8-Day Loving in Korea

Hello one and all, I'm back from Korea!!  I had a lovely trip with Alvin and his family; it was truly a great experience.  We travelled from Gwangju, to Busan, to Gyeongju, to Daegu, to Seoul, with Hong Thai Travels.  If you have no clue where in the world those places are, it's fine.  Cause I barely remembered much anyways and I'm unsure if I got the places correct; (I simply looked at the itinerary to get the names right. Haha!)  

This has been my second time to Korea; the first one doesn't really count because I don't remember much about it, so I had tons of fun myself!  Apparently, this tour package is really different from the usual tours around Seoul.  We got to take in more scenery and visit rural areas.  I thought the places were gorgeous cause I love seeing mountains, trees, and urban architecture!  So if you're like me, maybe you could give it a shot!  And if you're unsure if it's for you, hopefully my perspective will give you a better idea.  :)

Day 1:

We flew from Singapore to Seoul.  In other words, we wasted a day flying.  Haha!

Day 2:

We got out of the airport, and gosh was it freezing!  It felt so good though!  Really refreshing.  :) 

Our first stop was the Teddy Bear Museum.  I personally hated it.  I'm not much of a stuffed toy lover, but if you're into really cute stuff, this is probably for you.  :)

What was truly great about the place though, was the scenery!  Who needs Nami Island when Gwangju (I think) has gorgeous barren trees as well!

We then made our way to Damyang Bamboo Park.  There are hills to walk up, and they can be steep too.  So it can be pretty tiring for those who are unfit.  :)  But it is gorgeous for those who love looking at trees- seeing the sunlight shine through the leaves and branches can be really serene.

Our last stop was the Korean Bamboo Museum.  All descriptions were in Korean, and I honestly found it a little dull.

Day 3:

Our first destination was the Boseong Green Tea Field.  I loved this place!  The trees, the green tea plants, the weather, were spectacular!  I guess it's cause I'm a huge fan of nature.  We were able to climb up the fields to catch a panoramic view of the entire green tea field.

We then made our way to Naganeupseong Folk Village.  If you love observing the traditional way of Korean living, this place is for you!  I personally found it mundane because of my lack of knowledge or interest about the Korean heritage, so I deeply apologise.

Our next stop was Suncheon Bay.  It was freezing and by that time my face was numb.  We were there to see birds, but I barely caught a sight of any.  The walk on wooden planks was long, and the view was more or less the same throughout - fields of long golden grass with mountains in the background.

We ended the day by making our way to Busan.  We did a little grocery shopping of our own at Lotte Mart.  The best feeling is one of being a tourist.  :D

Day 4:

We're in Busan!  We drove around a little and caught a (pathetic) glimpse of the Gwangan Bridge.  The urban architecture was nice.  It was something different from what we've been exposed to in the previous days.  Our first stop point was every young person's favourite…  SHOPPING!  We were brought to Shinsegae Centum City to do our shopping, but sadly, I'm too poor.  Haha!

Soon after, we made our way to Yongdusan Park.  I was seriously, seriously, too cold to function.  I can't remember much about it.  So let's hope my pictures do the speaking for me.

Our last and most exciting stop, was Gwangbok Cultural and Fashion Street.  It was a huge shopping district.  Gosh.  So many cosmetic shops, and food stalls, and shoe shops, and blah blah blah.  I would have gotten lost if not for the people around me!  For those who love street shopping/street food, this is for you.  :)

Day 5:

First destination:  Bulguksa Temple.  We got to see lots of Buddhist temples and monks in action.  I loved the surrounding scenery.  :)

Our next stop, Cheonmachong, was a tomb site fit for the Korean king and queen.  It looked like a park, a very sweet looking park.

We then made our way to Herbhillz, an ecological theme park.  It was quaint, there were animals, trees, cute little thingamajigs that I truly don't know how to describe.

The last stop was Elybaden Water Park.  Boy, what an eye opener it was!  It was my first time seeing naked women all around, happily showing off their goods.  ;)  Besides that, there were also pools, jacuzzis, saunas, outdoor pools, etc.  Swimming out in -5 degrees weather is no joke.  Haha!

Day 6:

Our first experience of the day was taking a bullet train to Seoul!  What a charming experience it was, getting to see Korea in such a light.  

After that…  Things got a little boring…  You know, the usual, take tourists around to speciality shops in hope that they will buy goods routine.  We were brought to seaweed shops, ginseng shops, cosmetic shops.  :/  But alas, in the midst of all that, we were able to try on Hanboks.  I looked re-tar-ded.  Haha!

Our final destination was, I honestly have no clue what's the place called.  But, we were there to do some shopping!  We also caught the WEDDING Musical, which was amazingly good!

Day 7:

First stop!  Cheonggyecheon Museum.  I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention, I was too fixated on my phone, texting my Mommy because there was free Wi-Fi.  Hahaha!

We made our way to Bukchon Hanok Village after, and it was adorable!  All the houses were so quaint and picturesque, and traditional at the same time.  Truly something new for me.  :)

Our next point was Gyeongbokgung Palace.  It was huge.  If you love ancient Korean architecture, you'll love this place cause there are tons of pagoda-looking palaces.  It is beautiful for those who can appreciate it.

We ended the day with shopping at Myeongdong and Dongdaemun.  Once again, I was amazed at how large the shopping districts were!  They sold everything and were up and running till 3 am!  What was truly memorable though, was the snow that fell that night.  No one anticipated snowfall, but God was good and He favoured us.  <3

Day 8:

Once again, we went shopping along the streets around some woman's university.  Terribly sorry, I forgot the name of it!!  Korea is seriously, shopping land.  And cosmetics land.  It's crazy.  Haha!

Last of all, we made our way back to Singapore!

I truly enjoyed the trip to Korea, I can't thank Alvin and his parents enough.  I don't think my descriptions do much justice to the itinerary but I guess this would be my Korean experience through my eyes.  :)