Impromptu Trip to Seoul, Korea – Part 1
Yes, it’s time for another series of travel chronicles, this time to Seoul, Korea! 
I named this series as Impromptu Trip to Seoul because this trip was really impromptu! It was supposed to be Saucer‘s company trip for a week and I was not planning to go with him. Not until about 3 days before the departure, he said that he was purchasing the flight ticket for me to go with him! Of course, everything was a chaos then, because I couldn’t get on the same flight with him (fully booked) and had to be on waiting list and so on. Thank God, in the end it all worked out well and we left together.
Say Hello to Seoul!
Seoul bus stop
We reached Seoul one day earlier than the company schedule so that we could have more time for sightseeing. For the first night, I chose to stay at Holiday Inn Seongbuk, since I have some Priority Club Rewards points to be redeemed. I must say the service at Holiday Inn was marvellous! Being a Priority Club member, I had the privilege to request for early check-in (depending on availability), and guess what? I reached the hotel at about 9am to find that my key was already prepared for me! I just needed to hand in my passport for verification and I was shown to my room within minutes. Bravo!
Couch
You know what is impressive at the hotel? There was a PC for us to go online for free! So awesome right?
PC and free broadband connection
Comfortable bed
Washroom basin
Bathtub
Even the toilet bowl was so high-tech! So many functions available other than just the normal flushing. There was cleaning function and even massage function! *LOL*
High-tech toilet bowl
View from our room
The only gripe I had with Holiday Inn Seongbuk was the distance from the subway. It was at least 20 minutes walk away, which could be really tiring especially after a day out. After we freshened up and unloaded our luggage, we quickly proceeded to the counter to ask for some tour package. We intended to visit Nami Republic or Namiseom, from Winter Sonata fame. Unfortunately, all tours to that place started at 9am, and it was already 10am when we inquired. So the only option we had was to take public transportation on our own! *gasp* With our strong determination, we set forth with a map in hand, in a foreign country, on our first day, with no knowledge of the Korean language!
witch at the subway station
The walk to the subway station was indeed pretty long, especially in the freezing cold weather! In the subway, there was this old man trying to sell us this thing used to clean the toilet. 
Too bad I couldn’t understand a word of what he was saying.
Salesman in the subway
We were supposed to take the subway to the main bus station in Dongseoul first, and to take the bus from there to ChunCheon, and finally take a cab to Namiseom. Before the LONG journey, we had our lunch at the Dongseoul bus station. We went into some random shop to eat, and used sign language to order. Using English here was hopeless.
Bibimbap
Bibimbap mixed up
Beancurd soup
After the lunch, we took the 1.5hours bus to ChunCheon and reached at around 2.30pm. We then flagged for a taxi but again, language problem! We mentioned ‘Namiseom’ to him and he blabbered a string of Korean which sounded frustrated while shaking his head. Oh dear! What was he saying? We were helpless! He couldn’t speak English at all and we couldn’t understand his Korean. We managed to find a guy nearby who was also hailing for taxi who could speak English. He then explained to us that all the taxi drivers didn’t want to drive to Namiseom because of the massive traffic jam, and asked us to take the public bus instead. It looked like we didn’t have any other choice anyway, so we just waited for the bus to reach at 3pm. Can you imagine? All in all, it took us 3 hours to reach Namiseom! Some feat for first-timers, I’m telling you.
Such a long queue!
We had to take a short boat trip to cross over to Namiseom, but luckily we managed to enter without waiting for too long. The entrance fee inclusive of return boat ride was 8,000 won (RM24).
Walking towards the boat
Look, I spotted a Malaysian flag on the boat!
Upon reaching the island, we saw this ice formation at the entrance. Just goes to show how cold it was!
Entrance of Namiseom
What’s this tree called?
Oh the place was gorgeous! I was never a fan of Winter Sonata, so I did not watch any of the episodes. I only did some research on the place the day before I reached Seoul. But the place was really beautiful! And we were indeed there during winter!
witch at Namiseom
Rustic walkway at Namiseom
This pic looked like autumn
With the lake as the background
Us at the tree house
with the peace-making cat
The amphitheater
A coffee shop overlooking the lake
witch at the lakeside
One of the filming locations of Winter Sonata
Nice picnic area
Candid shot?
LOL at Saucer’s butt!
Another popular photo place
Beautiful signature shot of Namiseom
Recycled cans
Us with the Winter Sonata cast
Saucer having a good time
We spent about 3 hours there and left the place in time for dinner. We went back to ChunCheon for dinner and chose a random restaurant called Bobs. The only thing we could understand from the signboard was the 9,900 won (~RM30) words, and upon inquiry, we found out that it was the price for the BBQ buffet. So we just went ahead with it!
BBQ buffet
9,900 won buffet
We then left the restaurant and waited for the bus again to take us back to the bus station. It was one of the most torturing wait ever, with the blazing wind and cold weather and the endless wait! We managed to reach the bus station safely, then switched to another bus to Dongseoul station AND later took a subway back before walking 20 minutes to the hotel. *gasp* It was indeed a tiring day for us! Watch out for the next day’s adventure coming soon!
Comments (48)
whoaaa! really impromptu! haha! okay can i have the high tech toilet bowl for myself?? hahaha so nice worr.. actually if u understand chinese, korean language got a bit similar one.
hehehe..
.-= Caroline´s last blog ..Monday Blues? Nope! =-.
Really? Could you understand the Korean words? I thought Chinese is only similar to Japanese words?
Haha you have to fight with Saucer for the toilet bowl 
wow! really nice place!
Hahaha me too dint watch any episode of the winter sonata. haha just love the ost only. cute worr the one peace with making cat. lol. ok ok nice nice both u took pic with the winter sonata cast (edited one!) hahaha.. 
most of those korean food spicy de right??? cant wait for the next post now! LOL
.-= Caroline´s last blog ..Decisions to be made in LIFE. =-.
Yea Namiseom really nice! Korean food mostly spicy and hot! But we love it!
Wow… this is your 3rd oversea trip? Another 6 more to go by the end of this year?
.-= khengsiong´s last blog ..From Telephoto to Wide-Angle =-.
LOL! Somehow there are more opportunity for traveling this year… 6 more to go?? I wish!!!
awww i miss korea already
i wanna go there again for shopping only
.-= xin´s last blog ..Chilling Out @ Mezzanine Bar & Lounge, Prince Hotel KL =-.
LOL! I wanna go there for Dak galbi!
wow, so nice and really impromptu lor, but i guess this is a very sweet surprise from your hubby..
namiseom is a very nice place, the scenery looks so serene and peaceful over there.. but guess you were too cold to enjoy?? haha :p
.-= [SK]´s last blog ..20.04.2010 | 無聊玩樂 =-.
Yea he’s really sweet!
I prefer cold to hot anytime! 
Well it was cold but still bearable
trip again!!! soooo nice and saucer is soooo sweet with lovely surprise! ^^
.-= ai wei´s last blog ..Yogurt Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Crust Sugar =-.
Yay! <3 Saucer
wah!!! Seoul ….seem like lot of my friends is travelling to Seoul too..would love to visit the place in my next trip
.-= M-Knight´s last blog ..ZhouZhuang – Venice Of The East =-.
You should!
I heard Matta fair has really cheap rates! 
wow you sure travel well! a travelling babe, great to have you as a great friend, same goes to lionel!
.-= Big Boys Oven´s last blog ..BAKING CLASSES May 2010 Kota Damansara =-.
Thank you so much Sid! : )))
Wow, the candid shot very nice leh ^^
.-= uLi´s last blog ..Restoran Chi Ka Yin @Bandar Puteri Puchong =-.
Thank you
Korean really hard to communicate hor… majority of thrm are non English speaking
.-= mimid3vils´s last blog ..Cristang =-.
That’s so true babe… so difficult to communicate
@uLi, thank you thank you
I love Korea. Very clean place and nice food as well!
.-= peteformation´s last blog ..Peteformation Mee (Noodles) Bandung Special Recipe =-.
You’ve been there too?
Where did you stay last time??
i think i miss korea you know.. been there back in 2003.. but i never blogged about it.. coz it was ages ago before i started my blog =P
.-= kenwooi´s last blog ..Kek Lok Si Pagoda So High! =-.
It means time for a revisit with your new camera
wow… so nice.. i never been to Korea… i hope to visit there one day too.. have a nice trip!
.-= claire´s last blog ..The SOCSO Waiting Game Starts.. =-.
You should visit it one day! Get the cheap packages from MATTA fair
You seem to be travelling all the time!! If not overseas, then it’s Penang to Kampar to KL to Singapore and back!! Haha!!
.-= foongpc´s last blog ..The Harmony Hotel In Bali =-.
Haha.. Penang Kampar also considered traveling?
Wow! Got PC for you to use? Cool! And massage function in the toilet bowl? Very canggih!
.-= foongpc´s last blog ..The Harmony Hotel In Bali =-.
Yea! PC with full broadband connection ok! Awesome..
Is the bibimbap nice? So far I am not a bog fan of Korean food, prefer Japanese food!
.-= foongpc´s last blog ..The Harmony Hotel In Bali =-.
Nice! Well, truth be told, we were hungry that time! And we’re lucky the shop owners could comprehend our orders
Oops! Typo …. I mean big fan : )
i love Korea, been there twice, planning to go again with my boys this round.
Namiseom quite far right? Last time we join tour, i remember took quite sometime to reach there and the first time we even overnight at one of the hotel then only go to Namiseom on the next morning, nothing much, but very nice scenery (not sure about now)
.-= Annie Q´s last blog ..Grandpa 80′s birthday celebration =-.
Wow you have been to Korea so many times! So awesome
Yea Namiseom quite far, as I mentioned, it took me close to 3 hours with public transport! Maybe better to join tour to get there, or if you have a friend with a car there, get him to fetch you 
a free pc in the room? that’s just so cool!
i remember that church…they used that in one of those soaps that i’ve seen before
.-= ayie´s last blog ..Remembering Ana Daisy =-.
Oh really?? You mean Korean soap?
Nice, nice, nice! Korea is my dream destination too. My mom too just came back from Korea and had taken lots of pictures. The winter scenery there is perfect!
.-= jam´s last blog ..Markets in Kota Kinabalu =-.
Yes yes!
Faster plan your trip to Korea then 
Wait for MATTA fair 
.-= iamthewitch´s last blog ..Awesome Fraser Place, Seoul – Part 2 =-.
Hey, at least the 3 hours journey was worth the amazing scenery and camwhoring opportunities right?
Gorgeous shots. You lucky devil… travelling back to back!
Oh yes, the journey was well worth it!
Thank you for the compliment!
Ah time for me to save to mend the hole in my pocket now! LOL!
lucky you!!! looks really pretty… reminds me of korean series.. (didn’t watch winter sonata tho)… bibimbap!! but it’s not in hotpot? ooh and the soup… yum.. i’ve gotta taste authentic korean food one day… the autumn photo is really pretty. how come it’s so cold there now? did u have any problems getting around with the language barrier?
.-= lechua´s last blog ..Penang’s Living Heritage =-.
They have two types of bibimbap, either in bowl or hot pot. I tried both versions!
Will show you the one in hot pot in my next post 
I went there in March, it was still considered winter in Seoul… And yes, language was indeed a problem. Had to rely on body language most of the time.
WAhh.. me now gettin started to read yr Korean adventure
2010 is a good yr for u
Hubby, travelling ,blogging
LOL! Thank you thank you
i love ur post about travellin in korea!
gonna read it everyday again and again..
aigoo, when will i be there.
Thank you dear! You’re such a sweetie! Here’s hoping you’ll be in Korea anytime soon!