Gamcheon Culture Village in Busan

My son went on his school residential trip last month for a week and since I have no mummy duties and I desperately need to take some time off my work, I rewarded myself with a girlfriend trip to South Korea. My best girlfriend is awesome and a great travel partner.

We spent 3 nights in Busan and 3 nights in Seoul. While in Busan, we:

• Appreciated a lot of great wall art at the Gamcheon Culture Village
• Had very fresh seafood at the Jagalchi Seafood Market
• Though it is freezing, we hung out at the Haeundae and Gwangalli Beaches for dinner
• Got lost doing some hiking at the Beomeosa Temple
• Had my birthday breakfast at the Bujeon Market

I will share more of what we did in Busan later but here is what I remembered and thought of the Gamcheon Culture Village.

Near the coffeeshop where we had our hot chocolate, there is this shop selling my favorite wafer fish with red bean. We went into the the shop asking for 2 wafer fish. We signaled to the owner with 2 fingers and he gave us 2 packs. In each pack, there were 3 pieces of the wafer fish and each pack was only about Won1,000 or Won2,000 (I can't remember exactly how much)! Imagine my surprise! The wafer fish were crispy, warm and delicious!

The Little Prince is French but the Koreans are crazy over him.
But who isn't, right? =)

What I love most about this place is there is no fixed route to follow and you will never know what is  waiting in the next corner. You just have to move ahead all the time. We did some u-turns but hey! that's life, right?

Till my next blog post, explore your journey! =)

My Seoul Snacks

Food is a big thing in our lives. When I share my Seoul travel experiences with my friends and colleagues, it is inevitable that the food question will pop up. I will highly recommend that they go to my favorite ginseng chicken restaurant (Korea Samgkyetang) and also ask them to pop by Lotte Mart at the Seoul Station to stock up on snacks.

Sharing with you some of my favorite snacks in Seoul ...

#1 on my list of favorite snacks is this wafer fish with ice cream and red bean. I love red bean! I love wafer fish! I love ice cream! What a perfect combination. It is very affordable .. about Won 1,000 at 7-Eleven. When I am in Seoul, I take this every night as my dessert after dinner. =)

#2 on my list is the Korean Citron Tea. The tea also comes in sachet format which makes it easy for me to carry around. The big glass jar is too dangerous for my butter fingers. Add a sachet to cold soda water and you will have a very refreshing beverage. Super good for a hot and humid day. Spread it onto bread like marmalade and have a sweet breakfast. You can also add this into agar-agar powder and water and have yuzu agar-agar / jelly. I know some people use this to bake cakes but I am not at that expert level yet. =)

#3 on my list is this moist and chewy soft cake that has sweet red bean chocolate cream inside. Did I mention that I LOVE red bean? Try it! Believe me, you won't be able to stop at one. I always tell me my friends that one piece of the fish is so tiny, you have to take two or three at one go to feel the satisfaction. =)

#4 on my list is this lightweight, water cracker with chocolate. This is supposed to be the healthy and tasty range from Orion. But how to be healthy when I eat a two portions at one go?!? Orion, in general, makes good snacks. I also like their potato chips. But I don't like their brownie which is very popular. I find it too sweet for my liking.

My snack basket from Lotte Mart! =)

Till my next blog post, have a snack! =)

Noryangjin Fish Market, Seoul

When in Seoul, try going to the Noryangjin Fish Market for some fresh seafood. =)

It is easy to get there - just take the subway to the Noryangjin Station and walk along the overhead bridge. It takes you to a carpark and then to the upper floor of the market (where the restaurants are). Walk down the stairs and there are many, many stores selling fresh seafood. We went in the winter and so there is no fishy, smelly smell. We reached there at about 11am, so there is no crowd which makes exploration of the market more relaxing.

Walk around, get a feel of the surrounding, smile at people, pick a store that has a good and fresh variety and start selecting your desired seafood. Sellers here can quote you prices in Mandarin which makes bargaining easier for me. =)

After some vendor evaluation, we selected this lady and bought our seafood from her.

There are 3 of us and we bought some octopus, a medium-sized lobster, some scallops and abalone. We had 2 portions of the octopus - one portion we had it stir fried and the other portion, we ate them still wriggling and live. Other than the experience, the live octopus with wasabi tasted good.

Shhhhh ....Tread quietly .. she probably started her day at 3am, so let her take a rest. =)

Till my next blog post, have some omega-3! =)

Skiing at the Phoenix Park

The day after we did some trout fishing in Pyeongchang, my girlfriends and I had ski lessons at the Phoenix Park Ski Resort. We signed up for the 'family package' for a full-day lesson with a English-speaking instructor. Cost Won330,000 for the 3 of us, including the rental of equipment. Lessons were in 2 two-hour session, between 10am & noon and 2pm & 4pm.

 

It was about 3 degree Celsius that day and the ground was somewhat icy which made it more slippery than usual. I did not mind skiing (or sliding and falling, for me) down the slight slope but the walking sideways up the slope in those heavy boots and skis killed my knees. It was an exhausting day! My back and knees hurt like hell but it was a good experience and we had fun! =)

 

The resort is fantastic. There are several slopes for different levels of expertise and there are lots of people there .. and they are looked like experts! I am so envious! 

 

We were taught to make big A and small A with our skis to slow down and speed up respectively. And the following conversation went on for a few times ...

 

Instructor: Make big A. Make big A.

Me stretching out my legs to make a big A as per her instructions.

Instructor: Make bigger A. That's small A.

Me: This is my biggest A!

Instructor shakes her head ....

Till my next blog post, take a ski! =)

Pyeongchang Trout Festival

In January 2013, two girlfriends and I did trip to Seoul. I have always visited Seoul in the fall and winter is so different. In Seoul itself, there was no snow towards the end of January and everything looked quite brown and dull. Shopping is also not as lively. Shops at Myeongdong were closing at about 10pm. So, we ventured outside Seoul for some winter fun! We booked ourselves at the Phoenix Park Hotel in the Pyeongchang district for some skiing and ice fishing.

Phoenix Park is easily accessible to and from Seoul. There are buses that run from the hotel/skiing facility several times a day. When we arrived, it was too late to participate in the skiing lessons and so we went off to Jinbu for the Pyeongchang Trout Festival for an afternoon. The annual festival takes place during winter and for this year it was opened between 22 Dec 2012 and 3 Feb 2013. Other than trout fishing, there are also other activities like  sledding and 4-wheeled ATV rides.

Pyeongchang Trout Festival

The festival is held over a frozen stream. The ice looks like it a about a foot thick to me, so it is very safe to jump and stomp around. =)

This is our first ice-fishing experience and there is a LOT to learn. I learnt that there are different types of bait. The people there gave us some plastic fish and worm baits. For different baits, there are different techniques to move your line and bait. For the worm bait, the up and down movements have to be short and fast . For the fish bait, the movement has to be a slow, long dip followed quickly by a quick jerk upwards. Of course, we were NOT aware of this and we went around just jerking our fishing line up and down randomly for the first freezing hour. Mistake #1. Then a very kind chap came and enlightened us. Also he said that we are fishing at the wrong area. We should be fishing near to the banks of the stream, not in the middle, as fish swims closer to the banks. Mistake #2.

The equipment

As advised by the kind chap, we then shifted ourselves closer to the bank and started using the right technique. But I think something is still not quite right as we still did not get any fish. Oh well! It's our first experience. No fish, no big deal. But it hurts a little when I see other people have 2 or 3 fish in their plastic bag. I reckon that if we have more time, we might be able to get something but we are frozen after about 2 hours and decided to call it quits.

See! They have trout!!

When you do go the festival, dress very warmly. It is freezing and you will be out there for a long time. Jerking fish lines up and down isn't exactly a cardio activity, so there is no chance of your body warming up. =)

Till my next blog post, have some winter fun! =)

Samcheong-dong, Seoul

Have you been to Samcheong-dong in Seoul? If you have not, you must drop by. Samcheong-dong is one of the most beautiful and interesting streets in Seoul. It is very relaxing to spend an afternoon here. Samcheong-dong is so unlike the rest of Seoul. It has a good mix of restaurants, shops and galleries. There is always something interesting to browse and snack on (waffles seem to be very popular). It is also the street that leads to the Bukchon Hanok Village.

Sharing some photos that I took ....

I Love Wall Art!

Interesting Store Front ...

This shop sells everything rooster!

Cute little fire hydrant

Till my next blog post, you must drop by Samcheong-dong! =)

Nami Island, Seoul

Let's play the 20-word game .. what comes to your mind when I say 'Coke'? Red, caffeine, diet, McDonalds, glass bottle, cherry, sugar, happy, energizing, addiction, cool.

What comes to your mind when I say 'Nami Island'? Beautiful, tall trees, photos, romance, winter sonata, half-moon, peaceful, culture, smiles, couples, relaxing.

That is what I have always thought of Nami Island and I have heard so much about from people around me that I figured I have to go and see it for myself. So, on the second last day of my recent Seoul trip, my family and I made a special trip there.

I love the fall colors! They are so beautiful!

Lovely couple! My best wishes to you!

Other than the fall colors, I am so disappointed with the island. The place is way over-rated. It is so crowded with people that I cannot even think straight! Many places are unkempt, there are weeds and dried leaves everywhere, the food is overpriced and fixtures are highly vandalized. 

We did not catch the shuttle bus from Tapgol Park and took the subway, taxi and ferry to the island. It took us about 2 hours to get there and another 2 to 3 hours to get back. On the way back, the taxi / bus queue from the ferry terminal to the subway station was so, so long. All-in-all, it is not worth the trip and the time. But, at least, now I know what Nami Island is all about.

People everywhere. How to take nice pictures?

Dried leaves everywhere, unkempt weeds and plants. So messy!

Let's repeat the 20-word game .. What comes to your mind when I say 'Nami Island'? Messy, overcrowded ferry, far away, unkempt, tall trees, noisy, photos, local people, tourists, tour buses, headache. 

Till my next blog post, don't believe everything you hear! =)

Made it to the top of Achasan but where is Yongmasan?

Inspired by last year's hike at the Bukhansan National Park, my family and I went for another hike when we visited Seoul in October. And this time, we decided not to overwork ourselves and opted for a much easier hike. 

Pile of stones at the top of Achasan

Our plan was to conquer 2 easy peaks .. the Achasan and the Yongmasan. We reached the top of Achasan but totally missed Yongmasan. The signboards are mostly in Korean and I guess we followed the wrong ones. We descended to somewhere near the Sagajeong subway station. I am somewhat disappointed that we missed Yongmasan .. I am hoping to check out the wall art near the Yongmasan subway station. Another excuse to visit Seoul next year. =)

The hike was good and we enjoyed ourselves. We did better this year. We went with 2 bottles of water and 2 packets of chips (vs one of each last year). But we still wore our city clothes and shoes and not hiking clothes like the Koreans. =)

The top of Achasan is quite sad-looking. Why do they have to chop off the trees?

This looks like a helicopter pad. Spotted somewhere near to the top of Achasan.

Some interesting sights along the hiking trail ..........

Shopping!! =) She sells gloves, scarfs and other hiking necessities. 

Energizers: Eggs, drinks, instead noodles, biscuits, etc for sale.

Exercise equipment for you to work out other parts of your body.

Well-defined steps and more exercise equipment

Non-slip features at the steps .. good for the elderly and clumsy people like me.

Till my next blog post, go hiking! =)