White Sand Beach, a hidden gem at Candidasa, East Bali

Candidasa (pronounced Charn-dee-da-sa) is a seaside town located in East Bali. The town, two hours away from Ngurah Rai International Airport, is quieter and steers away from the crowd that flocks to the hotspots in Central and South Bali.

Up until the 70s, Candidasa is a quiet fishing village but much has changed with its gradual development of vacation hotels. Nonetheless, the town is still pretty serene compared to other places in Bali. Like what our drivers/guides say, Candidasa is for those who are looking for a tranquil vacation because the town is practically dead by 11pm. However, during the day, you can still partake in tours, snorkeling, sight-seeing by boat, water sports, etc. If you're a party-goer, it's still best to stay in (the over-commercialized) South Bali.

As for us, a spa and relaxing vacation was what we wanted, we skipped all visits to Central/South Bali due to the distance. I didn't want to spend 4 hours on the road, only to have 30 minutes or less to stop by at each tourist spot. Not forgetting, I have really bad motion sickness. 

Thanks to reviews on Tripadvisor, I found out about White Sand Beach, which is definitely a hidden gem in Candidasa. Because the beach is isolated from town (and where majority of the hotels are), not many are aware of the beach (assuming no travel research is done). On the day of our visit (a sunny Thursday), there were less than 20 of us at the beach. Okay, perhaps 30 including the people who runs the warungs (food stalls) there.

I'll let these pictures and videos do the talking.

White sand and crystal clear aqua water

The vomit-inducing (because I have motion sickness), bumpy car ride (approximately 15 minutes car ride from Candidasa town) was all worth it the moment I step foot on the beach. There are a few warungs (food stalls) on the beach to feed the hungry. Sunbeds and umbrellas available for rent for 15,000rupiah (less than USD$2, for unlimited hours). Sight-seeing on boat from White Sand Beach can be arranged.

A temple on rocks, facing the sea? It's Haedong Yonggungsa in Busan.

After checking in, we took a short rest and then left for Haedong Yonggungsa  해동용궁사, a temple which is no doubt, unique of its kind. Besides a place for worship, what makes the temple unique and now a tourist must-go is that Yonggungsa temple sits on a rock facing the sea, whereas most temples in Korea are located in the mountains. 

At the entrance, you will see twelve signs of the (Chinese) zodiacs - Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. In the Chinese and Korean culture, each calendar year is marked by an animal, which is deemed to have specific characteristics that are shared by people born in a specific year. 

Legend had it that Buddha called all animals of the world when he was about to leave this world, but only twelve came. Buddha named each year after these twelve animals in the order they arrived. The rat arrived first and the ox came next, followed by the tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. Hence, they became the zodiacal animals we know today.

Further up, you'll see a Traffic Safety Prayer Pagoda, which road users pray to for safety.

Traffic Safety Prayer Pagoda

After descending 108 steps, the beauty of the temple can be seen.  The 108 steps in Buddhist temples symbolizes the journey to enlightenment, although some say 108 represents the hundred and eight agonies and suffering in mankind.

108 steps and stone lanterns

Halfway through the stairs, you can catch a glimpse of the magnificent and peaceful view already. From here, you can get some great pictures of Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. The white bridge (picture below) connects to the main temple, shrine hall, pagoda and Goddess of Mercy statue (via a separate flight of stairs).

As you’re crossing over the bridge, you can toss a coin into the turtle-shaped statues to make a wish. I tried, and failed. Sad. Not exactly an auspicious day for me. Heh!

Or you can climb down to the rock stones if you wish to take the picture from a different angle.

Sound of waves, peaceful on top of peaceful.

Golden Buddha

The Dragon King / King of Ocean

You will see a lot of Buddha statues in different sizes and colors around the temple, which devotees pray to so different blessing are bestowed upon them, for e.g. happiness, academic achievement, love, wealth, health, fertility, (there's a Buddha of Granting A Son statue, mm-hmm) etc.

Laughing Buddha

Guan Yin, Goddess of Mercy, known for her compassion and loving nature

If you’re in Busan, pay Yonggungsa temple a visit. It's breath-taking and undeniably, it is one of the most picturesque temples in all of Korea.

How to get here?

1. Alight at Haeundae Station (Busan Subway Line 2), and get out from Exit 7. 

2. Take Bus #181 and get off at the Yonggung National Fisheries Research 용궁사 국립수산 과학원 stop. When the bus announces ‘Yonggungsa’, it's time to alight. It takes about 20-25 minutes to get here from Haeundae station.

3. From the stop, walk approximately 15 minutes up the steep road.

The Guest House @ Haeundae, Busan

After a few days in Nampo-dong, we moved to Haeundae to visit the one special temple (more about it later!) and for Haeundae Beach. My friend and I stayed at The Guest House (TGH) which I am so impressed with, and it is just minutes walk away from the beach. 

I didn't expect much from a hostel, but TGH proved me wrong as it offers quality accommodation and great service, managed by a lady boss and her friendly staff. There are a good selection of eateries within TGH's surrounding, and the lane that houses a stretch of 돼지국밥 (Pork Soup with Rice) restaurants is just nearby. TGH is also near the Haeundae subway station (approximately 5-7minutes walk).

Pictures taken with guests are hanged at the stairs leading to reception

The hostel is separated into a Family, Male and Female floor, which I think is a great way to ensure privacy and comfort. Each guest room has a different theme and the whole place is wi-fi'ed. The bathroom is shared (four guests can use the shower room at a time), and guests can hang out at the common area (living room), mingle with other travelers, watch the TV, or have a leg massage with the massager provided by TGH.

TGH is pleasant, clean and nicely decorated. Travel information manuals are available at the common area or you can ask the manager(s) directly for some get-around and travel tips. 

Paintings add a nice touch. Female floor.

Female floor

Female floor

Technologically-advanced guesthouse 

To ensure privacy, guests are given a RFID chip to tap into their room

We booked two beds in a 4-bed dormitory, but since there were no other check-ins that day, we had the room all to ourselves.

I really like TGH's interior. It's really simple but modern, and the white paint is a perfect backdrop to bring out the 'wooden' floor and the brown fixtures inside. For whatever reason, I just felt warmer here.

Living room on the Female Floor.

Bread toaster and coffee/tea-making facilities are available 24/7. 

Tired of walking? Get a massage!

Another common area on Female Floor

The hostel rate is USD22 per bed per night, inclusive of self-cook breakfast, which consisted of cereal and milk, mushroom soup, bread, butter and jam spread, eggs, cheese, coffee and tea, and orange juice.

The kitchen (which allows cooking) is located on the Male floor where the reception is.

Kitchen

  

Breakfast table

For the XX-chromosome, the grooming section in the bathroom (separated from shower area) will probably be the place you hang out most while you're in the guesthouse. As you can see below, a nice collection of nail polishes is available for you to play with :)

Washing and drying machine is available to use for a nominal charge. For the price that we paid, I think it was really worthy. Central location, cosy interior, friendly managers, not-bad breakfast. Awesome little place!

The Guest House

3F,599-4,Woo-dong, Haeundae Beach / BEXCO

Busan, South Korea

Sunrise, Sea and Good Eats at Gangwon-do

After our graduation, my friend and I decided to travel somewhere prior to departing Seoul for good :(

After much deliberation (we had only a few days left), we opted to head to Gangneung-si at Gangwon-do which is not too far from Seoul (3 hours by bus, 5 hours plus by train). We decided on Gangneung-si for one main purpose; that is to catch a sunrise by the beach. I've read about Jeongdongjin from my Student Book and watched coverage about Jeongdongjin on TV, and it seemed like a good place to visit- beach, sun, and away from the hustle and bustle of Seoul.

Took a night train (11.20pm) that departs from Cheongnyangni Station 청량리역 and reached Jeongdongjin station (where the Sunrise Park is) at 4.45am. When we alighted from the train, it was drizzling, so I was worried that we wouldn't be able to catch the sunrise. While we had breakfast and waited for the sun which is expected to rise at 5.45am, the rain got a little heavier. Thankfully, we managed to catch this beauty of nature. 

Mugunghwa train

After what feels like eternity in the train (we couldn't sleep since the train keeps on making arrival announcement, plus there were a handful of noisy passengers), we arrived at Jeongdongjin Station, which is listed the Guinness Book of World Records as the closest railroad station to the sea in the world (and it's true!)

We arrived at 4.45am, one hour ahead of the estimated sunrise time.

Pre-sunrise glow

Although raining, seems like it did not dampen anyone's mood. Professional photographers had their tripods and cameras ready, and like everyone else, waited eagerly for the crack of dawn.



Everyone's waiting

Brighter, but we've yet to see sunrise.

Finally, slightly past 5.45am, sunrise... sunrise! (cues Norah Jones's Sunrise).

Beauty of Nature

Beauty of Nature #2

Watching sunrise for the first time felt amazing. Since sunrise signifies that start of a brand new day, it was as though I'm the first to catch the morning's fresh air. Feels great!

It's sad that sunrise lasted only a few minutes.

Sunrise glow

After sunrise, we hung out briefly at the beach for crisp air and fresh wind. Not very often do we get such privilege.

Although noticibly 'brighter', it's only 6.30am. However, due to rain, gray clouds continued to obscure the otherwise glowing sky.

We left the beach around 7-ish, wanting to explore the surrounding area to see what's where (what to do, where to eat), at the same time, to locate where exactly is our hotel. (Side note: it took us about 40minutes to reach the hotel by foot from the Jeongdongjin beach. Painful. Directions to the hotel was very vague on the WWW and we went round and round looking for it. By the time we found the hotel, we sweated buckets).

However, we were checked-in upon arrival (thankfully, 8-ish in the morning) and upon entering the room, I was happy to see the marvellous seaview! Freshened up and took a short morning nap.

The view from our hotel room. Right opposite our hotel is a on-land cruise themed resort.

View of Jeongdongjin Beach from our room

View from our room



View from our room

After forty winks, we woke up hungry. Along the way back to the train station (that's where the good eats are), we stopped by (the quieter side of) Jeongdongjin Beach, Hourglass Park and Time Museum for photo-taking.

Hourglass Park

Time Museum

Our first meal at Gangneung - Spicy Tofu and Oyster Jiggae

Our first meal at Gangneung - Seafood Pajeon

After lunch, we took a public bus to Hassla Art Museum. We pought admission ticket for their garden, but not the museum. Art confuses me. Heh!

But if you're an artsy-fartsy kinda person, please do. :D 

By the way, here, public buses come once every hour, so it's advisable that you find out about their timing and frequency first so you can plan your itinerary better (if you plan to take the bus). Otherwise, cab makes a good alternative. Depending on your destination, taking cab in a group of three can cost about the same as taking bus per person when you split the cab fare.

After a brief stay at Hassla, we left. While waiting for the bus, there was another heavy downpour. The bus stop is unshaded, two of us were sharing an umbrella (thanks R!) and by then, we probably had waited for about 45 minutes for the bus. And in times of need, the taxis just decided not to show up. By 6pm, we were dragging our feet already due to the excessive walking (uphill to where the hotel is) that morning. Not to mention we were really fatigued due to the lack of sleep.

Before 9pm, we were dead asleep.

*********

Woke up to a sunny day two. The beach pictures turned out better!

We made an early check-out to catch a train to Gangneung Station, which is a 15-minute train ride away from Jeongdongjin Station. Had 75 minutes to kill before the next train arrives, so we proceeded a nearby cafe for morning 'wake-me-up coffee'.

This cafe was a filming spot for one of the couples on 'We Got Married'

Jeongdongjin Beach

Jeongdongjin Beach

Jeongdongjin Beach

Fifteen minutes past noon, we arrived at Gangneung station, and the first thing we did was... food hunting. 

Shortly after exiting the station, we found ourselves seated in small, four-table only Korean 식당 not expecting anything extraordinary, but the  식당 아줌마 (lady boss) proved us wrong. How can something as ordinary as white tofu jiggae and egg roll be so delicious? I conclude, here, good eats are aplenty.

After our satisfying lunch, we went to Gyeongpo Beach which is famous for its sandy beach. Here, all seasport is within your reach- water skiing, parasailing, fly-fishing, and guess what, even bungee jumping. If these are not to your liking, just rent a tube and play in the sea.

Tubes for rent

Or, if you just want to bask in the sun without wetting your body, rent a mat and sit on the beach. People-watching is optional, but it can be fun! ;)

Flying-fish

Hungry? Just call and you'll get Chinese food delivered right to your mat on the beach! We were just lying on our mat, and this one guy just walked over and 'slip' a menu card on the sand. I am ... amazed!

Beach bliss





Needless to say, it was a tiring trip, but it's all fun! Good travel buddy, beautiful beaches, clear blue skies and sunrise by the beach makes the best reason to come here, at least once. :D