August 24, 2011
Addicted to Travel!! ^^
Earlier this month, me and hubby went to 2 cities in Australia, Sydney – New South Wales and Melbourne – Victoria. We hope to have a yearly trip for both of us only before we have our first little bundle of joy 
Hmm.. maybe I still can categorize it as another Honeymoon trip? haha 
The details of the trip I will share in another post.. 
But recently I found this TripAdvisor application from Facebook where we can customize our travel photos and put it into a slideshow plus adding-up the template and songs.. 
I still have no idea on how to embed this in my blog post.. so for now, I just share the link below
~> Okay.. now I finally knew the reason why I couldn’t embed that slideshow into my WordPress blog post
This is the reason:
Flash and all other embeds are not allowed in WordPress.com posts, pages, or text widgets. For security reasons, we remove the tags needed for these to work. Your intentions may be innocent, but someone somewhere might try to use such embeds to damage the site, affecting all of our users. – WordPress Support
Here’s my slideshow done using TripAdvisor – TripWow Slideshow
My TripWow Slideshow
Indeed, TripAdvisor website is such a great website where I have been using to gather all the information needed on the places to visit, the hotel recommendations, etc. It also linked to some of the reservation bookings website so I can plan for my free-and-easy trip for my holidays ^^
~.~
August 23, 2011
Bangkok Business Trip May 2010 – April 2011
If you notice on the publish date of my Honeymoon-Trip-series postings, you may realized how long I missed out to update and complete my Honeymoon trip journal hehe.. Mid of last year, I was suddenly busy getting my hands on the Thailand project which required me to travel on and off to Bangkok..
First time to Bangkok, I was so excited.. the traveling took me around 2-3 days.. after some time, I traveled more and more frequent to at most 2-weeks within a month..
It’s quite a good experience that open up my social networking life, to get to know some Thai friends, working with new colleagues, etc.. That’s the experience which I won’t regret hehe..
Too bad, despite our team hard work at last the project still didn’t run quite smooth.. 
However, I’m still going to post some of the photos which I took there to keep some of my memories in Bangkok, including my favourite Cha-Yuan drink haha.. I’m missing it alot
My Memoirs of Bangkok:
The following pics were taken on the earlier days when I just started traveling to Bangkok for business trip.. Still feel excited and happy coz I still could have some time to explore around the city and do some shopping which I love the most when I was in Bangkok.. hehe
Excited for traveling ^^
Look! We're going to arrive in Bangkok very soon
Finally landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport
These are some pics of the inside view of Suvarnabhumi Airport, taken when I just arrived in Bangkok as well as when I was going to depart back to Singapore..
Wall design along the way to immigration counter
The God statue
Showcase of an art crafting skill on how to create beautifully shapes flower using fruits
On the way to boarding gate
Display of some traditional structure/building
View from the Boarding room
On the earlier days, we were staying at the hotel.. While on the later days, after most of the team were traveling to Bangkok, we moved to the apartment nearby the office.
This is the hotel where I was staying for some time before moving to the apartment
Inside the hotel room
Hotel Lobby
Hotel Lobby from another view
City view from the hotel room
View to the main street Viphavadee Rangsit road
The following pics are taken around Bangkok, just once of the whole trips within that period when I had the chance to walk around after working hours during my business trip..
At BTS station: taking the BTS train, some kind of monorail around the CBD area
View from the BTS train
Alighting at Siam Paragon during World Cup Fever 2010
Stopped by at MBK and had our dinner
Me and My Favourite Drink, Thai Ice Tea (Cha-Yuan)
Taking MRT to Suan Lum Night Market
These are the usual places we went after work for our dinner and some refreshments, aka massage as well as a little bit shopping hehe
Central Ladprao, the nearest shopping mall where I got my Naraya bags ^^
Opposite Ladprao, the place where I like to go for shopping
Nearby food places, where our team like to eat the Jap food there
Bangkok in my memory was full of nice food and good place for shopping hehe You can find market and places to eat everywhere.. Here some of my memories of the markets and foods there
Markets
Thursday Market near Client's Office
Lunch Market near Office
Street Market
Suan Lum Night Market
Foods
Similar like Singapore Horfun, but a bit sweet instead of salty
Chicken Chop, Western Food
Similar taste like Indonesian Takwa Bakso
Nice Roasted Duck Meat
Delicious Pork Leg with Egg ~
Nice Thai Salad, a bit taste like Rojak
Similar like Indonesian Yellow Rice ~
Steamboat
Sushi and Udon
There was once our team dinner which our Thai colleague brought us for a nice and awesome dinner
Tom Yam Soup
Yummy Fish
Our Dessert, Sushi Cakes
Another Sushi Cakes for dessert
Me and Colleagues
My new friend who's been so nice and helpful to bring me around
Oh.. the above pic is my new friend from Thailand.. she’s a sweet and kind lady, who always accompanies me when I was there.. She also showed me how to take the newly open Airport link at that time, from the nearest BTS station located at the client’s side event thought she didn’t go to the same direction as me.. so nice of her
Me at BTS to Airport Link
That's the BTS Train, well maintained rite?
That's the way to take the Airport Rail Link
~.~
August 18, 2011
Honeymoon Trip to Korea: Day 7 & 8
On the last two days in Korea, we spent mostly around Seoul city area.. as mentioned earlier due to the Spring session had not reached Seoul, we already omitted the places we wanted to visit for the cherry blossoms experience..
02 April:
We went to a nearby Korean food restaurant for breakfast.. the food there just so-so only.. but as usual, coz the portion quite big I also couldn’t finish it hehe..
Our breakfast for the day
That's our hotel, just behind me
We went for a stroll around Seoul today.. our initial plan was totally out, we’re a bit lazy to go to Suwon Fortress as the place is out of town and the journey takes quite a while.. Thinking to go to Nami island.. but apparently our timing wouldn’t be able to make it, some more we’re quite late to go already as need to take the ferry to Nami island.. to be honest, actually we got lost on the way to Nami haha as I wrongly read the subway map and our improper timing plan..
So here ended up we strolled around the city.. visited the Gwanghwamun and went for shopping again to Insa-dong to buy the souvenirs for friends and relatives which we haven’t bought on the earlier day..
A stroll around Gwanghwamun
The other statue is located at the opposite
Insa-dong Ssamziegil Market
We found a stall in Insa-dong that selling a uniquely formed cakes.. Can you guess what’s the form of the cake? haha.. see below pic
Stall selling a uniquely formed cake
Around the evening time, we went to Myeong-dong again as the place is walkable from Insa-dong market.. Along the way, we bought some snacks on the street stall..
Finger food along the way to Myeong-dong
Myeong-dong area at night
We took our dinner in one of the street stall along the way and went back to our hotel.
Dinner time ^^
03 April:
This day was our last day in our Honeymoon Trip to Korea.. after we checked out from the hotel, we brought our luggages and stroll along to find the Airport bus terminal.. they provided the check-in service on-site also, so we didn’t need to bring our luggages along to the bus..
After bought the bus ticket and we went straight-away to check-in our luggages at the terminal, we went to have our lunch there.. and just in time after we finished lunch, we hurriedly boarded to the bus which took us to Seoul Incheon Airport.
Lunch Time ^^
Prepared to board the Airport Bus
At the airport, after checked-in our luggages we walked around and found there was a performance of some Korean tradition by the Korean women.. they also taught the attendee on how to draw the Korean art.. too bad we didn’t have much time to join.. so we only went to see around and proceed to our boarding gate..
Learning Korean Tradition at the Airport
Finally it’s time to say good bye Korea.. hope we will come to visit again someday..
Conclusion:
Overall it was an enjoyable Honeymoon trip with my lovely hubby… even though we had some disagreements sometimes, finally we can make it up again and enjoy our whole Korea Trip.. I realized that we both was an adventurer type who prefer scenic places and nature sightseeing compare to stroll around the city..
For this trip, what we love the most was the trip in Jeju island.. The scenery was simply awesome!
~.~
Honeymoon Trip to Korea: Day 6
Two days of our free & easy trip in Seoul had passed.. Unfortunately, we couldn’t follow our initial planning.. Had been omitted the places where we planned to view the cherry blossoms trees as Spring season had not reached Seoul at that time..
The 3rd day in Seoul, after took bath, we went out to take our breakfast cum lunch first at nearby restaurant then went back to check-out from Seoul guesthouse on the afternoon..
Yummy Soup ^^
It was a bit drizzling that day, after asking the direction to Ibis Seoul – Gangnam from the owner’s daughter and feeling confident to find the place.. we prepared to make a move but before that we took some pics around the guesthouse and with the famous dog from there, Sari.. We knew we will surely miss that place and hope to re-visit again in future :’)
Pose with Sari, the owner's dog
As suggested, we took subway instead of cab to avoid traffic at that hour. Taking metro subway in Seoul with out luggages was quite a challenge for us.. We hardly found escalators inside so we need to carried around our luggages each time we changed from one line to another.. We also need to carried the luggages at the MRT entrance and exit as our luggages was too big to fit in haha >.<
The Ibis Seoul Ambassador located quite a distance from the Subway station hence we still need to walk around 15 minutes.. The surrounding around the hotel mostly are office buildings.. Its similar like a CBD area in Singapore.. Very different with the surrounding around Seoul guesthouse which located quite in Central Seoul..
After found the hotel, we checked in and rest for a while.. The room was not bad, its more than we expected from a 3 star hotel.. Ibis hotel does have a good standard
Actually I chose this hotel based on the review from TripAdvisor forum.. it has a good review, short walking distance to the Subway station and the Airport bus terminal and another plus point for the place is surrounded by nearby cafes and restaurants so easily can find something to eat..
After resting for a while, we went to visit COEX Aquarium to see the underwater marine life conservation there.. The COEX Aquarium is located inside the COEX Mall. The aquarium was quite big and such an interesting place to visit, a lot of various river/sea creatures inside.. they also designed it very well.. It’s a worth place to visit with your spouse, friends or family as when you enter the place, you suddenly feel like you’re in another world hehe.. Oh ya it’s also located within a walking distance from our hotel, just a short 15-20 mins walk
The Entrance
Look!! So many Dory fishes..
Can you see the fishes there?
Isn't that a screensaver?
Wow.. So colourful.. ^^
Red Jellyfishes that Spongebob really loves to catch it hehe
Isn't that wonderful how the colourful lights can makes the jellyfishes look very beautiful
Didn’t notice the time passing till it was the dinner time.. we walked around the COEX Mall and found a Jacky Chan’s restaurant.. we decided to try and have Chinese food for our dinner
Our dinner at Jacky Chan's restaurant
After dinner, we took the Subway Metro to Dongdaemun station to visit the famous Dongdaemun night market shopping center until we felt tired of walking and shopping of course hehe.. then we decided to go back to our hotel..
One of the shopping mall around Dongdaemun area
Waiting the traffic light turns to green to cross the street
We tried the Fried Chicken stall just beside our hotel.. Not too bad in a cold and frizzing weather, we ate the hot and fried Chicken for supper hehe.. even though a bit oily..
Our supper ^^
That’s all the adventure for Day 6, time to rest and head back to our hotel room hehe
~.~
August 25, 2010
Honeymoon Trip to Korea: Day 5
That day was a bit drizzling, as the weather forecasted was raining whole day.. Woke up around 10am, took bath and prepared to have our breakfast cum lunch nearby around Seoul guesthouse..
Found a resto along the way from Seoul guesthouse to Anguk station..
Our breakfast for the day.. delicious Korean Ramen with Oysters.. but a bit spicy..
Changdeok-gung & Gyeongbok-gung
Our itinerary for the day started with sightseeing around the nearby palaces, Changdeok-gung and Gyeongbok-gung, as it’s just nearby walking distance from Seoul guesthouse.. Actually there are 5-6 palaces around Seoul, but we chose to visit these 2 palaces which are mostly recommended by the travelers in TripAdvisor forum..
Have checked the website that to enter Changdeok palace we need a guided tour instead of browse around the palace ourselves. So after finished eating, we’re rushing for the Changdeok palace tour with an English-speaking guide at 1.30pm.. We’re just nice reached there slightly on-time as the guide was just starting her explanation about the palace history..
Inside Changdeok-gung
The female guide brought us around the specific areas in the palace and gave a brief explanation in English to each of the area we visited. It’s still a bit drizzling that time so must step carefully as the road was quite slippery and wet..
The Emperor’s throne at Changdeok-gung
Beautiful rooftop design at Changdeok-gung
Some areas are restricted for visitors and mostly we just browsed around the outside area, not allowed to enter inside the room for maintenance reason due to aging of the buildings.
View one of the building inside Changdeok palace
There is a secret garden with a small pond inside Changdeok palace which was used only for Korean royal family at that time.
Along the way to secret garden
A small pond at secret garden
At secret garden
At the end of the palace tour, the guide told us about a unique phenomenon, there’s a tree branch which grown and shaped like a monkey face.. interesting hor hehe
Do you spot the monkey face shape?
Once we finished the Changdeok English-guided tour, we continued our journey to another palace nearby, Gyeongbok-gung.. Here we can browse around the palace on our own as it’s not as restricted as Changdeok-gung..
At Gyeongbok palace, usually there is a “changing-guards” ceremony every afternoon in front of the palace entrance.. I think we have missed the ceremony, but we still can manage to take some pics of the guards in front of the entrance gate
Gyeongbok palace’s guards
Got similarities between the two palaces that we visited, the main difference is on the functional purpose which can be seen in the rooftop design colour..
Inside Gyeongbok palace
One of the building at Gyeongbok palace
The Emperor’s throne at Gyeongbok-gung
At Gyeongbok palace, there’s rental of Hanbok (Korean traditional clothes) for visitors to take picture.. but too bad on that day when we went there it was closed due to rain..
Think hubby felt abit boring, after sometime browsing around Gyeongbok palace.. we got some arguments which now I forgot why we got the arguments.. He decided to go out from the palace wanted to go back to the guesthouse while I still wanted to browse around the National Folk Museum of Korea which located outside Gyeongbok-gung main gate..
Gyeongbok-gung main gate
The museum is a 4-storey museum which each level contains different Korean history and traditions from time to time with the displayed artifacts related to it. Unfortunately I didn’t take pics inside the museum as it is quite dark inside..
After finished browsing around, I tried to contact him again.. he was sitting at the nearest Starbucks cafe.. we decided to meet up to take the metro subway at Gyeongbok-gung station which located just beside the museum..
As both of us felt a bit hungry already, we tried to to find some place to eat for lunch again haha.. Wondering around till we decided to go in to one of the resto there.. The resto selling porridge, we just placed the order by pointing pictures on the menu..
Our actual lunch of the day ^^
Namsangol Hanok Village & N Seoul Tower
After that we continued to the next destinations of our itinerary for the day, Namsangol Hanok Village then followed by a night at Namsan Tower (N-Seoul Tower).. ^^
At subway going to Namsangol Hanok Village
At Namsangol Hanok Village
At Namsangol Hanok Village there’s some night performances where the tickets can be bought on spot, but as our plan for the night would be going to N Seoul Tower, we skipped the performance.. Had asked the person at the main gate of Namsangol Hanok Village for the direction to N Seoul Tower.. I knew from the map it should be near from there..
Unfortunately the person couldn’t speak English, but he’s kindly enough to draw us a map to get the bus to N Seoul Tower.. but as we scared we lost our way, so we decided to go back to the MRT exit which we went out and follow the direction from internet to go to Myeongdong MRT hehe..
From the direction I got in internet, we can walk from Myeongdong MRT exit to the cable car station. Apparently what we saw on the map which we thought quite near as stated around 10 minutes walk, it’s actually took us 20 minutes more as the path was slope uphill.. After walking sometime, we still couldn’t see some signs which indicate that there’s a cable car station, so hubby asked one of the worker there for the direction.. he told us to walk straight again then turn right at the end.. fiuh.. still a long uphill road.. haha >.<
After thanking the person, we continued our “hiking” and finally.. we saw a main road, but we’re not sure where to go on.. a lot cafe’s and resto’s along the main road.. we saw on the right path of the main road, it’s like a corner.. so we tried to walk to the left path but it didn’t feel right either.. so we went back to go and following the right path and finally we found that cable car station to N Seoul Tower hehehe…
Finally found the cable car station..
We bought a return trip cable car, and queued for our turn to go in the cable car.. Actually after we bought the ticket then I found out that we could take bus to go back to Myeongdong station, so actually one-way trip of cable car is enough.. >,<
There’s another way to go to N Seoul Tower besides by cable car or bus, you can walk via Namsan Park to reach the Namsan Tower.. That time was already dark and we wanted to enjoy the night scenery view so we just took the cable car to N Seoul Tower ^^
View from the cable car
It was very cold up there.. we’re both freezing and my camera was low-batt somemore.. quite few restaurants and foodcourt there.. we browsed around the place, got Teddy Bear Museum and other attractions which not to our preference.. Got ask the dinner at the top of the tower, it’s very expensive.. we both decided not to take dinner there eventhough a bit tempting hehe
Mini Teddy Bear at the small shop near Teddy Bear Museum ticket entrance
There’s a laser performance in front of the tower at 8pm.. while waited to watch, we browsed around to an open deck where we can view the night scenery of Seoul.. At the open deck, there’s a place where most lovers put their pair of padlocks attached together.. which I think symbolize unbreakable commitment maybe.. Unfortunately we didn’t bring any padlocks with us..
Lots of lover's padlocks
When the laser show begun, we just watched for a while and then decided to go back and look for dinner around Myeongdong area..
Apparently the way back was much more shorter than when we went up hehe eventhough it’s the same road.. but downhill is much much better than walking uphill haha.. actually when we were looking for the way to go to cable car station, we passed a resto which looks nice that’s why on the way back we decided to take our dinner there ^^
Dinner time!
After finished our dinner, we went shopping around at Myeongdong night market.. so many things to see and I felt so excited.. suddenly I forgot about my tiredness hehehe.. ;p Luckily no more rain for the night hehe..
Myeongdong Night Market ^^
We went back quite late almost 11 to 12pm to Seoul guesthouse.. still need to prepare our things before taking a rest as we need to check out on the next day.. Next 2 days we would be moving to Gangnam-gu, around Southern Seoul area..
~.~
May 17, 2010
Honeymoon Trip to Korea: Day 4
Woke up around 9.30am, prepared for check-out from the guesthouse and took a flight back to Seoul. We had our breakfast as the previous day, toasted bread and egg. I toasted the breads while hubby fried the eggs hehe after cleaned up the kitchen utensils that we used, we asked the receptionist, this time was a guy to help us called the cab.
at Jeju International Airport
Proceed to check-in our luggage and waited for boarding. Our flight to Seoul was at 12.00pm, we would reach Seoul at 1.00pm.
reached Seoul airport and transfered to Subway Metro
Yeah, free and easy in Seoul.. ^^ The first 2-nights I booked at Seoul guesthouse around Anguk area so we took the subway from Seoul Gimpo airport to Anguk station line 3. We had a traditional hanok experience in this guesthouse as it is one of the traditional Korean houses located in Bukchon Hanok Village area which is in between Gyeongbok palace and Changdeok palace.
When reached Anguk station, we took the exit 6 following the direction given from the owner and stopped by to have our lunch in the restaurant in front of the exit 6. First culture shock, no one greeted us and our drink was not being served not like the experience we had in Jeju. We asked for the menu and luckily they provided the English menu and the pictures and apparently the drink we need to get by ourselves, it’s a self-service hehe :p
Actually got another culture shock in subway station as not much escalator provided and the lift service also not as conveniently located as in Singapore, we need to carry our big luggage and went up or down the stairs to change train line within the subway >,<
But I had already estimated that portion as I heard before from one of my ex-colleague who had traveled there and also read it during my web research hehe
After finished our lunch, we walked a bit to find the guesthouse which is located in a 10-mins walking distance. When we found the place, it’s a bit messy and because at that time in Seoul, spring season not yet come so no cherry blossoms for us during our trip there
Reached Seoul guesthouse around 3pm; it’s a bit difficult to find the entrance as quite few doors located there. We decided to enter one of the door which looks like the main gate. After we entered the guesthouse, we’d been greeted by the nice owner and her friendly daughter..
We waited for a while as the room was not ready and drank Korean tea which the daughter served us. It tasted like a cereal or corn tea while chit chatting with the daughter..
When the room’s ready, we proceed to check-in and put our luggage. Took some pics inside the room first before went out to browse around the area
experiencing Hanok-stay
afternoon view at Seoul guesthouse
Jogyesa Temple, Insa-dong
First place we visited in Seoul was Insa-dong as it is only a nearby walking distance from our guesthouse. We went to Jogyesa Temple first as it also located just opposite of the entrance to Insa-dong market.
at Jogyesa Temple, Insa-dong
When we reached there it was almost 6pm where the daily ritual offering was begun in the temple. We went in to pray for a while though didn’t follow the ceremony. After that we continued to walk to Insa-dong market.
Insa-dong was such a very interesting place to visit for tourist as they can find a lot of souvenirs which couldn’t be found elsewhere. And not to forget, the most interesting part is it come with good prices as a lot of stores selling same unique souvenirs so it’s possible to negotiate the price hehe
stores along Insa-dong street
From Insa-dong we continued to take subway to Myeongdong area which has a night market along the street and shopping centres.. this place also recommended for shoppers as we found many various things, from clothings, cosmetics/beauty shops, till the “branded” bags and wallets haha
at Myeongdong night market
But this time, we didn’t browse and shop around at Myeongdong area, we just took our dinner there. This time we chose a Japanese restaurant hehe.. I got soup-craving while hubby still craving for fish since last time at Jeju :P
my Japanese dinner course
hubby's dinner course
in front of the Jap-food resto
Chonggye-cheon stream
After dinner, we continued again to take subway to Chonggye-cheon stream.. it’s quite a long stream which spread across Centre Seoul and Southern Seoul.. actually a lot of bridge along the stream where each has an interesting design.. but we just went to the most popular one which is near Chonggye plaza.
at Chonggye-cheon stream
It’s quite a romantic view along stream.. many young couples sitting around chit-chating while the rest just enjoy each others company ^^ After enjoying the view for a while then we returned to our guesthouse by the nearest train station there..
went back via subway to Seoul guesthouse
It was quite a long afternoon-to-night walk, as we reached our guesthouse around 11pm and took a rest.
~.~
April 21, 2010
Honeymoon Trip to Korea: Day 3
On the second day in Jeju island, we went for a day tour trip with the local travel agent, Yehatour. It’s the same travel agent services who helped us book the return ticket for the domestic flight Seoul – Jeju – Seoul and also arranged our accommodation at Yeha guesthouse.
Their services are not bad, the room was nice and clean, I would recommend to all of you and wanted to use them again in my future visit to Jeju, hopefully there will be a chance for me to visit Jeju again in future
Back to the topic, so the itinerary for the day was:
- Visit Seongeup folk village to see their daily living activities
- Visit Seopjikoji with the beautiful beach scenery and also a shooting location for a Korean drama, “All In”.
- Visit Seongsan Ilchubong (Sunrise Peak), which is one of the UNESCO World Heritage in Jeju.
- Visit Manjang-gul Cave, it is the largest lava tube in the world and also become the UNESCO World heritage in Jeju.
- Visit the Folklore National History Museum and Mysterious Road
These are the places at Eastern of Jeju island, we didn’t go to the Western course of Jeju island as most of the famous places are in Eastern Jeju.
Seongeup Folk Village
We started the day tour at Yeha guesthouse on 9am. After eaten our breakfast we proceed to the bus. The breakfast which was bread and egg, provided by the guest house but we need to make it by ourselves and cleaned the plates after we used it, not bad hehe
at Seongeup village entrance
The journey to the destination took us about 45 mins, there was a tour leader on the bus who explained roughly about the places we visit, and also helped us to order our lunch of the day.
view at Seongeup village
Apparently in one of the houses there, got some villagers who were in the process of making Korean rice cakes. The owner kindly offered us to taste the rice cake. I found it a bit tasteless, it’s like springroll but the content was filled with a lot of onions and veggies.
the making process of Korean rice cakes
The village was surrounded with few of hundred years-old trees, there was a story behind these trees which we couldn’t really understand as we’re too eager to take pictures instead.. oops
some of the very old trees surrounded the village
Seopjikoji
It was the second place we went. It’s a beautiful place which located just beside the ocean. Lucky that time we went, the weather was so nice.. the ocean so blue and the sky was bright.. what a wonderful scenery ^^
scenery at Seopjikoji
There was a church located there and it had been a shooting place for a Korean drama, “All In”. The title quite familiar, but I couldn’t remember if I already watched it or not hehe
a church at Sepjikoji
scenery view around the church
We only had a short time there after that we continued the journey to Seongsan Ilchubong (sunrise peak).
Seongsan Ilchubong
This place is a volcanic crater with vertical cliffs rises up from the shore. It’s known as a sunrise peak, as this is the first area to get the sunrise every day.
It took us around 50 mins to climb up and back, so tiring.. on top of it we can see a panoramic view around the area.. it’s so amazing.. ^^
climbing to the top
view from the peak
After that we went to have our lunch at the nearby place. We can see the sunrise peak view outside of our restaurant.
seongsan ilchubong view from away
The tour guide already arranged our meal order, I ordered bibimbap while my hubby ordered mackerel fish for the lunch set.
our lunch meal
Jeju is well-known for the mackerel fish and other marine life like seaweeds, shellfish, or abalone. According to the history they have women divers (Haenyo divers) to go diving instead of men as the population for men was lesser because of the war.
After finished our lunch, we went outside to continue our photo taking hehe
photo taking time ^^
Manjang-gul Lava Caves
From the restaurant, we continued our journey to Manjang-gul cave. The cave was built naturally from the hot lava flows a very long time ago. Not much things to see inside the cave, as it was quite dark. They just install some minimum lights along the way inside the cave to maintain the natural ecosystem. This is very different with the one that we had seen in China, whereby the cave was decorated with colourful lights. It’s more beautiful inside but I dunno whether will spoil the ecosystem inside.
We walked quite a distance from the entrance of the cave to the lava column area. It’s the end of tourist walkway, as we can’t proceed further so we walk back again to the entrance for exit.
It’s quite an interesting experience as we saw so many unique formations at the walls and along the walkways. According to the information I got from internet:
“it stretches over 8 km, with widths reaching 5.15 meters and heights up to 10 meters. The temperature inside the tube ranges between 11-21 degrees (Celsius) year-round.” [1]
at the lava column
Folklore National History Museum & Mysterious Road
From the caves, we then continued the journey to the last 2-places in our day tour itinerary. The museum mostly contains about the history from the living traditions, people, how their connection to China, and many others Korean history. We just browsed thoroughly as at that time, there were another tour groups which mainly students coming so the place quite crowded.
We could find a lot of cherry blossom trees around, took some pictures and continued to Mysterious road.
cherry blossom trees outside
Mysterious road was originally founded by the newlyweds on 1981 during their visit to Jeju island. It’s the phenomenon whereby when they put their car gear in neutral and switched-off the engine, slowly the car began to roll like going uphill. Actually it is a downhill road, but the surrounding scenery perspective made it look like uphill hehe ^^
That day, was crowded with tour buses and cars that went to try out the experience too, so we need to queue up and waited for a while. Actually it just like that, an optical illusion experience haha
at mysterious road
After finished our day tour itinerary, the tour guide offered us whether we wanted to continue to the Love Museum for adult only or going to the duty free shopping. Initially we wanted to go back to the guesthouse to join the free night tour, but not enough time so on the way back to guesthouse, hubby asked the tour guide for the night market for us to buy some souvenirs. The tour guide recommended us Dongmun Market as it opened till quite late.
Dongmun Market
So our last destination of the day was Dongmun Market. The bus driver dropped us at the nearby place and from there we took a cab for a short distance. I got asked the tour guide to write the Dongmun market place in Korean to show the taxi driver hehe.
When we just alighted from the cab, hubby realized that his mobile phone was not with him -_-“ He was quite panic, I just noticed the last time he used it at the bus couch. But hubby couldn’t remember, he scared he left it on the taxi. So he tried to call using my mobile phone, but no answered.. finally we decided to go back to the guesthouse and asked for their help.
Took another cab to go back, asked the receptionist gal to call the tour guide and asked about the mobile phone left on board. Luckily it was on the bus, so the tour guide kindly brought it back to the guesthouse.. fiuhh… hubby so relieved haha.. thank God ^^
We decided to rest and take bath at the guesthouse first before went out to Dongmun market again by cab.
Dongmun market gate
walked around to find souvenirs
Walked around the place and looked around for dinner, but we couldn’t decide which restaurant to enter.. after wandering sometime around the food places, there was a nice “ajumma” (aunty) who offered us a help even though her English was not so fluent. She’s very nice until we felt paiseh..
She willingly helped us to ask around the food places, and recommended a comfy place to eat and talked to the waiter some more to order for us >,< we’re so speechless and so thankful for her… I think she is a nearby resident there, she looks like a nice lady who just going home after work.
We had a Korean BBQ dinner again but this time was not as nice as the first day we tried at the restaurant nearby our guesthouse. Not bad at least got something to eat hehe…
our 2nd dinner in Jeju
Took cab again to go back to the guesthouse and had rest after a full day trip hehe
~.~
April 8, 2010
Honeymoon Trip to Korea: Day 1 & 2
The following was the itinerary that we went through during our trip, it’s almost the same with the initial planning.. but got some changes due to the circumstances there
27 March: We took Korean Airlines for the flight to Incheon airport, Seoul at 10.45pm.
ready for departure ^^
entertainment on flight..
Along the journey I spent by watching 2 new releases movie on the flight, Hachiko and New Moon.. hehe I didn’t sleep during the flight so as hubby when he almost fallen asleep, the stewardess woke him up for our breakfast meal around 4am haha >,<
28 March: Reached Incheon airport at 5.30am. After queueing up for immigration check point (the queue line was a bit messy >.<), we took our luggages and transfered by Airport Railroad to Gimpo airport, Seoul for the domestic flight to Jeju island.
just arrived at Incheon Airport
bought a one way ticket at the vending machine
took the airport train to transfer to Gimpo Airport
Still a bit early to check-in our luggage at Gimpo Airport as our flight would be on 9.55am. Hubby and I tried to sleep abit to rest our tired eyes for 1 hour during the waiting time.. after that we checked-in at Eastar Jet counter at 9.30am. Oh btw the domestic flight to Jeju can only be purchased at the airport itself, but for our case, I booked the ticket via Jeju local travel agent, Yehatour, to arrange the flight ticket, accomodation, and the day tour for the next day..
reached Jeju Airport
Reached Jeju, we took a cab to Yeha guesthouse around 10 mins drive and checked in to put our luggages. I wanted to see the cherry blossoms festival as during that time the cherry blossoms tree were in a full bloom at Jeju island hehe ^^
view from the cab.. alot cherry blossom trees, so excited ^^
We asked the receptionist about the festival location, luckily it is only a nearby walking distance.. After successfully persuaded hubby to go out as he prefer to take a rest instead, we walked around to enjoy the cherry blossom seasons.. The weather there was quite cold especially when the wind blows towards us >,<
walked around to find the festival place
cherry blossom flowers
view under a cherry blossom tree
Passed a football field along the way, we sit to watch for a while then went to buy some food street snacks hehe.. we love the food street, it’s quite alot in Korea.. dunno why couldn’t find in Singapore hehe..
watched a football game for a while
eat some food street snacks
Actually we’re a bit lost to the destination as we followed the receptionist direction to the place.. tried to ask an “ajushi” (similar to “uncle” in Singapore) who looks like a security guard but he couldn’t speak English haha.. he used his body language to point to some teenagers maybe like telling us to ask younger ppl haha.. so nice of him ^^ But we decided to try our luck by walking around ourselves, as long as we know the way to go back to the guesthouse hehe..
On the way back, we found a small garden full with cherry blossom trees.. eventhough we’re still not sure whether it’s the one mentioned in the initial itinerary.. But nevermind, we assume it is haha.. taken some pictures of us with the cherry blossoms as a background ^^
enjoying cherry blossom season at Jeju
just the two of us ^^
As we still felt a bit full after the snacks, we decided to just buy some Korean cup noodle at the nearby convenient store on the way back to Yeha guesthouse. Took a rest at the guesthouse and eaten our cup noodle for lunch haha.. after that fallen asleep.. Wanted to join the night tour, but sadly we overslept so couldn’t manage to join the night tour. The receptionist comforted us that we could join the next day as they will have it everyday at evening time..
I heard someone who just joined the night tour complained that there’s no English speaking guide haha.. then the receptionist said because it’s a free tour anyway so couldn’t expect much from it haha.. that’s true :p
We tried to find a place for dinner, walked around to nearby areas and finally decided to try one of the Korean BBQ restaurant there.. First, we tried to look inside hopefully to find menu with some pictures.. luckily we chose the right resto, at least they have an English menu hehe.. That was a very nice dining experience we had during the trip, the food were so delicious ~
delicious Korean BBQ dinner
Somemore the owner which is a mid-age Korean couple was very nice towards us, eventhough they couldn’t speak English.. they patiently served us like teaching us how to eat haha..
The cuisine was a mixture of grilled meat which then cut into small pieces and wrapped with fresh lettuce leaves, thinly sliced garlic, and other ingridients.. I was so embarrased as initially I ate it one piece by one piece.. Actually it should be put together instead hahaha >,<
always droolz when I remember this dining experience ~
After dinner, we took some pics in front of the resto before went back to the guesthouse.. the owner went out to offer us 2 bottle of Yakult as free dessert haha..
pose in front of a very nice restaurant at Jeju
~.~
April 7, 2010
Our Honeymoon Trip: Initial Itinerary Planning
As mentioned in the previous post, finally we decided to arrange our own itinerary for our honeymoon trip to Korea.. The decision on the date itself which was on 27 March to 3 April quite a bit rush.. we went during Easter holiday which was a long weekend so can save some of our leave balance hehe
Here’s our initial itinerary planning for 27 March to 3 April 2010:
Sat, 27 Mar [Day1]:
- Depart from Singapore Changi Airport to Seoul Incheon Airport by Korean Air
Sun, 28 Mar [Day2]:
- Reach Seoul Incheon Airport -> Transfer to Gimpo Airport
- Take Eastar Jet flight to Jeju Island
- Check-in to Yeha Guesthouse
- Visit Jeju King Cherry Blossoms Festival, 26-28 Mar 2010
- Join free night tour at Yeha Guesthouse
Mon, 29 Mar [Day3]:
- Join day tour to East course Jeju Island with Yehatour
- Visit Love Land/Teddy Bear Museum
Tue, 30 Mar [Day4]:
- Check-out from Yeha Guesthouse
- Take flight back to Seoul Gimpo Airport
- Go by subway to Anguk station and check-in to Seoul Guesthouse , Central Seoul
- Visit Changdeok palace – Insadong – Chonggyecheon stream
Wed, 31 Mar [Day5]:
- Go to Nami Island, before that visit Kyunghee University to see cherry blossoms
- Visit Myeongdong Market – Namsangol Hanok Village – N Seoul Tower (Namsan Park) -Dongdaemun Market
Thu, 1 Apr [Day6]:
- Check-out from Seoul Guesthouse
- Proceed to Southern Seoul, Gangnam area and check-in at Ibis Seoul Ambassador
- Visit Yeoido Park for cherry blossoms – 63 Building (the tallest building) – COEX – Lotteworld
Fri, 2 Apr [Day7]:
- Visit Suwon, Hwaseong Fortress – Korean Folk Village – Everland
Sat, 3 Apr [Day8]:
- Check-out from Ibis Seoul Ambassador
- Proceed to Seoul Incheon Airport for return flight to Singapore
~.~
April 6, 2010
Planning a Honeymoon Trip ^^
Hello again.. it’s been a while not updating my blog.. Had been busy with work and planning my honeymoon trip which just passed last week.. Can you imagine how time flies.. I remember I just wrote a post about my New Year celebration trip.. and now April already which means it’s getting closer to mid of year 2010 now, waa~
Back to the topic.. yes, we just came back from our honeymoon trip hehe.. it was quite memorable as this was our first free-and-easy trip experience. This means we’re planning for our own itinerary trip from day 1 till end of our trip in Korea..
Someone said to us, ‘free-and-easy (F&E) but not free’ haha.. ya I also not sure where they got the “F&E” term, maybe this term referring to our schedule where we had our free time and easy to do our own preference activities during the trip. This isn’t related to money as we still need to spend money almost the same with the money we spend if using a tour package or maybe more money depends on what we choose to spend during our trip.. ~_~
Why I choose Korea? Because of the Korean drama haaha.. >,< yes, I’m interested to it but not a big fan of it.. I like Korean drama coz I find the movie sometimes quite funny and romantic.. Like their interesting story line and actors too I remember long time ago, me and my bf (now become hubby) watched a Korean movie as our first date movie hehe.. What a memorable one..
Initially we almost signed a tour package during NATAS Fair on last February, but in the end decided on F&E instead.. I wanted to go there during spring time to catch a glimpse of cherry blossoms season.. actually I prefer to go by tour as we don’t need to prepare alot and do alot of homework to go there.. but hubby insisted as he prefer F&E so can enjoy our free time and not too rush..
I did some research in internet, and found out that quite alot people also doing F&E trip to Korea.. that made me convinced to go by F&E also.. and somemore their KTO website provides alot of information about the interesting places for tourists there.. such an interactive website..
And also with the help of TripAdvisor website, I manage to find so many review about the places and hotels there.. also can ask in the forum and their travel expert can advice us about our itinerary trip or sharing their own experience too.. Thanks God, what a helpful website ^^
So here we are now, have been there and done that.. it’s been fun in planning and experiencing an adventurous journey to a place where we’re not familiar with, somemore couldn’t speak their language haha.. but it would also be troublesome for some people who prefer to enjoy the journey only without doing so many arrangements before hand..
I’ll put on my itinerary details in my next post, of coz with the attached pics too..
