******************************************************************************
Omoo... Already a month since I returned from the 'God of the East' country. I guess it is time to stick some of the pictures taken during my short and brief visit. I was thinking to make separate entry for every places I went, however, I may not have the spirit to do that though. I'll see what to do next hehehhh... Just to summarize, I visited both Seoul and Jeju and yes, the visits include well planned and lost and found sightseeing spots. I found at least 3 spots accidentally on my last day roaming aimlessly in Seoul city. Pretty lucky but thanks mostly to the superbly efficient and reliable Seoul subway system, my 5 hours wandering was not wasted. So take ur time watching my amateur photography skill in use
The
first thing we did was to buy the T-money, something like Touch n Go
card in Malaysia. This t-money is also available in many other form such
as mobile key chain. Call it convenience! Cost per card is 3000 won and
of course more expensive in other fancy shape. This does not include
the top-up so do the top-up at the many machine at every subway station.
Dont worry, english instruction is available
Yeaahhh
you sure got it rightt.. ad board for drink commercial OK? Didnt really
recognize who was the model but pretty sure two famous Korean male
celebs. Saw them somewhere in the dramas but couldnt remember their
name. Huge board though, at least taller than me kekee
Our
first food and drink from Korea and in Korea yeyy!! Hahhaa thiswas at
Mr Kebab restaurant run by Turkish Muslim if I am not mistaken. Quite
full with Korean youngsters and a couple of Malaysian muslim other than
us 7 people. I guess the owner got their cash box full everyday huhh?
The
traffic and building surrounding Itaewon. This part was quite busy but
not at the rodeo street or several other parts of the city. I guess
because of the subway station nearby.
Insadong.
I regret not taking enough picture here. Too overwhelmed with the
shopping even though I wasn't buying that much, really?
My
friend was super excited when we entered this place. It was like an
extravagant exhibition hall with Hallyu Star stuff. Why wasnt I excited?
Ouhh I prefer looking at the real person than touching and mimicking
the girlfriend of the plain poster ahahaaa
The
Lotte world! Remind me ofthe indoor Genting Highland Theme park with
all the blinking gondola at the top. Look happening but we didnt get in,
spare the money for Everland. Ice skating ring was right down there,
just like in Sunway Pyramid
Next
stop (or next lost in the city stop?) was Namiseom... or Nami Island as
we call it. The island is a republic herself so we have to show our
passport to buy the ferry tix. The subway journey was 2 hours but
complimented with beautiful country scenary along the way. I enjoyed it
so much! My feet was aching so much too bcoz the seat was full for the
entire journey
The
entrance and ticket booth before taking the ferry to Namiseom. Few
cherry blossom trees were available here. We arrive early so there wasnt
too much crowd
Ok
cut it short, we were in Jeju already! This pic was taken at the half
peak of Seungsan mountain in Jeju after about half an hour or 300m
hiking up. Worth my every sweat!
Makan!
Food again! Since there were not many option for muslim food in Jeju,
we try our luck. The guesthouse stuff guided us to the nearest seafood
restaurant and these were what we got. Nyum nyumm! Interestingly, this
restaurant understand our Muslim rule on food. So no soju, no wine, no
pork and even the spoon, fork and chopstick were separated between
Muslim and the other guest. Chuahaeyo!
Dont know what these two dishes called in Korean but we called them salad rice and fish egg soup (a kind of jjigae served in a pot) kekekee
We
went to Dongmun traditional market in Jeju-si. Found these variety of
'sambal' look alike dishes. Taste varies too, with all sour, sweet,
spicy and etc according to each 'banchan'. Usually eaten with cooked rice and served in small quantity at meal
Here
is my star pic of the entire vacation. Look like a postcard picture, I
know. But this is original okay? Taken at the foothill of Seungsan
mountain. The small building down there is where the haenyo (women diver) performance were held
We're
back to Seoul and Geongbokgoong is in the pic. Lucky as we arrived a
performane was held imitating the royal ceremony but I dont know exactly
the purpose. Just enjoy watching the royal officers in their dynasty
costume walking in parade while almost circulating us the visitor,
before the usher pushed us out of the way hahahaaa!!! See the red
costume officer coming? We were originally right in the middle of their
path kekeeke. I am not sure also if this is just performance or the real
ceremony. We had no tour guide with us...
In the palace we can try the Korean palace costume for free.
You just have to wait a long queue for a 5 minutes try that's all. This
service is also available in other less crowded palace around Seoul so
if you want to really feel and enjoy the Hanguk outfit, find your way to
other palace than Geongbokgung.
Done!! With a loooong entry again. Is this a gud habit? Hrmmm I donno. I'll find my inner motivation to blog for individual places I went in Korea. Till then, see ya!!!