A Family Getaway at Haeundae, Busan
Although not a traditional resort town, Busan has the ABCs of a quick weekend getaway: the accommodations, the beach, and celebrated tourist attractions that are accessible by public transportation. The great thing about Busan is that it is big enough to have something for everyone -- from 24-hour bars and super clubs to scenic walking trails. One major attraction is the beach at Haeundae, one of the most popular sites in the city of 4 million. Located in the southeast part of the city, it has one of the best walking routes in Busan, from Dongbaek Park on land-tied Dongbaek Island all the way across the kilometer-long beach. While the summer is when the beach is infamously packed with tourists, a visit there in the spring offers a peek at some of the coastal city’s most memorable features. Haeridan-gil - upon arriving at Haeundae Station, instead of walking toward the beach and the towering buildings, turn around and take a gander at the street packed with small shops, cafes and restaurants. You have reached the road known as Haeridan-gil. Like Seoul’s famous Gyeongnidan-gil, Haeridan-gil is home to hip eateries and cafes popular with the younger generation. It takes around half an hour to look around this area. Popular shops here include Moru Pound, specializing in Japanese-style pound cakes that cost 2,500 won ($2.22) a slice, the macaron shop Pegcaron and Noe Bakery. Unlike its Seoul counterpart, Haeridan-gil has not yet been marred by gentrification. Thus the dishes are affordable, the shops are too crowded and the owners are nice. It is definitely a place worth checking out. A children’s paradise - one fad among couples and young families in Korea is the “hocance” -- a word coined by combining “hotel” and the French word “vacance” -- a short vacation spent enjoying a hotel’s features. One recommendable destination in the southern lands is Paradise Hotel Busan, simply because it made me jealous that I was not a kid. Last month, Paradise Hotel Busan launched a service it calls “Paradise Kids Time,” consisting of a child care service staffed by employees professionally trained to oversee educational games. The service runs between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., for diminutive guests aged between 5 and 8. It is not your routine day care center, though. Hotel guests can access Paradise Kids Village at no extra charge, so their children can enter the BMW Kids Driving Zone and PlayStation Zone, Haba Kids Lounge & Woongjin Book Club. Day guests dining at the hotel’s On The Plate and Nyx grill restaurants can also apply for the service. As an adult, every now and then there are “I was born too early” moments. Stepping inside the BMW Kids Driving Zone was one of them. Children visiting the zone can step inside fully operational plastic cars, designed like BMW sedans, and drive around a racetrack. That looked so much more fun than the equivalent when I was a kid, sitting on a couch holding a bucket pretending to drive.
