I'm feeling much better today. I'm still sore about losing those photos, but at least i'm not so beat-up about it. Thank you Veron for offering to help me recover those photos...!! Thank you, really, a lot, whole-heartedly.
Ok, here is what I was supposed to post yesterday:
When you're in Seoul, don't ever forget to shop. Seriously... especially for girls. Their earrings, bangles and hairclips can be much cheaper than Singapore, if you know where to buy. Well, first of all, my number one recommendation for shopping is at Myongdong. But shop where the street stalls are, not in the large department stores. The street stalls offer a much better deal. And the cosmetics are really cheap. Especially face masks. Haha... Namdaemun is also another shopping area, if you're travelling with elderly. The stuff there are mostly for older people, and if you're a antique or furniture lover, head down there too. Well, the Orchard Road of Seoul has to be Dongdaemun. If you prefer shopping at upscale to midscale areas (think wisma atria) then head on to the large shopping malls at that area. Each floor is catagorised into shops selling different stuff. e.g. fifth floor jewelery and accessories, fourth floor men's wear, etc. If you're looking for cheaper buys at the Dongdaemun area, head towards the older buildings. At the older buildings, you can bargain, but not too much, as the shopkeepers would rather chase you away then sell things to you at a low price.
If you're heading to Korea in winter, I strongly recomend Yongpyong ski resort. It's the largest of it's kind in Asia. The popular k-drama Winter Sonata was filmed there. There you can rent skiing equipment and try your hand out at the sport. There's snow boarding also. Those who are not ski crazy have two choices. The first is to take a cable car up several mountains to the peak of a particularly high one. If you're scared of the cold, don't go there. The time I went, it was minus 20 degrees celsius up there. Plus strong wind, so you feel it''s like minus 30. Don't stay out for too long to avoid frost bite. Go out, snap a few pics and head back to the building, where there's a cafe that was one of the filming areas of winter sonata. The second option is to take 3 minutes walk to nearby Peak Island (it's not a island, just the name of a building near the hotel). Peak Island is something like Wild Wild Wet (or whatever you call that water themepark thing in Downtown east) complete with saunas and jacuzzi facilities. There's a indoor and outdoor water park there... the outdoor one is closed during winter. The water is warm, so no worries about freezing. But you have to wear a swim cap, or they won't let you enter the water. You can buy a swim cap from their shop at a really cheap price too.
Ok, now i shall focus on Jeju Island. There's something you MUST do at Jeju. Eat the TANGARINES! or oranges if you like to call them that. The jeju "oranges" are smaller in size than normal oranges so by right, they should be called tangarines. Anyway... They are simply YUMMO. Their strawberries are superb as well. Not a single one is sour. Go to the sea side in Jeju, the seaview is simply breathtaking. You could hike up several smaller mountains in the area also, and take up the scenery from there. Oh, and visit the village of the original inhabitants of Jeju. The villagers are all descendants of Chinese, so most speak Chinese. The popular drama Da Chang Jin had filmed at their village. Also visit the Teddy Bear Museum. The teddy bears are so cute! They have bears from all over the world displayed there... and they house the tiniest teddy bears in the world also. '
Last but not least, themeparks =) I would suggest Everland themepark. It's a really magical themepark, that makes you feel like a young child, innocent and with no worries. Beware not to go to Everland on weekends though. It will be so packed that you'll have to queue at least 1 hour plus to get on a ride. When I visited, it was Friday, but I still had to queue for like half hour for the popular attractions. Another cool themepark to check out is Lotteworld, located in Seoul. That one is pretty fun too.
Some must eat Korean food: Ginseng chicken soup, Korean style BBQ pork and BBQ duck, Bi-Bim-Bap (mixed rice with other small dishes. Think of Korean style fried rice. the best Bi-Bim-Bap is the stone pot Bi-Bim-Bap), Zha-Jiang Mian (I can't think of a Eng translation for that, so work your hanyupinyin knowledge....), Seafood Hotpot, and of course KIMCHI ( which is available in almost every restaurant in Korea).
Woah, I wrote a lot.... I hope this helps anyone who wants to visit Korea next time. I simply just regurgitated what I have experienced and what Eric (the tour guide) told me. Ask me straight for more info. Haha.
I'm in the midst of learning Korean. I'm stuck with Spanish without the help of Marisol's mom anyway. I already know how to read and write Korean, just that I don't understand what i'm reading or writing. Something like you know how to read and write certain Chinese words, but you don't know what they mean. Ok, signing off now. Going to listen to Lee Seung Gi's songs. Lols... I heard him on TV in Korea, and found his songs pretty good.
Toodles =)
No comments:
Post a Comment