First time to Busan, South Korea, and can I say that I was really, really excited?
Not just for the mere fact that I hadn't been back to Korea for a good long while, but also the fact I didn't think it possible that I would be making this trip even at all.
Thankful I am then that, like their counterparts Asiana and Korean Air (to Seoul), there's a flight departing Singapore to Jeju on the red eye as well.
Our Jeju Air flight took off from Changi Airport Terminal 4 around 0035.
It was an uneventful flight, thank God, and blessed it was that even though we were scheduled to arrive there at 0805 local time, we touched down at Gimhae International Airport 30 minutes before time at 0730 instead.
Clearing immigration wasn't challenging- I can't remember how the experience was like but it wasn't too hard- and we got out to the main terminal area in quick time.
Airlines like Jeju Air don't provide you food nor drink, and I badly needed a coffee whilst working a phone call, so we got a snack and a coffee, then after that took an Uber to our hotel.
Fairfield by Marriott Songdo Beach is one of those hotel properties that doesn't have a driveway, doesn't look like a hotel (from the outside) and which has got a very long name.
But it's a beach hotel- literally- right on your doorstep that to get to, all you need is to cross a scenic, half-empty, two-way road.
And, if you manage to get a room facing this side the way I did, you can be sure you'll be getting an excellent view.
I wish I knew for sure just what it was I was looking at.
But Songdo Beach faces what they call the East Sea, so on the right around the beach bay, there was the Songdo Ocean Park, then, behind this rock, around the corner from where we stood, much further down, there was the Songdo Sky Park, and the Songdo-Yonggung Suspension Bridge.
We weren't able to see the Songdo Sky Park or the Suspension Bridge from the window of our room.
But we did get to see the other side of Songdo Beach where the Songdo Cloud Trails were.
Took us a bit of time to get settled in, but we were heading into lunch time, so out it was exploring the area for some food.
Didn't take us too long to realize that a good number of places here at Songdo Beach were chillout spaces for the evening crowd.
Either that, or we weren't sure which was open, and which was not.
From the road they all seemed to be closed....
But then we came upon this place right at the junction of Songdohaebyeon-ro, and what I think is Chungmu-daero, and although I don't know it's name at all, it was open, the lady was friendly, and she spoke great English. (Phew!)
We were hungry- very hungry- and so did a quick scan of the menu and ordered a set that had a plate of stewed octopus with gochujang, a pizza that came with the set, plus rice, and banjeon which, besides a huge dish of shredded cabbage and gigantic bean sprouts, also included a dish of cold tofu.
The non-tofu eater in me found that she really liked the tofu.
Not always is it that I get to have such a firm piece of tofu with an equally unadulterated taste of soy.
Plus, there was this sauce on it- I don't know what it was- but it was a little sweet.
Same too can be said of the other dishes.
Like the squid tentacles, which whilst I'm not so good with them (just the sight of them scares me), I found myself relishing the chew of the squid.
Fresh seafood really does make a difference.
Or might it be the gochujang?
I'm not sure if it were factory made or homemade, but, sweet and thick, the sauce tasted a wee bit different from the container I had in the fridge back at home.
Where that one seemed thinner in texture and milder in taste, this one had a redness I don't think I'd ever seen before outside of Korea, and it wrapped around the pieces of seafood so perfectly that everything just mushed together, making every mouthful an explosion of flavors sweet, sour and spicy.
Lunch being over we headed out of town for a couple of errands, then after that made our way back to the main area of Haeundae Beach.
I've heard a lot about Haeundae Beach.
One of the most popular beaches in Korea, it's also a major tourist attraction in Busan, and apparently, attracts up to a couple million visitors per season. It's a fair enough size of a beach- about 1.4km of sand- but what makes it most attractive, I think, are the activities, the festivals, and most significantly, the Haeundae District itself.
All along I had assumed that surrounding the beach were just a couple of cafes and bars and restaurants and maybe a few shops here and there.
But, no.
There were so many cafes, so many restaurants, bars, eating places, and stores.
On the beach too there was a little garden of sunflowers.
Real sunflowers!
I was pleasantly surprised by the Olive Young store situated right on the beachfront.
Right near the boardwalk (and all the sand) it made one feel as if you could just walk in wearing beach shorts and bikinis and flip flops as beach goers often do.
But this was late Spring, and there didn't seem to be anyone dressed in the (expected) beach uniform of shorts, tank top, bikini, swim suit, and flip flops. Instead everyone was dressed in a casual, relaxed way that made me think they'd driven down here from work, or somewhere more urban, and not a deliberate, planned outing to Haeundae Beach.
What's more, except for dressed-up doggies and puppies out with their pawrents on their evening walk, hardly anyone was playing in the sea.
I don't think I saw anybody kick off their shoes and run down to the water's edge.
Perhaps it's just how they are.
Perhaps it's just how they appreciate the sea.
The light at the beach this evening was beautiful.
And, right near the restaurant where we had our dinner, was this.
Really, I had never- not once- seen Busan this way before.
I might have seen pictures of the bridge.
But certainly not these waters, certainly not these rocks (at what I presume is during low tide), and certainly not in such sparkling, bluish light.
So charming were these scenes that I lingered long and quiet on the boardwalk, just closing my eyes to feel the cool, refreshing sea breeze on my face and with no desire to leave.
But my friend had reserved a table for us at this place called Del Luna, which, although at first we had thought was in a storefront like one of the many cafes lining the shore, turned out, in fact, to be on the upper floor of what seemed to be an office building.
It always amazes me how in certain countries buildings can be designated and utilized in many different ways, and how a top-notch restaurant can be in the same place as, say, an office, or a clothing boutique store.
Del Luna was no casual coffee place nor some in-house office cafe.
It was a full-fledged restaurant, complete with dressy, glamorous decor, wine glasses, wine decanters, and bottles and bottles of wine.
There were interesting dishes on the menu- mostly, if I'm not wrong- Western and European fare consisting of steaks, poultry, seafood, and fish- roasted, grilled or fried.
It would've been nice had I managed to take a picture of the menu, but I somehow missed that out, too distracted by the beautiful view out the windows was I.
That view, however, didn't distract me from the lovely meal that we had.
After all it's not every day that I get to have pizzas for both lunch, and dinner.
Especially such delish ones too!
We decided on a Beef Pizza.
Then because both my friend and I don't mind a meal that's got lots and lots of cheese, we decided on the Quattro Cheese pizza too.
And since neither of us can say no to truffle fries, decided we'd have that too.
You know what surprised us the most?
The size.
Not the size in terms of the pizza- the circumference of flatbread was just right for both of us- but size in terms of toppings and ingredients.
It's like, okay, I've had beef pizzas before, but hardly has it been that I've had a pizza with that much a smattering of beef bits topped upon it.
So plentiful and generous was the portion that I found myself trying very hard to prevent them from falling off my pizza slice.
Of course I failed pretty badly at it.
But it didn't matter.
The beef bits- small as they seemed- had been done very well (don't ask me how) and they tasted just as good when scooped up with the spoon.
But my favorite, however, was the cheese pizza.
First of all, I don't get to have cheese pizza very often.
The selection's usually not at the top of our list, but this was a Quattro pizza, which meant that instead of just one type of cheese (as most cheese pizzas are), there were four.
It wasn't just mozzarella.
It was Mozzarella, Gorgonzola, Parmigiano Reggiano, and goat cheese.
All of which melted together to form one gooey, sticky, milky mix that, added with the spongey chewy texture of baked pizza dough, made for one big piece of hot cheese bread that wrapped itself around my tongue, filled my mouth and made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Thinking of the Quattro pizza now makes me wish I'd gone back to Del Luna to have it one more time.
But that shall have to wait.
Perhaps next time I'll be able to savor the pizza a little slower.
Perhaps next time I'll have enough capacity in mind and soul to go for some wine.
For this day, I'm just glad to have had this delicious dinner- we tapaoed some of the truffle fries back, by the way.
And I'm just glad to have had this wonderful experience, and I hope no sooner than later to relish the meal again soon.