Free spa at Haeundae

The most unexpected thing I found at Haeundae beach was a public foot bath spa.

On the left of it was the public toilets and showers. We were supposed to wash our feet before using the foot bath spa.

The public outdoor shower was interesting too. I didn’t use it, but I took a look, and it was coin-operated. My main thought was, what if I underestimated the time I would need, and the water stops halfway through? Will I be stuck with shampoo in my hair or soap on my body?

Or maybe we’re not supposed to use soap or shampoo there… 

I didn’t try out the spa immediately…I walked to the end of the beach first, and when walking back, I decided that I had enough time to give it a try.

But in retrospect, I feel that I shouldn’t have washed my feet. I think we were supposed to wash our feet so that we don’t get lots of sand into the spa baths. But since I didn’t go to the beach, my feet were sand-free…until I washed them. Because the washing area outside the toilets were used by people washing the sand away from their feet, washing my feet there actually tracked some of that sand onto my feet instead.

Anyway, I brushed off the sand the best I could, then proceeded to the spa. 

Most people were sitting at the other end...which I realized was the shallow end. My feet couldn't reach the bottom, but theirs could.

Later someone stood up, and I managed to snap a photo. See how the water is only halfway up his calf?

There were a few baths; from where I was sitting, there's another one, and there was a shoe rack on the right.

I didn't dare to put my shoes there though; I kept them behind me, just beside the bath. Partly because someone might take them (by accident I guess? I doubt people would steal my shoes), and partly because I didn't want to track dirt onto my feet while walking from the rack to the bath.

I didn't stay very long in the bath...they said 10-20 minutes on the signboard, and I left at maybe a bit less than 20. Everyone else in my bath who was there before me, were still there when I left...

I was sitting at the bath on the left, right beside the little box. The box seemed to be showing the temperature of the water, but while sitting there, I couldn't see the numbers (without risking falling into the water while twisting my body :P )

Anyway, even though I wasn't really interested in the whole spa thing, it was a nice experience. One that I wouldn't have taken if it wasn't free!

Little pockets of Haeundae beach

Now that we have seen the overall view of the beach, let’s zoom into a few interesting parts.

Firstly there were these sand sculptures when I was there.

several in a row

some were still in progress (or maybe all were?)

There were several busking zones in the sand:

And an observation deck with binoculars (this is also on the path before the sandy beach starts).

Also inland, there were additional paths to stroll on: 

There was also this statue/monument that looked pretty special; I snapped photos from both sides but cannot decide which photo is better, so here are both :P

if you notice those stalls at the back, we will visit them at night ;)

At the other end of the beach, there were these seats:

I sat there to pass time before dinner, since it didn't seem worth it to go somewhere else and then come back to see the beach at night.

behind those seats, there was an area with Line figures...

Then there was this plaque marking the location of what I think was a sculpture that was damaged by a typhoon.

They really care about art/culture around here... :P

Haeundae beach

Let's go to the beach!

At the end of the road leading to the Haeundae beach, there was a temporary pagoda in honour of the Buddha's birthday.

looking back to the main road

This is where we cross the road to reach the beach!

I like those shades for us to stand under while waiting for the traffic light to turn green, good for shelter on either sunny or rainy days!

Finally we see the sea!

There was a sand sculpture event (competition?) going on when I was there; the beach was strewn with sand sculptures. More photos of those later; in this post I shall focus more on the beach itself!

view of the main square (on the left is the junction with the traffic light, and on the right is the beach)

I was really so lucky to have good weather when I was there; it was sunny so the view was lovely, and it wasn't too hot. (the temperature was around 10°C when I was in Busan) 

photo-taking spots (there's a second HAEUNDAE at the back; do you see it?)

view to the end of the beach

a wooden walkway leads you to the second HAEUNDAE

the end of the beach (I didn't walk all the way there; I hardly walked on the sand at all, not wanting to get sand in my shoes)

this rock was close to the end of the beach

looking back to the other end of the beach

had to take a selfie with this gorgeous view! (but the resulting photo was less than gorgeous; my phone's selfie camera is not as good as its usual camera)

I like this pic a lot; the Haeundae rock with the beach in the background and the tall buildings in the distance

the other end of the beach

And let's wrap up this post with a panoramic photo of the beach!

 

Goraesa fish cakes at Haeundae

In the previous Busan post, I was writing about Haedong Yonggungsa, which I mentioned was the furthest point I reached from the Busan centre.

To get there, I actually took the Busan metro from Busan centre (the Gwangbok metro station; that was when I saw that there was a pop-up Pokemon store!) to Haeundae, and took the bus from Haeundae to the temple.

So after visiting the temple, I took the bus back to Haeundae and spent the rest of the day there.

Haeundae is basically famous for its beach. But there are also lots of restaurants there, and there are lots of hotels too. (Who doesn’t love a sea view?) When I was researching Busan, some articles actually recommended Haeundae as a good place to stay, since it is somewhat in the centre of the touristic areas.

After visiting, I also feel that Haeundae is a good place to stay. Mainly because I love the beach and the main road. Not sure how I would feel if it was an extended stay; would I get tired of it? :P However, I am also very satisfied with the hotel I chose in the centre of Busan. It was probably more cost- and time-effective because otherwise I would have needed to take the metro to the Busan centre on multiple days to visit the different places. It is nearer to the train station too, where I took the train to Gyeongju, my next destination (the same train that goes directly to Seoul).

From the bus, I caught sight of some sort of statue and managed to snap a photo. (I think the bus was stopped for a while at a junction)

This love story was happening near the metro station, if I remember correctly.

And here's the first view of Haeundae, the main road!

See those fishcake sticks on the right? Well, let's take a foodie detour there.

The Goraesa fish cake is one of the famous fishcake stores in Busan. Another one is Samjin, which I also visited (spoiler: I prefer Goraesa). Here's the facade of the store:

Inside, they sell both packaged eomuk (that is what they call fish cakes in Korean) and fresh ones to eat immediately. There are many rows of this...but I only snapped a few photos.

my choices

My bill came up to 9k won.

translate it yourself if you like :P

this one contains squid

and this one, tteokgalbi (minced beef patty) inside

The other one was basic fish cake. The fish cake had a very springy texture, I liked it!

the paper with the shop's name on it (can you see it shining with oil?)

What was not so good about this experience was that it was extremely confusing. We were supposed to reheat the fishcakes ourselves in the provided microwave ovens. The cutlery was somewhere, and there was another place to put the disposable cutlery. And there was a place to get soup, but I didn’t notice it until halfway through my meal. There was also a place to get water (with tiny tiny paper cups…whereas the soup cups were bigger).

Towards the end when I had almost finished eating, an obviously foreign girl (English, maybe) came in and was looking around in a confused manner, which was probably how I had looked earlier. I told her where to get the cutlery and soup. She said that she saw the used cutlery, but the words clearly indicated that they were used, so she shouldn’t be using them! And the clean cutlery was nowhere to be seen… (I have forgotten now where it was, but I do remember it was NOT in an obvious place).

After the meal I went on to visit the beach...that will be for the next post!