Alone

Friday, April 30, 2010 by corrine wan | 0 comments

It's not lonely to be alone.

man fishing by the sea of Jeju

The remaining of my Korea trip

Wednesday, April 28, 2010 by corrine wan | 0 comments

I finally met up with my korean friend, Joy, on sunday to visit her church. I get to know Joy when she was in Singapore studying English for a few months. She was staying at Katong hostel and one day, she just popped into my church as she was looking for one to attend and the rest is history :). I was to meet her at Bojeong subway station but upon arriving, I did not see her around and so I decided to visit the washroom first. And guess who I bumped into when I stepped in...hahaha. I was so glad to see her ^_^...after all we haven't seen each other for 1 year ever since she came back Korea. Joy brought me to her church, Joyful Church which was located at Yong-in, about 2hrs from central Seoul.

Unlike my church in singapore, which is more vibrant, Joy's church is more solemn but nevertheless, I enjoyed the service although I fell asleep for a few minutes during the sermon due to tiredness...oops...haha. But thanks Joy, for bringing me to your church and your place!

This is bulgogi (beef), our lunch on one day. If you visit Korea, bulgogi and galbi (barbeque pork ribs) is something that you must eat there. The meat is so well marinated and so nice to eat and so cheap compared to Singapore.

I wanted to visit Dumulmori 두물머리 and was planning to go at dawn to capture the blue mist which is said to be particularly spectacular but to get there from my hostel takes an hour and going by the earliest train, by the time I reached there, it would probably be sunrise already. So no choice, I went in the afternoon instead with my friend.

Dumulmori is located at Yangsuri and can be reached by taking the subway to Yangsu and then walking 3km to get there. Thankfully, my friend drove =).

On our way there, my friend recommended me some famous jjim pang (red bean bread or dou san bao) and mandoo (korean dumplings) located near Dumulmori.

the famous jjim pang shop

jjim pang

mandoo

Dumulmori is actually the place where the north river and the south river meets to form the Hangang river that flows through Seoul. Du means 2, mul means water and mori means head which translates to head of 2 waters.

Dumulmori

the beginning of Hangang river

At Dumulmori, there is a very old heritage tree which is protected and kept from the public.

I don't think I have done Dumulmori any justice by showing these photos. I probably just went there at the wrong time of the day and maybe at the wrong season.

Dumulmori at dawn - Kim Dongwan copyright

This is the end of my 8 nights 9 days in Korea. It had been an interesting and fun journey even though I was on my own. I will definitely be going there again, maybe during autumn to catch the autumn leaves x).

Korea

Namsan Tower 남산타워

Tuesday, April 27, 2010 by corrine wan | 2 comments

Namsan Tower otherwise known also as N Seoul Tower is situated at the top of Mt. Namsan which is located in the central area of Seoul. The tower offers an unobstructed panoramic view of the city which is something not to be missed especially at night. To get to the tower, there are 3 options - you can either enjoy a slow walk up the slope of the mountain or take a cable car or take a bus. Walking would probably take you an hour or so, so I recommend take the bus or cable car instead..haha.

To get to Namsan tower, take subway to Chungmuro station (line 3 or 4), exit 2. Take yellow bus No. 2 at the bus stop right at the exit or

take subway to Myeongdong (line 4), exit 3. Walk 10min to the cable car station from Pacific hotel.

Namsan Tower from afar - this was taken in the evening

Namsan Tower

after you get off from the bus, you still need to walk a short distance up

view from the top of Namsam

At Namsam tower, there's a section where many people and couples will write their well wishes onto a lock and locked it onto the wire designated there. The keys are then thrown down the mountain.

the view of Seoul among the locks

Smile! Friend!

the Hangang river which runs across Seoul

By the way, at the time of my visit, it was freezing at Namsan with the wind blowing strongly. I struggled to changed my camera lens because of my shivering and icy cold hands.

Night view of Seoul

You can also write your well wishes on tiles which will be pasted onto the walls inside or outside of Namsan tower.

Within Namsan park, there is also a small hanok village.

view of Seoul tower from the hanok village

white and pink cherry blossoms in contrast

This is a crazy thing which I did during my trip in Seoul. On one of the coldest day that I've been there, I decided to go to Banpo Hangang park at night to watch the Banpo bridge rainbow fountain. There are timeslots for the fountain show. To tell you the truth, it was really very cold and with the wind blowing at the Hangang park, it was very much colder than I could handle in my dressing. Anyway, when I reached there, there was hardly anyone at the park (of course, who would be there at such freezing temperatures, it even snow a little that day) except for a few number of people jogging and cycling. By the time I reached there, I have missed the last show of the day...sigh. But since I'm there already, and carrying my tripod, I must not make this a wasted trip despite so coooooooold. So I took out my camera and quickly took a few shots. I think the people who passed me by must really be thinking who is this crazy person taking photos in such weather..haha. Yah, and so I snapped quickly and quickly rushed off before I freezed to death. Next time if you go in summer, do visit it cause I think the fountain show will be quite nice.

To get to Banpo bridge, take subway to Express Bus Terminal (line 3), exit 8-1 and walk about 800m straight towards the apartments. The underpass to the park is hidden behind the apartments.