Day 4 ~ "Everland"

Another breakfast at hotel before we moved on..

First place to visit is:
Yeoju Premium Outlets

Well, this place is really like an open air shopping mall..with all the shops (as the name implies) selling branded stuff..adidas, nike, u name it, they got it..

Pretty much just did window shopping coz things ain’t cheap there..even though the official smallest (lowest value) ‘paper-note’ currency is already 1000 won & above (5000 & 10000 won), while their coins are worth either 100 or 500 won..
Anything there would cost at least more than 10000 won..

Basically after the free-time activity (自由活动)
We went straight for lunch..
Tada…it’s another popular dish for Koreans (韩国烤肉)



Everland theme park was our next destination

The tour guide brought us to the Safari World of the theme park
Bears, Tigers, Lions, Camels, Zebras etc etc..luckily we didn’t become their prey as we had on us the aroma of (烤肉) after the BBQ meal..

liger = hybrid species of tiger + lion




spot the zebras?
are they white with black stripes/black with white stripes?

From the wild world, the tour guide also took us for a 3D animation action movie & animal wonder stage where trained animals were used for the performance (how interesting? Try having pelicans flying over your head for instance)..haha
Then, we tried snow buster..

If you’ve been to Snow world up in Genting & have tried riding down icy trails on that don’t-know-how-to-describe thingy..then u can imagine that this activity is quite similar to the one in genting except that you ride down through snowy slopes..

snow buster on top..

to be continued...

Day 3 ~ "ski"

Yeap, we’ve reached day 3..

another refreshing morning with the light winter breeze..

The main event of the day speaks it all – winter skiing

Breakfast at the lovely resort before we set out..

Our destination?
-- Yong Pyong Ski Resort

At the foothill, we proceeded to take a ‘Gondola Ride’ (or simply cable car) which lasted for about 20 minutes up to the snow mountain..quite a long way up really..

Here we are, playing with snow..had some snowball fights..but forgot to make snowman & snow angel..*sigh

taste of snow? hmm..try it yourself..

Snap some photographs by the beautiful view from the mountain, overlooking the bright blue sky & then later on went indoor to have our lunch before we continued with skiing

For lunch, we had ‘mushroom hotpot’ with a few different variety of mushroom..i think we forgot to take pics of the food we had again..haha

Anyways, charged & energized with lunch, we geared up for the ski activity..even though not all took part in it, since it’s the individual’s freedom to choose if they wanna try it out or not, in order to cater for other tourist’s needs..

The tour guide became the tutor/trainer & taught us to ski..lol..
Those who chose to go with their own plan, not going for ski could rest, relax, or hang out at the ski resort, enjoying other facilities, take their sweet time to wander around or just drink a nice hot cup of coffee indoors, chit-chat etc..

getting the gears..

Trying out at skiing, personally, I think it is rather similar to ice-skating, except that it gives a better, more stable foothold, with larger area of contact with the ground covered with snow, less balancing skills needed..

The basic steps actually, are easier than expected to be mastered, as long as you just need to know how to start skiing & the way to stop when necessary..somehow, you use the same methods for ice skating as well..

I do prefer skiing over ice skating as the ground is smooth with the soft snow, even if u fall, it won’t hurt anyways..skiing down the slope of the snow mountain gives a sense of thrill & satisfaction once you know how to ski..

some learning to snow-board

The only less-fun side of it is that you have to take off the ski gears, carry them back uphill in order to ski down again, after u ski downwards to ground level..that’s the tedious part of it..it was the first time I actually really felt warm being outdoors on a winter day..

otherwise, if one has trained enough to go pass the beginner, amateur & achieved the professional stage, then one can challenge to go all the way to the highest peak of the mountain, travelling up by the cable car instead..since it would be exhausting to walk all the way up there..

had enough of winter exercise, we rested at the hotel for a while..
then, out we went for dinner..u could guess it already, Korean cuisine really doesn’t involve much variety of cooking methods as Chinese style cuisine.

It’s another hotpot again, but one must not deny that it’s a suitable choice of meal as it warms you up really well especially by as night time approaches..what could be better than hotpots during winter time..i’m just worried of gaining much weight at the end of the trip..haha

Anyhow, one still couldn’t get bored with hotpots even though they’re served almost every day as the ingredients could be different, so for this meal, we had ‘dumpling & pork’ 火锅

Finished dinner, nothing much left because we got tired after the skiing..nothing beats a good night’s rest at the end of the day..

Skiing is a fun activity, at the resort, it was even available till night time but I’d tuck in to bed after all..anyway if I ever have another chance to go snow skiing again, I’d definitely give it another shot at it.. ;)

Day 2 ~ "a taste of Korean culture - thru food & living lifestyle"

Day 1 was over (since long long long time ago...) & if you still care to read then..haha
let’s move on to day 2

Breakfast was at hotel before we checked out, Western buffet style but no doubt kimchi was also one of the food options there..

Next we went up higher in altitude to Seoraksan Mountain where a temple was situated on top of it..

a snow mountain somewhere during the journey going up Seoraksan

*read from right to left

the temple upon reaching the mountain

Spent sometime sightseeing up there & it reached afternoon

Lunch was a ‘seafood hotpot’..*forgot to take pics of it..
But there was a whole half dead octopus inside, which the tour guide helped us slowly sliced its tentacles one by one in front of us so that it can be cooked thoroughly within the hotpot..other than the “octo” which kinda gave a ‘yucks’ feeling..the rest of the seafood made the soup tasted 鲜甜

*I recall once watching a tv programme where it showcased how Koreans had a unique manner of eating small octopus..well, simply eating it ALIVE…anytime with its tentacles getting stuck to the tongue..eew..luckily, they didn’t ask us to do the same thing..phew….

Done with lunch, they took us to another filming site, this time round, from the series, Autumn in My Heart by a little ferry across a port from one side to the other..
Nothing much to see really, the filming site has now become a mini market/store there..

somewhere at the port..


a day with a beautiful weather..

Just a short while later, we visited their local fish market (known as ‘大浦渔港’), of course they had fresh seafood as they had a coast near to the sea

the local fish market

There were stalls selling various kinds of delicacy, but mostly of the seafood type for instance cuttlefish or squid etc

Korean seaweed was another typical food they sold there..
the difference as compared the common Japanese seaweed?
They roast their seaweed with sesame oil, thus less dry than those from Japan..
They even have seaweeds developed with different flavours, e.g. kimchi or wasabi flavour..

Here’s what we tried at the fish market..

fresh scallops..very nice..

some fish..with its roe filled within..

After getting out of the ‘fishy’ market, it was already about evening by that time..
It’s time for dinner again..

Walked in the restaurant & apparently, what we saw were only tables of very low height & no chairs for proper dining in usual eating places..

Thus, we got to experience how real Koreans normally dine in for meals at home..just sitting down on the floorboard around the table with family..

It’s ‘squid & ‘烧肉’ BBQ style..
There were side dishes such as sweet potato & ‘煎秋刀鱼’ there..
Not forgetting their kimchi, preserved radish, taugeh, seaweed soup & their local Korean rice (always served in a cute little metal bowl for each person)

By the way, did I mention that for every meal, their cutlery/utensils used for eating had to be stainless steel chopsticks & spoons..just like what is used in most Korean restaurants..seriously, I find that it’s actually quite tiring to use those heavy metal cutleries after practicing with them for a whole week..

As we had our tummies filled, we hopped on to the tour bus to go back to the place where we spent the night – Daemyung Resort

It was a nice resort & it had a supermarket located downstairs where we can buy snacks or even food to be cooked in the resort rooms as well..

at the lobby

This place to stay was the most comfortable accommodation we had throughout the whole trip as it felt like a complete home & gave us a cozy feeling as well.

Even though there were no beds..same as Korean homes..where we had to put out a simple mattress & sleep on floorboards instead, but it was still fine as beneath their floorboards, heating system is installed to keep the ground warm during winter.

I’ll let the pictures tell the story here:

introductory ~ welcome to "our house"..*ignore the person..

living room


TV!! ..i watched Amazing Race Asia on AXN there..


bathroom..


home kitchen..


bedroom..*no beds..


the resort (no idea of its name)

if you have patience..wait up for day 3

Day 1 ~ "snow"

warning: long post ahead..

Time was an hour earlier in Korea compared to M’sia. As soon as everyone got ready & settled luggage stuff from the airport. It was 8 am in the morning.

The first thing I knew when we reached there was I felt sleepy & the tour was only just about to start..*sigh, there’s nothing more than rest I desired at that time..

Well anyway, whilst all thought it to be warm & hot inside the airport, the cold winter weather (with temperature approximately -12 degree celcius) welcomed us thereafter

From the “very hot la” in the airport to “speechless…..” (getting frozen) outside, yet it felt refreshing away from the heat in our ‘beloved’ tropical country…..INITIALLY…

I’d say the cool weather is rather acceptable except when there’s the cold wind/breeze giving the real chill that ‘kills’..otherwise, it’s a great escape from the heat we experience in M’sia..but for sure, one definitely couldn’t stand it if you stayed outdoors for too long…

The tour guide is Mr. Lee, a ½ Chinese ½ Korean, so he was rather fluent speaking mandarin & of course he knows Korean as well. There was also another assistant (Joon? Not sure how it spells but that’s how we call him though) who accompanied with him the whole trip (actually a professional photographer) & he is purely Korean, not forgetting another Korean driver (don’t know what his name is..hehe)

*ignore every other person in the pic..
i'm just showing you who's mr. tour guide (the one holding a flag obviously)..

My 1st view of snow was there in Korea. The scenery along the roadside was pretty much covered with nice white snow..

After not-sure-how-many-minutes drive from the airport..
Our first stop:
Breakfast at this place here --> Udon noodles

why eat udon in korea? (thinking udon is a japanese thing)
well, i don't know..haha

Next up, we went to visit an observatory tower at which the tour guide explained where the border that signifies the territory between North Korea & South Korea respectively lies.

Apparently, it’s quite sympathetic that we heard there may be family members who’re separated from each other just by that ‘line’ marked on the map.

North Koreans are not allowed to cross over to South Korea & vice versa due to a ‘resting period’ in war against each other. So, they are now as though remaining as 2 distinct countries, with difference in culture since they’re under various influences from other strong countries in previous times during world war. Despite South Korea being an advanced country, North Korea on the other hand does not have such a positive outlook, economy wise, from what we learnt of from the tour guide...

The Bridge of Freedom actually links North & South Korea, yet it was impossible for Koreans from both regions to meet each other even when there’s such a short distance which parts between them. The attempt to unite North & South Korea was unsuccessful till now and there is The Bell of Peace located within the nearby area..

see the Bell of Peace?


at the Bridge of Freedom with observatory tower at the back
(from left: ???, ???, me, ???)

Hmm, we were lucky enough as it did snow lightly on that very 1st day itself when we came out of the observatory tower. It was really a fortunate event since the next few days onwards, the weather was still cold but it got relatively warmer especially when our plan of route went from an outskirt, more countryside area before moving on to the city of Seoul.

Coming up was lunch time, what had been served?
None other than their Ginseng Chicken soup/stew of course…

Personally, I don’t quite like the smell of Ginseng but the taste of it was not so strong such that it became overpowering. Thus, it was fine anyways coz it only had a light Ginseng flavour to it.

ginseng chicken...good thing there's no nose bleeding after eating that 'heaty' meal..

After lunch, we were driven to a port where we took a short ‘ferry’? ride to a place called Naminara (or in short – Nami) Island.

Can u guess what made it a popular tourist attraction?

It is actually taken as a filming site for the once hit Korean series, which I think all of u would know – Winter Sonata

it reads "winter sonata"

The scenery there was picturesque, just like shown in the movies, especially when we reach there during sunset hours & in this winter season..

there was a kimchi house as well..
**FST students, you can try recall what you've learnt in class & imagine how these kimchi could normally be kept underground


no kimchi inside the house actually..

the lake behind had frozen to form an icy surface..


yea, i didn't make that fella..it was right there when i saw it..
if i made 1, it wouldn't look that miserable i guess..


lonely..*sigh

Took enough pictures & we said bye bye to the island & then towards a restaurant to have our dinner.
Today’s special is …….

**Teppanyaki chicken [铁板鸡] with some cabbage, sweet potato, 年糕

It was later mixed with rice & seaweed

All these things were served together with lettuce, seaweed soup, along with the non-neglectable KIMCHI & some soft drinks for beverage

piping hot steam coming out..

yum..it was delicious & most importantly, kept us warm enough for the winter night

Night activity was not over yet, as we went downstairs from the restaurant located on the 2nd floor & we were given some free time to walk around the streets of Myung Dong area (繁华区) where the ChunCheon Market was located..

McD!! somewhere along the street..they have 'bulgogi burger' there..hmm, a korean twist..

Erm..how to explain this? well the best way to describe I suppose is saying it’s like a ‘pasar malam’ in Korea..

The day finally ended & we set the night off back in a hotel to get some well-deserved rest..after touring in ½ zombie status from sleepless hours in the plane…ZzZzz

evil plan - achieved :

The hotel room had a double bed & 1 single bed..sharing room with my bro, i chased my him off & reserved the big comfy double bed for myself..he complained to mum but she just said “never mind la, it’s just for 1 night, if it’s the same tomorrow, you can switch alternatively..” (but it was only the 1st night) ..hehe.. 反对无效 & so I get to take the big bed afterall.. leaving him sleeping in the poor little single bed..wahahaha =P