It was known as Seoul Tower when it first opened its doors to visitors back in 1980. It was remodeled in 2005 and was renamed N Seoul Tower with the 'N' which stands for new.
Directions: Take the subway to Myeongdong station (Line 4 exit 3), walk straight along the road next to the convenience store, continue walking past Pacific Hotel, continue walking uphill till you reach a small stairway with grafitti painted on it, go up a bigger flight of stairs, walk past a row of restaurants on your right and you will see the cable car boarding place on your right.
Info on the Cable Car operations
- Operating hours: 10:00-23:00
- Fare:
Individuals (return ticket): Adults 8,500 won / Children 5,500 won
Individuals (one-way ticket): Adults 6,000 won / Children 3,500 won
-Hubby finds it funny why anyone would buy a one-way ticket as there is no other way to come down from N Seoul Tower and there are no accommodations that we know of up there.
N Seoul Tower
Operating time:
[Monday-Friday, Sunday]
Observatory: 10:00-23:00
Restaurant: 11:00-23:00
Alive Museum: 10:00-22:30 (Last entry: 21:30)
[Saturday]
Observatory: 10:00-24:00
Restaurants (n.GRILL/Hancook): 11:00-23:00
Alive Museum: 10:00-22:30 (Last entry: 21:30)
Ticket pricing:
[Observatory]
Adults 9,000 won / Children 7,000 won
[Alive Museum]
Adults 12,000 won / Seniors & Children 9,000 won
***You can go to P1 (glass terrace), P2 (roof terrace where the love locks are) and the lobby without paying any admission fee.
**For a great night view and an unforgettable memory, visit N Seoul Tower between 7 p.m. and 12 a.m during their fantastic illumination show.
If you have decided to pay to visit the observatory, do not forget to go up to the sky restrooms to have a look! :p
Even though I had the printed voucher for 40% discount off the observatory tickets, hubby decided the view from P1 and P2 was beautiful enough.
My suggestion to you all is to visit N Seoul Tower at around 5.30pm, go around taking pictures and watch the sunset at about 6.30pm and if you have the time, stay till 7pm for the illumination show and the night view of the city. Perfect!
Bits of X.J
Wednesday 13 July 2016
Day 2: Ewha Womans University, Myeongdong, Ihwa Mural Village, N Seoul Tower, Dongdaemun
After a good night's rest, we got up bright and early and reached Ewha Woman's University at about 830am, just in time to see the crowd of female students all heading towards the university. Practically the entire walkway in front of the shops was filled up by the students walking fast in one direction only. Just follow the crowd and you will reach the university in about 5 minutes.
My husband kept pulling me away to avoid getting squeezed or getting in their way. And it was pretty obvious we were the tourists as all the students are females and I am travelling with the husband. ;)
The university's compound was beautiful, how I wish I could study there too. There was a garden and an auditorium next to it which we had mistaken as a cathedral initially.
After taking pictures, we went around shopping there as I found out the prices of the clothes there are among the cheapest and most affordable in Seoul since the target customers are mainly the students. We even bought the cheapest banana milk there for only 900won! Other places sell it for 1300-1400 won.
I ended up buying 3 long-sleeved shirts there for about 5000-10000 won each (RM18-36). Be sure to check that the items you bought are made in Korea. There are a lot of shops selling China-made clothes/bags/accesories there. I only buy from shops that displayed the prices of their items out in the open as I know they are bound to charge tourists exorbitant prices. It is not easy to haggle price when you cant speak Korean.
We found a cosy place to take our lunch- Budae jjigae (army stew). It was the most delicious meal we have had since touching down in Korea yesterday. And price was affordable- 11000 won (~RM40) for two. The thing that is nice about eating in Korea restaurants is that they always serve you a free side dish and free drinking water so you don't have to spend extra on the drinks unless you want something else.
My husband likes Edae a lot and wanted to come back if we had the time but unfortunately during the entire Korea trip, we only manage to visit Edae once unlike Myeongdong.
Once our tummies are filled, we headed to Myeongdong once again to try on Hanbok for free.
Then, it was time for more picture-taking at Ihwa Mural Village. It was a residential area but the whole village was full of wall arts everywhere. Very colourful and beautiful. Lots of Korean locals were there taking pictures too.
After about two hours there, it was only about 4pm, so after resting a bit we decided to be spontaneous and head to N Seoul Tower to watch the sunset before going to Dongdaemun.
We stayed until about 6.30pm, then we took the subway to Dongdaemun. We took subway Line 4 from Myeongdong but took the exit 14 of Line 2 as both lines are linked from within. The place reminded me a little of Orchard Road in Singapore. Buildings are pretty with lots of lights but things were expensive.
I also managed to redeem some freebies from Doota Mall - a cute designer make-up bag and a discount voucher booklet. Do not forget to print out your vouchers to redeem them before going~
**2015 voucher can be printed here: http://www.koreagrandsale.co.kr/en/companies/375
Dongdaemun shopping was divided into retail and wholesale.
Section 1- Retail shops
We even waited till 8pm to enter the wholesale shopping centres but there were no prices displayed and when I asked for the price of a decent looking locally-made shirt, the price the ahjumma offered me was 330000 won (RM110). Dongdaemun was not the shopping heaven I thought it would be. I did not purchase anything at all from there.
We went inside Dongdaemun Design Plaza to have a peek as the building looks very futuristic and amazing from the outside with lights flashing on and off on the entire surface. It looks like an alien space craft if you ask me. We left Dongdaemun before midnight so that we would still be able to take the subway before it closes its operation at midnight.
My husband kept pulling me away to avoid getting squeezed or getting in their way. And it was pretty obvious we were the tourists as all the students are females and I am travelling with the husband. ;)
The university's compound was beautiful, how I wish I could study there too. There was a garden and an auditorium next to it which we had mistaken as a cathedral initially.
After taking pictures, we went around shopping there as I found out the prices of the clothes there are among the cheapest and most affordable in Seoul since the target customers are mainly the students. We even bought the cheapest banana milk there for only 900won! Other places sell it for 1300-1400 won.
I ended up buying 3 long-sleeved shirts there for about 5000-10000 won each (RM18-36). Be sure to check that the items you bought are made in Korea. There are a lot of shops selling China-made clothes/bags/accesories there. I only buy from shops that displayed the prices of their items out in the open as I know they are bound to charge tourists exorbitant prices. It is not easy to haggle price when you cant speak Korean.
We found a cosy place to take our lunch- Budae jjigae (army stew). It was the most delicious meal we have had since touching down in Korea yesterday. And price was affordable- 11000 won (~RM40) for two. The thing that is nice about eating in Korea restaurants is that they always serve you a free side dish and free drinking water so you don't have to spend extra on the drinks unless you want something else.
My husband likes Edae a lot and wanted to come back if we had the time but unfortunately during the entire Korea trip, we only manage to visit Edae once unlike Myeongdong.
Once our tummies are filled, we headed to Myeongdong once again to try on Hanbok for free.
Then, it was time for more picture-taking at Ihwa Mural Village. It was a residential area but the whole village was full of wall arts everywhere. Very colourful and beautiful. Lots of Korean locals were there taking pictures too.
After about two hours there, it was only about 4pm, so after resting a bit we decided to be spontaneous and head to N Seoul Tower to watch the sunset before going to Dongdaemun.
We stayed until about 6.30pm, then we took the subway to Dongdaemun. We took subway Line 4 from Myeongdong but took the exit 14 of Line 2 as both lines are linked from within. The place reminded me a little of Orchard Road in Singapore. Buildings are pretty with lots of lights but things were expensive.
I also managed to redeem some freebies from Doota Mall - a cute designer make-up bag and a discount voucher booklet. Do not forget to print out your vouchers to redeem them before going~
**2015 voucher can be printed here: http://www.koreagrandsale.co.kr/en/companies/375
Dongdaemun shopping was divided into retail and wholesale.
Section 1- Retail shops
- open 1000-0500
- 2000-0800/1700
- Jeil Pyeonghwa. Heungin -30-40year-olds
- Designer's Club, Migliore Valley, Nuzzon, Gwanghee- Teens and youth
We even waited till 8pm to enter the wholesale shopping centres but there were no prices displayed and when I asked for the price of a decent looking locally-made shirt, the price the ahjumma offered me was 330000 won (RM110). Dongdaemun was not the shopping heaven I thought it would be. I did not purchase anything at all from there.
We went inside Dongdaemun Design Plaza to have a peek as the building looks very futuristic and amazing from the outside with lights flashing on and off on the entire surface. It looks like an alien space craft if you ask me. We left Dongdaemun before midnight so that we would still be able to take the subway before it closes its operation at midnight.
Island Tree Hotel in Jeju - a night in a log cabin
This B&B is an independent small quaint building in the quiet town of Andeok-myeon in Seogwipo. If I'm not mistaken, it only has 4 available rooms and a beautiful small cafe on the ground floor. The owner stays in the same building so you can just give him a call and he will attend to your needs anytime of the day. He also runs his own cafe, does everything on his own- basically a one-man-show kind of place. Haha. But he is very friendly and patient and most importantly, he speaks fluent English.
We really like the room. It was spacious and comes with a functional kitchenette, dining table, cable TV, a couch, a dressing table, a queen-sized bed and a small balcony. The door locking system is quite high-tech too, whereby you do not need a key or card to enter. You just have to key in your own pin number that he has entered in the system.
It was too bad we came so late at night and checked out early in the morning itself to start exploring Jeju island. We only get to stay a night there as we plan to stay the second night near the airport since we would have returned the rental car by then.
Breakfast was served in the cafe, made by the owner himself. He made us delicious sandwiches and a cup of coffee each. Really satisfying meal. He also asked us where we were planning to visit and gave us a map and a book on the tourist locations in Jeju Island. This is a recommended place to stay if you ever want to visit Jeju Island. The owner made us feel very at home. That is not something even the most expensive hotel can do.
Address: 358-3 Hwasoon-Ri, Andeok-Myeon, Seogwipo-si, CJ, South Korea
Phone:+82 64-792-8777
This place is also available for online booking on Airbnb, Expedia and Agoda.
*We were unable to find this hotel when we entered the phone number into the GPS but we were able to find it using the address.
We really like the room. It was spacious and comes with a functional kitchenette, dining table, cable TV, a couch, a dressing table, a queen-sized bed and a small balcony. The door locking system is quite high-tech too, whereby you do not need a key or card to enter. You just have to key in your own pin number that he has entered in the system.
It was too bad we came so late at night and checked out early in the morning itself to start exploring Jeju island. We only get to stay a night there as we plan to stay the second night near the airport since we would have returned the rental car by then.
Breakfast was served in the cafe, made by the owner himself. He made us delicious sandwiches and a cup of coffee each. Really satisfying meal. He also asked us where we were planning to visit and gave us a map and a book on the tourist locations in Jeju Island. This is a recommended place to stay if you ever want to visit Jeju Island. The owner made us feel very at home. That is not something even the most expensive hotel can do.
Address: 358-3 Hwasoon-Ri, Andeok-Myeon, Seogwipo-si, CJ, South Korea
Phone:+82 64-792-8777
This place is also available for online booking on Airbnb, Expedia and Agoda.
*We were unable to find this hotel when we entered the phone number into the GPS but we were able to find it using the address.
Gwangjang Market- The nation's first market~
Gwangjang market is one of the places that tourists often make the effort to visit. When I visited this place on the morning of our day 3 in South Korea, most of the faces I see sitting on the benches enjoying the local market food are foreigners instead of the locals.
Directions:
1) Take the subway to Jongno 5-ga station via Line 1 exit 9 (8min - 4stations)
2) Take the subway to Euljiro 4-ga station via Line 2 & 5 exit 4
if you go via option 1), you will see the North gate 2 entrance upon exiting.
Operating hours:
General stores: 0830-1800
Restaurants: 0830-2300
Clothing stores: 2100-1000(next day)
The market layout is shaped like a cross, so you can go to 4 different directions to explore the different stores. They sell mostly traditional market food items like gimpap, bindaetteok (fried pancake made from mung beans and brussel sprouts), ddeokbokki, chicken feet, octopus, pork intestines, juk (porridge), red bean soup and many more.
The ground floor shops also offer souvenirs, traditional costumes- hanbok for children, agricultural and marine products, handicrafts, Ginseng candies and many more. On the other hand, the second floor of the market has all kinds of silk, satin, linen bed-sheet stores.
I personally think visiting this market is a good experience but some of the food stalls were not very hygienic and they tend to overcharge foreigners. We ordered 2 dishes from a stall while a local couple ordered 4 dishes but they charged us more than the Korean couple. Also, I noticed two strands of hair in the chicken feet my husband ordered. The bindaetteok we ordered from another stall on the other hand was quite good even though it contains brussel sprouts- something I have hated to consume my entire life.. We even met a family of Malaysian from Sungai Petani who travel to Korea on their own. We can totally recognize the northern Hokkien slang from miles away... haha... It's always nice to meet fellow compatriots when you travel overseas. They even offer to share their food with us. Heartwarming... :)
Directions:
1) Take the subway to Jongno 5-ga station via Line 1 exit 9 (8min - 4stations)
2) Take the subway to Euljiro 4-ga station via Line 2 & 5 exit 4
if you go via option 1), you will see the North gate 2 entrance upon exiting.
Operating hours:
General stores: 0830-1800
Restaurants: 0830-2300
Clothing stores: 2100-1000(next day)
The market layout is shaped like a cross, so you can go to 4 different directions to explore the different stores. They sell mostly traditional market food items like gimpap, bindaetteok (fried pancake made from mung beans and brussel sprouts), ddeokbokki, chicken feet, octopus, pork intestines, juk (porridge), red bean soup and many more.
The ground floor shops also offer souvenirs, traditional costumes- hanbok for children, agricultural and marine products, handicrafts, Ginseng candies and many more. On the other hand, the second floor of the market has all kinds of silk, satin, linen bed-sheet stores.
I personally think visiting this market is a good experience but some of the food stalls were not very hygienic and they tend to overcharge foreigners. We ordered 2 dishes from a stall while a local couple ordered 4 dishes but they charged us more than the Korean couple. Also, I noticed two strands of hair in the chicken feet my husband ordered. The bindaetteok we ordered from another stall on the other hand was quite good even though it contains brussel sprouts- something I have hated to consume my entire life.. We even met a family of Malaysian from Sungai Petani who travel to Korea on their own. We can totally recognize the northern Hokkien slang from miles away... haha... It's always nice to meet fellow compatriots when you travel overseas. They even offer to share their food with us. Heartwarming... :)
Black pork - Our first meal in Jeju!
I never really like to eat pork, you can ask anyone who knows me well. But this is not any ordinary pork. I have never tasted anything quite as succulent and juicy yet crispy. I simply love it. Before going to Jeju, I have done a fair share of homework and most of the blogs mentioned that black pork is just so-so or tasted just like ordinary pork. Maybe it is just our luck, the owner of the B&B we stayed at brought us to this local restaurant which is frequented by mostly locals so you can tell it must be good.
The pork meat itself is not black but the name is due to the black hair of the pig. To help customers identify that the pork served to them is real black pork, the restaurants keep some of the black hair on the pork. So to those who are not familiar with this custom, they would think that they left the hair on the pork by accident. My husband is one of those people, he was complaining to me bout how dirty are they to keep the hair on the pork and actually serve it to us! Haha. But we both dare not eat the skin part with the hair and cut it out before consuming the pork.
The B&B owner even helped us to order the recommended part of the black pork- which is non other than the pork belly, the part with the most fat. I cant believe I let him order something so fattening! But when I took a bite, I was in love. We ordered a serving each which is about RM75 per person, but it was really worth it. The meal comes with rice, miso soup, lettuce, ssamjang (wrap sauce), kimchi, salad and other dishes that I could not quite identify but tasted good with the pork itself. Most of the cooking was done by the restaurant staff and served to us when it is well-cooked to perfection. The aroma is so tantalizing! I usually never order a second serving of rice even back in my own country but it was so appetizing and I was famished after the flight to Jeju.
If you ever come by Andeok-myeon, make sure you stop by to eat at the wonderful black pork at his restaurant. You won't regret it!
The pork meat itself is not black but the name is due to the black hair of the pig. To help customers identify that the pork served to them is real black pork, the restaurants keep some of the black hair on the pork. So to those who are not familiar with this custom, they would think that they left the hair on the pork by accident. My husband is one of those people, he was complaining to me bout how dirty are they to keep the hair on the pork and actually serve it to us! Haha. But we both dare not eat the skin part with the hair and cut it out before consuming the pork.
The B&B owner even helped us to order the recommended part of the black pork- which is non other than the pork belly, the part with the most fat. I cant believe I let him order something so fattening! But when I took a bite, I was in love. We ordered a serving each which is about RM75 per person, but it was really worth it. The meal comes with rice, miso soup, lettuce, ssamjang (wrap sauce), kimchi, salad and other dishes that I could not quite identify but tasted good with the pork itself. Most of the cooking was done by the restaurant staff and served to us when it is well-cooked to perfection. The aroma is so tantalizing! I usually never order a second serving of rice even back in my own country but it was so appetizing and I was famished after the flight to Jeju.
If you ever come by Andeok-myeon, make sure you stop by to eat at the wonderful black pork at his restaurant. You won't regret it!
Day 1 in Seoul- Changdeokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok, Insadong, Myeongdong
Once we touched down in Incheon International Airport, after collecting our luggage, we bought 2 AREX tickets to Seoul Station as that is where our hotel is located.
AREX train tickets- 8000 won/ person (~RM 27)
There are two types of transport to get to Seoul Station from Incheon Airport:
We stopped at a small roadside stall to try the famous Korean delicacy tteokbokki and their Chilsung cider- which is equivalent to our Sprite.
AREX train tickets- 8000 won/ person (~RM 27)
There are two types of transport to get to Seoul Station from Incheon Airport:
- AREX- Express, non-stop ~43 minutes
- Towards Seoul Station- operates from 0520-2150
- Towarsds Incheon Airport- operates from 0600-2220
- one train every 30min
- Subway- non-express, stops at every subway station ~60 minutes
- every 6 to 60 minutes
We left our luggage at the hotel - Stay Inn & headed straight for our first destination- Changdeokgung Palace
But before we embarked on our journey, we dropped by GS25 mart to get our T money cards & loaded 10000 won in each card as the whole journey in Seoul and Busan will require using this card.
We took the subway to Anguk Station (Seoul subway Line 3, exit 3) , walk straight until you see the palace.
We spent about an hour or so in the palace and end up eating our first street food in Korea in front of the palace. It is a type of red bean delicacy, crunchy and delicious. 3000 won for 10 pieces. In the end, we did not have time for proper lunch and decided to just eat any street food we came upon.
Next stop, we walked to Buchon Hanok village which is just around the corner from the palace. We could not find the exact entrance but no worries, there are Koreans dressed in red shirts patrolling the streets in every tourist attraction areas who can speak Chinese and English and they are armed with maps. We asked one of these red-shirted people and we were soon directed in the right way.
 |
| Mickey and Minnie in Hanboks |
We spent about 1-2 hours walking around the entire Hanok village. It was beautiful. Every door is different from the next one. And I like how some of them maintained the old traditional doors but the rest of the house is new and modern- where east meets west~ very beautiful.
Next stop was Insadong, we reached Insadong street with no hiccups. It was a lively and crowded place even though it was a weekday afternoon. Do not forget to take a picture with the only Starbucks branch in the world where the sign is not in English in Insadong. It was written in Hangeul (Korean).
We went to Ssamziegil, a shopping centre with lots of artsy and unique stuff.
After that, we went back to our hotel, with our feet begging for a warm soak in the bathtub.
After a much needed shower and rest, we still feel very tired and we ditched our original plan to go to N Seoul Tower to watch the sunset and instead head to Myeongdong for dinner.
To reach Myeongdong station, use the subway (Line 4, exit 6), you will exit right onto the Myeongdong street filled with all the shops selling beauty products.
We were glad to go to Myeongdong at night instead of in the afternoon the next day as planned because the place is livelier at night with food stalls and some stalls selling knick-knacks and clothes lining both side of the streets.
However, dinner was disappointing. It was expensive and cold. That was because my genius of a husband ordered cold noodles served straight from the fridge along with kimchi as the free side dish. The worst thing was both the noodles and the kimchi were super spicy and my husband could not finish either one. He was feeling nauseous from eating the dish lol! And the whole torturous meal costs us about RM50 for one person! I on the other hand was smarter and decided to buy some street food as my dinner as nothing looks as appetizing as street food to me. I like to try a variety of food rather than submit myself to only one dish.
I bought 3 'cucuk' of street food for 3000 won each. That is about Rm30 for street food alone. I saw other places selling the same food for 2500 won only. Myeongdong is considered one of the more expensive place for food. Anyway, when you are out travelling, you should not complain and just go with the flow.
Day 3- Gwangjang Market, Lotte Mart, fly to Jeju~~~
Our flight to Jeju is quite late, about 4.10pm, so we decided to visit Gwangjang Market for breakfast before leaving. We had bindaetteok, chicken feet, and banana milk (again!). After that, we headed back to Lotte Mart at Seoul station to stock up our food and water supply before heading to Jeju Island. Then we walked back to our hotel to check out, take our luggages and head for Gimpo Airport.
Directions to Gimpo Airport- take the rapid train (AREX) Subway line 5 from Seoul station to Gimpo Airport station. It takes about 20 minutes and is only 4 stations away and will cost you 1200 won per person.
If you are flying with Koreana/ Asiana/ Jeju Air airlines, you can check in at the basement-2 floor of Korail Airport Railroad Seoul Station if you want to check in earlier than 3 hours prior to flight departure. But you have to pay an additional 3000 won for this service. However, if you want to check in less than 3 hours from the time of your flight, then you must do it at Gimpo Airport itself.
We flew with Eastar Jet so we had to check in at Gimpo Airport 40 minutes prior to the flight. It was a breezy and fairly fast process. We managed to check in early and still have time to explore around the airport before take-off.
The flight itself took about 1 hour only. Free drinks like orange juice are served on board. The plane is a small one and the seat capacity is quite small but since it's a short flight, who am I to complain. The view from the plane of Jeju was so beautiful. We can help but snap plenty of pictures.
We reached at around 5.15pm. We have already booked and paid online for our rental car from Jeju-Rent-A-Car from www.rentalcars.com. It is among the cheapest compared to the other companies in Jeju. A plus point is that they have English version GPS available for an additional 10000 won only~ I expected to fork out 30000 won for it. We only paid RM171.64 in total for the car rental for 1 day duration which means we have to return our car to the same location at 7pm the following day.
**You also need to get hold of an international driving license from your respective countries before leaving. It costs us RM150 to get one from JPJ in Malaysia and is only valid for a year.
If you have not booked online before going to Jeju, no worries. You can still do so at the airport itself on the domestic arrivals floor (1st floor). But if it is during peak season, the car you want may not be available.
We waited at the airport at Ground floor Gate 5 for our free shuttle bus to collect our car at a nearby location. The shuttle bus runs every 3 minutes so we did not have to wait long before boarding one. You can also see many other shuttle buses from other companies lining up outside Gate 5 waiting to collect their customers.
After collecting our cute Chevrolet Sparks (a baby blue one!) at 7pm, we set the GPS to our Island Tree Hotel and started driving there. it took only about an hour, even though my homework before going to Jeju told me it was going to take 2 hours or more.
We reached Island Tree and were happy to see the owner standing outside in the cold weather to welcome us. He even helped us carry our luggage all the way to our room on the second floor as the place does not have elevator. He even brought us in his car to have dinner at a local restaurant that serves black pork. And it proved to be the most sumptuous meal we have had in Korea so far. Tender and juicy and crispy all in one bite!
We then headed back to the hotel and the room was really warm and nice, biggest room during our entire stay in Korea. We were very pleased with the room and the service. We will definitely stay here again if we have the chance to go to Jeju again in the future.
Directions to Gimpo Airport- take the rapid train (AREX) Subway line 5 from Seoul station to Gimpo Airport station. It takes about 20 minutes and is only 4 stations away and will cost you 1200 won per person.
If you are flying with Koreana/ Asiana/ Jeju Air airlines, you can check in at the basement-2 floor of Korail Airport Railroad Seoul Station if you want to check in earlier than 3 hours prior to flight departure. But you have to pay an additional 3000 won for this service. However, if you want to check in less than 3 hours from the time of your flight, then you must do it at Gimpo Airport itself.
We flew with Eastar Jet so we had to check in at Gimpo Airport 40 minutes prior to the flight. It was a breezy and fairly fast process. We managed to check in early and still have time to explore around the airport before take-off.
The flight itself took about 1 hour only. Free drinks like orange juice are served on board. The plane is a small one and the seat capacity is quite small but since it's a short flight, who am I to complain. The view from the plane of Jeju was so beautiful. We can help but snap plenty of pictures.
We reached at around 5.15pm. We have already booked and paid online for our rental car from Jeju-Rent-A-Car from www.rentalcars.com. It is among the cheapest compared to the other companies in Jeju. A plus point is that they have English version GPS available for an additional 10000 won only~ I expected to fork out 30000 won for it. We only paid RM171.64 in total for the car rental for 1 day duration which means we have to return our car to the same location at 7pm the following day.
**You also need to get hold of an international driving license from your respective countries before leaving. It costs us RM150 to get one from JPJ in Malaysia and is only valid for a year.
If you have not booked online before going to Jeju, no worries. You can still do so at the airport itself on the domestic arrivals floor (1st floor). But if it is during peak season, the car you want may not be available.
We waited at the airport at Ground floor Gate 5 for our free shuttle bus to collect our car at a nearby location. The shuttle bus runs every 3 minutes so we did not have to wait long before boarding one. You can also see many other shuttle buses from other companies lining up outside Gate 5 waiting to collect their customers.
After collecting our cute Chevrolet Sparks (a baby blue one!) at 7pm, we set the GPS to our Island Tree Hotel and started driving there. it took only about an hour, even though my homework before going to Jeju told me it was going to take 2 hours or more.
We reached Island Tree and were happy to see the owner standing outside in the cold weather to welcome us. He even helped us carry our luggage all the way to our room on the second floor as the place does not have elevator. He even brought us in his car to have dinner at a local restaurant that serves black pork. And it proved to be the most sumptuous meal we have had in Korea so far. Tender and juicy and crispy all in one bite!
We then headed back to the hotel and the room was really warm and nice, biggest room during our entire stay in Korea. We were very pleased with the room and the service. We will definitely stay here again if we have the chance to go to Jeju again in the future.
Exploring Jeju Island in a day is possible!
The initial plan was to keep two days to explore the entire Jeju at our own pace. But the flight I managed to book flies to Jeju late at 4.15pm and only reach at Jeju at 5.15pm which means by the time we reach, there is nothing much we can do except check into our hotel and sleep. That is a whole day wasted already. Fortunately, after intensive homework and advise from tripadvisor friends, I managed to hatch out a short and compact itinerary that allows us to squeeze in all of the places that we wanted to visit in Jeju. Since both my husband and I enjoys beautiful scenic views and nature, we decided to not to visit all the man-made places like Teddy Bear Museum, Jeju Loveland , Trick-Eye Museum, etc.
The list of places we visited are in the following order:
Our Island Tree Hotel is really close to Yongmeori Coast about 5-10 minutes drive, so we started our day with it and move on to the next location from the south of Jeju until we reach the northern part of Jeju.
However, luck and weather was not on our side as Yongmeori Coast was closed temporarily to tourists due to strong waves. We stayed there for about 20 minutes to wait for the 'ok' from the authority but no matter how many times we bug the guy, he kept saying no to us.. I was very disappointed as Yongmeori Coast is the place I wanted to visit the most out of the list. Hubby was surprisingly very patient throughout the day and kept calling the staff in Yongmeori Coast from other places along the way to ask if the place is open to public already as he knew how much I wanted to visit the place. In the end it was decided that the place will be closed for the day and we moved on.
Our second stop was Cheonjeyeon Falls. I picked this over Cheonjiyeon Falls as you get to visit 3 different attractions nearby with only a single entrance ticket. The first section is the beautiful turquiose clear pond also known as 'The pond of God'. Truly breathtaking... If you climb up the stairs they will lead you to the second section which is the waterfall. The water from the first waterfall divides into the second and third waterfalls, which then flow into the sea. The third section is “Seonimgyo Bridge” (arch bridge with 7 nymphs carved on the side) and it connects Cheonjeyeon with the Jungmum Tourist Complex. We took some pictures but did not proceed to cross the bridge.
We asked for directions to Jusangjeolli Cliff from the tourist info centre at Cheonjeyeon Falls as the number we had was not listed in the GPS. The lady gave us another number to key in the GPS but it brought us to another place. It was not Jusangjeolli Cliff as I have seen pictures of it before but we explore the place anyway as it is beautiful too. The beach is full of rocks of all sizes and I took the longest time to walk to the cave which overlooks the sea.
Next we drove around Jungmun asking for directions to Jusangjeolli Cliffs. A friendly local helped me to searched for it using her phone and we finally found it going in the opposite direction from where we were heading in the first place. Silly us! Jusangjeolli Cliff is so magnificent with its spectacular columnar volcanic rock formations. The water is again so clear and beautiful. We took some pictures, stayed a while longer to appreciate nature's fine works and finally went on our way in search of the next destination, Jeongbang Falls.
Jeongbang Falls is the only one in Asia that flows directly into the sea and is situated by a high cliff by the sea. The water was so cold and refreshing. Just standing below the waterfall can make you feel its magnificence (and also very wet!). There was a stall near the waterfall where ahjummas sell raw seafood but we dare not try as the creatures are still wriggling and very much alive.
Seopjikoji was our next stop which is located at the east coast of Jeju. We had a longer drive to this place from Jeongbang Falls. The place was not as nice as I had anticipated and we only spend some time there before heading to Seongsan Ilchulbong. It is just as well that they did not charge entrance fee for the place. It is apparently the place where they filmed the drama "All In" but I have never seen it so it pretty much means nothing to me. All I know was Running Man had been to this place which is why hubby and I had decided to visit in the first place.
Last stop of the day is Seongsan Ilchulbong and it also the most effort-tolerance-reducing place out of all the places we have visited. Save the 'best' for last, hehe. We took 40 minutes to climb up and probably 10 minutes to climb back down. I have never sweated so much in my life. The view of the island from halfway up is beautiful and we also managed to watch the sunset as well. When we finally reach the top, the husband said he can't believe he climbed all this way to see a patch of grass. Oh well, at least the view of the sunset was worth it. Also the most beautiful part of the place was actually a hidden gem tucked away to the side of the hill. It is also the same place where you can catch the women divers 'haenyeo' at work. This place is also one of the new 7 wonders of the world. One down, 6 more to go~ :)
We drove to Yeha Guesthouse to leave our luggages then head to the car rental company to return the car. Then they ushered us back into the shuttle bus which took us to the airport where we were able to catch bus no. 100 and got off at Hankook Hospital which is just opposite the guest house. We then officially checked in and after a much needed shower after the many sweat-inducing-activities, we explored the restaurants nearby for our last meal in Jeju. The grilled mackerel we ordered was so good we ate every piece of flesh off the fish bone that the lady boss commented on how clean it was. Slightly mortifying.
After a long day of running against time, it was finally time to rest our heads. The next day would be the day we travel to Busan!
The list of places we visited are in the following order:
- Yongmeori Coast
- Cheonjeyeon Falls
- Stone cave near Jusangjeolli Cliff
- Jusangjeolli Cliff
- Jeongbang Falls
- Seopjikoji
- Seongsan Ilchulbong
Our Island Tree Hotel is really close to Yongmeori Coast about 5-10 minutes drive, so we started our day with it and move on to the next location from the south of Jeju until we reach the northern part of Jeju.
However, luck and weather was not on our side as Yongmeori Coast was closed temporarily to tourists due to strong waves. We stayed there for about 20 minutes to wait for the 'ok' from the authority but no matter how many times we bug the guy, he kept saying no to us.. I was very disappointed as Yongmeori Coast is the place I wanted to visit the most out of the list. Hubby was surprisingly very patient throughout the day and kept calling the staff in Yongmeori Coast from other places along the way to ask if the place is open to public already as he knew how much I wanted to visit the place. In the end it was decided that the place will be closed for the day and we moved on.
Our second stop was Cheonjeyeon Falls. I picked this over Cheonjiyeon Falls as you get to visit 3 different attractions nearby with only a single entrance ticket. The first section is the beautiful turquiose clear pond also known as 'The pond of God'. Truly breathtaking... If you climb up the stairs they will lead you to the second section which is the waterfall. The water from the first waterfall divides into the second and third waterfalls, which then flow into the sea. The third section is “Seonimgyo Bridge” (arch bridge with 7 nymphs carved on the side) and it connects Cheonjeyeon with the Jungmum Tourist Complex. We took some pictures but did not proceed to cross the bridge.
We asked for directions to Jusangjeolli Cliff from the tourist info centre at Cheonjeyeon Falls as the number we had was not listed in the GPS. The lady gave us another number to key in the GPS but it brought us to another place. It was not Jusangjeolli Cliff as I have seen pictures of it before but we explore the place anyway as it is beautiful too. The beach is full of rocks of all sizes and I took the longest time to walk to the cave which overlooks the sea.
Next we drove around Jungmun asking for directions to Jusangjeolli Cliffs. A friendly local helped me to searched for it using her phone and we finally found it going in the opposite direction from where we were heading in the first place. Silly us! Jusangjeolli Cliff is so magnificent with its spectacular columnar volcanic rock formations. The water is again so clear and beautiful. We took some pictures, stayed a while longer to appreciate nature's fine works and finally went on our way in search of the next destination, Jeongbang Falls.
Jeongbang Falls is the only one in Asia that flows directly into the sea and is situated by a high cliff by the sea. The water was so cold and refreshing. Just standing below the waterfall can make you feel its magnificence (and also very wet!). There was a stall near the waterfall where ahjummas sell raw seafood but we dare not try as the creatures are still wriggling and very much alive.
Seopjikoji was our next stop which is located at the east coast of Jeju. We had a longer drive to this place from Jeongbang Falls. The place was not as nice as I had anticipated and we only spend some time there before heading to Seongsan Ilchulbong. It is just as well that they did not charge entrance fee for the place. It is apparently the place where they filmed the drama "All In" but I have never seen it so it pretty much means nothing to me. All I know was Running Man had been to this place which is why hubby and I had decided to visit in the first place.
Last stop of the day is Seongsan Ilchulbong and it also the most effort-tolerance-reducing place out of all the places we have visited. Save the 'best' for last, hehe. We took 40 minutes to climb up and probably 10 minutes to climb back down. I have never sweated so much in my life. The view of the island from halfway up is beautiful and we also managed to watch the sunset as well. When we finally reach the top, the husband said he can't believe he climbed all this way to see a patch of grass. Oh well, at least the view of the sunset was worth it. Also the most beautiful part of the place was actually a hidden gem tucked away to the side of the hill. It is also the same place where you can catch the women divers 'haenyeo' at work. This place is also one of the new 7 wonders of the world. One down, 6 more to go~ :)
We drove to Yeha Guesthouse to leave our luggages then head to the car rental company to return the car. Then they ushered us back into the shuttle bus which took us to the airport where we were able to catch bus no. 100 and got off at Hankook Hospital which is just opposite the guest house. We then officially checked in and after a much needed shower after the many sweat-inducing-activities, we explored the restaurants nearby for our last meal in Jeju. The grilled mackerel we ordered was so good we ate every piece of flesh off the fish bone that the lady boss commented on how clean it was. Slightly mortifying.
After a long day of running against time, it was finally time to rest our heads. The next day would be the day we travel to Busan!
Day 6: Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, Busan to Seoul in KTX
The nest morning, I woke up feeling much better after a good night's rest. We took breakfast as prepared by the hotel- chicken soup, instant cup noodles, boiled egg and some toasts with jam. We then went to the famous Haeundae Beach to snap some pictures. Since it is still very early, there were hardly any people around and we have the whole beach to ourselves.
Next, we took the bus to Haedong Yonggungsa Temple via bus 181 for 1200 won per person. We were not really sure where to get off and fortunately, the kind people of Busan did not let us down. The bus driver made it his personal task to tell us where to get off the bus and another nice lady who overheard our conversation with the bus driver tapped my husband on the shoulder and asked us to follow her when we have reached the stop to get to the temple. She told us she was heading to the same destination too. Although she could not speak English, she tried to chat with us in her own way. She even pointed to a toilet along the way and asked if we need to use it before continuing. The walk to the temple was further than expected. The lady is about my mother's age but she was strolling at a good pace ahead of us while I was already out of breath halfway as the road leading to the temple is uphill. When we reached the temple, the nice lady told us happily, 'Haedong Yonggungsa!' and bid us goodbye after thanking her for her kind help.
The temple is built right next to the sea. It's so breezy and the scenery was definitely worth the long walk. We also went inside the temple to pray and took many photos around the temple vicinity. There were many tourists there too.
After finish exploring the temple, we hailed a cab back to the hotel as both of us agreed we were too tired to walk back the same journey to take the bus. I managed to make a bargain with the taxi driver who initially insisted 10000 won for the trip back to Haeundae but in the end he agreed to use the taxi meter and in the end charged us only 8300 won. Turned out our taxi driver is a very chatty person, he even showed us photographs that he took from around tourist spots in Busan using his DSLR and we were in awe. Totally a pro!
After a shower and checking out, we took the subway to Busan Station to catch the KTX to Seoul.
The trip took about 3 hours and we bought some bread to eat in the train as lunch. After a short nap, we reached Seoul Station again.You can book and pay for the tickets online 1 month before your trip online via korail.com. But I advise you against it as the trains which run every 15 minutes to Seoul from Busan and tickets are aplenty. You can easily miss the train as they leave sharp on time. The train we took was quite empty too.
We reached Seoul Station and this time we did not stay near there but another hotel in Gangnam. So, we had to change a few lines before reaching California Hotel. After checking in and a nice long shower, we headed out to Gangnam Underground Shopping Centre. We initially wanted to take the bus and tried to ask for information on which bus to take but the hotel staff kept insisting it was within walking limit. Koreans just love to walk! It took us about 20 minutes of walk to reach our destination. The clothes sold there were quite cheap but I did not find anything that I like there. The price range is almost the same as in Edae/Ewha Womans University shopping area.
We explored around Gangnam and was very surprised to see so many young people still out and about at about 10 pm on a weekday night. The restaurants and bars are also in full swing at that time. Korean really do know how to enjoy themselves. We decided to eat our dinner at a fried chicken and beer place- Frypan. We ordered boneless strips of chicken and it was served with potato chips instead of french fries. And out of curiosity, we ordered a bottle of soju just to try it. It turned out to be a bad decision. It was so strong and bitter. After two shots, my husband was already feeling nauseous while i could not even finish my small shot. But the fried chicken was super delicious. We love it! As we were walking out of the restaurant, a homeless man stopped us and spoke to us in Korean and kept pointing at the half-full bottle of soju. I think he wanted us to give him the bottle but hubby said to ignore him as he was already in a very drunk state.
We then walked back to the hotel and went to sleep, feeling exhausted and extremely full from our hearty meal.
Next, we took the bus to Haedong Yonggungsa Temple via bus 181 for 1200 won per person. We were not really sure where to get off and fortunately, the kind people of Busan did not let us down. The bus driver made it his personal task to tell us where to get off the bus and another nice lady who overheard our conversation with the bus driver tapped my husband on the shoulder and asked us to follow her when we have reached the stop to get to the temple. She told us she was heading to the same destination too. Although she could not speak English, she tried to chat with us in her own way. She even pointed to a toilet along the way and asked if we need to use it before continuing. The walk to the temple was further than expected. The lady is about my mother's age but she was strolling at a good pace ahead of us while I was already out of breath halfway as the road leading to the temple is uphill. When we reached the temple, the nice lady told us happily, 'Haedong Yonggungsa!' and bid us goodbye after thanking her for her kind help.
The temple is built right next to the sea. It's so breezy and the scenery was definitely worth the long walk. We also went inside the temple to pray and took many photos around the temple vicinity. There were many tourists there too.
After finish exploring the temple, we hailed a cab back to the hotel as both of us agreed we were too tired to walk back the same journey to take the bus. I managed to make a bargain with the taxi driver who initially insisted 10000 won for the trip back to Haeundae but in the end he agreed to use the taxi meter and in the end charged us only 8300 won. Turned out our taxi driver is a very chatty person, he even showed us photographs that he took from around tourist spots in Busan using his DSLR and we were in awe. Totally a pro!
After a shower and checking out, we took the subway to Busan Station to catch the KTX to Seoul.
The trip took about 3 hours and we bought some bread to eat in the train as lunch. After a short nap, we reached Seoul Station again.You can book and pay for the tickets online 1 month before your trip online via korail.com. But I advise you against it as the trains which run every 15 minutes to Seoul from Busan and tickets are aplenty. You can easily miss the train as they leave sharp on time. The train we took was quite empty too.
We reached Seoul Station and this time we did not stay near there but another hotel in Gangnam. So, we had to change a few lines before reaching California Hotel. After checking in and a nice long shower, we headed out to Gangnam Underground Shopping Centre. We initially wanted to take the bus and tried to ask for information on which bus to take but the hotel staff kept insisting it was within walking limit. Koreans just love to walk! It took us about 20 minutes of walk to reach our destination. The clothes sold there were quite cheap but I did not find anything that I like there. The price range is almost the same as in Edae/Ewha Womans University shopping area.
We explored around Gangnam and was very surprised to see so many young people still out and about at about 10 pm on a weekday night. The restaurants and bars are also in full swing at that time. Korean really do know how to enjoy themselves. We decided to eat our dinner at a fried chicken and beer place- Frypan. We ordered boneless strips of chicken and it was served with potato chips instead of french fries. And out of curiosity, we ordered a bottle of soju just to try it. It turned out to be a bad decision. It was so strong and bitter. After two shots, my husband was already feeling nauseous while i could not even finish my small shot. But the fried chicken was super delicious. We love it! As we were walking out of the restaurant, a homeless man stopped us and spoke to us in Korean and kept pointing at the half-full bottle of soju. I think he wanted us to give him the bottle but hubby said to ignore him as he was already in a very drunk state.
We then walked back to the hotel and went to sleep, feeling exhausted and extremely full from our hearty meal.
Day 5- Colourful Busan~~~
We only had time to spend a day in Busan which is really regrettable for us as Busan turned out to be our favourite place in Korea. The people there are friendly and helpful. They really go out of their way to help us. Even though the locals we encountered could not speak English well, some could not speak English at all, but they try their best to help us by asking us to follow them and actually brought us to to the places themselves. Thank you Busan for your warmth and hospitality! We are truly humbled and touched...
We took the flight from Jeju to Busan via Air Busan at 8.10am and landed at Gimhae International Aiport at about 9.00am. We also received free orange juice from the flight attendants and the trip was fairly comfortable. Latest check-in time for this airline is also 40 minutes prior to the flight.
Upon landing, we bought a ticket on the limousine bus to get to our hotel in Haeundae. They run every 25-30 minutes from 0700-2200H everyday. Travel time is around 1 hour to reach Haeundae. There are 2 main lines that you can buy the ticket for depending on your destination. Since our hotel is near Novotel and Seacloud Hotel, it makes no difference to us whether we got tickets for Line 1 or 2.
Limousine Bus Routes
Haeundae Line No. 1- Airport(International Terminal) - Domestic Terminal - Namcheondong -
Gwangandong - Suyeong Intersection - Centum hotel - Bexco - Yachting center
- Hanhwa resort - Hyperion three way intersection - Westin Chosun Hotel -
Grand Hotel - Novotel Ambassador - Paradise Hotel - Paledecz - Jangsan
Station - Haeundae Paik Hospital - Dongbu apartment - Daelim 1cha apt -
Yangwoon high school - Homeplus mart - Centum hotel - Suyeong Intersection -
Gwangandong - Namcheondong - Airport(International Terminal, Departure) -
Domestic Terminal, Arrival
Haeundae Line No. 2- Airport(International Terminal) - Domestic Terminal - Namcheondong - Crossing the Gwangan bridge - Centum hotel - Bexco - Yangwoon high school - Daedong
apt - Dongbu apt - Haeundae Paik Hospital - Jangsan Station - Paradise Hotel -
Seacloud hotel - Grand Hotel - Westin Chosun Hotel - Hyundai Benecity apt -
Hanhwa resort - Hyundai ipark apt - Gyeongnam Marina apt - Bexco, Homeplus
-Centum hotel - Crossing the Gwangan bridge - Namcheondong -
Airport(International Terminal, Departure) - Domestic Terminal, Arrival
Ticket Price: 7000 won per person
There are other options like taxi, subway and city bus as well but as taxi would cost alot and subway and city bus is inconvenient since we were carrying big luggages, limousine bus was our best option. For more info on the other transportations to/from the airport : http://www.bsmeditour.go.kr/eng/cms/155_238_239.jsp?mid=239
We then walked to the The Sun Hotel after getting off the limousine bus. Although it is supposed to be a 'love motel', we were fairly pleased with the service and room. We were upgraded to a Deluxe room for free and there were free coffee/hot chocolate, slushies (similar to 7-11) and popcorn in the lobby.
Next, we headed to Gamcheon Culture Village a.k.a the Santorini of Korea. The place that I have been extremely excited to go to, since the husband's promise to bring me to the real Santorini is not going to be fulfilled anytime soon... :p
Operating hours: 0900-1800H
Directions: Take subway Line 1 to Toseong Station- exit 6. You should see an intersection when you come out and turn right at the corner and continue straight. There is a hospital on your right. The bus stop is just in front of you. Take either bus 2 or 2-2 (green bus) to reach the top of the hill. Get off at Gamcheon Elementary School. Or tell the bus driver to let you know when you have reached your destination. The other alternative is you can take a cab ~3000won.
Estimated time to spend here is about 2-3hours.
There is no entrance fee but you can buy an interactive map for 2000 won. Upon completing the missions of getting stamps from various points in the village, you will receive a small token. During our time, the gift given are scenic postcards of the Gamcheon Culture Village. Previously, they gave out keychains. So I guess they keep changing the gifts.
There was a particular landmark that many tourists had trouble finding, initially I thought of giving up since that particular spot does not provide free gift even if you get the stamp chopped. But my husband, surprisingly, was very enthusiastic and insisted we should complete the map so that it would be more memorable to us. We missed the spot and I was too exhausted to climb the stairs back up to where we came from, so I took a rest in a small alleyway in front of a house while the hubby sprinted back up to get the map stamped. An ahjumma came out from her house, saw me resting there and asked me in Korean if I wanted to rest in her house. With my limited Korean, she managed to understand me when I told her 'gwaenchanh-a' which means it's alright and I thanked her for the kind offer. She noticed my hubby previously and asked where did he go. I caught a few words like chingu and eodie which means 'friend where'? So I pointed up the stairs and she nodded and said 'ahh..' My first full Korean conversation with a local... So I guess the time invested in watching Korean dramas and Running Man wasn't a waste after all. Haha.
When the husband came back, he needed to rest too. We sat at the stairs to let him catch his breath before moving on. A middle-aged ahjussi came out and attempted to chat with us in Korean again, asking us where are we from and how long we would be in Korea. Then he went back in his house and poured some isotonic drinks and gave us a piece of boiled potato each. We felt so touched for his kind generosity and warmth.
Before we leave the village, we bought another serving of chicken, that we bought earlier at the entrance before starting the stamp missions. The first time was garlic while this time we bought sweet and sour flavour. So yummy!
Next we decided to head to Biff square for lunch and shopping. We had a difficult time finding the place as we got off the bus too early and had to walk quite a distance to reach it. But thanks to help and directions from locals, we soon came to an area of yellow and red umbrellas and we knew we had reached the place.
Our legs were too tired from the activity in Gamcheon which required a lot of walking and climbing up countless flights of stairs so hubby suggested we rest in a Baskin Robbins outlet just in front of our eyes. Turns out BR ice-cream is so cheap in Korea- only 2300 won ~ Rm8 for a big scoop of ice-cream on a cone. Junior scoops already cost us Rm9.90 and is only available on Wednesdays in Malaysia.
Initial plan was to grab a bite, so a bit of shopping and proceed to our next destination which is Haedong Yonggungsa temple. But the shopping and vast variety of food in Nampodong were too big an attraction to us. We could not resist and thus decided to just spend the entire day there instead. Things were so much cheaper in Busan than in Seoul. There were a few similar things that I have spotted in Seoul being sold at a cheaper price in Nampodong. This is a shopping haven! We ended up buying most of our family and friends' souvenirs here.
Then we ate jajangmyeon (black bean sauce noodles) at one of the restaurants there, something that both of us had been wanting to try since watching Running Man members eat them on the show many times before. It was quite good too.
We then went back to the hotel to take a shower before planning to go to Gwangali Beach later on. But unfortunately, I developed fever and chills on our way back and hubby asked me to rest in the hotel after taking medicine. He already have plans to come back to Busan again next time so we can always go to the places we had missed during this maiden trip to Korea of ours. I slept with a smile on my face knowing that I would be coming back to this beautiful and warm place again in the future.
We took the flight from Jeju to Busan via Air Busan at 8.10am and landed at Gimhae International Aiport at about 9.00am. We also received free orange juice from the flight attendants and the trip was fairly comfortable. Latest check-in time for this airline is also 40 minutes prior to the flight.
Upon landing, we bought a ticket on the limousine bus to get to our hotel in Haeundae. They run every 25-30 minutes from 0700-2200H everyday. Travel time is around 1 hour to reach Haeundae. There are 2 main lines that you can buy the ticket for depending on your destination. Since our hotel is near Novotel and Seacloud Hotel, it makes no difference to us whether we got tickets for Line 1 or 2.
Limousine Bus Routes
Haeundae Line No. 1- Airport(International Terminal) - Domestic Terminal - Namcheondong -
Gwangandong - Suyeong Intersection - Centum hotel - Bexco - Yachting center
- Hanhwa resort - Hyperion three way intersection - Westin Chosun Hotel -
Grand Hotel - Novotel Ambassador - Paradise Hotel - Paledecz - Jangsan
Station - Haeundae Paik Hospital - Dongbu apartment - Daelim 1cha apt -
Yangwoon high school - Homeplus mart - Centum hotel - Suyeong Intersection -
Gwangandong - Namcheondong - Airport(International Terminal, Departure) -
Domestic Terminal, Arrival
Haeundae Line No. 2- Airport(International Terminal) - Domestic Terminal - Namcheondong - Crossing the Gwangan bridge - Centum hotel - Bexco - Yangwoon high school - Daedong
apt - Dongbu apt - Haeundae Paik Hospital - Jangsan Station - Paradise Hotel -
Seacloud hotel - Grand Hotel - Westin Chosun Hotel - Hyundai Benecity apt -
Hanhwa resort - Hyundai ipark apt - Gyeongnam Marina apt - Bexco, Homeplus
-Centum hotel - Crossing the Gwangan bridge - Namcheondong -
Airport(International Terminal, Departure) - Domestic Terminal, Arrival
Ticket Price: 7000 won per person
There are other options like taxi, subway and city bus as well but as taxi would cost alot and subway and city bus is inconvenient since we were carrying big luggages, limousine bus was our best option. For more info on the other transportations to/from the airport : http://www.bsmeditour.go.kr/eng/cms/155_238_239.jsp?mid=239
We then walked to the The Sun Hotel after getting off the limousine bus. Although it is supposed to be a 'love motel', we were fairly pleased with the service and room. We were upgraded to a Deluxe room for free and there were free coffee/hot chocolate, slushies (similar to 7-11) and popcorn in the lobby.
Next, we headed to Gamcheon Culture Village a.k.a the Santorini of Korea. The place that I have been extremely excited to go to, since the husband's promise to bring me to the real Santorini is not going to be fulfilled anytime soon... :p
Operating hours: 0900-1800H
Directions: Take subway Line 1 to Toseong Station- exit 6. You should see an intersection when you come out and turn right at the corner and continue straight. There is a hospital on your right. The bus stop is just in front of you. Take either bus 2 or 2-2 (green bus) to reach the top of the hill. Get off at Gamcheon Elementary School. Or tell the bus driver to let you know when you have reached your destination. The other alternative is you can take a cab ~3000won.
Estimated time to spend here is about 2-3hours.
There is no entrance fee but you can buy an interactive map for 2000 won. Upon completing the missions of getting stamps from various points in the village, you will receive a small token. During our time, the gift given are scenic postcards of the Gamcheon Culture Village. Previously, they gave out keychains. So I guess they keep changing the gifts.
There was a particular landmark that many tourists had trouble finding, initially I thought of giving up since that particular spot does not provide free gift even if you get the stamp chopped. But my husband, surprisingly, was very enthusiastic and insisted we should complete the map so that it would be more memorable to us. We missed the spot and I was too exhausted to climb the stairs back up to where we came from, so I took a rest in a small alleyway in front of a house while the hubby sprinted back up to get the map stamped. An ahjumma came out from her house, saw me resting there and asked me in Korean if I wanted to rest in her house. With my limited Korean, she managed to understand me when I told her 'gwaenchanh-a' which means it's alright and I thanked her for the kind offer. She noticed my hubby previously and asked where did he go. I caught a few words like chingu and eodie which means 'friend where'? So I pointed up the stairs and she nodded and said 'ahh..' My first full Korean conversation with a local... So I guess the time invested in watching Korean dramas and Running Man wasn't a waste after all. Haha.
When the husband came back, he needed to rest too. We sat at the stairs to let him catch his breath before moving on. A middle-aged ahjussi came out and attempted to chat with us in Korean again, asking us where are we from and how long we would be in Korea. Then he went back in his house and poured some isotonic drinks and gave us a piece of boiled potato each. We felt so touched for his kind generosity and warmth.
Before we leave the village, we bought another serving of chicken, that we bought earlier at the entrance before starting the stamp missions. The first time was garlic while this time we bought sweet and sour flavour. So yummy!
Next we decided to head to Biff square for lunch and shopping. We had a difficult time finding the place as we got off the bus too early and had to walk quite a distance to reach it. But thanks to help and directions from locals, we soon came to an area of yellow and red umbrellas and we knew we had reached the place.
Our legs were too tired from the activity in Gamcheon which required a lot of walking and climbing up countless flights of stairs so hubby suggested we rest in a Baskin Robbins outlet just in front of our eyes. Turns out BR ice-cream is so cheap in Korea- only 2300 won ~ Rm8 for a big scoop of ice-cream on a cone. Junior scoops already cost us Rm9.90 and is only available on Wednesdays in Malaysia.
Initial plan was to grab a bite, so a bit of shopping and proceed to our next destination which is Haedong Yonggungsa temple. But the shopping and vast variety of food in Nampodong were too big an attraction to us. We could not resist and thus decided to just spend the entire day there instead. Things were so much cheaper in Busan than in Seoul. There were a few similar things that I have spotted in Seoul being sold at a cheaper price in Nampodong. This is a shopping haven! We ended up buying most of our family and friends' souvenirs here.
Then we ate jajangmyeon (black bean sauce noodles) at one of the restaurants there, something that both of us had been wanting to try since watching Running Man members eat them on the show many times before. It was quite good too.
We then went back to the hotel to take a shower before planning to go to Gwangali Beach later on. But unfortunately, I developed fever and chills on our way back and hubby asked me to rest in the hotel after taking medicine. He already have plans to come back to Busan again next time so we can always go to the places we had missed during this maiden trip to Korea of ours. I slept with a smile on my face knowing that I would be coming back to this beautiful and warm place again in the future.
Day 7: Hongdae, Namdaemun Market, Lotte Mart, Gangnam
It was our last day in Korea and we decided to ditch our initial plan to visit Everland as we still have plenty of shopping to do before heading home. So we came out with a spontaneous plan after our breakfast at the hotel and headed to Hongdae- the hip-hop town.
Since I did not do any homework for this place, we went straight to the tourist centre to ask for directions and map. We went to Hongik University, Hongdae playground, Running Man, Haha's restaurant and even had time to stop for a cup of coffee at Hello Kitty Cafe. After that, we did some shopping around Hongdae, and the things are quite affordable.
We then headed to Namdaemun Market just to check it out and do some shopping. We managed to buy some souvenirs from a shop there which are cheap and pretty. After Namdaemun, we went to Lotte Mart for our last hour shopping to bring home food items for friends and family and also not forgetting ourselves.
After a full day of shopping, we decided to reward ourselves with a full meal of BBQ pork since we miss it so much since the last one in Jeju. But the taste of average pork is no where near black pork. It was a fairly good meal considering the cheaper price. We ordered a serving of premium spare ribs and wine-braised pork belly.
Before going back to our hotel, we went to the hotel next to us to buy tickets for KAL limousine bus which would bring us straight to the airport. The bus tickets cost us 16000 won per person but we figured it is still cheaper than getting a cab. We flew back the following morning to Penang, our beloved homeland.
Goodbye Korea! Till we meet again~~
Since I did not do any homework for this place, we went straight to the tourist centre to ask for directions and map. We went to Hongik University, Hongdae playground, Running Man, Haha's restaurant and even had time to stop for a cup of coffee at Hello Kitty Cafe. After that, we did some shopping around Hongdae, and the things are quite affordable.
We then headed to Namdaemun Market just to check it out and do some shopping. We managed to buy some souvenirs from a shop there which are cheap and pretty. After Namdaemun, we went to Lotte Mart for our last hour shopping to bring home food items for friends and family and also not forgetting ourselves.
After a full day of shopping, we decided to reward ourselves with a full meal of BBQ pork since we miss it so much since the last one in Jeju. But the taste of average pork is no where near black pork. It was a fairly good meal considering the cheaper price. We ordered a serving of premium spare ribs and wine-braised pork belly.
Before going back to our hotel, we went to the hotel next to us to buy tickets for KAL limousine bus which would bring us straight to the airport. The bus tickets cost us 16000 won per person but we figured it is still cheaper than getting a cab. We flew back the following morning to Penang, our beloved homeland.
Goodbye Korea! Till we meet again~~
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