Day 8: Goodbye Korea!

This morning's chinese-style breakfast was awful! I only had 2 buns to fill my stomach :( We visited the amethyst specialty shop that sell purple crystals. We sighted tis Winter Sonata poster & asked out of curiousity if they sell the 'star-shaped' pendant. They sold a replica & Zf liked the amethyst necklace so she bought one.

Afterwhich, we were sent to the final stop ... a tourist super-mart. There's nothing much to buy & I juz enjoyed the food-tasting, haahaa! As an uncle told me, eat liao then no need buy! True manz! Cos the prices r not cheap.

So fast, our 8 days korea holiday had come to an end!!! We went to Incheon Airport & chit-chatted wif our fellow tour ppl while waiting for our boarding passes. I saw the horrendous amt of stuff some of them checked-in, scary manz! I bet my luaggage muz be the lightest among the 40 ppl, haha!

If i should visit Korea again, i will wan to explore on my own as now have an idea of how the place is like. Our key disappt was Rush, Rush & Rush thru'out the trip till left wif little energy to thoroughly enjoy. Upon returing home, we had a shocking over 1,000 photos to sort! I spent 1.5 days sorting them -- That's definately back & neck-breaking!!!

Day 7: CiTy tOuR + JUMP show ...

In the morning, our coach pass-by The Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae), which is the presidential residence of the Republic of Korea. We had a brief stop around there for photo-shoot at a phoenix sculpture.

This morning was veri boring as we spent hours at Ginseng & Cordyceps specialty shops. This actually lasted till noon time! Omg! Among us, we were actually complaining time wasted at these places, where we shld be shopping downtown.

Lunch was Sulphur duck in tonic soup - our separately paid meal. The duck was not tt good, but the soup was the saviour lah! Many side dishes were thrown in too.

In the afternoon, we were chauffered to The Face Shop outlet...we quickly got off the bus & my eyes were roving around the store to see wat prdts they have. I sensed something not rite, when a few salesgirls hard-sell us a diff brand of skincare. I also questioned their limited range. Well, bef long... i knew this was a place where our tour guide earns commission lah.

Finally, we reached Nandaemun & MyeongDong area ard 3pm! Gosh! That's veri late. We were given Only 2 hours to shop. No choice, we could only cover a stretch of MyeongDong. This time, i saw the real Face Shop. Competition was so fierce that their salesgals stood on the street dishing out small shopping basket containing freebie to tempt shoppers. We strolled down the street & saw many lovely winter wear... We were disappointed that our F&E shopping time was so rushed, haiz!

Slightly bef 8pm, we were ushered to the JUMP theatre to watch tis renowned performance. JUMP is a non-verbal performance that fuse Tae-kwan-do & martial arts, complete wif exaggerating actions. It's like a play & I enjoyed watching the 90mins show. The performers all hv 功夫 training as can be seen fr their toned muscles. The popularity of JUMP had certaintly attracted an international audience.

Tonite, our hotel was 6*Grande Sheraton Walker-Hill Casino. We were dismayed the room was not that big & ppl could easily climb in if we open the window. In this cold season, we needed to open our windows for ventilation as no air-con. Aft our laments, we went to check-out the casino. Me & ruby lost W2000 each at the jackpot machines. Not fun leh! Cos in other countries, i still gotto hear the clinking of coins when i hit the jackpot! We met our grp's 2 couples in the casino. B suggested we muz go up the Sky Lounge to enjoy the nite scene. So we went up & chatted till the lounge closed at 2 am.

As it's the last nite liao, we din really sleep & went back to shower + pack luaggage till 5am! Right:This Star Rice Crackers is really yummy! Dunno why korea's snacks r so nice? No MSG somemore!

Day 6: I'm a Kid-dult @ Everland & Lotte World!

Today was both tiring & egg-citing... thou' young @ heart, it's been ages since i visited a theme park. We visited not one but Two! After departing YongPyong, we travelled to Everland. Yeah!

The moment i stepped into Everland （爱宝乐园）, my sleepyness vanished! Paul told us to board the 'Skyway' & it's quite fun dangling our feets in the air, heehee! He brought us to a muz-watch, ''Safari World'' & spent some time queuing. There's a sweet korean gal dressed in a bunny-suit ushering us up the safari bus. Welcome to Zoo-Topia! In the bus, i couldn't sit still as we clamoured to view the lions, tigers, bears, giraffes, elephants... I was awed by the height of the bears, wif paws on our bus!!! A couple of them were hungry bears wo... munching the biscuits thrown by the driver.

Finished the Safari tour & we went 'auto roaming' to explore EverLand ;-) We were engrossed watching the little animals in 'Animal Wonder World'. Then came to a 'Friendly Monkey Valley' & posed like the characters. (Pic on Left)

Zf said wan to try the water ride at Amazon Express. We boarded this round boat & covered our bags wif the plastic sheet. It's really thrilling but i sat at wrong spot lah! As the boat navigated the river... I was splashed 1/3 wet while the gals were dry. Sharks!

We targeted to catch the Animals show at 1.30pm, I love this part as their settings & little fury frens r so cute! Monkeys, parrots, doggy, pigs, racoons all took part in the performance. Towards the end, huge pelicans flew past us! Only Zf din enjoy, while i thoroughly enjoyed it!

Next, we tried this mini coaster ride ~ 'Racing Coaster'! I screamed my lungs out....aaahhh! Bef realised, the ride was finished! We saw the cam captured our screaming looks, kekeke!

At 'Aesop's Village', we were thrilled to see all the cute fable's characters. That certainly reminded me of childhood stories. Rmbr the Cry Wolf story? We snapped everything here! Passing by the Big Mouth Frogs, they'll sprout water at the colourful mushrooms... Guess wat? I kana splashed again! Dunno if it means fortune（水是财） is coming? haha!

On our way back to exit, we encountered the park's mascot & zf excitingly pulled his hand & we got a photoshoot wif the mascot! Aft playing at Everland, we were pretty exhausted liao...

We caught a nap on the coach bef reach the Kimchi School where each of us had a chance to learn kimchi-making. I also got to try on the korean traditional costume ~ Hanbok! The gal in-charge helped me wore a bright pink Hanbok.

In the evening, we took off to our 2nd theme park ~ Lotte World （乐天世界）. We were juz in time for the nite's carnival parade & saw many colourful 花车. Bef coming Lotte, i alreadi target muz ride the muscial horse! This is the place where the K-drama, ''Stairways to Heaven'' was filmed. Yeah!

At the outdoor part of Lotte, we crossed a bridge & saw the illuminated glow of the castle! I joked that my knight in shining armour is waiting up there! Waahaha! At 9.30pm, there's a spectacular laser display. By then, Lotte was approaching closing time & we hurried to its supermart to buy seaweed.

By the end of the day, we were truely tired & checked into Koreana Hotel - our most comfy hotel to date.

Day 5: Mt Sorak, Hanwah Hotspring & Yongpyong Ski Resort

Early morning, we departed for Seoraksan National Park （雪岳山）~ a preservation district listed on UNESCO.

Walking past the entrance, a big buddha statue sat almighty to answer believers' prayers. Ruby & Zhifang bought a white candle each & had to write their wishes on it. Funny thing was they dunno how to write some chinese words, haha! As such, got stuck there for some time. While waiting for them, i kept myself busy composing photo shoots of the buddha.

We strolled down the path to explore Seoraksan National Park. The awesome valleys, mountains & ridges formed a picturesque. It's juz like those 山水画, framed by autumn colours.

After a brief tour around, Paul challenged us to try some deep fried lava!!! Gasp! He ate till tasty pattern, so I gamely took his challenge & bite half the lava...hmm, not as disgusting as i tot, it seems like walnut taste to me. Yeah! A feat, something i nv tot i dared to try!

We went to Hanwah 100% Hotspring for a dip & we felt awkward ... as we were in our birthday suit, haahaa! The place is veri commercialise & i dun quite like it. I pref my japan's hotspring bath. Anyway, alreadi here... we tried the indoor & outdoor hotspring. The indoor's jacuzzi was quite shiok which relief our aching muscles.

After lunch, we were driven to YongPyong Ski Resort （龙平豪华度假村）. 3 of us plus another 3 gals in our tour grp boarded a 20 mins gondola ride up to the top of Balwang mountain, standing at 1,458m. The ride was slow & many trees had withered... preparing for winter. As it's not yet ski season, YongPyong was pretty quiet. In the gondola, i was asked to sing songs to entertain them, haha!

The top of the mountain is named Dragon Peak & we took some shots here. Followed on, we were led to the 2nd floor restaurant, wif a fireplace setting in the middle... a backdrop for 'Winter Sonata', where the couple declared their love.

Bef long, we descended via the gondola & explored the rest of the resort. We saw this life-sized cardboards of Bae Yongjoon & Choi Jiwoo wif their classic 'Winter Sonata' pose. Being cheeky, we gals took turns to strike the poses. It's really a hilarious moment here (^o^) as i turned into 'best actress' & 'best actor'... cos ruby & zf wan me pose as the guy wif them!!! I only realise how accurate my angle was upon reviewing my pics... haahaa!

The nite was spent at the resort's bowling alley as i watched them bowled. Aft their game, we strolled in the freezing nite of -1 deg & even went to the snow field to shoot some pics. Despite wearing gloves, i could feel my fingers went numb. Then, we spotted a huge outdoor concert stage & someone asked me go up to sing!!! I grabbed the opportunity & ran up the stage spontaneously! It's a diff view manz! The 1-min fame was certainly unfogettable as i sang the chorus of 《北极雪》， wif 5 fans below the stage WAVING!!! Waahaha! If lightings On + give me a mic, it'll be my personal concert in YongPyong Ski Resort liao! It's a once in a lifetime chance!

Day 4: Autumn Colours @ Nami Island ...

Good bye, Jeju! We boarded the domestic flight back to Seoul & were chauffeured for 90mins to the ferry terminal. We waited for a ferry to cross the waters to reach Nami Island （南怡岛）. While onboard the ferry, i admired the lush greenery along the river bank & love the autumn colours...

Approx 10mins later, Billy ~ our photographer got us tog for a grp photo-shoot at the main entrance. Paul started rattling & asked us to follow him... 3 of us trailed behind, while absorbing the lush greenery. The walk was pretty long; we stopped at a junction where we saw rows of neatly planted trees. For those who had watched 'Winter Sonata', would rmbr Junxiang & Youzhen (the leads) who cycle romantically on a bicycle down this path. Well well, there isin't a tiny bit of romance when u r wif a package tour!!! We were given a time to return to main entrance... so how much time u tink can cycle ard?

Our grp parted here & we gals ventured on our own. We saw 3 diff colours ... not all the deep crimson colours of maples yet. There were rows of yellow, green & red... it's like a colour platette. I'm still a bit disappt that i dun c the 2 straight rows of reds. Well, maybe i could compose some contrasts then. We walked around Nami Island & i observed it's flooded wif tourists ... The Hallyu (korean wave ) is scary, juz 1 drama to popularise tis lovely island. It's too commercialise in my eyes. If less ppl disturb the flora & fauna, isn't it more natural?

Bef we realised, our 1.5hr at Nami was reaching ... we ran back to the entrance & that's a long run! I was sweating!!! Along the way, we still stopped to snap more pics!

Upon getting back to main land, half of our grp ppl were Missing! Ooh, 20 of them missed our ferry. Aft gathering everyone, we were sent to Chuncheon's Myeongdong street. There's still abit time for some shopping bef dinner in the same area.

Dinner was BBQ chicken wif cabbage, rice cakes & fried rice... after which, we retreated back to our mountain resort ~ Hanwah 100% Hotspring Resort.

Day 3: Exploring Jeju ...

We had a simple breakfast of porridge, bread & fried egg bef heading to Yongduam Rock, more well-known as Dragon Head Rock (龙头岩）. We were told to use some imagination to see this rock, haha! Legend said that a dragon wanted to ascend to heaven & stole a pearl fr the mountain god of Mt. Halla. Bef it could fly to the skies, it was shot & turned into this rock with a grudge. 30m of the rock is submerged & only 10m of it is visible. We walked down the narrow path to take some pics.

Our 2nd stop was Seongsan Ilchulbong or Sunrise Peak (城山日出峰）, it's bitterly cold as we hiked up the mountain. Located on the eastern part of Jeju, the crater of Sunrise Peak consists of 99 peaks along its rim, which resembles a castle. As such, this place was considered 'holy' & 'Seongsan' means holy mountain. As we slowly ascended the pathway, strong winds blew & we tried hard to stay warm. Wat i did was sing while climbing, which entertained zf & ruby, keke! As we progressed up, we turned ard & were rewarded wif breath-taking views of the surrounding blue sea, skies & grassland. I felt so relaxed up there & wished there's a swing for me on the mountain top! haha! (^o^) I'm glad i had a short fringe as the strong wind blew our hair into a mess while posing for pics, keke!

Aft we descended down the mountain, our tour guide recommended us a self-paid meal of real abalone porridge. 3 of us shared a huge bowl. It's yummylicious! The lady boss aged 70+, who dun look abit her age was a 海女. Jeju's 海女 are women who dived for oysters & abalones seafood for a living. They have extraordinary lung power as dun need oxygen tank!

Next destination was to understand Jeju's culture at Seongeup Folk Village, preserved by their govt & locals still live in thatched-roof lava-wall homes. A lady guide brought us around ... The walk was interesting as we learned that Jeju's women lead a hard life, expected to take care of whole hsehold, while the men juz shake legs, eat & sleep. I truly admire their grits as they had to carry this huge porcelin tank to fetch water daily! Gasp! In this village, boys are favoured over gals. We were given a small spoon of Jeju's pure honey to try... yum yum! Lunch today was nice, we ate Black Pork BBQ & i esp like to put the pork, wif garlic & bean paste （豆拌酱） wrapped in lettuce to eat. It's said that this black pork has lower cholestrol & high in collagen, so i ate the fats tog, heehee!

Arriving at Cheongjeyeon Falls（天地渊瀑布） which means the ''pond of God'', where 7 nymphs descend to take a bath, we saw a nice view of the cascading waterfall. Overseeing the 22m falls is a stunning arch bridge ~ Seonimkyo (7 Nymphs Bridge). There's also a wishing fountain comprising of 5 animals in the area. Zf tried to toss a coin & missed the mid of the wishing fountain, haha! While leaving, i took a shot wif Jeju's Dolharubang ~ 'Stone Grandfather', a symbol found only in Jeju. It's the guardian of this island.

Late evening, we were whisked to Teddy Bear Museum, Yeah yeah! Me & Ruby been yearning to visit here since watched 'Goong' last yr. I was thrilled to see the Goong Bears fr the K-drama & dashed over, ignoring our ''lo soh'' guide... heehee! The ambience was fantastic, the speakers played the Goong theme song while we admired the bears. We saw hundreds over types of bears & dashed around to capture on our cam. Some were designed to be animated, so i did some video clips too! The most expensive bear is the LV Bear lah! Many ppl flocked to see it. The tinniest bears hv to view via magnifying glass! There's so much to see that there's insufficient time for us to slowly view the cute teddy bears :(

Our dinner was Ginseng Chicken, thou' much looked-fwd...but it's quite a disappointment as the ginseng soup was blend. When i dissected the chicken, found a huge ginseng root... the rest of them had tiny ginseng. Ruby & Zf din enjoyed this, so we headed to Tapdong Street for street snacks aft dinner. We truely enjoyed the Spicy Rice Cake (T'tok bok i ~ 炒年糕), chix terriyaki stick & waffles. It's the best of our meals to date... hehe! Left: Ginseng Chicken Right: Savouring the fried rice cake!

Day 2: From Seoul to Jeju ...

After a sleepless nite on the plane, we all arrived at Incheon Airport, Seoul ... looking like pandas! While waiting for our coach, i could felt the chilling wind pricking into my bones, gosh! Here I Am! The ''Land of the Morning Calm'' ~ Korea.

Our coach was filled to max capacity, wif 40 ppl, tour guide, sg tour leader & a photographer. 3 of us were asked to move to back of coach tog wif another grp of 3 gals. Paul, our fatty local guide gave a long intro of himself that nearly hypnotize us as we all din sleep the prev nite :(

Bef long, we arrived at Nam Sangol Hanok Village （南山韩屋村） to view Korean ancient palace settings, backdrop for 《大长今》. Paul demonstrated how to play some of the traditional games. The cold breeze & inadequate rest made me felt super cold. Fr our sweltering heat to a 10 over deg temp, i indeed needed some adapation. Heng, it's not winter yet, haha!

Left: Traditional game of Tuho: try aim the sticks into the holder.

Our 1st lunch in Seoul was Bibimbap rice & some roast pork. Their roast pork is not our char siew rice kind, hehe! Bef i could snap my food pic, Paul said, 'Quick! Stir ur rice bef it gets burnt!' In a blink, he was demo-ing to the rest stirring vigourously at my rice! Arrg! I was so afraid he will spill the soya on my white jacket!

After lunch, we were shuffled to Gimpo Airport for our domestic flight to ''Honeymoon Island'' ~ Jeju (济州岛）. Yeah! Cos i had seen many lovely pics of Jeju fr the web. Jeju is the largest island in South Korea, formed fr a sub-sea volcano & surfaced above the waters. At 73km wide & 41km long, the island is a lovely paradise. In the midst of Jeju stood Mt. Halla, at 1950m above sea level -- the highest mountain in s. korea.

Upon arrival at Jeju, it was late afternoon liao, haiz! We were all like walking zoombies by then... trying to psycho myself, not cold not cold... But in fact, it's so cold till we wore our gloves. At Moksokwun Park (木石菀），we were told a legend abt this place while touring the park formed fr odd-shaped rocks & woods.

Right: Rocks formation tt look like humans

Our next stop was at 'Mysterious Road', it's so-called because when our coach's engine was switched off, it could move upward the slope against gravity! We were all bewildered by this experience! We got off the bus & Paul demo the magic again by rolling a bottle of water downhill & it rolled uphill again! We tried walking up the slope without much effort but walked down was abit more straining?? Well, for myself i din felt too big difference thou', heehee!

Left: Sunset at Mysterious Road
Anyway, it's juz a short stretch of rd that had become a tourist spot in Jeju. Why so mysterious? it's the result of optical illusion in which the lower part (of rd) looks higher becos of its surrounding environment.

The sky was darkening & getting colder ... sunset came earlier ard 6pm+. We travelled to chk-in at Jeju Oriental hotel & had a seafood steamboat for dinner. Me, ruby & zhifang saw the food & sianz...cos alot of shells inside & we dun eat. No prawns inside de... :( We went back hotel to rest aft dinner.

Day 1: Departing for Korea ~ Incheon

Got ready my luaggage & all set to mit my frens ~ Zhifang & Ruby at Changi Airport. Our meeting point was at Terminal 1, Row 3 to mit our tour leader fr Hong Thai Travel. We arrived punctually at 9pm & spotted a huge crowd surrounding a HT tour leader. When i approached to query one of the staff, was told tis was not our grp & our names not on the list? Aft waiting in vain for next 20 mins, we asked again... then found tis bespectacled young gal was our Sg tour leader.

Gasp! Our actual grp had 60 ppl?? Crazy lo! Spilt into Grp A & B. We were assigned to Grp A, consisting of 40 ppl! Wow! I've nvr been on such a huge grp for travel... we betted that the tour leader, Weisian will have prob managing. 3 of us r assigned as Grp 1A & i'm the grp leader.

Our flight ~ Korean Air (KE642) took off fr Changi's run-way at 2255. Yeah! We were thrilled to explore Korea for the coming 7 days.