Day 3 | Busan

Tuesday 15 October, 2024

Missed the last post? Check it out here

A long, tiring day today. Not from cycling from from travelling. It’s funny how travelling can drain you but you’re really doing is sitting around waiting… waiting to check in, waiting to board, waiting to depart, waiting to disembark…

We arrive at Seoul station nice and early to give us enough time to pack the bikes away. Most Asian countries will let you take bikes on board their trains, but only if they are folded up and packed into a bag.

We buy some Kimbap and Korean toast from the station for lunch and have it on the train.

Our train departs at exactly 12:25pm and takes a speedy 2hr 40min to get to Busan. Korean trains are so comfortable. They’re super comfortable with plenty of space, you can wander around and there’s the added bonus of power outlets and wifi.

Upon arrival at Busan station, we head outside to reconstruct our bikes as you can wheel them straight onto the ferry. Whenever we put the bikes together in Seoul, there’s always a curious looking ahjusshi (middle aged Korean man) who likes to stand and observe us. We try to make conversation with him but he just wants to watch. Once the bikes are sorted we say goodbye to ahjusshi head to the ferry terminal.

The ferry isn’t due to depart until 10:30pm but you can start checking in from 4:30pm. We’ve already pre-booked our tickets online but to take your bike onboard it costs an extra 20,000 won (about AUD $22) which you can pay at the check in counter.

We notice quite a few travellers with bikes and start chatting to some of them who are from France and Spain. A few of the Korean locals are impressed that we are intending to cycle and also strike up a conversation.

We make our way through immigration and have to remove the panniers from our bikes to be screened at security. It’s a bit of a pain but we make our way to the check in gate. By that time it’s 5:30pm but boarding isn’t until 7:30pm.

After a bit more waiting we finally get to board, however those with bicycles need to wait until last. Once you get on ferry, the staff give you a piece of rope so you can tie your bike to the rails.

There are a few different types of tickets you can book on te ferry. We have opted for a deluxe room, but you can also book a place in the shared room which fits about ten passengers. It’s an open plan room and everyone sleeps on the floor but on an overnight trip like this one we want our privacy and want to avoid noise and snorers. We’ve opted for the open room on our return leg since it’s a day trip and won’t need to sleep.

As we boarded later than the rest of the passengers, the restaurant is only open for another 50 minutes so we quickly collect our room key, drop our bags off and head straight to the dining hall. There are two options for dinner that night which are Kimchi stew and Japanese curry so we opt for the stew which is just what we needed.

There’s also a small convenience store next door and a bunch of vending machines that stock hot meals, noodles, beer, ice cream and drinks.

We check out the outside deck area where you can see night time views of Busan and Gwangali bridge.

Back inside there are karaoke rooms, an arcade, public onsen and seating areas where groups are already gathering for a messy night of fried chicken and beer.

Back at our room, we discover an amenities kit containing slippers, a face towel and some bathroom items. We decide to call it a night as it will be an early arrival in the morning. We’ll have most of the day to check out Fukuoka as checking into our hotel won’t be available until the afternoon.

Next post: Day 4 | Fukuoka