Korea Tour part 7

Day 8

had Chinese Breakfast.. we were supposed to have Chinese Dinner.. -.-"























more sales talk from Ellen. I suppose this is his last chance to persuade us to purchase items, thus, he was rather aggressive with it.

Visited Cordycep and Amethyst specialty shops.

Lunch - BBQ pork at high class restaurant (as claimed by Ellen)
we actually had to fork out additional $25000 won for this and the duck steamboat meal.
























It's our last meal in Korea, and we are still eating pork!



Shop at the Girl University street..
























most shops weren't even open for business as it was too early.






























then, it seems to be their lesson time when we see several groups of lady rushing towards the school. It's really amazing how they could run so fast with their heels.































the last stop and the most disappointing shop of all - Korean specialty Mart

the Seaweed sold here was super ex as compared to those at Myongdong. We just got the feeling we were "cheated" by Ellen again. *sighz*

Lesson learnt: do not trust your tour guide. Lol

On our last bus journey to the airport, Ellen gave a "remarkable speech" on our behaviour towards the photographer.




After thoughts

By joining a tour..

you get to travel to more places, but you can't choose where you want to go.

itinerary are planned such that no time will be wasted for anyone, but it would mean a mad rush for places you would like to hang out more.

no worries on what you eat, but you can't be too picky on what they served you.

professional photographer are around to take your beautiful photos, but there's always a high price to pay.

you get to understand more about the country with the elaborations from your tour guide, but this is very dependent on which tour you joined. For Hong Thai, you have to learn to expect less.


will I join a tour again?

Korea Tour part 6

Day 7

Stayed at Grande Sheraton Walker Hill Casino Hotel~
Very grand hotel, though casino doesn't seem as big as I expect.

the bed is so comfy! hahaa


Anyway, we didn't get to enjoy hotel breakfast today, most probably the food is too expensive in the hotel.
We had Korean breakfast buffet instead.

Ellen wanted to show us the City Hall of Korea as he said it has a very unique mountain supporting it.

if you look closely, you can see the eyes and nose on the mountain.























However, do be careful when you are taking photo around here as there are several police on petrol. You can only take photo from a far and not allowed to take closeup photo of the houses that the president is working at.

this is just one of the guest house..























after listening to some stories on the coach, we reached the Ginseng specialty shop.

Then, we were brought to another shop which sells cosmetics and they showed us some demo. The brand that we were introduced is UGBang, wasn't a brand that we are familiar with. This seems to be one of the most well-to-do brands in Korea though.

Prices are cheaper if you buy 6 items, most of the specialty shops have the buy 5 get 1 free promo.


Lunch - Duck steamboat with Bibimbap

the soup is so sweet that you can only drink a few spoons.. duck meat is too hard to eat..























luckily, bibimbap is delicious with the seaweed~























several side dishes to go with as well..










































visited Nam Sangol Hanok Villiage - the houses Koreans live in the olden days..
























































































We were then brought to another cosmetics specialty shop, which we were told is Face Shop.
But, we end up listening to a sales talk of another brand.
nevertheless, the Face Shop products are sold at prices so much lower than in Singapore. Worth a buy if you do use these products.

It seems like a endless shopping spree today..
Shop at Nandaemum and Myongdong. They were simply one street across each other.

alot of shops and stores.. one can easily lost their way here as numerous shops were repeated.






























Last stop of the day is Lotte World - the filming site for Stairways to Heaven. Theme park within a shopping mall.

It is cheaper to visit it after 4pm.






























































However, our tickets only allow us to take 3 rides. and, our first ride was used up by Ellen who wanted all of us to sit in the boat ride together.

Ice skating is also available.























2nd ride - the Hot Air Balloon
























3rd ride - the 4D theatre. It's only 10 minutes though..























Heard from tour mates that the monorail ride is good as you get to see the external theme park as well.


Ate the famous Zha Jiang Mian or so called Black Bean noodle.
























Do not be shocked by the colour, it is really tasty~
























Last night in Seoul. Drinking the night away. Lol

Korea Tour part 5

Day 6

It's hotel breakfast~ yeah!

Had no idea what we did after this. Lol, I suppose it was a long journey to our next destination.

I only remembered we had an early lunch and went to the first theme park.























Visiting Everland after a full meal isn't very advisable.
It is the Korean version of Disneyland.























Took this short distance Skyway downhill..










































And, we were left to explore on our own.
Weather was not as good as promised. It started drizzling again!!
So, we took shelter at the Grand Stage and watch the performance in Korean language.

As we were told earlier that it will be sunny, only 2 out of 6 had umbrella with us. Hence, each umbrella had to fit 3 of us. the way we had to travel around was just so funny! =p

Flower Carnival~










































Went around in search of the Carousel, but ended up with Sky Dancing ride as it had lesser queue.























































Rose garden~





























the roses look more beautiful with the little raindrops..























































Wonder Ferris Wheel~
























Managed to see the whole park in green. haha










































heart is too weak to take this gigantic roller coaster..























Magic Swing, more for the kids, but some of the girls aren't taking it that well.























tempted the girls to take the Racing Coaster~
though they were kinda worried about the ride, they managed to finish it! =)






















the last and most exciting ride - Double Rock Spin~
It was easy for the girls to spot us as I am wearing pink leggings.. Lol

you could really see the sky when you are spin to the top. And, when you thought it is over, it'll gave you another backwards spin!
























It was a short 3hr plus at Everland, we didn't even had time to shop for souvenirs.

Rushed to the next destination as it is a performance that is scheduled to start at 6pm.

The JUMP live performance that is based on taekwondo!






















We love it!!! It was hilarious from the start to the end. Non-stop laughing from the audience.
(^.^)

They were real good with their moves and had several interactions with the audiences.

I would love to watch it again!


After the drama, had a quick dinner of Ginseng Chicken.
It was pretty good, the chicken was stuffed with rice and ginseng, and we can choose to add in different amount of ginseng wine.





















First shopping area - Dongdaemum

you can see a wide range of shopping areas ranging from the high end malls to the lower end street vendors.










































Ate the local delights..

It was yummy-lious~






























Didn't manage to buy much stuff as the variety are similar throughout the different malls.
Price wasn't very cheap too, mostly selling at $30000 won and above.

Remember not to bargain with them if you have not decided to buy the item. They can get real angry with you.

Korea Tour part 4

Day 5

finally, we don't have to eat korean breakfast. Haha.

served with buffet from hotel.
























Started the day with Seoraksan National Park. Too bad the weather wasn't good.





































there was also several temple within the park.
























Lunch - Pork steamboat again. this time round with squids.

























Lucky the toufu soup was superb! =p
most of us had two bowl of it. haha


























Then, we make out way to Yongpyong Resort. This is also one of the filming scene of Winter Sonata.









































these are some of the views from our room! never had such a nice view from hotel before!!
(^.^)











































Weather was still not good. Should be around 10 degree celsius.
took the cable car up the mountains to view the scenery. there wasn't any snow at all, so of cos, no skiing.
And, we are required to pay an additional $12000 won for the ride.










































I guess it was Spring time, thus the whole place is so empty. We even had to close the door of the cable car on our own as there wasn't much staff around to help or guide us. Lol.

Even when we reached the top, it was still pretty empty. most shops are not even opened for business. Thus, nothing for us to do or see.

Too misty~
























And, lots of photos from Winter Sonata..










































Had some hot chocolate in the only cafe that is opened.
And, managed to get some warmth with the fireplace.









































since there wasn't much for us to do, we decided to challenge ourselves to take photo with the posters out in the cold and windy area. Hahaha

























you know how cold and windy it is from the way we stand. Lol























the cable car that was filmed during the show. they had removed it from the tracks and up for display now.
























back to our resort, we went around to explore the restaurant that is being kept after the filming of Winter Sonata.
















































































the piano is left untouched for several years, it is seriously out of tune. haha

























Still early for dinner, so we treat ourselves to the delicious looking cakes from the cafe in our hotel.










































Again, there was nothing much for us to do or explore as there was only some shops around the area.

finally, it's dinner time!

But, no surprises, it's pork steamboat again.
We ended up eating more mushrooms than the main ingredient, pork. Lol