Day 5: Busan - Luge

This morning, we were ready to explore Busan properly as the rain had finally stopped. We took the bus up the north coast to the Osiria area of Busan, where we visited Skyline Luge. It’s a park where you ride a small wheeled cart, called a luge, down a winding downhill track.

We purchased five luge rides, which included a free set of gloves and a heat pack. Once we collected our helmets, we took the cable car up to the top of the mountain. It was a scenic ride, with beautiful views of the sea, although it was a bit chilly with the wind—we quickly understood why the heat packs were included!

At the top, we got a quick “this is how you brake, good luck” style training session, and then we were off. There were two tracks to choose from, and for the next hour we basically lived out our Formula 1 dreams—if Formula 1 drivers were in tiny plastic carts. I was shocked at how fast the luges actually went, and obviously became extremely competitive, making it my personal mission to beat Ciara every single time (results may vary depending on who you ask).

Afterward, we took the bus back to Songjeong Beach for some lunch before boarding the Haeundae Blue Line Train. The train has seats facing the sea, offering great views along the coastline. We stopped at the Skywalk, a walkway extending out over the sea, with sections of clear glass allowing you to look straight down at the water below. Ciara was not a fan of walking over the glass in case it broke!

We then walked along the trail to a second skywalk before getting back on the train and continuing to Mipo.

In Mipo, we visited X the Sky, a very tall building with an observation deck on the 100th floor. We walked around, taking in the incredible views of Busan below, and then enjoyed a hot chocolate in what’s known as the highest Starbucks in the world, located on the 98th floor. While in South Korea, we noticed there seemed to be a Starbucks on nearly every corner. Ciara later found out that South Korea has the third-highest number of Starbucks cafés, after the United States and China. Before leaving we found the most scenic toilet view in the world as there was full length clear glass view of Busan below.

We then walked along Haeundae Beach and listened to buskers performing at designated spots. After sitting for a while to rest and enjoy a drink in the sun, we made our way back to the hotel. We ended up walking 26,000 steps and were very relieved to get back and relax.

By the evening, we were a bit fed up with Korean food, so we had a Mexican dinner on Gwangalli Beach while watching the Gwangan Bridge light show once again.Read more