Green Darak Airbnb at KTX Station Busan South Korea
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Walk with Cham Airbnb Busan.
My second time at an Airbnb. First was at Seoul (Read White Bamboo Airbnb). After 6 days in Seoul my family and I went to another adventure and traveled to Busan (Read KTX from Seoul to Busan). We checked in again at an Airbnb.
What is Airbnb?
For the benefit of everyone who have not yet read my previous post about Airbnb.
It is a website to list, find and rent lodging. A vacation rental from local hosts in more than 190 countries which can be either a home, condominium, apartment or hostel. Perfect for travelers who want cheaper accommodation compared to hotels and it also has amenities that standard hotels cannot provide (you'll fin out later on as you read this blog)
The good thing about Airbnb is that there are handful of options to choose from. Options do not include the type of accommodation, location, space and the number of guests to stay but also the specific amenities that you are looking for.
Green Darak Airbnb at KTX Station Busan | P3,770.00++
This particular listing caught my attention. The interiors were colorful and bright, the amenities were complete and the reviews from other travelers were excellent. What made me choose to get this loft was its location. It has close proximities to KTX Station where we will be coming from and Busan Station subway line 1.
Sarah & John the Host
Sarah was working the time we arrived so it was John who met with us. Airbnb hosts have different styles in talking to their customers. The style of this particular host was they personally meet their customers and explain the amenities of their loft face to face.
Going to Green Darak from Busan KTX Station
Sarah and John sent me via WhatsApp the detailed step by step process with pictures when going to their loft from KTX Station. And so for about 10 minutes we finally found John at Exit 3 of Busan Station then we walked towards their place.
Door Coded Lock
Like in our Seoul Airbnb, the main door of their loft had a coded lock but I am not sure if the passcode of this lock is changeable or not. We had no problem opening it as John was there to demo the lock.
Accommodation
The loft looked exactly like it was in the picture. John asked us to remove our shoes like what we had to do in our Airbnb in Seoul good thing slippers were provided. He then explained the features of the loft.
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| John introducing the amenities of the loft |
First floor
The first floor is where the kitchen, bathroom, closet and 2 beds were located. We noticed that the plan of the loft had a close resemblance to our loft in Seoul although this one was smaller than in Seoul.
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| Kitchen and bed |
2 Single beds at the first floor
1 Double bed and 1 single bed at the second floor
Small counter as dining area
Kitchen
Washing Machine
Bathroom
Small closet
LCD TV with 200+ international channels
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| First floor |
Beds
There are two single beds at the first floor, this was where Mama and Papa stayed. The TV was located adjacent to the bed.
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| 2 single beds for Mama and Papa and LCD TV |
There were two beds at the second floor- 1 Double (for Kuya) and 1 Single (for me). All beds where equipped with an individual heater. This bed heater was something new to us.
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| Double bed for Kuya, single bed for me (not in this picture) |
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| Bed heater |
Kitchen
The kitchen has the basic cooking needs we needed and even more
Spacious refrigerator
Electric stove
Microwave
Drinking glass, cups
Plates
Dining utensils
Pots and pans
Electric kettle
Dishwashing liquid
Washing Machine with detergent and fabric softener
4 Bottled waters
Cooking oil, salt, sugar and soy sauce
Bread spread
3-in-1 Coffee
*No rice cooker, they only have a pot where you can cook your rice manually
Our only comment was their dining table, it was too small to fit the 4 of us. We hope they can make it bigger.
Our only comment was their dining table, it was too small to fit the 4 of us. We hope they can make it bigger.
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| Kitchen, small dining and washing machine |
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| Glasses and plates |
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| Staple ingredients, water bottles, microwave, laundry detergent & fabric softener |
Bathroom
A shower
Toilet with no bidet
Toilet paper
Towels
Shampoo, conditioner
Liquid & bar soap
Toothpaste
Hairdryer (we never tried if this is working or not)
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| Toilet and Bath |
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| Towels, shampoo, conditioner, bath gel, hairdryer |
Other Amenities
Heater (the heating system is connected to the water heater)
Fast WiFi connection (really fast)
Cleaning kit
Wet clothes rack
Iron and iron board
Multi tap adapter (no need for adapters)
USB Cable for charging iPhones and Android
Powerbank
First Aid Kit
*** Heater was not that consistent though as compared to our loft in Seoul, there were times we felt so cold. I think it has something to do with the settings
Heater (the heating system is connected to the water heater)
Fast WiFi connection (really fast)
Cleaning kit
Wet clothes rack
Iron and iron board
Multi tap adapter (no need for adapters)
USB Cable for charging iPhones and Android
Powerbank
First Aid Kit
*** Heater was not that consistent though as compared to our loft in Seoul, there were times we felt so cold. I think it has something to do with the settings
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| Cleaning kit |
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| Tiny closet, iron board and wet clothes rack |
What you can do at an Airbnb that you can't do in a standard hotel
Cook
Cooking can save you a lot of money. Like in Seoul, my Mama also cooked for us in Busan. Because the grocery is located at the ground floor of the building, my Mama whipped up a lot of tasty dishes for us during breakfast or brunch so we didn't have to eat outside.
Cooking can save you a lot of money. Like in Seoul, my Mama also cooked for us in Busan. Because the grocery is located at the ground floor of the building, my Mama whipped up a lot of tasty dishes for us during breakfast or brunch so we didn't have to eat outside.
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| Mama cooking for our breakfast |
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| Our brekky |
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| Another brekky |
Like in Seoul we also washed our own clothes. Learning the washing machine was easy because John taught us how to operate it.
Throw the trash
Yes, in Korea it is very important to segregate the trash. My Kuya and Papa threw our trashes at basement 1 of the building upon check out.
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| Chilling at our loft. Face mask to moisturize our super dry skin |
There were a lot of establishments nearby and here are the notable ones.
Grocery
A 24 hour grocery is located at the ground floor of the building. My mama really enjoyed buying ingredients for our breakfast. Here, we also discovered the sweetest and enormous strawberries ever (like in Japan). I also bought my favorite Market O Brownies here.
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| The huge grocery my mom loved |
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| Super duper yummy strawberries <3 |
Just right beside our building was VIPS Steakhouse which claims to have the best steak in South Korea. I treated my family here during New Year's eve and it was truly one of our best dining experiences in South Korea. We ordered of course a steak plus an eat all you can feast.
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| VIPS Steak |
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| Mama enjoying the salad bar |
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| Meat and Salmon |
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| Salad, mango, Indian cuisine and dessert |
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| My green tea and vanilla ice cream |
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| New Year's eve family photo <insert Gin here> |
Getting Around
Getting around Busan was easy because our loft was just a quick walking distance from Busan Station (Line 1) exit 1. Line 1 is where Jagalchi Fish Market, BIFF Square and Nampodong are located. It is also a quick cab ride from Gamcheon Cultural Village. (I will blog about these places soon)
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| Busan Subway |
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| Busan Station Line 1 Exit 1 - our hotel is just a few walk from here |
Additional Amenities
Portable WiFi Egg | 3,000 won per day_(P120)
With a minimum fee I enjoyed an unlimited WiFi even outside our loft because of this portable WiFi I carried around Busan.
Transfers to Gimhae Airport | 30,000 won one way (P1,190)
Because our flight back to Manila from Busan was at 9pm and we needed to check out at 12nn, availing their airport transfers was the most convenient option as we were able to leave our luggages at their car while we roamed around Busan to make the most out of the time left for us.
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| John and my family at the airport. Thanks John! |
It was such a comfortable stay at Sarah and John's Green Darak loft. The loft has an excellent location and it has complete amenities with additional offerings that were not usually offered by some of the hosts (power bank, usb cable, portable WiFi and transfers) plus they were very quick in responding to all our queries and were willing to help us in any way possible like making the best schedule for us and offering to send out the postcards. Thanks John & Sarah!
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