautiful. There are statues, fountains and man-made rivers. There were many children cycling there.

We visited the other park after that. It is very different from the park before. There are no fountains and no statues. There was hardly anyone there. The place is very deserted with only dry trees and some other plants. It is a huge area and there are some small ponds. It looks like the wetlands in Malaysia. It is also the resting place for the biggest seasonal birds in Asia Pacific. There were many seagulls at the mini wooden port by the river. I guess the birds now will take shade in places that are not so hot rather than wondering around.

The journey walking to and fro from the island was very tiring due to the long journey and the hot weather. We finished all of our water before going back to Hadan. I felt like as if all the water in my body had been dried up.

We planned to have our lunch at Nampo Dong at first but we were too hungry. Thus, we had lunch at McDonald. There is a promotion for set meals from 11am-2pm daily. Each set meal cost only 3,000 won (normal price around 3,900won). We were so thirsty that we finished all of our soft drinks. Too bad we were not able to refill our drinks here.

After lunch, we headed to Hadan’s subway and departed to Jagalchi. From there, we got out of the subway and planned to walk to Songdo Beach. However, our plans were ruined as an ajesi(uncle) was following us all the way. We quickly ran for our life with the hope that he will lost trail of us after we stopped by at Family Mart. We ran across a few lanes and then we took a bus to Songdo at the nearest bus stop. We ended up in Annam Park first as it was nearer. There were a lot of people there. Its main specialty is its red color rocks. The scenery there is not very beautiful. It is a bit polluted due to the many visitors. Most of the sea plants there died off. I was starting to miss Igidae’s beauty.

Then, we departed to Songdo Beach. It is like any other ordinary beaches. There is nothing special about. We were able to see Busan Tower from there. I tried out the packet Milk Shake there. It was very smooth and tasty, a bit like condense milk. It cost 1,000 won.

The way back to Nampo Dong was a very long one, more than 30 minutes. My legs could not take it anymore. All of our water was finished. Today’s walking load was just too much. We went to Family Mart to buy a small bottle of banana milk each, it cost 900 won. As we reached Jagalchi, we saw a few China guys and girls. One of them is speaking very good English. I wonder if he is from China or a Korean, as he has a handphone.

We headed to the cinema’s toilet for a rest and then walked around the area. Many shops were closed on that day. Some areas had lots of people whereas some were quite quiet. There were many youngsters and young families. Some of the clothes were quite cheap. There is a small lane selling “pa pin suk” (something like Malaysia’s ice-kacang). BJun and I ordered a bowl and shared, it cost 2,000 won. The ingredients are red-beans and sauce, pineapple slices and milk. The serving is quite little.

Then, we had some food and went to Mini Mall. The Mini Mall here is very small compared to the one in Seomyeom. Then, we went to Art Gallery. There are many wonderful stationeries and accessories there. But, it is a bit pricy.

After that, we visited the Hanaro at Nampo Dong. It was bigger compared to Naengjeong’s. Then, we headed back by bus. We reached the dormitory at around 11.30pm. We had been out for 15 hours on that day. The highest record. We also realized that our stamina had leveled up after more than 3 months of stay here.