Wednesday, December 18, 2013 | 11:53 PM
It's been a long time since I've updated this space. Today, I have the mood to update about my recent trip to Korea. My family and I have been a loyal supporter of SA Tours since eons ago. For almost all my trips, we never failed to join SA Tours because they always provide the best accommodation - 5* hotels. For most agencies which we enquire, the hotels ranged from 3* to 5* which I personally dislike. This time round, we joined the 8 days Korea Discovery + Jeju tour package. They have the cost savers and deluxe package and we chose the latter. I think it is quite costly because it is $2099 per pax (excluding 5 own-expense meals and tips for the tour guide, tour leader, bus drivers) but generally I'm very satisfied with the service rendered by SA Tours. And so, we set off to Korea on 6th Dec via Asiana Airlines. It's my first time flying by Asiana and I love it because of the huge leg-space, in-flight entertainment and the bibimbap onboard. The flight was delayed due to connection problems and hence, we reached Seoul an hour later.
My tour group (34 people) was welcomed by our tour guide Jullie and cameraman Sky. When she told us she has a 13 years old son, we were surprised because she looks like she is in the 20s. She later revealed that she's 42 years old this year and we were all o.0 Koreans are really good at nourishing their skin. We went ahead with out first destination, Everland, with an empty stomach.
Being pretty hungry, we were brought to the restaurant for a meal before we start exploring Everland. Tadah, my first meal in Korea- Ebi and fried chicken set.
After the meal, the cousins went to take one of the most thrilling roller coasters T-express while I enjoyed my cup of icecream and Churros. Yes, right after my lunch :/
The 4 hours or so was spent eating, taking rides and photos. My favourite has got to be this!
After Everland, we went to the Agro Farmland where we got to experience squeezing the cow's milk, making our own icecream, feeding the cows with milk, hay and sitting on the tractor :D
After which, we checked in to Resom Spa Castle. Super awesome room with living room, bedroom, dressing area, kitchenette and super big toilet!
After that, we went for dinner in the hotel - Mushroom and Dumpling steamboat
After dinner, it's time for us to make use of the hotel's facilities i.e. the spa, swimming pool, jacuzzi etc. But only 11 out of 34 people in my tour group joined. We actually wanted to "play" in the swimming pool but the tour guide said we have to bathe (naked) in the public area before we can proceed to the swimming pool. Hence, we dropped the idea. I guess most of us were probably too shy to show our naked bodies. Its just awkward. Hence, we went grocery shopping at the mart. On the next day, after breakfast, it was a 3.5 hour journey to the ski resort - Yong Pyong Ski Resort. This is the site where Winter Sonata was filmed as well as the site in which the 2018 Winter Olympics will be held. After renting the ski uniform and goggles, we had steamboat again :/ Squid and pork steamboat with all the usual side dishes.
It was a short journey from the restaurant to Yong Pyong ski resort.
We took a 17 minutes cable car ride up to enjoy the scenic view.
Hehe. A must-take photo
After the cable car ride, it's time for skiing!! Its my second time but I was still as excited.
A group photo with the cousins before we start skiing.
We were instructed to mask our faces and protect our eyes with the goggles. Hence, I became like this :o
Our ski instructor? It's the tour guide. LOL. Each of us took turn to learn how to ski from her. I looked like a pro in this photo but I fell right after this photo was taken because I couldn't get my leg to be in the V shape on time. FAIL MAX
We were given about 3 hours to ski but the cousins and I gave up after 1.5hour because skiing is a tiring sport. We have to take at least 2 minutes to ascend to a slope and all it takes was less than 10 seconds to ski down the slope. Hence, we checked in to our room earlier. Our hotel for the second day is Yong Pyong Resort.
Our cosy room :)
As usual, when we have nothing to do, we drop by the mart to get stuffs to eat or drink. We bought some snacks and banana to drink before our dinner. I had this banana milk everyday there though I didn't really like it because the mum and aunt always buy in bulk. Hence, there's always my share.
We met up at 6pm with the tour group and had fish steamboat. Almost all the families cleared up every dishes here except mine. I guess my family are not used to the side dishes and steamboat.
After dinner, we went back to the hotel and explored this Cafe Cheo-Um, where Winter Sonata was filmed.
Nothing fascinating as I'm never a Korean fan. I'm more interested in exploring the marts, cafes and restaurants. We spotted Baskin Robbins and of course, we have to eat it. Ice-cream in -12deg C is shiokkk!
On day 3, we had breakfast at a function hall. The breakfast was only average.
After breakfast, it was snowing! Hence, the following mandatory shot with the snow scene. The snow is not captured well in the photo and so, I decided to take a video and it looks as though i was infested with dandruff ><
After loads of picture-taking, we started our day with kimchi-making.
The ugly kimchi I made.
After making kimchi, we went to try the Hanbok. I looked gross in it HAHAHA
Then it was time for lunch.Finally we have BBQ. Nom nom
We went to the airport after lunch to catch our flight to Jeju. We reached the airport at 2:25pm and the tour guide changed our flight from 3:55pm to 3pm. When we got our boarding pass, it was already 235pm. The ticket reads boarding at 240pm and hence, almost everyone had a panic attack rushing for our flight. Phewww! Everyone safely boarded the plane on time and after 50 minutes, we reached Jeju.
While onboard, the cousins and I had Dunkin Donuts. Eat, eat and eat non stop every time, everywhere.
When we reached Jeju, our first destination was Yong Duam Rock. Ahh its a pretty boring place. Its supposed to look like a roaring dragon rising from the sea into the sky so try to use your imagination. Because it's at the sea, this place is super windy. I had difficulty walking and it feels as though we can be blown away anytime.
See how strong the wind is.
Next, we went to Jeju Ice Museum. The ice sculptures inside were insignificant as compared to the ones I saw at Harbin. However, since there was a slide, I gave it a go!
We also got to experience ice sculpturing and each of us made a ice mug. It's not as easy as it seems and I supposed the person saw me struggling and decided to help me. Hehe I have a pretty decent looking cup.
After ice-sculpturing, we proceeded to my favourite place, Bucket List 3D Art Museum which showcases optical illusion art. I had a fun time posing for the pictures.
Day 4 dinner- Abalone seafood soup is my favourite! But the cruel thing is watching the live abalone struggling in the steaming hot soup.
After dinner, we checked in to the best hotel I've ever stayed. Ocean palace hotel! The tour guide told us Ocean Palace Hotel is South Korea's 6 star hotel and 2 years ago when it first opened, it was stayed by Korean stars who want privacy when they come to Jeju. This hotel has superb security. When someones presses the door bell, the person's face will actually be shown on this screen.
Gosh their standard room is 350000W a night, which is about 415SGD and my tour group actually had the privilege to enjoy a free upgrade! Hence, our room was superb! It even has a washing machine in the room and I love the super high-tech toilet.
Rise and shine at 6am on Day 5 and at 7, we proceeded for breakfast in the hotel. The breakfast was good and I had lots of pastries.
We set off punctually at 8am to our first destination- Tangerine farm. Each of us can pluck a tangerine from the tree. The mum and I bought 8 boxes of chocolates from this Tangerine farm since they have a Buy 5 get 3 free promo 0.o
Next, we went to Seongsan Sunrise Peak. It's a crater hill in which we have to trek about 255m to reach the peak. Due to lack of exercise, at about 115m, I was panting really badly and my legs were wobbly. Cui ah.
The scenery at about 160m
Having left with only about 25 minutes, the cousins and I decided not to ascend further. Hence, we made our way down. While making my way down, I was feeling terrible. My legs were wobbly and I was feeling giddy. Goshhh this shows how weak I am!! Fortunately, when I reached the base, I was feeling alright. Though I failed to reach the peak, I still have to take this photo.
While the bus was on the way to our next destination, the tour guide got the bus driver to allow us to alight to take photos with this beautiful 野菜花 (I've no idea what it's called in english) farm. HAHAHA.
After that, we went horse riding. Initially, I was quite afraid because I'm afraid the horse would wander off on it own. But I was wrong! The horses were all well-tamed and the galloping made my first horse-riding memorable!
For lunch, we had BBQ black pork
Later, we visited the Seongeup Folk Village. This ajumma is known as 2秒钟明星 because she appeared in 大长今 for 2 seconds. LOL. She's really funny and made all of us crack into laughter during the tour.
Moving on, we went to Mysterious Road. I can't believe people travel this far just to take a look at this road. Its just the eyes playing tricks on us. I personally don't find it that amazing.
Then we visited Teseum Safari in which it showcases loads of teddy bears.
By the time we finished touring Teseum Safari at 4 plus, the sky was turning dark. Jeju is a like a ghost town in the evening during winter. Everyone stays at home and hence, the whole place looked really dead. Mehhh. Before dinner, we went to Glass Castle.
As its name suggests, all the exhibits are made of glass. Its a nice place for taking photos because they have very exquisite glass exhibits.
Lastly, we went for dinner. It was international buffet which includes food like pork chop, chicken fillet, fish and chips, french fries, topokki, fried rice etc. Turned in early at about 10 plus because morning call for day 6 is at 530am :/
The cousin and my cui face at 630am in the morning.
We travelled 1 hour for abalone porridge which I dislike. It has a fishy aftertaste because they used everything including the abalone's intestines to brew the porridge. Ewwwww~ Many of my tour mates asked for a second or even third serving. After the disappointing breakfast, we headed to the airport to catch our 955am flight back to Seoul. Having eaten so little during breakfast, I bought a honey cake from Paris Baguette in the airport.
We also had a second round of Dunkin Donuts.
Upon reaching Seoul, we went for lunch- BBQ chicken + pork. Now I realised how much BBQ i had eaten there :x
We then travelled to Gyeongbokgung Palace. Guess what? Prior to that, it was snowing and hence, the palace was really pretty with all the white snow! :D The temperature dropped to -8degC but it was bearable for me. Harbin trip really trained me to be very tolerable towards sub-zero temperatures. Spot the tour guide!
The tour guide made use of the snow on the ground to teach us some Korean pronunciation. Just 吃饭 alone, there's so many ways we can say in Korean. Wowwww
The snowy white ground in the palace makes me happy!
Enough of touring and we were brought to Dong Dae Mun for shopping. My favourite hobby. I never planned to buy anything because I alrd have ample of winter clothings. However, I went slightly crazy and bought 7 pieces in total. I'm indeed a shopaholic.
Goshhh if my mum wasn't there and if it was spring now, I think the consequences is .... After shopping, we headed for BIBAP show and it was definitely worth watching.
Finally we no longer have BBQ for dinner. I enjoyed day 6 dinner most. My favourite Ginseng Chicken. Drools*
Checked into Lotte World Hotel. Its not too bad but staying here makes me quite miserable because its a big jump from Ocean Palace to Lotte World Hotel.
All the hotels have high-tech toilet bowls which amazes me.
On the next morning, we went to have breakfast at the hotel. My favourite is this section. Every thing looks good and hence I had 2 yakults, 2 chocolate milk and 2 black bean soymilk HAHAHAHA.
The first stop for day 7 is Ginseng showroom. Apparently, no one from my tour group bought anything. So SKIP. The best stop is the next destination- Skincare course. I spent 436000W here, about 517SGD. After which, I announced bankruptcy :'( The best spender is a family of 3 who spent almost 2k. Goshhh. All of us cared more about our skin than health.
After lunch, it was snowing heavily. I'm so lucky to witness snow almost every day while in Seoul.
Then it was off to Myeong Dong for shopping! We went to Lotte Duty Free and I bought a MCM bag.
It was love at first sight so I used my powerful "skills" and eventually left the shop with the bag! Yes bankrupt still can buy things. Shakes head* The total damage at Myeong Dong was unimaginable. At night, the time was spent at Lotte World. I guess we were all too tired. After 2 rides, we decided to just sit down to enjoy the performance, watch people ice-skate etc.
Finally its day 8. After breakfast at the hotel, we went to Bokan Showroom and also visited the Amethyst factory. As usual, I can always buy something. I was attracted by all the pretty amethyst and bought a necklace without much hesitation. Tskkkkk.
And tadah, presenting to you my last lunch in Seoul. I've no idea what's this called but its very yummy.
Before heading to the airport, we were brought to a local supermarket for a last minute grocery shopping. Bought lots of Market o brownie, biscuits, banana milk etc there. Bade goodbye to Jullie and Sky. I have learned much about the history and attractions in Seoul and Jeju from Jullie. Bye to my tour mates and Seoul!
Aiyooo. My flights always have problems. When I came, there was connection problems that caused a delay of 40 minutes. When I'm going home, there was bad weather conditions and heavy head winds that caused the flight duration to increase from 6 h 25 min to 7 h 05 min. But I'm glad we tide over all the turbulence and came back safe and sound! :D Hehe my biggest achievement? My awesome possum luggage that weighed 31kg.
Fortunately, its group check in otherwise I'd have to pay overweight fines. My mum and I went with 2 luggage weighing 28kg in total but came back with 55kg of luggage and 4 hand carry. This is how powerful women can get when they go overseas. :'D Hehe this has been a memorable trip and I'm looking forward to the next holidays. I'd like to travel to either Spain, Turkey or Zhang Jia Jie! Zhang Jia Jie has been recommended by the tour guide as a must-visit place in China. So holidays please come soon! OMGGG I think this is my longest post ever.
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