South Korea Trip - Spring 2016 (Part 3)

Day 4:
The next day at morning we go back directly to Gimpo International Aiport and directly go to Nami Island. I dunno why but today my hair is kinda messy and I don't like the way it goes down. But well, whatever case, I need to groom well to take pictures right?

It takes one hour to fly from Jeju to Gimpo and another 2 hours to go to Nami Island. The island is privately owned and it is named after General Nami. The weather in seoul is so hot in the afternoon, nearning 20 degree Celcius. Anyway, we take some pictures there ^^

We eat Chicken BBQ for lunch and after we are satisfied with Nami Island, we go to Everland, which takes around 2 hours again from Nami Island. Nami Island is famous for dating place amoung youngers in Korea.

Everland is the biggest theme park in Korea and many times Running Man shoots there. But this time since we are planning to go to Dongdaemun at night to shop, then we only have around  2 hours and it is not enough to queue for a ride since it's very crowded with Korean people and I wonder why they are there while it's time for them to work.

It's Friday man and so many younger people have a date there. Since the food is expensive there and the queue is also long, so then we decide to just eat KFC. The KFC there taste a little bit different but surely yummy and delicious.

At night, we vists Dongdaemun, sadly I don't have a chance to buy anything there since clothes are expensive in Doota and I don't bring money with me and Mom is out there nowhere. What I can get is the poster of Song Joong Ki and triplets calender for 2017 and 2018 <3

We reach hotel at 12 o'clock and it's super late yet tomorrow morning we still have tours to go. The epic incident is, Tante Dian forgets to bring the key for her baggage lock and well, we need to call the front office to help us at midnight. OMG, when we are already tired and want to rest asap.

Day 5:
First, we go to Gyeongbokgung Palace, National Folk Museum and visit some Ginseng and Cosmetics Shops. The Gyeongbokgung is so pretty whereby you can see the traditional culture in the middle of high-raise building. It's actually a replica made to reserve the culture.

But I was so pissed off with the tour guide cos it's hard for me to take picture. Gyeongbokgung is also very big and there isn't time to take ootd pictures. Meanwhile, this is the point whereby I have to take ootd picture on that traditional castle :(

After that we are brought to Ginseng & Cosmetics Shop and I end up taking some pictures along the road with Mom since we both don't want to hear the botox presentation. We had Chinese Food for lunch at Mapo-Gu but I didn't take the pictures.

Then we go to Shilla Duty Free shop to buy some cosmetics and it's so crowded there with so many Chinese shops there. I am getting annoyed to Michelle since she did tell me last night when I want to buy cosmetics at Dongdaemun that it's cheaper at Myeongdong. I asked her what's the difference between Shilla Duty Free and Myeongdong but she just tell me if the stock is there, just buy the one in Shilla Duty Free. I didn't brought my notes and the time to shop there is only 45 minutes with that crowded Chinese people. So annoying, if I know, then I would just buy the one at Dongdaemun since I hate being chased by time.

Next, we are going to N Seoul Tower which is located at the top of Nam Mountain (San) thus is also called Namsan Tower. It's so dark and N Seoul Tower is used many times at K-drama, one of the most famous is from Boys Over Flowers whereby Namsan Tower is the first dating location of Lee Min Ho and Goo Hye Sun and Kim So Hyun and Jun Ji Hyun on My Love From Another Star.

Seoul City at Night

After that we go to Myeongdong Street and I am crazy to buy cosmetics. I buy so much, around 2 paper bag. The masks at Nature Republic is very cheap and you get the 10+10 promotion. Super daebak!!! Must try , it's a heaven for cosmetics shopping.

I also try the famous O'sulloc Green Tea Ice crea, which taste just nice for me and also the strawberry mochi which taste good to me. It's very Korean and you must try when you visit Seoul. I don't have time to go and try the other street food this time, but hopefully the next time I visit Korea, I am able to try the rest like Corndog and cheap Oemuk (the one I try cost around 2,500 Korean Won and it consists of some fishball, the one which cost 800 Korean Won only has the tofu fishcake.)

Day 5:
Time to go back, before going back, I explore the street around the Hotel and grab the Blueberry Macaron from Paris Bagutte and we all go for lunch and shopping at the Supermarket and directly go to Incheon International Airport to go back to Jakarta.

It was a wonderful trip and I am sure I will go back again to Korea in fall or winter season once again, but to go for Seoul only. The trip is not as wow as I expect, specially the nature hunting, but I still like the weather, the trees, the spring itself. Many time, Taiwan's nature hunting is way more amazingly beautiful in many ways. Things that I learn from one of my fave country is that:

1. It's hard to speak English with Korean, not because they don't understand but they are shy to talk in English. Many times we have to speak in Mandarin and I wonder whether we are in Korea or China.
2. Be careful when you are at road because there are many drunk drivers who drive after drinking soju. Make sure to wear seatbelt at anytime.
3. Ahjumma is very annoying with their grumpy, impatient and unfriendly attitude and Ahjussi is way nicer than Ahjumma.
4. Yoo Jae Suk, Suzy, Kim Joong Kook, Hyun Bin, Lee Kwang Soo, AOA's Seolhyun, Yoo Ah In, Song Hye Kyo, Park Shin Hye are everywhere on the bus top advertisment, mrt station or anywhere.
5. But Song Joong Ki is the most famous one since we are all on #SONGJOONGKISYNDROME
6. So many good-looking Oppa, yet sadly they are too pretty to be on the list of my boyfriend.
7. There are many public parks and I love it since they are very rich with trees and flowers.
8. Rich of cultures and many Korean love their nation.
9. It has a huge space for mainroad and there is no roadblock at all.
10. The drivers can stop behind the zebracross and it's super nice to have it as they respect the pedestrians.
11. So many good architectural buildings.
12. A heaven for cosmetics' hunting. Masks are very cheap here.
13. Pork is a must try in Korea.
14. There are many coffee shops since Korean love coffee for breakfast.
15. Samsung is a huge company there as they also have the famous and most expensice hotel in Korea, which is THE SHILLA and SHILLA DUTY FREE mall.
16. Seoul is very clean and they are hardly use plastic bag for their shopping.

South Korea Trip - Spring 2016 (Part 1)

Dear readers, finally I managed to make one of my dreams come true. My feet stands at Korea's land on December 28, 2016. It is surely a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life. So, let me share to you my trip to Ginseng country ~

Day1: 

My family and I are ready to take a long flight to Seoul at midnight so that we arrive excatly at 9am Korea's time. It takes 6 hours and 55 minutes to reach there. Before we reach Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, I book a taxi from Blue Bird and it is 8 o'clock at night. It is late already and we are waiting for 15 minutes but the taxi haven't arrived. Then I call back the taxi centre and ask whether the taxi is far from us, the operator says it's on Tol Wiyoto Wiyono and I guess it's still pretty far from my home, maybe it will take around 20 minutes more. Then I cancel my taxi book and book a grab car, thinking it only takes them 5 minutes to reach my home. Then the taxi arrived, damn it cos I have already cancelled it but both the grab car and taxi come at the same time. In the end, we take the grab car and pay Rp 15.000 for cancellation fee. 

We reach Soekarno-Hatta International Airport around 8.45, and it costs us Rp 174.000 (not included with toll fee) and the sad thing is, the driver need to fill the fuel tank first and it takes quite a lot of time. But well, the good thing is we still have many times left before our flight. We also meet with our tour guide from Golden Rama, whose name is Michelle. It's nice to see her manage the administration and check in and ask us to just fill the signature part. Well, the reason for us to take a tour is because we have never been to South Korea and we are not only staying at Seoul but going also to another part the country and another island which take us quite a lot of works if we went by ourselves. 

As we are waiting for Asiana Airlines, we take some pictures and drink Caffe Latte first to release our boredom. Then the flight has come and we are ready to fly to South Korea. The flight is pretty small, where it's hard to even put your legs. It is even harder to sleep since Dad keep talking to me whenever I am nearly at the point to sleep. 

8.55am Korea time and we finally reach Incheon International Airport. It takes us quite a while to get our baggages and clean up ourselves till Dad doesn't have time to wash his face. LOLS. That because Dad is waiting for our bags and we are taking so long since Mom is trying to find the water button for toilet. Haisss. 

The local tour guide is a guy, name Andy. So at the first stop, we are going to do the Kimchi making and Hanbok wearing, so like Korean. It takes around 1 hour to reach there and before we try the kimchi making, they bring us to enjoy lunch with a bibimbap, ttoekboki and fried fishcake. It is not that good and I don't really like it. Besides, the most furiating is, no wifi at all!!

Then we reach the seaweed and kimchi making, the dried seaweed is so delicious and yummy. I am also invited to go on top to show how to divide and open the dried seaweed. After than we go to try the Hanbok and take pictures with the tradional background. Do I look so Korean?

Then we have to ride the bus quickly to Mt. Seorak which is located at Gangwon Province/District and it takes around 3,5 hours to reach Seoraksan Mountain. The weather is getting colder and I sleep during the trip to Mt. Seorak. Mt. Seorak is so pretty, it has the nature side but I guess It's been mixed with human's hand thus it is not that naturally pretty anymore like the one in Taiwan, the Taroko Gorges that we went last summer. It's so naturally beautiful.

Most famous banana milk only sold in Korea

The Seoraksan National Park is colder than Seoul and there is no cherry blossoms yet. Exactly feels like winter and it takes quite long to take a walk to go for the cable car. There are also some Grandma and Grandpa who take a walk to go hiking there. We then take the cable car and it gives us an amazing view but the ride is not that long. The one we took at Formosan Aboriginal Culture is even more wonderful and we cross the mountain, you see the difference there. 

The weather is so cold till I couldn't go outside, but since we are already there, then we take some pictures. It's so windy but still beautiflly pretty with some of the leftover snow on the mountain. 

At night we have a grilled mackarel dinner and it is nicer than the one we eat for lunch. After than we go to Kumho Seorak Resort to sleep for one night. The weather is cold and the resort is kinda dark, but I don't really care or bothered by those mistic story and just watch dramas, and played internet downstairs at the lobby. 

Day2:
The next morning I take shower first and go down first after packing and do my hair to grab some pictures. Well, as you know, I like photography and being captured for memories. The air is so pretty and the weather is cold. Colder than last night.

Mom take some pictures of me it's all good looking pictures <3 then after that we all go back to Seoul to go to Gimpo International Airport for flight to Jeju. But first we stop at some of the rest area and I grab a coffee and banana milk. I also saw some of the soldier which reminds me with Descendant of the Sun. Mom asks one of the soldier to take picture with us but they reject us. Well, that's because their face cannot be taken publicly when they serve the duty as soldiers.Woah, I learnt something from Descendant of the Sun ^^



Actually the schedule is to enjoy the cherry blossoms, but it is not blooming yet in Seoul. Thus we eat Shabu2 at Mapo District and I get the pork tonkatsu there. The tonkatsu is so nice and I like it best so far.

Pork Tonkatsu/Cutlet

It takes around one hour more for us to wait at Gimpo International Aiport and what I can do is, charging my camera and phone while waiting for the delayed flight and take some pictures again there and instagram-ing ~

After we reach Jeju in the evening, the driver take us to enjoy the Cherry Blossoms near the Trick Art Museum and Ice Gallery Museum. It's so nice, superb anyway. Let me share to you some of the pictures.

At night, we eat Mackerel Soup with Kimchi and Dwenjang Soup (Red Pepper Soup) and it doesn't taste nice, I swear. It takes around one hour to go to the hotel and there is no lights along the way to the hotel and it is very dark. The tour guide says that many Korean usually will rent a car to go around Jeju since there is no public bus to explore the Jeju Island except at the centre of the city. That night, I go and watch Descendant of the Sun episode 11 although I don't really understand what they are saying.

Ohyeah, one of the nicest thing is that, the hotel is pretty nice and the toilet has pidet which makes your business easier, with a button for warm closets and the funniest thing is also a fan for your buttocks LOLS.