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Korea: Autumn (Family Trip)

Posted on January 12, 2016 by serenatan

My second Korea trip. This time, with my family. We went during end of Sept til early Oct to Seoul and Jeju Island. So its Autumn this time.

I have pretty much explained all the places visited in my previous Korea post so I’ll just do the newly visited places in this post instead. As many of the places and attractions are mainly for my family that visited for the first time.

Seoul:

LINE FRIENDS Store, Garuso-gil

This huge signboard must not be missed!

You will see this HUGE Brown bear just right in front of the entrance.

Buy all you want! Its too cute to just ignore.

2. Dark Han Ma Ri, Restaurant near Sinchon.

My second visit to this awesome restaurant that serves chicken in soup and many other dishes of cause. I brought my family here and they all loved it! Too hard to not include it here in this post, too.

3. Hongdae

Hongdae is a university district that has so much to offer not only on food, fashion, beauty but also its unique ambience that draws so much attention in the country to check out their street performances by students and street artists.

Strolling along Hongdae.

FOOD!

Street performance, daily.

4. Ewha Womans University

Ewha Womans Univeristy is famous in Korea and it is one of the best university in the country. Despite its name Womans University, it is not restricted to only women, but men who wants a taste of Korean culture and the feeling of being in a womans university are also welcomed. Oh yes, only foreigners though.

Its famous library. Even Runningman filmed a few of their episodes here. Walk along Ewha street, you can find many stalls like Banila co, Innisfree, fashion brands are all available. Some stalls are open for bargain too.

5. Guard changing ceremony, Gyeongbokgung

Its Chuseok festival, we’ve seen many locals dressed up in Hanbok (traditional Korean costume) taking pictures at Gyeongbokgung.

I managed to hunt down a pair for a shot.

6. Korea Ginseng Chicken Soup since 1960

7. Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP)

On the way to DDP, the outstanding Dongdaemun Gate.

The astonishing view.

Award-winning architecture.

A shot with DDP.

8. Gwangjang Market

Variety of food.

Visited this Ajumma’s stall. The best Mandu ever tasted.

9. Myeongdong night strolling

Bro with a cat mascot.

Egg bun.

Cheeseeeeeeeee!

10. Nami Island + Bungy

This time, its AUTUMN.

Beautiful.

Encouraged and dared both brother and sister to try out Bungy as I did it before at the same spot here in Nami.

TADA!

Jeju Island:

Yongduam Rock

2. Neul Bom Black Pork Restaurant

Jeju black pork is very famous worldwide. To my surprised, it was really very good.

3. Teddybear Safari

There are 2 different companies of Teddy Bear Museum. I was at the other one during my previous visit.

So cute!

4. Manjanggul Lava Tube [UNESCO World Heritage]

It took us about an hour to complete the tour.

5. Mysterious Road

Click on link to read more about this Mysterious Road explanation.

6. Jeju National Folk Museum

To be honest, nothing much here. There’s tour guide that will brief you a little about Korean history and wine making and so on. In the end, if you do not buy any products from them, they show temper.

7. Seongsan Ilchulbong [UNESCO World Heritage]

This place is beautiful beyond words.

Le bf and I.

Wanted to check out the woman diver performance but it was cancelled due to inappropriate weather.

Managed to climb up the peak and the view was priceless.

8. Jeju Stone Park

9. Hallasan Horse Ranch

Til then.

Annyeong x

香 Hong Kong 港

Posted on December 31, 2015 by serenatan

Hong Kong. A former British colony.

Now a major global financial hub famous for its skyline.

I made a last min trip to Hong Kong after my Macau trip only for 2 days since I have not been and have heard a lot of good (and some bad) things about this country often known for its food.

Bought the Turbojet from Macau to Hong Kong.

As you can see from the image above, its HK$153 for one way from Macau to Hong Kong stops at Sheung Wan Station.

Where all the trams are nicely parking for passengers to board. Too bad we have no intention in trying out the tram but you can always check them out HERE.

Our hotel in Hong Kong is Best Western Grand Hotel, located strategically at Austin Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui area. Which I have always wanted to check this area out.

There are two entrances: via Austin Avenue & Tsim Sha Tsui.

Korken (name of my pet horse) having a fun time.

After shower and freshening up, we strolled around the street of Nathan Road. Checking out the culture and not to my surprise, all the buildings are really really close to each other.

Hungry. It’s time for dinner.

We walked around with no clue where to go for dinner but ain’t thats why its fun to be a backpacker?

We had our dinner at this small, wantan mee shop at Jordan Road. Honestly, I cannot recall the direction as we were just walking around with no idea and just stopped by.

Its 辉记云吞面食

The wantan mee texture was so good! Not to mention the huge prawn wantan too! It was so delicious! Cost me about HK$30 inclusive of a refreshing cup of Hong Kong Iced Milk Tea.

We proceed to:

Avenue of Stars

Approaching Avenue of Stars.

Stopped by Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade.

You know you are here when you see this statue.

A shot with the late Bruce Lee statue overlooking the stunning view of Victoria Harbour.

These images need no explanation.

Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower

The Tsim Sha Tsui clock tower is a landmark of Hong Kong. It is the only remnant of the original site of the former Kowloon Station on the Kowloon-Canton Railway.

Mong Kok

Mong Kok is often famous for its funny street names. We were hunting for street signs and grabbed a bowl of Hui Lau Shan‘s Mango dessert.

Called it a night.

Next morning, with plans to try the very famous Hong Kong style Cha Chan Teng.

Australia Dairy Co. 澳洲牛奶公司

Yes of cause we need to join in the (loooong) queue.

Selfie while we waited for half an hour or so.

Tempting us while we stood right in front of the fridge.

Finally! We managed to be seated with two other strangers that obviously did not know each other as well. And ordered our portion of breakfast. It was so good I think I don’t mind queuing up again next time.

Do check them out when you are paying a visit to Hong Kong. And mind you, if you do not read Chinese, request for an English version of menu.

Yes. They are considerate like that. Hehe.

After this satisfying meal, we proceed to check out The Peak. Thank God we purchased our tickets online beforehand hence avoiding the long queue at the ticketing booth.

The Peak Tram

The tram is here after 10-15mins of waiting.

On the way up!

We headed to Madame Tussauds first as we got out admission ticket bundle online together with the Peak Tram.

Madame Tussauds, Hong Kong

The entrance of Madame Tussauds.

A few of my favourite statue out of many:

Dai Go, Jackie Chan.

Korean drama prince – Kim Soo Hyun

My all time fav – TVXQ, Changmin & Yunho!

Victoria Peak

Stunning!

Hong Kong view is amazing both day and night.

Lan Kwai Fong

Lan Kwai Fong is a small square of streets in Central, Hong Kong. The area was dedicated to hawkers before the Second World War, but underwent a renaissance in the mid-1980s.

I couldn’t help but feel a pinch of disappointment towards this infamous area. It wasn’t as happening as it seems like the movies. Drunken people all around and definitely not my kind of hang out spot. But nonetheless, it was an eye-opener.

Causeway Bay

Causeway Bay is a heavily built-up area of Hong Kong, located on Hong Kong Island, and covering parts of Wan Chai and Eastern districts. The Chinese name is also romanized as Tung Lo Wan as in Tung Lo Wan Road. – wikipedia.

SML, Times Square, Causeway Bay

We ended up in this restaurant “SML” located in Times Square 11th Floor, Causeway Bay.

I like this place. Cozy. Not noisy.

That sums up our last dinner in Hong Kong.

Let’s call it a night.

Next morning, decided to opt for the very famous Hong Kong dimsum. Checked out some blogs and stuff, we found this place just by foot from our hotel.

Cuisine Cuisine, The Mira Hotel

Michelin-5 Star dimsum place. Ofcoz, pricing is quite that standard too.

FOOD!

Appetizer and Chinese Pu Er before the main dishes.

Prawn dumplings.

Siew Mai (not the ordinary ones)

Xiao Long Bao. (too awesome)

Cheong Fun (In Malaysia we call it “Chee Cheong Fun”)

And lastly..

My fav dimsum: HAR GAO WONG!

It tasted so good but due to insufficient fund, we have decided to put a stop to it after my fav Har Gao.

It costs us around HK$500.

Time to say Good-Bye to Hong Kong. Though it was a short trip, I managed to visit quite a number of attractions, witnessed the Oh-So-Famous “Symphony of Lights” at Avenue of Stars overlooking Victoria Harbour. The little red boat that reminds me of my mom echoing to me her story in Hong Kong. The food. YES THE FOOD! That’s the BOMB!

Korea Spring, Day Four: Jeju Island

Posted on September 24, 2015 by serenatan

1. Arrival At Jeju Airport.

We took Jeju Air directly from Gimpo Airport, Seoul to Gimhe Airport, Jeju-si.

It was an extremely windy morning and foggy too.

The flight was delayed to one hour later. We were so exhausted and slept all the way til we reached Jeju Airport.

View outside from the airport.

Cherry Blosson along the street in Jeju. A view I missed until today.

2. Arrival at Jungmun Log Pension & Resort.

We took an airport taxi to Jungmun Pension.

Here’s how Jungmun Log Pension looks like.

3. Brunch at a restaurant.

Brunch at a restaurant nearby.

Happy Brunch with the bunch!

Especially my Abalone porridge! OMG!

4. Teddy Bear Museum, Jeju.

Address: 31, Jungmungwangwang-ro110beon-gil, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do.

Operating Hours: 09:00 – 20:00 (Peak season July 18 to August 23)
09:00 – 22:00 (Non-peak season
(Tickets are available for sale until 19:00)

Tickets: Individual – Adults 9,500 won / Teenagers 8,500 won / Children 7,500 won
Group – Adults 7,500 won / Teenagers 6,500 won / Children 5,500 won

A dream-come-true for me!

This is my fav section in Teddy Bear Museum. As a fan of the K-drama “Goong” back in 2004, I was thrilled to be able to finally visit one of my fav place in Jeju! It was definitely awesome!

This Teddy Bear is definitely not stranger to you if you have been to Jeju Teddy Bear Museum.

It is the most expensive Teddy in the World!

Vincent Van Gogh Teddy!

“Goong” character: Lee Shin (Joo JiHun) & Shin ChaeKyung (Yoon EunHye) Teddy.

5. Hello Kitty Island, Jeju.

Address: 340, Hanchang-ro, Andeok-myeon, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do.

Open All Year Round.

Tickets: Individuals – Adults 12,000 won / Youths 11,000 won / Children 9,000 won
Groups – Adults 10,000 won / Youths 9,000 won / Children 7,000 won

Hello Kitty statue situated right in front of the building, how not to spot?!!!

Got our tickets ready!

It was so cute! So happy to be in this place surrounded by Hello Kitty!

You can check out Camellia Hill from the hill top outdoor at Hello Kitty Island.

6. Camellia Hill

Address: 166, Byeongang-ro, Andeok-myeon, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do

Operating Hours: Summer season (June-August): 08:30-18:00
Winter season (December-Februrary): 08:30-17:00
March-May/ September-November: 08:30- 17:30
* Last admission: 1 hour before closing.

Tickets: Adults (ages 19-64): 7,000 won / Group: 5000 won
Youths (ages 13-18): 5,000 won / Group: 4,000 won
Children (ages 3-12): 4,000 won / Group: 3,000 won
Seniors (over 65): 5,000 won / Group: 4,000 won

* Infants ages 3 or younger: Free
* Groups: 30 people or more

Tickets to Camellia Hill.

Such a beautiful place!

OH! Do you know “Love from the star” was filmed here too?

7. BBQ at night, Jungmun Log Pension & Resort

Owner of the pension prepared everything for you at a minimal charger.

We got all the ingredients and meat from the market nearby Jungmun town.

8. Jjimjilbang, World Cup Stadium Jeju.

Jeju Water World (Take the local or intercity bus to the World Cup Stadium and walk around to the south side. It’s in the mouth of the giant, green-lit shark.). Family-friendly water park consisting of a large indoor section quite literally under the south grandstands and a small outdoor section off to the side. Has a sauna and jjimjilbang attached. ₩21,000 for water park admission (₩8,000 for sauna, ₩10,000 for jjimjilbang).

Price list board.

Male: Blue attire.

Female locker room.

Male and female bath places are separately at different side of the entrance.

The bath place was empty when we arrived. So happy to be able to bath all for ourselves without much interruption.

After the bath, you can go up to the common area where every can meet each other (With clothes on of cause!)

Tried on the hot salt bed for a good 30mins! It was so awesome!

That’s all for my Jeju day.

Korea Spring, Day Three: Seoul, Korea

Posted on September 6, 2015 by serenatan

It was a great night before I realised that day three was equally awesome, too.

We kinda printed out a list of places to go accordingly with directions and it was a very detailed itinery all done by me myself and I. I have always been very impatience about going for trips and must make sure all is well communicated beforehand.

Never that I thought this so called “brilliant” itinery will be ruined upside down. Well, not particularly ruined but it didn’t go according to plan at all. We kinda visited places on day one and two that was supposedly for day three and four etc.

But I guess everything happens for a reason!

Day Three was a hectic one as I recalled. We went to some hot spots recommended not only by locals but friends from our home ground who have been here before we did. Check out where we went on day three:

1. Myeongdong

Myeongdong is one of the hottest must-go in Seoul, Korea. Being known for its endless variety of cosmetic and beauty products, street food, snacks, fashion and many many more.

It was about 11 degree celcius in the morning and the hungry me has started hearing signals from my precious stomach. Steven, a friend of mine recommended us to this dumpling restaurant to satisfy my crying stomach.

2. Myeongdong Gyoja, Restaurant at Myeongdong

The dumplings are so delicious! Their portion are quite big too. A bowl of noodle can be shared by two.

3. Hello Kitty Cafe, Myeongdong branch

Everything in this shop is so pinkish. Though am not a fan of pink but we are talking about Hello Kitty Cafe, nevermind. The tables and chairs are all shaped in Hello Kitty. Even the packaging for food and drinks.

Desserts looked super tempting. Too bad we didn’t have any as we were still super full from our lunch earlier.

Souvenirs! I bought a pair of Hello Kitty dressed in King and Queen from Josean Dynasty. You can also get them from Hello Kitty Island in Jeju Island but subject to availability.

A picture with this cute Hello Kitty plush.

Hello Kitty Cafe is overall amazing to me. (Imma Hello Kitty fans, Big time!)

A cup of Mocha latte with beautiful coffee art of Hello Kitty. You get different designs each time.

4. Street Vendors, Myeongdong.

Churros!

Famous egg buns!

Pancakes!

Deep Dried Squid!

Tang-Hulu.

5. Lotte Mart, Myeongdong branch.

Lotte Duty Free Mart has 12Floors in total offering variety of products and services.

One of the highlight: LINE Store!

6. Namsan

You can actually take a cab over to Namsan cable car station or be adventurous and walk over from Myeongdong.

Weather is so nice that we walked 15mins to reach. Enjoying the beautfiful view of Seoul late evening.

Cable car ticket: 8,500won.

Nice walk up to Namsan.

Stop by at love lock, Namsan. You can purchase a lock for as low as 5,000won.

7. N Seoul Tower

N Seoul Tower view from Namsan.

Reached the ticketing booth of N Seoul Tower. Previously Namsan Tower.

Love Lock at night, Namsan.

Korea Spring, Day Two: Seoul, Korea

Posted on June 16, 2015 by serenatan

We woke up pretty early on our second day in Korea. Mainly because we were feeling cold. Yes, coming from a tropical country like Malaysia, I am really not used to cold and dry weather like in Korea but it was a great experience for someone who doesn’t fancy cold weather much as it was nice strolling around without sweating, at least. Haha..

We were greeted by complimentary breakfast set from Cozybox Guesthouse. A set consists of hard boiled egg, ramyeon (aka Korean ramen/instant noodle), Gimbap (a popular Korean dish made from steamed white rice and other ingredients rolled in dried seaweed) and Yakult. I was too hungry and forgotten to take a snap shot of it 😦

Check out where we visited on our day two:

1. Nami Island

Gaining its fame from the Korean hit drama, Winter Sonata. Mainly took place in this historical island. Tourists from around the globe visit to take pictures and the island is always packed with people in all seasons. Claims to have different view all four seasons. It is crowded mostly during Winter (Winter Sonata, maybe) and Autumn.

Check out How to go to Nami Island

We took approximately an hour or more to reach Gapyeong station. Where you have to locate a cab to the Namiseom ticketing office to board the Nami Island ferry.

pic: (left) Gapyeong station. (right) boyfriend waiting for a cab.

pic: (left) ticketing office of Namiseom. (right) Nami Island entrance ticket/entry visa.

The ticketing counter is on your right when you approach Namiseom. Bear in mind that you will get a discount for the ticket to Nami Island if you are tourist at 8,000won instead of 10,000won. So much love!

Group pic in front of Namiseom.

The ferry to Nami Island from Namiseom.

Finally! Nami Island!

pic: (left) Signboard in Nami Island. (right) Cutiepie spotted!

Nami Island bank.

Filming location of Winter Sonata.

Nami Island is an amazing place. Close to nature and it was so relaxing strolling around this small island. Love birds, families and many foreigners were seen spending time chilling and playing games on the grass that usually turn into an ice field during Winter. But Spring time, was just nice. You can spend a dollar or two trying out local snacks from the stalls available in the island or sitting down in a cafe or a restaurant having deep thoughts.

On our way back to Namiseom from Nami Island, we spotted a place possible enough to do bungy activity. I was in doubt at first but going closer to check it turned out to be a place for bungy jump! Without thinking twice, I have decided to give it a shot as bungy jump is always top of my bucket list! The dare devil me urged others to jump with me but unfortunately, only 4 out of 8 of us did it. It costs 40,000won per jump and no, you won’t get any certificate from it cause its not AJ Hackett!

The Bungy Jump platform at Namiseom.

Curious? Check out my Korea bungy jump video HERE

Read about my nerve-wrenching Bungy Jump experience at Macau Tower coming very soon!

2. Dinner

The sad part is that I have forgotten the name of the restaurant we dine in after Nami Island visit. Maybe we were too hungry to figure that out and just stormed into any restaurant that sells.. FOOD!

pic: (left) bibimbap set. (right) chicken ddeokbukki with rice.

And some nice soju to end the night.

Korea Spring, Day One: Seoul, Korea

Posted on June 15, 2015 by serenatan

When I was sixteen, I was overly obsessed with this Korean boy group, TVXQ. Constantly imagining myself being close to them k-pop stars, I vowed to visit South Korea at least once in my life and it turned out to be a dream-come-true after ten years of waiting. (I was a student back then and did not have the permission and enough cash to travel)

After a few years of gambling my life in the working world and this ever so competitive society, I did the best decision to my buddy’s proposal to book the flight to Seoul – The Land of Morning Calm.

We managed to strike the lucky charm and got ourselves a pair of Air Asia X at RM600+ both ways. As we got it way earlier from the travelling date, we spent some time researching on the point of interests in Seoul.

After arriving Incheon International Airport, we were amazed by the architecture. Its modern and humble design caught my eyes and it was very crowded when we arrived at 3:40pm at 8 degree celcius.

Without wasting time, I made my way to “K Book” store situated at the lower ground of Incheon Airport to redeem the local sim card that I have ordered online for my 7 days trip here in Korea. Check out EG SIM, HERE. Also you might want to consider getting the T-Money card for easy access in Seoul. You can basically use T-Money for KTX, metro, mrt, taxi, buses and even 7-eleven in Seoul. Super convenient. Something like our Malaysian Touch n’Go? LOL. Find out more about T-Money card and its coverage of usage, HERE.

We took the KTX to Ewha Women Uni. Station, where our guesthouse situated. Before departing to Seoul, we made a reservation online with Cozybox Guesthouse. Conveniently situated opposite of The Coffeebean & Tealeaf in Daehyun-dong, Seodaemun in Shinchon, Hongdae. You can find bakery, souvenir shops, restaurants that open till late night and Shinchon police station is just right in front. Going down the road for a bout a minute more by walking, you will see a mini shopping street with variety of korean latest fashion, shoes, cute socks and street food too! Do check out Cozybox Guesthouse HERE.

Here are some of the places we have visited in day one:

1. Dinner at “Dark Han Ma Ri” Restaurant

We were greeted in Mandarin by Ajumma working in the restaurant. It was our first visit (obviously!) so we were introduced to try out their chicken dish in hot pot and later on with rice shimmer to perfection. As you can see from the first pic below, the chicken was well-cooked and perfectly melted our hungry stomach with minced garlic and their complimentary kimchi!

2. Sinchon street market

Throughout our whole Korea trip, shopping in Sinchon was overall the cheapest. It was just few steps away from Cozybox Guesthouse and the variety of fashion, street food is just great. I wouldn’t say it is the best but they do have many beauty products and clothing selling at reasonable price. We were strolling around and did a little shopping here.

3. Dongdaemun

We took a cab to Dongdaemun and it stopped in front of Doota Shopping Mall. One of the many famous malls in Seoul. We went in to have a look. There were many clothing booths located at ground floor, mainly from local designers and their pricing was sky high. I did not manage to secure any but did a while of window shopping. It was really crowded with youngsters or maybe there were just avoiding the strong outdoor wind. Fortunately, there were LINE characters air balloons in front of the mall which garnered a lot flashes of camera. Of cause, we did too. If you are tired of walking already, head to one of the many coffee shops/cafe just nearby Dongdaemun. Don’t forget to check out Gwangjang Market along the way as it is crowned the largest food alley in Seoul! Yummmms!

4. Food Cafe, Sinchon

We were hungry and decided to head to a cafe just across the road from Cozybox Guesthouse. Food Cafe offers variety of Ramyeon and I picked the Cheese Ramyeon. Sounds weird to me but to my surprised, it was so good!

Happy and exhausted. We ended day one with much satisfaction.