To Korea in Autumn to 看枫葉！
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| 白云台 백운대 Baegundae peak 836m 北汉山 북한산 Bukhansan, 19 October 2022, 2:17pm |
哇！终于可以跟着这几位美女一起去游韩国啦！她们三位最后一次一起去韩国，是2018年的事情了。那一次的旅游，应该是还不错的。但是这一次，有阿Kat 每天每夜 keng 头脑想哪里去玩，有我计划怎么走，用什么交通工具，我深信这次的旅游，应该是很棒的。
"How cold is it going to be?" this Gina non-stop worrying. She was really scared of cold. "Don't tell me it will be like last time when we went in March 2018. I kena bluffed by you all that time and I suffered because it was so cold!"
"No lah, not so cold lah," I reassured her. "It's about 10 degree at night and 20 degrees at noon lah. It's autumn lah. Not so bad one lah."
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| Little did we know we would have such an unforgettable trip. |
Way before this, when Kat and I were planning and reviewing our itinerary for this trip, we found that were many things we wanted to do, places we wanted to go, and sights we wanted to see.
“You all think we are going for one month meh? Siao one lah you all!” each time we revised our itinerary Serene would kao-beh.
“Don’t worry, it’s going to be very relaxing one,” I reassured her.
“I don’t know anything,” as always, Gina would say. “I just follow only.”
“Ok we better climb the mountain earlier in the trip,” decided Kat. “And hmmm.. there is this Jeongdongjin station where they can see the train station next to the seaside” said Kat. This Jeongdongjin ended up to be all the way cross the Korean Peninsula on the east coast.
“Well, it would be more economical for us to rent a car and drive there. And we will have more freedom,” I suggested.
“Oh we can do Glamping there!” said the Korean variety 'House-On-Wheel' addict, Kat. And it was decided.
“Oh we want to do Botox while we are in Korea, and I want to do my skin-whitening infusion at my regular Korean aesthetic clinic,” said Gina. “My Malaysian beautician of the same franchise told me the prices are cheaper in Korea.”
Ok lor… whatever the ladies want to do, let’s just close two eyes and do it 吧! And since we were at it, I would do my eyebrow semi-permanent embroidery, because Kim Man Jung highly recommended 전서현 원장님 at Gangnam.
Table of Content 目錄
Day 3 Beauty Day 江南: Botox, Skin-whitening, massage
Day 4 Jeongdongjin 正東津 and Glamping in Gangreung 江陵市
Day 5 江陵市沙川面 Lighthouses & sandy beach!
Day 6 Oh what a long day: 廣長市場, 弘大，eyebrow,漢江 rainbow fountain & a lovely dinner...
Day 7 I cannot believe how the girls walk in order to shop!
Day 8 Bye Bye... Annyeong!
Day 1【18 October 2022】
Korean Air KE646 , 1:10am..
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| Trips with Gina never had a boring moment one... |
“I’m going to change to my long pants pajamas just before I board the plane, followed by putting on my compression socks and changing to my glasses before I sleep through this flight,” declared Gina.
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| This Gina ah.. slept until her mask dropped till don't know where.... Luckily the Korean stewardess never scold. haha.. |
Fashion show done, and she curved into a bundle like a kitten and slept on the window seat. This position must have been non-ideal for the princess. She woke up at 5:30am feeling nausea and vomited in the toilet. Poor Gina.
Incheon Airport
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| Woke up blur blur and landed blur blur, this Gina |
VIDEO 동영상
Kat and Serene were already sweating inside the airport and the AREX train as their hormones are stronger than the Korean weather. The temperature on this autumn morning was an easy 14 degrees celsius.
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| Underground also giddy |
Actually this time round at Incheon airport terminal two we did not need to buy train ticket for the AREX train. We just needed to Deh our T-money card at the entrance at B1 and immediately go down the escalator to B2 to take the All Stop train at 5500₩. An 1 hour 17 minutes trip was good for our giddy Gina to sleep. It was wonderful to see Korea again, and to see the vibrant young generation with their Artsy fartsy culture.
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| Above ground still giddy... |
Anguk 安国站 Station: Bukchon Hanok Village 北村韩屋
I forgot how many flights of staircase Angkuk station had, and our poor ladies literally lugged their luggage up all the way to the ground level. But they never complained.
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| Finally arrived at the MRT not so giddy any more... heng ah! |
I was surprised by that very soon after we arrived at Angkuk Station Serene and I were already feeling hot, and we were starting to remove our outer layers. Angkuk subway station was just as challenging when it came to lugging our luggage up the staircase. The only one who was spared was Ajumma Serene she was always the Queen. And the Queen never needed to carry anything.
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The lovely part was walking along Samcheong-ro 삼청로 三清路 going up to the Hanok. Lovely flowers on the field at the side, people strolling leisurely, and of course, the feeling that we were once again in Hanguk.
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| Samcheong-ro 삼청로 三清路 |
As always whenever we first arrived we were all blur blur and didn’t really know what to do.
Lucky for me, Kat was very sharp-eyed and pointed out the telephone number on the door of Sophia Hanok and the SaJangNim came by in a jiffy, and gotten us checked into the Hanok. I was happy that Kat and Gina had the free-upgraded larger room where we could have breakfast the next morning.
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Lunch at Insadong
VIDEO 동영상
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“Let us go eat lunch!” commanded Serene. “That Bukchon Kalguksu restaurant we had the last time in Insadong.”
I surprised myself that I could actually still find it. More surprised I was that this restaurant at the 半地下 section on one side of Insadong, was quite full of foreigners. Perhaps because of that, the SajangNim was a little irritated.
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“I want to eat just now that Pink Butter cafe pastry shop at Radio M, the one we saw just now at Bukchon 北村!”Gina very clever. She knows a cafe when she sees one.
Since the weather was so nice and warm, we walked slowly back to Radio M before we went back Hanok for a rest.
Fashion-show time!
VIDEO 동영상
Since it was the first evening in Korea, Serene and I decided “Ok lah, let’s dressed up and fashion-show down to Insadong ba!”
This 삼청로 三清路 hor… never failed to amaze us. It’s that peaceful and quiet long straight road leading from Insadong right into Bukchon. This time round, the girls actually found a hat shop that had some nice hats on sale.. 10,000 won a hat. And wah.. We kinda bought several hats from that SajangNim.
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On this trip I was very happy to realise that our Singapore dollar has appreciated significantly over the months and now stood at parity with the Korean won: S$1 = 1000 won. So everything in Hanguk becomes easily cheaper liao. And it makes it so much easier to calculate prices of things. I remember in Winter, November 2022 the exchange rate was S$1= 840 won. And in Spring, May 2022 when we went with Ah Li, it was at S$1 = 890 won.
Insadong
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Insadong has certainly livened up over the last one year, as Korea started opening up from the Covid restrictions imposed over the past two years and a half. On this day, the streets of Insadong were more crowded, and Ssamziegil was lively. It was alsmot 8pm when we arrived at Ssamziegil, but still it was quite fun to explore the spiralling walkway.
I was amazed at how the ladies see things with their female eyes. What catches their eyes and enters their hearts is very very different from what I see. The hand-made flower bracelets, and iron-on patches that they picked up were refreshing. For the first time, I actually was very relaxed even just strolling these few shops..right up to 8:30pm when the shops closed.
Even on this evening, the ladies just chiong-ed right into the hand-made glass frame boutique, the wooden-watch shop, places that I myself would definitely miss if I were not to have slowed down and walked relaxly behind them.
Table of Content 目錄
Day 1 Gai gai in Bukchon 北村 and Insadong 仁寺洞
Day 2 Conquering the Bukhansan 北漢山
Day 3 Beauty Day 江南: Botox, Skin-whitening, massage
Day 4 Jeongdongjin 正東津 and Glamping in Gangreung 江陵市
Day 5 江陵市沙川面 Lighthouses & sandy beach!
Day 6 Oh what a long day: 廣長市場, 弘大，eyebrow,漢江 rainbow fountain & a lovely dinner...
Day 7 I cannot believe how the girls walk in order to shop!
Day 8 Bye Bye... Annyeong!
Day 2 【19 October 2022】
We woke up for the traditional Korea breakfast served by the Hanok SaJangNim in Kat and Gina’s room at 8am, nice and cool, all ready for the Bukhansan 北汉山 adventure… except for my iPhone 11 Pro which decided to commit suicide the night before by jumping down from the bathroom cupboard and testing the hardness of the Hanok floor. Man… I spent a great deal of time last night just to transfer the remaining SIM cards between Serene’s iPhone and my Galaxy S6 Tablet.. Finally settling to a temporary arrangement where Serene and I both share her iPhone for photo-taking, for texting on Whatsapp, while using my Galaxy S6 tablet for Telegram and for ThinkOrSwim trading. I was pleasantly impressed by my patience and my peace of heart even without one of the most important pieces of equipment in my life. Hahaha…
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| 应该是没脸见我啦！哈哈哈 |
话说回来，这个北汉山，回想起来也是阿 Kat 的 Kang Tao. 我还记得，今年七月某一天，我们4个人坐在 Kallang 的某一间咖啡屋，说着说着，就说秋天时到韩国看枫叶。那时，我还记得我说 “要看枫叶嘛，就得上山。“ 我心中想的也不过是首尔的南山（262米）。后来阿 Kat 不知如何看呀看呀，喝着茶，就看到网上说 ‘登上北汉山看枫叶会是很漂亮的一回事儿。‘ 836米高的北汉山，离开北村不远。是登山远眺首尔风景的一个好地方。还记得，今年5月春天，我们跟阿丽到江原道 Gangwon-do 登爬的玛尼山 Manisan 是472米高。当时那坐玛尼山嘛，也不说太过吃力，所以阿 Kat 这一个登北汉山的建议，我们一口就赞成了。
“嘿，你们一定要 training 的 hor!” 我时时刻刻，这几个月来，一直提醒大家。
但是看样子，除了我跟阿华还挺定时地跑步爬楼梯，阿Kat 爬了一次楼梯，就当做锻炼好了。Gina嘛，身材娇小，而且还经常跑步5km, 所以我也不太担心她。
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The breakfast was nice. I have always loved traditional Korean breakfast especially sitting down and enjoying a steaming hot bowl of jjigae and rice and banchan in the heated warm ondol floor of a Hanok. More so, sitting with three beautiful and lovely ladies who, never in the deepest recesses of their minds, could even begin to imagine how Bukhansan would be…
“Hmmm… not bad hor,” said Gina, who doesn’t eat breakfast one. “It’s delicious.” and she ate a huge portion of breakfast and rice.. In retrospect she was sooooo glad she did that.
Kat and Serene didn’t eat much. Me, as usual, whacked as much food as I could. Because I think I was the only person who vaguely could anticipate what the next half a day would entail.
An eight-station subway ride from Angguk Station 安国站 안국역 to GuPaBal Station 旧把拨站 구파발역. This was the 25 minutes subway route that would take us to somewhere near Bukhansan, followed by a bus (34, 704 or 8772) to the entrance to Bukhansan-seong 北汉山城 북한산성 where the Bukhansanseong Park Information Cente was. I was not confident of this, so we set off at around 9am to try to arrive at around 10am.
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Here is the website that I found very very useful for trekking Bukhansan:
https://www.koreatodo.com/bukhansan-national-park
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| 三位美女这么帅，肯定会登个好山！ |
VIDEO 동영상
Together with us on the subway and on the bus were really really plenty of mountain climbers in climbing gears and walking sticks and backpacks. Many of these were Ajussis and Ajummas and some Halabeojis and Halmeonis. These Koreans are really a mountain people. This day was a mid-week Wednesday morning and they just took it like a stroll in the park, climbing up an 800m mountain for breakfast. Also thanks to them, we simply followed these noisy old folks all the way to the starting point, where a very nice ranger gave us a map and pointed to us the trail to use.
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| "Wah look! This spider so special!" cried Kat. So Serene took a photo of it. |
“You can reach the top at Baegundae 白云台 백운대 and then you all can take the trail the other way down to DoBong,” he suggested. But we were set in our hearts to come back down to GuPaBal.
The ranger said it would take roughly two and half hours up and two and a half hour down. Five hours.
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| Very helpful ranger at Bukhansanseong Info Centre |
“Easy lah, five hours.” said Gina.
“Four hours,” the ranger said to me, but I couldn’t remember at that point in time which track he was referring to. First time climbing mountain, it was always like that.
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So at 10:08am, we started our climb. Crisp, cool air, and the sound of streams on our left as we gently walked the wide and even tracks of the Valley trail, and the occasional stairs, we were in fabulous spirits.
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Gina was telling Kat to sit at the rocks beside the stream to wash her feet when we come down later (in retrospect, we were in no state to do that by the time we got down, neither the energy nor time.. hahaha).
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The Valley trail took only 30 minutes and we came to a rest station with a wooden platform and public toilet. From here it would start to be a little more exertional, as the track started to ascend.
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| The toddler-carrying young Korean father & mother |
Difficult Course? Easy Course?
50 minutes into the walk, we arrived at a split in the track.
“No not that way,” kao-behed Gina. “That is the difficult trail. Here here… follow this sign pointing right. It says it is the easy trail.” She was correct.
As we started to go down the easy path, we caught sight of a young Korean couple back-carrying their toddler, preparing and strapping him. They smiled at us as we gave them a ‘fighting’ before start up that challenging route. Wah, our respect! I thought back at that moment and was glad Gina saw the sign. Otherwise I would have led the group up the left side difficult route.
“Wah, if we had gone up that route, we would have died even half way up the mountain,” remarked Kat much later that day when we finally made our way down. Heng ah!
先賞楓葉...
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Our reward was that very early in the trail we were already beginning to see the splendid red and yellow autumn leaves in dense batches among the trees.
We kept looking for perfectly-formed red leaves. “Cannot pluck lah,” warned Gina. “Must pick up those on the ground.” But I could see from the corner of my eyes, that Kat was looking around with a suspicious look… hahaha…
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Unbeknownst to me, the ladies were also looking for pine cones. For what I didn’t know, but they did pick quite a few of the cones from the ground.
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| Real REAL red leaves. No post-processing donw! |
Wow, these were precisely what we came for. Well, I guess one could never estimate the best time to arrive at the mountains when the autumn leaves peak, unless one were a local Korean. We timed our climb to be on the 19th October, because studying the predictions, the web articles were saying that the last two weeks of October would be when the leaves would be in full colours.
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As we ascended the colours got even richer, with a splendid display of a range of colours, ranging from the usually green, to the browning dark, to deep red and bright yellow. Before coming this round, Serene and I remember watching on the Korean drama Goblin a scene where Kim Go Eun and Gong Yu were in Canada and a piece of red leaf floated down from the tree and Gong Yu caught it in his hand. This was what I was hoping for. Hahaha…
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I was surprised to actually come upon a fortress gate. It says 中城门 wor. So far up till now, it has been a fascinating discovery of batches after batches of autumn foliage, we really didn't feel tired. Not yet. The girls were so taken by the pine cones, the leaves and the sights, and the sight of young local men and women taking wefies after wefies, that we were also caught up in the same enjoyment.
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One hour 15 minutes into the track. We were too busy finding perfect positions to pose for our foliage photos and we went crazy. I remember 90 minutes into the track, Gina found a huge boulder where several young Koreans were sitting themselves taking shots of the beautiful autumn foliage in the background.
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后爬梯堦...
2 hours. As the foliage colours started to bloom, the trekking route started to show its true colour. The even-pathed track turned into rocky steps, initially orderly, but soon decided to turn haphazard.
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| Easier steps... |
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| ... becoming not so easy steps. |
2 hours 30minutes. We came to another road sign with arrows pointing hereto and thereto.
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“Why don’t you ask that young couple in front,” Kat cleverly suggested.
But it turned out they were as confused as us. But two Ajummas sitting on a boulder by the side of the track gave us the answer.
“Don’t go up there,” they said. “Follow this route to the left and you will reach Baegundae.”
Further up, we confirmed the correct trail with a group of official-looking people who were discussing some landscape planning, and one of the man very helpfully pointed out the right way to not only us but the equally-confused Korean couple.
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| Still rocky tracks. These rocky tracks do make it tiring to navigate. |
兵來將擋...
We eventually found ourselves, at this stage to be in the midst of a scattered foresty part of mid mountain, where there was no clear paths.
Serene and Gina started to pull away from Kat and I. But I was happy to have these two scout the front to help find the way up. It was so funny to see how Gina got lost.
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| No track's trek. Can spot Gina, Serene and Kat in front of me. |
“Wei, you got no mountain sense one ah?!” I called out to her as she hugged one huge boulder and was deciding whether to round it from the more dangerous right side, or to follow its left.
“I cannot see the trails,” she called back. “So I can only wait and see if anyone comes down and at least I know there is trail there mah. 我根本看不到可以走的路!”
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| Gina very happy with this photo cos she gets to take it alone with her beloved boss. |
So this was the easy path. It was easy because the path was soil, gravel and leaves and some medium-sized rocks, and it was less steep as compared to the ‘difficult route’ Just that this part entailed some path-searching on the trekker’s part.
3 hours into our trek. And we came to a sign that pointed ‘Baegundae 0.9km’. Wah, siao ah! We are almost there liao! Little did we know this was where the difficult part started. Much later when we looked back at the fateful map that the ranger gave us, this part would be a part that would be marked ‘advanced’. But I guess we had no choice because leading up to the peak was this way.
“I would die die pull all of you up one!” I was determined to make sure every lady reached the peak.
Serene and Gina were climbing strongly. At several points we lost sight of them and even calling out to them received no replies. Kat was slowing down in her pace, especially after having to cross some fallen logs and walk up some more rocky steps. By this time, Serene and I were down to just T-shirts and trekking pants. And Kat was only wearing her Addidas outer layer with a single T-shirt inside. Gina, the one who was most cold intolerant, was still in her full layers, much like all the other Koreans who piled on their layers even in such warm weather. Amazing, they were.
“Koreans hor… they have a saying,” explained Kat. “No matter what, they have to cover their necks with shawls, and bundle up their feet warmly.. Because when they keep these parts warm, they will keep their bodies well-protected.” No wonder.
水來土淹...
Very soon, the path turned into boulders with steel ropes on the cliff side. We literally started climbing up the boulders by pulling on the steel ropes.
“Wah luckily got the steel ropes ah,” complained Serene. “If not hor… I am sure cannot climb up one.” And she was absolutely correct.
3 hours 20 minutes already. After a more challenging part of hands and feet coordination, we arrived at a cliff side. Looking up we saw two peaks in the distance. One of which had a Korean flag, flapping right on top…
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“Wah luckily got the steel ropes ah,” complained Serene. “If not hor… I am sure cannot climb up one.” And she was absolutely correct.
3 hours 20 minutes already. After a more challenging part of hands and feet coordination, we arrived at a cliff side. Looking up we saw two peaks in the distance. One of which had a Korean flag, flapping right on top…
“The white white parts leading up to the peak are just steps only right?” asked Gina innocently, because she believed that if those were steps she would be ok.
I looked at her…. And nodded. It was best to give her hope rather than to deflate this lovely lady’s enthusiasm now, so close to the top.
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| There. The 'Jelly' peak. That's where we all will arrive at. |
眼下山峰...
“Wah lau eh.. My legs jelly liao… “ mumbled Kat, who caught that near-fatal glimpse of the Baegundae peak.
Yeah.. I knew she was quite jelly by now. But hey.. We were not far already. Just gotta keep going
Encouragingly our Ajumma Serene was quite the mountain goat, as she urged the ladies on, and she did good time and climbed strongly. Her fashion boots were doing her well, and her legs were holding well, The runs and the stair-climbings really trained her up well for the climb.
And suddenly the world opened up and we were at the last stretch. There was a queue of climbers some going up and some coming down, and they were literally pulling themselves up the steel ropes that had become the omnipresent safety features on this last leg.
Kat sat down on a rock by the side of the trail while waiting for the crowd in front to clear.
“Wah that dog there.. There.. Very cute leh!” she cried out, and refused to move. 少来哦，屁呀，阿猫！
Haha.. this Kat ah.. All kinds of excuses started to come out liao.. We were simply so close already. Die die must get up to the peak. Somehow, we managed to push her up and continue that half pull, half step up climbs, hands all holding tightly to the steel ropes, all on boulders with some shallow steps carved into the face of the rocks. Some parts where slippery and even the Koreans coming down called out to their members to be careful. “아, 조심해… 미끄러워요!” (ah, careful… slippery!)
全力冲刺...
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| Last push. |
4 hours gone by. Yupe. Exactly 4 hours. We arrived at the 836m Baegundae peak and took photos with the Korean flag and the 白云台 boulder. It was such a wonderful accomplishment, especially for Kat and Gina. I was very heartened to see the smiles on all the ladies’ faces.
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| OK queue up! |
“你们带我们上山，会stress 吗?” a few days after we returned to Singapore, Kat would ask us this question.
“No lah, 才不会 stress 呢“ rightfully replied Serene.
Serene was correct. It wasn’t stressful. Why? Because Korean’s trekking condition was well-developed. The safety awareness among the Koreans was high. And I believed the mountain rangers looking after the area were well-trained and well-equiped for any emergencies. And, Bukhansan was just a day climb. It was definitely not easy, for sure. But it was surmountable. And for myself, the most important reason why it wasn’t stressful for me was, I knew these ladies would do well. Even if weeks before our trip, Kat mumbled at work: “没事儿，最多上不了就停在一半不爬 lor…” I was still confident that she would successfully summit the peak, despite her not training before the trip. Looking back, actually Kat would have little choice but to continue climbing. 因为，上到这里，很难说停在一半的啦。在没有山路的山腰那部分，在布满乱石钢线的登峰前那部分，要说停在那里，难上加难啦。
事后，当 Kat 回想起当时的心情，她还一直说：“我还是真的是咬紧牙根上山的，只欠咬舌而已 hor…” 哈哈哈...
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By this time, our water supply has run dangerously low. We underestimated the condition and each of us only had 500ml of water.
“I am sure they got sell water at the peak one right?” assumed Gina.
And how on earth would there be a canteen or restaurant up here at the peak 836m with nothing but winds and steep rocks to sell water?! This was not Mount Faber back at home leh! Hahaha… But we had a small pack of spicy Bakkwa and we just took one piece each to fortify ourselves, in addition to Gina’s Choco-balls. Not bad lah. These sustained us.
“How nice if we had Kit Kats to eat here,” mumbled Gina. “But it was really lucky I ate so much for breakfast! Otherwise I would have been hungry.”
The Koreans, young and old, were truly adapt to the mountain rocks. We quietly watched and were impressed by how naturally they leapt from one big rock to another with such sure-footedness, to the extent that they would end up just right at the cliff, standing dangerously on one last boulder, either silently enjoying their well-deserved own space, or taking an instagram-worthy selfie. Around us, the trekkers were seated, enjoying the warmth the afternoon sun brings, and eating and drinking. So that was life for the locals. I wondered if I would do the same had I been one of them. As the colour started coming back to Kat’s face, we were ready to descend. And this was when Kat started to shine. With her well-developed calf muscles, she and Gina started to jump rock to rock down the descending trail.
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“OK we take the faster route down hor, the 3.8km one,” decided Gina. Well I was happy whichever route the ladies chose, as long as they accomplished the peak, I was very happy to have Gina dictate the route of descent. My job was done. As it turned out, this 3.8km ‘faster’ descending route was the ‘Difficult’ but shorter route which that young baby-carrying couple ascended via, earlier.
As Kat and Gina discovered the wind in their legs and very quickly bounced from rock to rock down the steeper descending track, often following ‘Elephants’ of groups of local Kroeans quickly descending, I fell back to walk slowly with Serene, who was starting to suffer because the shoes she was wearing was not really proper trekking shoes and her toes were in cramps, resulting in thigh cramps and knee pain. Poor thing, this Serene. As we descended, every step was an agony until she had to use me as her walking stick, while Kat and Gina disappeared way in front.
“I trekked so many times already, this is the only time I feel so much pain in my thighs, knees and especially my toes!” kao-beh the suffering Ajumma.
A very helpful group of trekking Ajussis and Ajumma walked past us.
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“아, 이분은 많이 다친 것 같아요. (Oh, she looks like she is badly injured)” the leading Ajussi of the group said, and quickly got to Serene’s side, kneel down, opened up his pack and sprayed Korean salonpas-like cooling spray on her knees and calves. Oh that was sooooo helpful! And I was so impressed by their civil-ness.
“아, 그 신발이 안되는데요! (Ah, this pair of shoes cannot)” the Ajumma behind him said. And she was correct.
As Serene struggled on painfully here, somewhere in front, our Gina also painfully landed on her buttock when she slipped on a rock surface and bruised her fleshy gluteus. Luckily she was also not badly injured.
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The track down took us 2 hours. As we approached the end of the track and the clock struck 5pm, the sun began to set, and we were eagerly looking for flat paths to bring an end to our poor Serene’s suffering.
“Kat,Gina… 你们前面看到平路的话，请说哦!” I called out to them.
“放心，我们看到平路的话，我们会欢呼的!”
Haha.. jiaklat. This was the only time I was a little worried because the last thing we wanted was to be trekking in the dark, because here in the mountains, there was no lights no nothing and the rocky tracks would be near impossible to walk for foreigners like us in pitch black.
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But thankfully, the moment the clock struck 5:10pm, was the moment that saw us hitting the bottom and finally flat ground.
The weather was surprisingly cold and we all started to pile our cold wears back on, although it registered a single-digit 7 degrees. By the time we walked down to the little neighbourhood, most shops were closed, and there was only a couple of restaurants left open, from where we hungrilly grabbed a Tonkatsu dinner and da-baoed a whole-fried chicken back to our Hanok.
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Our Bukhansan Climbing map...
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What a day. I found very very enjoyable how the ladies ended the night by sitting outside on the ledge of the Hanok like true blue Koreans, dranks soju and beer and enjoyed our very delicious fried chicken as supper, all nicely showered, changed and quietly feeling the mood of the moment. We even had a chance to chit chat with a Singaporean couple who just arrived at the Hanok that evening and talked to the husband who was going to climb up Inwangsan (338m) later that week.
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Table of Content 目錄
Day 1 Gai gai in Bukchon 北村 and Insadong 仁寺洞
Day 2 Conquering the Bukhansan 北漢山
Day 3 Beauty Day 江南: Botox, Skin-whitening, massage
Day 4 Jeongdongjin 正東津 and Glamping in Gangreung 江陵市
Day 5 江陵市沙川面 Lighthouses & sandy beach!
Day 6 Oh what a long day: 廣長市場, 弘大，eyebrow,漢江 rainbow fountain & a lovely dinner...
Day 7 I cannot believe how the girls walk in order to shop!
Day 8 Bye Bye... Annyeong!
Day 3【20 October 2022】
The evening before I already told the Hanok SaJangNim that we would not be eating his breakfast, so that we could take our time to wake up and walk slowly to have a nice coffee breakfast. Bukchon was not huge, but hiding in many small alleys were flavourful old houses of old Joseon period. Walking through the streets, especially along the higher hills of Bukchon, I have always loved being immersed in it.
自從不知何時，我開始喜歡在這些帶有點古色古香的小巷裏頭慢慢地走。尤其是當天起開始轉涼時，或者已經是進入冬天的時候，我格外地喜歡。我經常説，走在北村韓屋鄰里地區，真的可以置身於朝鮮時代的那一種氣氛，並可以回顧韓國古裝片的情景。話是這麽說，但是最終嘛，還是自己喜歡感受這帶有歷史的景色。或許可以這麽説，有朝一日，當中國再度開起來的時候，我們有機會回去游中國的話，我深信一定也很喜歡中國的村莊，北京的四合院和胡同。
前一天熬了一整天登山，今天我們四個人拖著疲憊酸疼的身子，把行李給置放在韓屋的院子，就慢慢地走上北村。看一看北村的鄰里肉店，老式雜貨店，街邊二手衣攤子，再悠悠地走上韓國典型的斜坡，眼簾盡收著韓國獨特的建築。沒想到，與我們一同游北村的本地人還挺多的呢。還有路上做晨運的 Halmeoni，去市場買菜的。即使北村是一個非常受歡迎的旅游地，住在這北村裏面的本地人，還是過生活過得很平常。
VIDEO 동영상
我一邊走，一邊問三位美女：“要是送給你這一閒韓屋讓你住，你要不要？”
縂概括答案是：”要。會住。只是別讓這間韓屋高高地在山坡上，不然會走死人啦。“
“少來啦！你們看一看，在韓劇裏面的老奶奶，老 Ajumma 全部都是提著重重的包囊爬上走下的，不是嗎？其實在現實生活裏，你們看，前面的老人家還不是一樣？“
哈哈，埋怨胡同裏步行路陡斜是埋怨，最終，我還是同樣一種心情，倘若能春夏秋冬四季，生活在韓屋裏，讓自己悠游自在地看書，學習，練字，看韓劇，吃我老婆煮給我的飯，每天有規律性的在鄰里走步跑步運動運動，偶爾跟老婆登一登山，再有，每周有閑暇時間時，就上街去‘街街’一下；到了冬天滿街白雪時分，慢慢地牽著老婆的手，以緩慢的步伐，步上這北村斜坡，何嘗不是樂事？
”嘿，這間 EIDYA Coffee 你們沒去吃過？“我問 Kat 和 Gina。
”沒有嘞。“
”哈！嗨呀，你們真是的！ 這間 EDIYA 在韓國挺出名的。Ka Ja!"
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我還記得，虹雲整天吩咐我們。説到了韓國一定得去咖啡屋 hopping.
“這個虹雲哦，她真的是很喜歡去 Cafe 喝咖啡的。“ Kat 也是這麽説。
”我喜歡吃 Croissant 和 Waffle。“嚷著 Serene。
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| 俊男美女眉毛特写-Before... |
結果，在北村小巷裏的一間自拍相館裏我們還真的玩了一頓拍 We-fie。 雖然敘述的這一天是10月20日，我們回國後，在10月29日晚上，于韓國梨泰院發生的萬聖節群衆擠壓踐死事件過後，凡是跟紅毛人 Halloween 萬聖節有關聯的事情，想起來都心有餘悸，當時我們自拍時，還沒有 Halloween的陰影，所以阿 Kat 也選了一副萬聖節為主題的照片，與我們的拍照道具，大夥兒也玩鬧得很開心。
”呵，你們看。現在一大清早，這間自拍相館裏完全沒顧客，還不快點進來拍？“Kat 説的也很有道理。
所以兩萬元，選了四張不同的姿勢表情，因了四張。開心壞了！我也還記得，去年冬天時，我跟Serene一起來北村時，也是同樣地拍了自拍，好當作紀念。
”我相信，遲早這種（有主題的）自拍箱管，在新加坡會流行起來，“Kat很有信心地說。
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也剛巧在北村散步時，我們來到一間很 cute 的韓國襪子店。買10雙襪子送一雙。Design 也很漂亮。挺好玩的，我們一夥人也選了好多雙，我也買了上班用的襪子- 有很 cute 很 cute 的笑脸呢！
”我们大家 hor 昨天登山登到腳痛，我們別搭地鐵了。我叫兩輛的士到明洞的旅館吧。“ 我看著Gina她走北村時唉呀唉呀一直嚷著大腿痛，我想要是我們搭地鐵的話，我們四個人一定會痛死了。
KakaoT 這個非常好用的 Taxi App 確實是太容易使了。甚至連阿 Kat 擔心無法做到的-同時預訂兩輛的士-它都能行得通！唯一行不通的，是我的韓語。阿 Kat和阿 Gina 兩人乘搭的那一輛的士，的士司機找不到目的地，打電話給我的時候，我根本聽不懂他說的話。死伯吃力！
我們從明洞旅館到江南區水西洞的地下鐵，也是55分鐘左右。
美男美女江南行
“老闆，你也就趁這個機會，再次紋一紋你的眉毛吧！”既然阿 Kat 這麽建議，我就讓金萬衆介紹他女朋友的姐姐自己開的紋眉店。
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| 水西站旁边的不知什么名字的建筑物 |
阿Kat 也真的是計劃專門家。就定了這第三天為休閑美容日。Kat 和 Gina 4年前去的那建美容醫院已經不在了（托Covid的福）。幸好 Gina 在吉隆坡光顧的美容醫院 Ozhean 在首爾江南的本店很容易抵達。再加上 Gina 吉隆坡分店的韓國社長非常樂意地為我們三人預了做美容的約，所以一切也算進行得很順利。
“這個韓國 Ozhean 的本店，哇他們打 Botox 和注射美白的價錢比吉隆坡還來得便宜嘞！以 Xeomin 來打Botox 額頭才馬幣550(新幣$150).下巴 Botox 馬幣1000(新幣$300).打美白注射呢馬幣400-500(新幣$119- $150)"Gina 非常興奮地說。Ok啦，就這麼办！
結果這間在江南區水西洞水西地鐵站隔壁的 Ozhean Aesthetic Clinic 오체안피부과의원 강남본점 很容易地找得到。
一踏入這間位於二樓的Ozhean 皮膚美容院，我也感到很驚訝，老爺爺，老阿伯，老阿嬸，年輕男女，各種各樣的顧客都是。在我們坐著等著的一段短短的時間內我們看見顧客連綿不斷地進出。很是人气十足的诊所。
“죄송합니다, 영어로 말해줄 수 있어요? (對不起，可以說英語嗎 )”
”혹시, 원장님은 하실 수 있어요.(或許，院長可以(讲英语）吧 )” 服务员回我。
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| 当然要打啦！ |
我早些時候和的士司機掙扎過後，發現了自己的韓語，離開能夠有效地溝通的程度，還遠得很。所以還是不要‘好練’，盡量用英語吧.. 哈哈哈哈
這裡服務的對象確確實實是本地人。沒旅客。無需講英語。也沒有精通英語的服務員和醫生來想我們這些外國人講解。甚至那位醫生本身跟我們講診的過程依然是以韓語進行的。她問什麼我也就 blur blur 地 aga aga 回答。
沒想到與醫生略略會談後，接下來服務員跟我們講解價錢時，我們才發現到價錢比Gina马来西亚分店的社长quote给她的，也比我們想像中的還來的更加更加優惠。Botox 額頭+眉間+眼角 = 250,000₩. 打美白注射+ Botox 瘦下巴 = 250,000₩.我看这应该真的是本地人价格了。No horse run one.
“哇，比新加坡還來得便宜得多了，”我是不知道。但是這兩位美女般比較有經驗的。”這裡比我們兩個人上一次四年前那間江南診所，還更便宜。“ Kat說.
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“誒，阿華，你應該也一起來打吧！” 不知阿Kat和阿Gina 怎麼樣拉拉扯扯地也就把 Serene 也一起拉進來打了。這個 Serene 也真是的。原本是不要打的，無端端又 Kena 成了牺牲品了。
VIDEO 동영상
托Kat的福，她老人家拍了韩国医生跟我Botox的视频！
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| Up down middle centre left right long-jong do... |
At least I also got chance to take photo with one of my idols!
MCM 江南？
原來Gina也真是高檔的。她老遠來到首爾江南也是為了找尋這個MCM名牌專賣店裡的上班用的 lanyard 吊帶。皇天不負苦心人，MCM專賣店時找到了，可惜 lanyard 全國沒貨。我有機會跟著這些搞名牌的女性來逛一逛這些名牌店，确是讓我開眼界的一份榮幸。實說，我真的是與名牌貨沒什麼接觸。所以到現在還不知道什麼是MCM。
MCM 江南？
原來Gina也真是高檔的。她老遠來到首爾江南也是為了找尋這個MCM名牌專賣店裡的上班用的 lanyard 吊帶。皇天不負苦心人，MCM專賣店時找到了，可惜 lanyard 全國沒貨。我有機會跟著這些搞名牌的女性來逛一逛這些名牌店，确是讓我開眼界的一份榮幸。實說，我真的是與名牌貨沒什麼接觸。所以到現在還不知道什麼是MCM。
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弘益吃豬腳、明洞享按摩
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| All because of Kat lor.. make until the waiter blur blur. Hahahaha! |
反正都說好了這一天是完全 relax 吃喝玩樂美容日，阿華就要帶大家回到他自身最喜歡的「滿足五香豬腳店」吃韓國豬腳。軟軟又有彈性的厚厚豬腳皮，加上香味滿溢的涼辣麵與 Bossam 配上美味的 tteobokki 湯，也吃到我們夠飽了。
VIDEO 동영상
可惜弘益這裡的 The Foot Shop 沒有空檔讓我們四人按摩，我們回到明洞-呀還不錯，Hikari 按摩雖然顧客是很多，但倒是有空檔讓我們四人松一松痠痛的肌肉！快快拿了下来，就等按摩了。
可惜弘益這裡的 The Foot Shop 沒有空檔讓我們四人按摩，我們回到明洞-呀還不錯，Hikari 按摩雖然顧客是很多，但倒是有空檔讓我們四人松一松痠痛的肌肉！快快拿了下来，就等按摩了。
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“唉呀，姐姐妳是中國人？太好了，我可以跟妳講華語啦。麻煩妳在這個部分按摩輕一點！”阿Kat 尝试用她的有限公司 ‘Sal-Jak Sal-Jak’ 跟按摩师说了老半天，才发现到按摩师大姐是中国来的朝鲜人。
Gina 和 Serene就沒這種運氣。他們的按摩師都是到地的韓國人,。
“Gina, sorry hor.. 你自己顧自己啦。 “ 我隔著房門吩咐她老人家。哈哈哈…
60 分鐘的全身+腳按摩= 48,000₩，太有價性比了！很舒服地讓我們大家鬆解一下因登山而緊繃的筋肉。
今天算輕鬆嗎？說真的，跟昨天比起來，今天真的是天大的享受。Kat和Gina這兩位有所不知，旅行嘛，就是要這樣。如果平平淡淡地每天享受吃喝玩樂，我們可以吃喝了7天，玩樂了一周，回頭一望，每天都似乎一樣。但是，好比人生一樣，旅行呢有起有落，有苦有甜，先挨了登山的苦頭，後再嚐鬆懈的甜頭，那麼那份享樂的滋味反而會大幅度倍增，變成更加有味道。所以我喜歡在旅遊時穿插一些特別項目，讓旅途更加難忘。
Table of Content 目錄
Day 1 Gai gai in Bukchon 北村 and Insadong 仁寺洞
Day 2 Conquering the Bukhansan 北漢山
Day 3 Beauty Day 江南: Botox, Skin-whitening, massage
Day 4 Jeongdongjin 正東津 and Glamping in Gangreung 江陵市
Day 5 江陵市沙川面 Lighthouses & sandy beach!
Day 6 Oh what a long day: 廣長市場, 弘大，eyebrow,漢江 rainbow fountain & a lovely dinner...
Day 7 I cannot believe how the girls walk in order to shop!
Day 8 Bye Bye... Annyeong!
Day 4【21 October 2022】
As relaxing as the day before was, this day would be exciting, as we embarked on an adventure all the way from Seoul here near the west coast all the way across the Korean Peninsula to the east coast. I still remember this was a trip that Kat and I were cracking our brains over.
“正东津火车站怎么样？” one day Kat suddenly shoot me this Jeongdongjin station thingy.
“Huh? 大嫂，您老人家在说什麼？“ I was a little puzzled.
“哦有一个综艺节目他们拍这几位明星到了正东津火车站看日出。很美的。 “
“It’s all the way on the right side, the east coast of Korea. But hey, that's quite an adventure, Ok let’s go!” I said.
“But so far?”
"Kwenchana! Never worry. Instead of taking KTX train, we can rent a car and drive there, since there are 4 of us,” I started planning.
So this time round, I decided to give Lotte Car Rental a try since there was so many good reviews about this car rental company. And indeed, in retrospect, the reviews were all very accurate - prices are cheaper and the staff is very good. Just that when we collected the car from the Seoul Station branch, the staff tended to be Korean-speaking. But again, Kwenchana.
"Oh oh oh... since we are going to the seaside hor... why don't we do Glamping there?" suggested Kat.
"Huh? Simi? What is Glamping?" don't ask me, I really was confused.
"Oh this Glamping is the more glamour style of Camping lah," explained Kat. "In the variety show the celebrities always do Glamping one. And they would barbecue and drink beer at the Glamping site!"
"哇老，你们两个这么多 Kang Tao。我不管啊，我只顾吃，你们要 barbecue 你们两个人自己 barbecue ah!" Serene set her ultimatum. Hahaha....
"Ok OK 我负责 barbecue!" volunteer Kat. "但是，老板你得要跟 Glamping Site confirm 他们有没有供应 barbecue 所需的用具哦。“ OK so it was all settled. Kat would be our chef this Glamping day.
So the plan was - we would start our adventure to the 东海岸 to visit 正东津火车站 by the seaside, and then we would end up staying in BaseCamp Caravan Glamping site at 江陵市海边. Our comfortable super smart car Hyundai Avante has been reserved and booked.
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| We will drive 250km from Seoul on the west side of the Korean peninsula all the way to Jeongdongjin on the east coast of the peninsula for our adventure! |
Renting a car from Lotte Car Rental
Leaving all our heavy luggage at Skypark Myeongdong Hotel, we just carried backpacks and hand carry and embarked on adventure number 2 for this trip - Glamping on the east coast of Korea!
I really could not imagine. Had it not been for Ah Kat, I think we wouldn’t have been so crazy. It really took a Korean variety show addict to come up with all these crazy crazy suggestions.
Two subway stations and a long walk finally delivered us to a multistorey car park complex with a small sign “Lotte Rental Car” in front. The rental process was easy. And for 150,000₩ we got a Hyundai Avante (totally smart car version) from 9:30am on the 21 October until 8:30pm on the 22 October. That’s actually quite a good price. The Lotte Rental Car office at Seoul Station wasn’t hard to find and now that I knew where it was it would become a much easier task for future rentals.
Man, as always I wasn’t familiar with judging the car size and had to trouble the helpful young staff to help me maneuvre and drive the car out to the gantry. After that alright! We were off!
I simply forgot how fierce Serene could be as a passenger, scolding me all the way to keep to my lane because she was so worried that I might hit the pickups or lorries on the right side of the car like our last trip in spring. But thankfully this round she only nagged at me for one day. The second day my driving was much steadier and she could enjoy her ride as a passenger.
Kat and Gina both refused to come in front as passengers.
VIDEO 동영상
“我在后面帮你看地图就可以了，” said Gina.
“我什么都不懂，又不会看路，又不会看路牌。” Kat 也是挺厉害 siam 的。
最后，让我一直miss掉好几趟 toll gate, 这两位美女终于学会这个 “现金“ 韩文单语，怎么用不同方向的KKJ来写，也开始帮我辨认标着“现金“的 toll gate 标字。但是我也不知道怎么的，就是莫名其妙地一直无法成功地好好地驶入有人在的 toll gate 柜台付钱。气死人了！哈哈哈…
除了 Serene 在身边一直提醒我注意时速，这个Gina到也真是神通广大。坐在后面还有本事一直帮我观察着GPS，还每每在 circles 或者要转弯时，会根据GPS提醒指示我正确的路。也真是多亏了她，我们也没走乌龙路。
阿Kat呢？哇她就一直一路欣赏风景拍video咯。
跨半岛的高速公路，与上一回沿着半岛直通南北的高路所不同的是，由于横跨韩半岛也必须横跨好多山脉，所以跨岛高路会经过许多很长的通山隧道。也真的是一种经验。除了刚刚开始行驶时，在离开首尔市中心不久后，沿着汉江的‘自由路’那里堵车堵了好久好久之外，一旦上了高速公路，就一切通行无阻了。我们也很庆幸，沿高速公路行驶，路边远山的景色真的很宜人，尤其是随着我们驶入江原道，虽然不至于形容成漫山火红的秋叶，但是远远地山上的树叶好似被涂上了一层胭脂，天气越冷，楓葉就越红吧。或许是种类不同，或是色素改变的阶段不一样，再有，土壤养份充足的分别，使山上染成一片一片不同的黄，橙，红颜色。
“要是我们没驾车经过这高速公路，而是乘搭KTX高速火车的话，或许我们就无法目睹这一幕一幕的秋景吧？”我说。“根据我了解，江原道呢，通常是比首尔所在的京畿道来得冷一点，所以这里的枫叶一般来说会较早变色。“
所以从上午9点半租了车，直到抵达正东津时已经是下午1点40分。虽然KakaoMap 说行驶需要3个小时30分，但是我们这样自驾的话，好多时候所需的时间当然会多一点点(4小时10分钟）。
正东津驿
JeongDongJin Yeok
Yeok 驿 = Station
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"Jeongdongjin Beach is a nice, sandy beach that stretches over 250 meters with three major swimming spots: in front of Jeongdongjin Station, by Sandglass Park, and by the Jeongdongjin Breakwater. The spots near the railway station and by the park are more popular because they are spacious and easy to reach. The numerous rocks in front of Jeongdongjin Station are home to shellfish, mussels, sea urchins and edible seaweed.
Jeondongjin Station is known to be one of the stations closest to the ocean in the world. It is also a well-known sunrise spot, attracting crowds of sunrise spectators. " ~ from don't know which online review.
By the time we arrived at Jeongdongjin, we were pretty tired, me from driving and Serene from between calling out the speed limits and scolding me for being too near the big vehicles on the lane on the right of our car... Even Gina and Kat were too damn tired from trying to find '现金'... hahaha!
Actually, this Jeongdongjin was smaller than we expected. It was supposed to be small, but well, aside from the little road in front of the train station, trying to look further in into the smaller deeper lanes revealed nothing much. Even among the eateries and restaurants along the main road, some were closed (for the day).
"How to get to the beach?" I remember asking Kat and Gina.
"Cannot leh... the train station gate closes us from the beach leh." replied Kat. "But just now while you and Serene drove the car to the other car park, Gina and I managed to walk to the beach on the other side."
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By this time it was 2pm and we were all hungry and desperately looking for lunch.
“来到海边，当然一定要吃海鲜的嘛。” Kat talked logic all the time.
So we asked an Ajumma from a shop next to the closed restaurant, where could we find HueJib (Korean sashimi restaurant) and she directed us to go across the bridge further down the street and walk to the other side of the town where there would be more restaurants.
"걸어갈 수 있어요?" （步行可以走得到吗）
"네, 15분 쯤 걸릴 거예요." （行，15分钟左右吧）
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| 我们驾着驾着，停了车，走到这间 '바다를 담다' (盛着海) 的生鱼餐馆 |
Wah this 바다를 담다 盛着海味 Korean HweJib was really quite something. Although we stumbled upon it as we drove further down from Jeongdongjin station, we didn’t realise at that point that it was such a highly-reviewed Hwe (Korean sashimi 鱼生) restaurant.
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The SaJangNim was not bad. He could speak some English and he knew what to recommend us, and his recommendation simply just entered our hearts.
“모든 회 just simply means Long-zong-Hwe （全部每一种鱼生都给林伯拿出来）,” I explained to the pretty ladies.
“They will bring out all the fresh raw fish and sea food they have in season and all the 대개 大蟹 big crabs, and they will top it up with a 매운탕 spicy soup cooked with all the fish at the end of it, eat until you cannot finish one ah!” detailed Serene.
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And she was correct. Here the fresh raw Hwe and big crab and whatever they bring out were fresh. And delicious! I was truly impressed by the spread and this was amongst one of the best Hwe meal we have had!
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Of course, having fresh raw Hwe with two lovely ladies who are not 100% seafood lovers and who have crab allergies but NOT lobster allergies posed as a little bit of difficulty. Add onto that, a very professional waitress who OCD-ly needed to arrange each dish in a pre-determined order, so we literally could not touch and re-arrange her display without her re-ordering them in the pre-fixed fashion, the whole experience was indeed a unique one.
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But I must say that Kat and Gina really outdone themselves and truly explored beyond their usual comfort zones. I really enjoyed this relaxing meal with them, with Kat cutting crab shells and serving crab meat, and me serving crabs to Serene,when half way through our serving, the local train actually por-por and passed by the restaurant front while we all stopped and watched... too bad we couldn’t make it in time to take a video of it. As we leisurely enjoyed, Gina even attempted every single raw fish to see which was agreeable with her palate.
VIDEO 동영상
VIDEO 동영상
“It is going to be a 45 minutes drive from here to Gangneung-si 江陵市 where our Basecamp Glamping site will be,” I announced.
“In that case we better ask the SaJangNim where is it best to buy SamGyeopSal before we arrive at the camp site,” very rightly suggested Kat.
And the SaJangNim very kindly gave us directions to a fresh meat store in Gangneung-si, which eventually turned out to have zhap-laped already.
As I drove I was thinking: "Such a pity, we actually also wanted to tour 三陟市 SamCheok-si, another small little coastal town, and perhaps walk JeongDongJin a little more.. But time was a constraint, and we just had to hit the Glamping site..."
We were lucky to have found a Hyper-mart in Gangneung-si where we simply whacked ourselves crazy with SamGyeopSal, kimchi, tteokbokki, beer, soju and instant ramyeon and fruits in preparation for the exciting Glamping. So at around 5:30pmwe started towards Basecamp Glamping site. Honestly I was not sure how we would find our way there. The Korean GPS would never fail, I knew from experience, but it was a definite uncertainty as always when we were looking for somewhere we knew existed on the map, but where we have never been.
“There there, turn to the right! There!” cried out Gina when we arrived at the signboard.
Gangneung 江陵市 Basecamp Glamping
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| Glamping... real Korean style hor... |
Our pre-booked 6-person caravan turned out to be not a caravan, but a 4-person Glamng tent, after I double-checked with the SaJangNim.
“Ok lor. Kwenchana,” I said to the ladies.
But in the end it turned out that this Glamping tent was something I actually wanted and was hoping to book. So all was well!
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The floor was so well-heated Gina volunteered to sleep on the floor. Some parts of the heated floor was so hot that even placing the foot under the mattress would almost burn it. No wonder Gina fell so in love with this sleeping arrangement. The Glamping tent had everything we would need, cooking and washing facilities, fridge and microwave.
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For 30,000₩ the SaJangNim set up a barbecue pit with charcoal outside our tent next to the table. Wow! Finally we were all set like the Korean shows and ready to go for our barbecue!
The young people in the tent next to ours whom I spoke to, recommended that we walk to the lighthouses in the morning as the view there were good. I further confirmed my severe lack of communication skills when I found all the young men and young women staring at me trying to figure out what on earth was coming out of my mouth when I tried to talk to them in Korean.
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In the cool of the evening, we could just all walk around on the gravel camp ground, dressed simply in long sleeve base layers, with our car parked just next to our tent. On this evening, Gangneung was not cold at all, disappointingly, hahaha... The Glamping tents were arranged orderly in a line in a parking camping area and n the pitch dark we couldn’t really see too far though the seaside was just a short distance away. Anyway the night was just nice for sitting outdoors under the sky and having barbecued SamGyeopSal and soju… and apply juice and grapes and fruits.
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| The Camp SaJangNim was quite an animated chap. Busy and spoke quickly. And he was very on-the-ball and told us our meat will be burnt if we place them in the middle. |
This was such a nice feeling. A feeling that I hadn’t had for the longest time. Although Serene andI have been pretty active outdoors for many years with all our crazy adventures but being here, like this, enjoying a wonderful barbecue of nothing but SamGyeopSal, tteokbokki and kimchi, and a packet of gimbap made this evening such a special occasion, especially when everything was prepared and cooked for us by our Chef for the evening, Chef Kat.
VIDEO 동영상
Not suitable for children. May contain coarse Korean languages.
One of the greatest enjoyment of having a holiday in Korea was the freedom to eat and eat to one’s fullest and to drink liberally without needing to worry about being tipsy. So on this night we all just whacked the soju and the beer. The combination warmed my body so much that I probably needed to wear nothing more than the base layer even as the mercury dipped through the night…
Table of Content 目錄
Day 1 Gai gai in Bukchon 北村 and Insadong 仁寺洞
Day 2 Conquering the Bukhansan 北漢山
Day 3 Beauty Day 江南: Botox, Skin-whitening, massage
Day 4 Jeongdongjin 正東津 and Glamping in Gangreung 江陵市
Day 5 江陵市沙川面 Lighthouses & sandy beach!
Day 6 Oh what a long day: 廣長市場, 弘大，eyebrow,漢江 rainbow fountain & a lovely dinner...
Day 7 I cannot believe how the girls walk in order to shop!
Day 8 Bye Bye... Annyeong!
Day 5【22 October 2022】
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| A nice warm morning welcomed us. |
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| On this Glamping trip, our one major priority was that Gina could sleep well undisturbed. Luckily... |
I couldn't remember what time I fell asleep last night. I only remembered waking up about 3 times to pee the night before, probably because of too much apple juice, isotonic Pocari sweat, and of course, countless bottles of soju and beer. In the middle of the night, I vaguely remembered that I got up, saw that the TV was still turned on, and started looking around for the TV remote control.
"Where is the TV control?" I must have asked.
And Kat must have offered me the TV control, which I used to turn off the TV, and then slumped back in bed, in my very midly intoxicated state. Little did I know that Kat was still watching the TV at that time, but she guai-guai let me turn off the TV!
"Why you let me turn off your TV?" dumbfoundedly I asked in the morning, after I found out.
"Because you asked for it mah," answered Kat, matter-of-factly.
"But you could have told me you were still watching it mah..."
"Ok lah, it's OK one," alamak, this Kat ah... I knew she has the habit of watching TV late into the night. But I was only just thinking the TV was accidentally left on, in my semi-drunk state. Hahaha... 我们这位大嫂真的很让给她的小弟的.I told myself, Serene and I better sayang our 大嫂 more.
Early morning at 9am, right after I woke up, brushed up, and walked out of the tent, the first sight I beheld, was literally that of our 大嫂 making breakfast and laying the table for everyone. Such a pampered glamping this really was for myself, Gina and Serene! Now I finally understood why they bought instant Ramyeon at the supermart last afternoon. She must have anticipated plenty of leftover from the barbecue, and when mixed with the Ramyeon, everything blended into a perfect meal, especially when paired with Gina's coffee. Heaven!
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And the heaven was very nice to us this morning, granting us bright sunny weather to explore the area. I was originally planning to walk out to the lighthouse last evening to see it in the dark, but our mental states and the lateness of the night and darkness of the evening may not have been feasible. In the clarity of early daylight, the whole land took on a different persona. And in many a way, I was glad we postponed our exploration to the daytime. The relatively cloudless blue sky, with just a few fluffs of cirrus clouds drifting lazily, and the eye-blinding sunlight made of beautiful colours from the sea waters, the daffodils, the grass, the pavement, and everything that we could lay eyes on.
VIDEO 동영상
说实在的，往海边灯塔散步之前，也真不知道那里的风景如何，有什么东西可以看。可是走着走着，发现到，沿着小径旁潺潺而流的’沙川川‘ 사천천（小溪流）还有在左侧的港口，完全呈现一种小鱼镇的模样。
“哈，真是的。虽然是一个小鱼镇，沿着海，一点都没有海水的腥味！” Kat was impressed.
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| I personally didn't know lighthouses were so fun to see. |
吾里大嫂说的也不是没道理。开往公海的渔船也行驶着，港口也有着一间小型修船厂，再加上沿着海岸钓鱼的本地人也不少，就只欠一股海腥鱼腥味。也真不明白为什么。哎呀，我们的大嫂大小眼的啦。韩国人的海边总是最美，最干净，最没有腥味的。看多了韩国综艺节目就是这个样子的啦。哈哈哈！
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| ... and that jumps were so breathless and tiring! |
也是挺奇怪的，远眺海岸的三座灯塔，就惊讶这几座灯塔，正就跟我们平日经常在韩剧里头看到的灯塔那种感觉一模一样。连往灯塔的防波堤两则的 Breakwater 十字大石头，都跟戏剧里面的完全相同。步行在突堤上，就犹如身处于戏中的角色一般。
The east coast has given us a wonderful memory of glamping near the seaside in the middle of a small little fishing enclave in Gangneung-si, and the pleasure of discovering the characteristic lighthouse arrangement of the Korean shoreline. And offered us an unforgettable evening of SamGyeopSal, Dettol soju and beer, and lots of rubbish in the midst of some serious Korean campers. And it's time to drive that 3 hours back to Myeongdong...
VIDEO 동영상
It was a major eye-opening experience for me. Now I finally understood why although people in Seoul own cars, they may not necessarily drive their cars into the city centre. On this fateful day while trying to drive our rental car from Myegondong down that short 3.2km distance back to Lotte Rental Car Centre behind Seoul Station, we took one and a half hour. The traffic jam was massive, made worse by a huge gathering of protesters just behind Shinsegae amassing to voice their displeasure against President Yoon Suk-Yeol.
Thankfully we had enough energy and time to make our way back to SkyPark Hotel to find the two lovely ladies and to indulge in Gina's favourite Yoogane dinner...
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Table of Content 目錄
Day 1 Gai gai in Bukchon 北村 and Insadong 仁寺洞
Day 2 Conquering the Bukhansan 北漢山
Day 3 Beauty Day 江南: Botox, Skin-whitening, massage
Day 4 Jeongdongjin 正東津 and Glamping in Gangreung 江陵市
Day 5 江陵市沙川面 Lighthouses & sandy beach!
Day 6 Oh what a long day: 廣長市場, 弘大，eyebrow,漢江 rainbow fountain & a lovely dinner...
Day 7 I cannot believe how the girls walk in order to shop!
Day 8 Bye Bye... Annyeong!
Day 6【23 October 2022】
GANA Opticals and MOMMO Cafe
Breakfast done in the hotel, and we went gai gai immediately to our usual haunt to have my glasses repaired, and also to say a big hello to Kim Man Jung- to our pre-determined first destination for the day - GANA Opticals and MOMMO Cafe!
"Wah long time no see you both," Kim Man Jung exclaimed when he saw Kat and Gina. Indeed it has been four years since they met.
And oh, were Kat and Gina happy to meet up with our handsome Kim Man Jung, and to have the opportunity to enjoy the famous MOMMO coffee in Myeongdong.
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It was forever a lovely feeling to be back in Myeongdong. Again, like what our Ah Li said during our Spring trip earlier this year, Myeongdong's vibe was forever unique and very different from anywhere else, and coming back to Myeongdong was forever like home-coming to our comfort zone.
... walking to Gwangjang market 廣長市場 along Cheonggyecheon 清溪川
... walking to Gwangjang market 廣長市場 along Cheonggyecheon 清溪川
Apparently, that time in 2018 when they last visited, they went to dunno-what what, Dongdaemun spaceship thingy, and skipped the whole Gwangjang market and all the good food there. 傻傻的。傻傻的阿华带着傻傻的两位美女，ended up all 傻傻的啦。
"我們没去过 Gwangjang Market 叻！” Kat said.
"Really? Last time Serene went with you all in 2018, never went before meh?"
OK, this time round die die I will bring these pretty ladies to Gwangjang market. True to my heart, I think one of the best ways to get to Gwangjang market 廣長市場, is to walk along that lovely Cheonggyecheon 清溪川 (that famous stream from City Hall all the way down) re-tracing what many on-screen couples' pak-tor route and walk about 1.9km to Gwangjang market. Especially undertaken on such a nice cool autumn morning, the walk would be a nice chance to feel and view this famous stream and to pass by the older parts of Euljiro that look like Singapore's Balestier with all the electrical and lighting shops, and to finally end up in the famous old market.
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| Walking along Cheonggyecheon 清溪川 청계천 |
Brief history of Gwangjang market:
“Gwangjang market 广长市场 was the result of a string of events that started from the abolishment of commercial monopolies during the Joseon Dynasty. This abolishment allowed any commoner to participate in commerce. Gwangjang market was originally named Dongdaemun market. It started off during the Japanese occupation when in 1905 the Japanese took control over the businesses in Namdaemun, and a group of wealthy Korean businessmen bought over the piece of land at its current location and built a single stores market for the locals to operate in without Japanese influences. The old Dongdaemun market used to be selling agricultural products and seafood. From 1957-1959, it was extended into a much bigger complex and its named was changed to Gwangjang market, with the name derived from a Wide (Gwang) bridge and a Long (Jang) bridge as it was constructed between these two bridges. The ensuing name Gwangjang replaced Dongdaemun market. Eventually the stalls in Gwangjang market expanded to selling textiles, clothes, traditional Korean handicrafts, souvenirs, traditional medicine, and of course traditional Korean food.”
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An old friend to whom we would introduce to Kat and Gina on this day, a Sunday, and to our own surprise, a very busy Sunday. I remember earlier Kim Man Jung's uncle Han Sang Mun 씨 said:
"오늘은 일여일이니까 광장시장이 사람으로 붐빌 거예요."(Because it's Sunday today, Gwangjang market will be a little crowded with people). So that was what he meant- it WAS crowded on this day.
But Kwencha-yo. Crowded was also fun for tourists like us, as we embarked on our quest for Gwangjang food.
VIDEO 동영상
Often, caught in the cacophony of shouting and conversation, many would be lost at what to eat. For Serene and I, being in Gwangjang market invariably means two types of local food:
- 매운탕 MaeunTang - spicy soup made from 明太魚
- 산낙지 Sannakji - my favourite live squid
But on this day, we did none of the above, because it would be great for Kat and Gina to taste what is special in Gwangjang. There would be too many different kinds of food to complete in one visit, and it happens that we would just pop into one SikTang 食堂 and eat whatever we can get:
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- Gina's Potato pancake 감자전 Gamja Joen
- My Sundae 豬血腸 순대
- Kat's 김밥 Gimbap
- Serene's 닭발 Dakbal chicken feet
- My 豬肝 pig liver
Hongdae 홍대 弘益大學, here we come!
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| Eoulmadang-ro, Hongdae |
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Compared to last year's winter and this year's spring, Hongdae has emerged from her deep slumber and has bloomed. Back into her original colour she has morphed back. Serene and I were so glad to see her back to her own self. Autumn in Hongdae was another different experience compared to Winter.
The orange, red and yellow leaves were in beautiful full bloom as we walked the streets. All of us simply just gazed in awe at the leaves as our legs carried us, while I occasionally diverted mine toward some elegantly dressed young people on this fashionable street for the young at heart.
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Is it still good to shop in Hongdae?
The answer to this would forever be a hearty yes. Of course, the atas class people would always end up in Gangnam in the branded boutiques. But for me, Hongdae was the playground of choice. Being a fashion-statement, it was not unsurprising to find more shops for ladies than for men, but only marginally more so. For men, as we walked down the streets we would often be attracted by small little stores, and trays selling our men's accessories and clothing.
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Gina went really crazy here. And I finally saw her in her true colours, this Gina. She was not only able to find the exact size and length of the clothes she has always wanted, but she could also get them at very reasonable prices here. That we could easily, this round, do a one-to-one conversion as the Singapore dollar has strengthened, making it so simple: 40,000won was simply, S$40. Man, how much better could it get?
Some of my friends asked me: What to buy in Hongdae?
"So many things to buy!" exclaimed Serene.
Clothes, fashionwear, shoes, socks, shawls, scarves, hats, caps, bags, wallets, leather goods, electronic handphone accessories... you name it. For young students? The ARTBOX stationary. Hungry? Just sit down and eat. Things in Hongdae were generally slightly cheaper than in Myeongdong as Hongdae caters to young undergraduates. For me, it was always about vibes, about how it subtly resonates with my cells to stir up a pleasant sort of feeling.
VIDEO 동영상
"We can move out from Hongdae just before my eyebrow embroidery appointment and make it there in 45 minutes' time by subway," I discussed with Kat earlier and we concluded this would be the easiest plan.
Hongdae ended beautifully, with all four of us quietly enjoying a short series of street performances by young buskers dancing and singing, in true Hongdae spirit, bringing mine and Serene's memories to last year's winter when a red-bikini-clad female dancer was doing that all by herself on the freezing streets of the then wintry Hongdae.
Did someone say Eyebrow Embroidery...?
Well, yes. Kim Man Jung highly recommended this Eyebrow embroidery salon run by this very careful and experienced therapist in Gangnam. So he actually helped booked my appointment way before this trip. So this was one of the rewards I usually like to give myself when I would like to enhance my 風水 a little bit, as my original 倒眉(霉) isn't much of a help when it came to anything that needs a bit of that super-natural push.
VIDEO 동영상
So was this good? Of course. For 250,000won, I would gladly do it regularly. And this WonjangNim was really careful and she knew exactly what I wanted and did it very naturally.
I loved it.
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After I did my eyebrows with her, and I got back to Singapore, Kat, Gina, Serene and I worked our butts off for many days after that.
"You better book your touch-up session with her quickly," Kat has been nagging me so many times, I kept procrastinating... I'd better KakaoTalk her soon, in order to continue that smooth flow of wind and water.
Banpo Hangang Park Rainbow Fountain
盤浦漢江公園彩虹噴水 반포한강공원무지개푼수
During Covid, this popular rainbow fountain display was terminated for three whole years and it only started opening up on 26th August 2022. I have always wanted to watch this because the reviews have waxed lyrics about it. There was a Moonlight night bazaar on the other side of Banpo bridge at Hangang Park, but on the day we were there, it has finished its run. Kwenchana-yo.
VIDEO 동영상
This thing about going to Hangang Park.... there are quite a few Hangang parks. Some are more well-known but all were very widely used by the locals in doing their daily exercises and in pak-tor-ing, and again, we would never fail to catch glimpses of one of the many Hangang parks in the Korean dramas. It was never that easy to get to Hangang parks, just that most of the time we would have to walk a bit of distance - 1-2km from the nearest Subway station. Thus on this evening, I really made the pretty ladies walk like crazy and made them sweat like siao!
Honestly, this rainbow fountain show was ok lah. 真的是没什么大不了。托这三位美女的福，有机会看得到，我也很开心了。
GOTO Express Mall
VIDEO 동영상
This thing about going to Hangang Park.... there are quite a few Hangang parks. Some are more well-known but all were very widely used by the locals in doing their daily exercises and in pak-tor-ing, and again, we would never fail to catch glimpses of one of the many Hangang parks in the Korean dramas. It was never that easy to get to Hangang parks, just that most of the time we would have to walk a bit of distance - 1-2km from the nearest Subway station. Thus on this evening, I really made the pretty ladies walk like crazy and made them sweat like siao!
Honestly, this rainbow fountain show was ok lah. 真的是没什么大不了。托这三位美女的福，有机会看得到，我也很开心了。
GOTO Express Mall
“这个 GOTO Express Mall 是首尔最长的 underground shopping mall leh," I told the girls.
It was true. Well, I recalled the several times we were here, starting from the first time. I really liked it here. It has been said that here, it is one of the best underground shopping malls to find very reasonably-priced items. As always, ladies benefitted more from the many shops here. But men also do get to see a lot of what they like to find. But they close at 8:30pm, so we had little time here. It was a pity. What was good was, I managed to find that bread store at the end of the long underground stretch where I enjoyed that fresh cream bun.
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Is it worth coming? I would say another big yes. At least for me, because I enjoy the multitude of local clothing, shoes, bags, so many shoppable items, I believe it is a lady's dream.
Dinner at.... TWOTWO Chicken restaurant, Myeongdong!
I remember Kat said during the planning stage:
"The last two, three days let's make it chill-chill one, OK? Don't want to plan for too many things, so that we all can go shopping and gai-gai in Myeongdong."
Certainly. Her wish was my command. And that was exactly what we did.
Thinking back, this Day 6 was quite a long day, and we walked a lot and we did quite a lot of things. Perhaps it wasn't as chill as we planned it out to be .. Hahaha!
Right from the beginning, I have promised Kat her JjajangMyeon. But wah lau it really took us until this day before we could go near a Jjajangmyeon restaurant or a restaurant that had Jjajangmyeon on its menu.
VIDEO 동영상
"How come the Jjajangmyeon like no taste one?" wondered Kat, during the meal.
"It's like that one what, Jjajangmyeon," I told her. "Even in the original Chinese restaurant in Incheon when we went to eat the Jjajangmyeon, it tasted exactly like this also leh."
Aiyah, all these Korean drama, Korean variety show fans, they must have imagined the Jjajangmyeon to be super-flavourful, super salty, or full of taste. But that's not how Jjajangmyeon is yah. LOL.. Really funny, it was, seeing Kat's expression when she ate the Jjajangmyeon.
For those who were frightened of eating Sundaes (that 豬血腸), just walk up to this GoMoNae Tteokbokki stall in Myeongdong and order one single serving of their special deep-fried Sundae, wait for it to be served by this friendly Ajumma, and you would be changed forever!
Wah, trips to Korea seem to be forever to do with beauty, and beautification of the bodies. And when travelling with these lovely ladies, I was constantly surprised by the fact that they had no-shortage of ideas to make themselves more pretty!
Table of Content 目錄
Day 1 Gai gai in Bukchon 北村 and Insadong 仁寺洞
Day 2 Conquering the Bukhansan 北漢山
Day 3 Beauty Day 江南: Botox, Skin-whitening, massage
Day 4 Jeongdongjin 正東津 and Glamping in Gangreung 江陵市
Day 5 江陵市沙川面 Lighthouses & sandy beach!
Day 6 Oh what a long day: 廣長市場, 弘大，eyebrow,漢江 rainbow fountain & a lovely dinner...
Day 7 I cannot believe how the girls walk in order to shop!
Day 8 Bye Bye... Annyeong!
Day 7【24 October 2022】
Myeongdong Ajumma Tteokbokki
OK, this so-called Aujmma Tteokbokki stall was a street food stall in one of the small lanes in Myeongdong, to be precise, it was just opposite SkyPark Myeongdong I hotel, along this lane called Myeongdong-4-gil (明洞4径). Every time we arrived in Myeongdong, it was a ritual for Serene to bring everyone to eat here, as she declares her 'Ajumma tteokbokki' being the most delicious one ever. Sadly, during Covid, when we were here in December 2021, and in Spring when we came in May 2022, this Ajumma tteokbokki stall was closed. Covid must have taken a huge toll on their business. But whatever it was, we were happy to see them back in business once more!VIDEO 동영상
For those who were frightened of eating Sundaes (that 豬血腸), just walk up to this GoMoNae Tteokbokki stall in Myeongdong and order one single serving of their special deep-fried Sundae, wait for it to be served by this friendly Ajumma, and you would be changed forever!
Eyelash Extension, anyone?
Wah, trips to Korea seem to be forever to do with beauty, and beautification of the bodies. And when travelling with these lovely ladies, I was constantly surprised by the fact that they had no-shortage of ideas to make themselves more pretty!
"Hey, eyelash extension here in Myeongdong is sooooooo much cheaper than in Singapore!" cried out Gina and Kat when they saw the prices. "We want to do!"
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And on this morning they booked a slot for each, all three of them. At 35,000won a pop, it was a steal. Way cheaper than in Singapore. Too bad men do not do eyelash treatments, otherwise, I would have gone for it myself too. Hahahaha! In fact our youngest daughter Ah Li, when she heard of the price, she said she would have loved to have it done if she were here too. Imagine- a Korean-done pair of lovely curled eye lash extension!
"I want to look for my A'pieu shop!" gua-gua-jiao-ed Gina. Shit, 又來了，這個 Gina!
She has been looking for don't know what A'pieu shop for the longest time. The one near our hotel just closed down, leaving a note on their door giving some directions. But I simply couldn't find it. What this A'pieu shop was, I didn't know. I just knew it was some kind of high-class boutique. Thankfully the Tourist ambassadors stationed on the streets of Myeongdong confirmed that there was no more A/pieu. Otherwise I would have to walk much 冤枉路。
Lotte Mart & Lotte Outlet at Seoul Station
Since this second last day here in Myeongdong was supposed to be a chill and relaxed day (for the ladies), that meant my job was simply to make sure the ladies get ushered to where they wanted to go, to ensure that they successfully purchase what cosmetics they were looking for, to secure the meals that they desired, to warrant the acquisition of whatever fried foodstuff they planned to get from Korea.
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"Kim Man Jung, where can I buy those one pack one pack small small packs of soju?"
"Oh, you mean 'Pack-Soju'? You should try the Lotte Mart at Seoul Station," highly recommended Kim Man Jung.
"Really ah? wow.. we have never been to this Lotte Mart."
It was such a huge mega supermart and had so many items - fresh food, dried stuff, anything and everything we wanted. Wah lau eh.. we missed such a lovely huge supermarket for such a long time. Luckily we found it. Moving forward, each time we come to Seoul we will definitely come here to shop
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Dongdaemun 東大門!
説實在的，我對東大門是久仰大名，但是從未真正地踏步進去好好地探索探索。相比之下，反而是Kat和Gina這兩位美女對東大門的認識比我還深得多。經常聽到新加坡人說‘哇，來東大門批發商場逛，買服裝，便宜得多了！’諸如此類的話語，聼是聼得多，就沒有這個機緣來此。今日有這三位姑娘帶隊，何樂而不爲？
Kat還真夠棒的，一邊走，一邊開她的 Youtube 播放台灣 Influenzer的視頻，決定要去拿一件商場逛呢！這一招我倒是還沒學到。
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“咦，不是這裏嘞。” Gina 一直在說。
“就是咯，我不記得是這樣的嘞。” Kat 也道。
“我記得 hor, 從東大門地鐵站出來，立刻就有一座大大的 spaceship 的。“Serene 回顧。
"老闆，不然你去問一問那位女社長吧？“
”OKOK, 사장님, 혹시 사람들이 항상 옷을 사러 가는 곳이 어디예요?" [社長您，請問人們往往去買衣服的地方在哪裏呢？]
"여기아니라, 저기 길을 건넜다가 맞은 편이 있는 평화시장에 가시면 돼요." [不是這裏，那裏過了路，走向對面的平和市場就行了]
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Heng 啊！還好有貴人指路。終於走出令人眼花繚亂，專賣裁縫材料，電器，電子配件，手工藝品原料，建築用料的東大門綜合市場，走到了平和市場。
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“不是嘞，不是這樣的嘞。“ Huh? Kat you say what? Not here meh?
”這些地方賣的衣服是那種老阿伯老阿母所穿的嘞。“ Serene said.
”不像是我們4年前來過的嘞！“Gina added. 死人頭鬼...
吃力。本以爲來到平和市場就會和平了。但是看樣子還得繼續奮鬥。我也真的是完全滿頭霧水，他們美女不知道的話，何況是我這一位俊男？照繼續走這走咯， bo bian mah. 也不知道怎麽走怎麽走...
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"咦，這閒大廈看起來很熟悉！“ Kat.
”是 hor, 我們好像有來過嘞！“ Serene.
”進去看一看！“ Gina.
"Sorry. CLOSE-D. Open 8am to 5pm." 那位年輕的看管員很無奈地對我們比手畫脚。他一定是看多了我們這些新加坡人誤打誤撞，錯撞進他的大廈吧。
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“喂，你們看對面！” Kat 突然看到。
“咦，對啦對啦，就是那一座 spaceship! “Serene.
”Heng 啊，我們過路！就在那裏！“ Gina這就開心了！
VIDEO 동영상
It was a long day. Another long day, despite being 'chill-chill' according to our 大嫂. But long in a pleasant kind of way. The whole evening while in Dongdaemun, I was searching for fried chicken. Fried chicken... fried chicken.. yeah there were one or two restaurants.. but somehow, my heart flew back to the Fried Chicken Street in Myeongdong.
The Centre of Fried Chicken universe in Myeongdong- MUST GO!
There was this very popular street in Myeongdong where there was a collection of many fried chicken restaurants, Myeongdong 7-Ga Gil 明洞7街 径.
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| It must have been really madly, madly delicious, from how mad her expression looked... |
"I have always wanted to eat, and I really want to eat fried chicken today," said Kat.
And her wish came true.
Of the two flavours of fried chicken we ordered- the Mad Garlic one was really delicious. The other one, I could not remember what it was, that was so-so. Thus when it came to fried chicken, and especially if we were not familiar with what flavour to order, it would be a hit-and-miss. But still, kwenchana, ordering while on holidays was always thus.
A trip to Korea, must always include a Korean fried chicken and beer meal. Not to order too much, just nice, so that we could always leave some space in our stomachs for more other food along the street.
Table of Content 目錄
Day 1 Gai gai in Bukchon 北村 and Insadong 仁寺洞
Day 2 Conquering the Bukhansan 北漢山
Day 3 Beauty Day 江南: Botox, Skin-whitening, massage
Day 4 Jeongdongjin 正東津 and Glamping in Gangreung 江陵市
Day 5 江陵市沙川面 Lighthouses & sandy beach!
Day 6 Oh what a long day: 廣長市場, 弘大，eyebrow,漢江 rainbow fountain & a lovely dinner...
Day 7 I cannot believe how the girls walk in order to shop!
Day 8 Bye Bye... Annyeong!
Day 8【25 October 2022】
Tangible and Intangible...
Well, it had been really very fulfilling the past 7 days. We did not really do a lot. But at the same time, we actually also did plenty - from climbing a Korean mountain to driving across the peninsula to the east coast seaside just so that we could do a Glamping overnight. And we did manage to see as much of the red-yellow autumn foliage as we wanted to, the main highlight of this trip. We did not short-change ourselves too much when it came to feasting - we did manage to eat most of the food we set out to accomplish. Not only that, the girls and myself made this trip into a beauty trip too, having fun with all the silly beautifications we decided to do here in Korea. Threw in some extras - like massage, studio selfie shots, walking around Bukchon Hanok Village, seeing the Banpo Hangang Rainbow fountain, and such, and the trip was a wrap.
Well, we missed our Coin-Noraebang. That one we owed Kat and Gina. And we owed ourselves more food, more cafes, maybe more soju and beer, and when it came to shopping there was never enough.
As our Korean air flight took off at 1445Hrs on this last day, we were all contented, both gastronomically and aesthetically. Our muscles and tendons have grown a little stronger, and our cardiovascular systems have been given a boost. Yet, the intangible part was the emotional and mental adrenaline booster shots that we received, in all the subtle ways on this trip, through our meals together, our suffering together, our laughing and kao-beh-kao-bu-ing together, and through our sharing the same air as we drifted into our slumbers, and our knowing each others' 臭款 as we lived together. Oh, incidentally I also get to learn how long a goldfish's memory lasts - all of 3 full seconds - just like Gina's memory.
Four weeks after we returned from this memorable trip, one weekend afternoon as Serene, Kat and I sat down for lunch at Minori Japanese restaurant, we were still talking about the trip:
Four weeks after we returned from this memorable trip, one weekend afternoon as Serene, Kat and I sat down for lunch at Minori Japanese restaurant, we were still talking about the trip:
"哇，其實哦，我回想起來，我們這次真的是玩得很開心叻！"
See? That was why for me, my motto was always this:
"An expensive material item that money buys will make one happy for a short while.But an unforgettable experience that the same amount of money buys, will give a lifetime of memories."
... and indeed memories are made of these. And memories like these, deserve to be kept and to be pulled out and reminisced time and again, for years after.
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Till our next Korea trip!
Table of Content 目錄
Day 1 Gai gai in Bukchon 北村 and Insadong 仁寺洞
Day 2 Conquering the Bukhansan 北漢山
Day 3 Beauty Day 江南: Botox, Skin-whitening, massage
Day 4 Jeongdongjin 正東津 and Glamping in Gangreung 江陵市
Day 5 江陵市沙川面 Lighthouses & sandy beach!
Day 6 Oh what a long day: 廣長市場, 弘大，eyebrow,漢江 rainbow fountain & a lovely dinner...
Day 7 I cannot believe how the girls walk in order to shop!
Day 8 Bye Bye... Annyeong!
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