Seoul Survivor

Annyong-hasseyo.

A Korean greeting from the heart as I return home with newly-acquired knowledge of the Korean language and culture. We had an amazing six days, touring South Korea. We even experienced some drama, which South Korea is popularly renowned for. Feeling a tad too jet lag, here are some pictures and brief commentary on the places we’ve visited.

Day One/Two:

Kodak moment on board Asiana Airlines to Korea

Daejanggum Drama Theme Park – Filming location for S. Korean Drama
Tortured soul

Meditating a solution

Korean delicacy – Kimchi

Comment on Korean food: It’s really no wonder why Koreans seem healthy. That’s because they’re staple food is mainly vegetables and mushrooms cooked minimally with oil and seasoning. What I also noticed was that they’re into sweet things and do not eat fast food with chilli sauce.

Everland Theme Park

Miles and miles of pure fun (and caramel corn aroma), the theme park houses unbelievable rides (with way unbelievable queues). Wait for an hour to get on one ride. One downside though: Koreans are generally not known for their basic courtesy, evidenced by the countless elbowing, without any apology whatsoever.

Day Three:

Drama unfolds at Nami Island – Filming Location for Winter Sonata

The filming site for the hit Korean drama series, Winter Sonata, Nami Island similarly became an instant tourist attraction from absolute obscurity.

Shopping at Chuncheon

Great bargains for everything. Popular brands such as Giordano, Nike etc spotted along the row of shops. Looking for cheap overcoats or jackets? Now’s a good time to shop for these kind of winter items. Good place for the uber fashionista.

Night Skiing at Vivaldi Park

Expensive sport to play, skiing rentals cost about US $35 per person (without training). With training, it could easily add up to US $200 per person for two hours!

Day Four:

Mount Seorak-san National Park

Ain’t no mountain high enough – 800m above sea level

Day Five:

Gyongbokgung Royal Palace

The royal palace of the Capital, the ancient networks of roads and buildings of Seoul were built to surround the palace in the center of the capital. The palace was severely destroyed and abandoned but was reestablished in the 1800s. Next, we went to the Blue House of the current S. Korean President, but were not allowed to take any pictures. Aww sham.

Freezing Butts at Lotte World, Theme Park, Seoul

Shopping at Myeong-dong District, Korea’s Orchard Rd

Amazing shopping district with great bargains, sales and accessories. The district is home to huge shopping malls and flea market. The market usually opens in the afternoon but the shopping malls open from 10.30 am – 5 am!! A true shopper’s haven! I bought two long-sleeves, a belt, a pair of shoes and more. If you go to the malls, head up to the top floor and work your way down.

Day Six:

-8 Degree Celsius Sight-seeing/Shopping in Seoul

That’s All for now! Kam-sam Hamnida! (Thank you)

Leavin’ On A Jet Plane

All my bags are packed I’m ready to go.
Alright folks, I bid you all farewell as I shall now head off to my one-week vacation to S. Korea.

Be back in a jiffy.

Because I won’t be here in Singapore to do all the wishing on 25th Dec, I’d like to wish all Christians an advanced -

Merry Christmas
&
Happy Holidays!

Raja

S’ Wonderful, S’ Marvellous

Where have I been for the past couple of days? Well, here are the brief details.

1. At the movies, where else?
I’ve watched two great movies so far these past two weeks. The first one was Eragon. Even though I wasn’t really into the whole sci-fi, dungeons and dragons thing, the visual effects were good. Leave it to me to fall for the theatrics. Anyways, movie #2 was The Holiday. The funniest movie I’ve seen in quite some time. Mix Diaz’s wackiness with Winslet’s melodramatic charm, and you’ve got yourself one great holiday movie.

2. At the table doing work.
I’ve been busy with trying to complete the assignments before going on my trip this Saturday. Fortunately, I’ve managed to finish a huge chunk of it and decided to bring some work over there. Man, am I good or what?

3. In my room, in front of Mac
Who’s Mac? Well, meet my newly-acquired Mac G5 Desktop system that I got as a hand-me-down from my elder sister. She got the new black Macbook as her advanced birthday present, so I’m stuck with the old load. But, it’s okay, as long as it’s usable, I’m all for it! So, been uploading loads and loads of songs and revamping the desktop. Also, I googled S. Korea to get some insight before we leave on Saturday. And, I’ve caught up with Gilmore Girls on YouTube since Channel 5 lifted it off the air. Oh drat!

4. Out, finding stuff for the trip
While others go out for some last minute Christmas shopping, my family and I are taking full advantage of the great Christmas bargains around to get some travel stuff.

Well, that’s about all of it. Man, sorry for such a boring post, really. Oops, got to run. I’m heading out to buy some things for the trip. Au revoir!