Haeundae

If I ruled the world, everyone would be able to wake up on their birthday in a room with a view, new city, new country at least once in their lives. The very first thing I did on my special day was to walk over to the huge window and look out. Out onto the city spread beneath me and the mountains ahead. I couldn’t help but smile and be thankful. (New) Hotel Asti for the win!

My birthday wish was to go to the cafe, Magnate owned by the father of Jimin from BTS and it was easier said than done. When we arrived at Jigegol station the sun was already high and the thought of climbing a mountainside hill was somewhat unbearable. There were no taxis to whisk us off, so we set on our way. When I say “uphill” I don’t mean it lightly — this was practically a vertical climb where, if you stop you’d worry about rolling back down the hill!!! We fought our way through winding streets and alleys. stopping to catch our breath or rest weary legs. There were tiny homes on top of tiny homes, a sleepy dog here, a cat there. Every now and then we’d see a local emerge, then disappear from the heat. Of all the places I needed my phone to work and guide us, this was the time it couldn’t fail and surprisingly, the Wi-Fi stayed strong and led us to our destination. Maybe it was because we were so high up, maybe it was just pure luck…maybe it was another one of our guardians but we got there, deep into the belly of Busan.

The cafe was unassuming on the outside and a hive of quiet activity inside. A stylish mix of old and new, with unique tables dotted throughout. We each picked a large slice of cake from a mouth watering selection and found a table to enjoy it. We likely saw Jimin’s father, milling around behind the counter but unfortunately he didn’t serve us. Before we left, we made sure to look around since the cafe in itself is a work of art. In the farthest corner there are shelves filled with Jimin’s hats and Nia was (strangely) able to tell me which episode of which show Jimin had worn the hat. It was quite the skill 🤣

After being waves off by a gnarly bus driver, were somehow able to find our way back to the station based on my memory. It was also quite the skill. We headed over to Haeundai beach and delighted in walking on the sandy beach (at least I did, Nia didn’t want to destroy her new Jordans…) It reenergized me, being in the sun, walking on the beach, smelling the sea air and it was exactly what was needed for my birthday. It was actually hard to leave and I made sure to take one last look, until next time…Lue lisää