Honeymoon - Korea (I)

Have been wanting to blog about this for a long time.. I hope I do remember the details. :) More pics on My Multiply. :)


Day 1 & 2 (13th & 14th Nov '06):

After MBC studios, we left for Jeju Island after lunch


Departed for Seoul at 12.15am. Had the whole day to prepare to pack for the trip. At least, had one day buffer to prepare, else, it'll be more rush. Reached the Seoul-Incheon International Airport at around 7.00 am (Korean local time. It is an hour ahead of Msia). At touchdown and upon checking out, I saw these nice cacti garden just after the checking out counter. Couldn't resist taking a pic there. Hehehe. After that, we met up with the tour guide ( A Msian tour leader followed us), who is Korean national, married a China national wife, also, previously was studying in China for 9 years. So, it was a Mandarin-speaking tour. (Jason was my tour-guide the rest of the trip - I promised myself that I will send my kids to Chinese national school in future. It's a must! :P ).


We managed to get a tour bus by ourselves, and so... first destination was MBC Studios, the official shooting site for the Korean drama series, DaeJangGeum. It is somewhere near Seoul, but we had to travel about half an hour or so. Can't remember. Opps.. It was cold. It was 6degC once we stepped out of the airport. After lunch, we head straight for Jeju Island. Also known as honeymoon island. Nehhh... hehehe.. Anyway, upon reaching Gimpo Airport, we had a bus on our own, and straight, we went round the island and finally to our hotel in Jeju City.


After a sumptuous dinner of steamboat, yummy hot soup, Korean rice... and kimchi.. we went walking around near the hotel where there is a shopping haven. The whole streets (comprises of 4 streets with a crossroad in the middle) are all shops, selling knick-knacks.. and, we found there was an underground mall. Wow. So we went underground because it was warmer there, and a few of our tour group members bought nice boots. Very cool boots. Shoes, bags, clothes. And I just love their hair accessories. Bought a pin for myself, and a few more for my nieces. Too ex to buy more. But they are beautiful. Sigh... After that, went back to hotel and zZzzz..nice and cosy.. the hotel didn't have a heater though. :(



Day 3 (15th Nov '06):

Check it out. Practically went to all parts of Jeju island... in the bus!


The next morning, after breakfast in the hotel, we went to Dragon Head Rock (Yongdu-am). It is a large, unusual rock formation that is shaped like the head of a dragon. It is made of basalt (lava) and was shaped by the wind and waves over the centuries.

After taking some pictures there, we moved on to Tamla Mok Seok Won. Literally meaning, "Trees and Stones Academy" which display trees and stones of Jeju. Everything here is made of trees and stones. Even as we entered, the ticket booth has no nail, or screw. Everything wood. So cool. Read up on the link provided. It's so cool that they can create a story just out of stone and trees.

Next up was the Seongsan Sunrise Peak. We had to climb up the 182m to get a full view. And it was really worth the climb up. It had a spectacular and breathtaking view. It was cold, but we had to take off our outer coats as we were sweating! Coming down after that was chilly as the winds were blowing quite fast. And... at the foothill, we enjoyed the bbq-honey-pork-satay. It was yummy. :)

On the way to the Seongup Folklore Village, we passed by orange orchards. Loads of them! Everywhere in Jeju Island, we find people even planting it at the back of their yard. But, it's sour. :(. We bought a crate of oranges, and everyone in the bus shared. Not cheap though. Anyway, when we reached the folk village, we were greeted by a lady, who speaks very good Mandarin... Later to find out she's from China, married a Korean. She did explain how to call each and everyone using the their folklore language. "Wang Ba li" - married men. "Neng Ba Li" - married women. The rest, I forgot. Hahaha. And also, at the entrance of the house, they have 3 log wood across. And the placement of the log-wood represents different meanings to the situation at home. Whether are visitors welcomed, or no one is at home, or the men is in, women went out to the fields, and so on. So cool. At the end of the trip, they just wanted to promote their horse leg powder - good for arthritis and source of calcium, and honey. We bought the honey. :) Oh yeah, and it was my first time seeing a real live black pig. And we ate bbq black pork after that. The smell was strong, but it was nice, as it is eaten with fresh lettuce, wrapped up.

Some phrases taught by the tourist guide, we've forgotten... But I can remember this "Ahning hae sae-yo" - I love you. Hehehe... After lunch, we travelled to the famous waterfalls, Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls. It was also a very scenic place. Pictures you may see on postcards. Also our first time seeing eels swimming in the pond. Eerie. And they had lots of love ducks. Very cute, and always in pairs. Nice place to pak-tor. After a tiring day, we had dinner and was on our way back. On the way back, we stopped at this place called the Ghost Road. At the bottom of the hill it's a short stretch of road, our bus driver stopped the bus. He put the gear on neutral and switched off the engine. Slowly, the bus began to move backwards. He did it again. And the same thing happened. Weird. No one can explain. After that, went back to hotel, went "shopping" around, then slept. Cold & cosy. Hehehe.



More pics on My Multiply


Posted in: , on 10 August 2007 at at 12:00 am  

0 kay-pohs:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)