Final Days in Korea

Wah Kao. 不管了!! Marpig shall finish the Korea trip by this entry bcos itz a yr already and shez got loads of backlogged entries to catch up!! *faints*

Marpigz Korea trip was actually an "8D 'All In' Korea Deluxe" package from Hong Tai. Eh... not trying to sing praises or give them FOC advertisment, but Hong Tai is not bad although the only other time Marpig booked another package from them was for her Hokkaido trip back in 2005 :D

Anyw, cepat cepat!! Letz not waste time and go to Namsangol Hanok Village (1 of the filming sites for 大长今)!!

The village is aka "A Village of Traditional Houses in the Namsan Valley" and the site used to be a faymoss summer resort back in the Joseon period. The village now houses a traditional Korean-style garden, a flowing stream, pavillion as well as 5 traditional houses
Eh... don noe watz the above... but therez a high chance itz a well-designed potty!!
艺术照 1
艺术照 2. Does it reminds u of the kitchen scenes in 大长今?! :P
Korea was very much influenced by ancient China which was why b4 Hangul (Korean lang, invented/commissioned by Sejong the Great) came into use in the late 19th and 20th centuries, Hanja (traditional chinese) was widely used by the Korean elites. Hence, Koreans also enjoyed reading and writing poems as seen above

Houses are raised; 2 possible reasons. 1 of them is to prevent damage due to flooding another is bcos heating used then was similar to Romanz Hypocaust (aka modern dae central underfloor heating) Think the xhibit did mention bout the underfloor heating via burning coal and channelling the heat through the floor void (ooops, Marpigz 职业病发作!!)
Above is the entrance to a house. The entrances were built low and think the reason was bcos any1 entering would have to bow their heads... hmmm yup, think Marpig heard smth similar for the houses of other ancient cultures just cant rem...

Anyw, after the visit to the traditional Korean village, itz time to fill the tummy with BBQ!!
The whole rest was full of delicious BBQ smells!! Luckily the guide advised all not to wear the coats/jackets in, lest every1 smells like their lunch :P Notice the BIG thingy on top of the BBQing meat? TTz actually a flexible xtract duct!! How interesting!! *moving it ard*

During the trip, Marpig also had the chance to make her own kimchi (which will be donated to a childrenz or elderly home, according to the instructor)
Wow... she spoke near perfect mandarin which sets pple wondering if shez really a Korean!! And oh boy, not only is she pretty (she actually reminded Marpig of her stern kindergarten teacher!!), her face is flawless!! Wow~~

Bhind her are actually variants of kimchis. The general misconception is tt kimchi are simply cabbages, radishes and carrots but actually, kimchi could be anyth from sea cucumbers to abalones!!

Anyw, being a "gifted" chef, Marpig made her 1st (and last?) kimchi!!As itz winter + Marpigz a glutton + happened to pass by a street vendor selling cute "fishy-looking 红豆饼" which were "很好吃" (see below)Marpig (did not) buy 1... :P

Next up, was getting to Namdaemun (南大门) as opposed to the previous 东大门. Specifically, guide let every1 go wild at the shopping district, Myeongdong (明洞)
Being Marpig who believes tt ice cream should also be eaten in winter, she bought a tall~~ mango (?) cone and had it all by herself (cos every1 else was too cold/full :P) Blimey... although therez not much fat in the ice cream (cos itz cheap), bcos of the ambient temp, itz really "hard" instead of behaving like a soft cone!!

BTW, just a leetle bit bout ice cream; from xperience while on intership in a research facility back in sec sch, premium ice cream are full of fat and ice cream tt do not melt easily are full of fat *nods*
Since Marpig isnt a shopaholic (and shez got not much lollies), she only bought 3 pairs of woolly socks b4 she went snap-snapping street food vendors and their wares!!
Therez 烧饼...包子...BBQ 鱿鱼...
At 1st Marpig noe naught wat those were bcos of the funny shapes but on a closer look and sniff, itz deep fried potato chips!! :D

Therez also the street oden during winter where itz so popular with the ladies (since Marpig didnt see any guys ard... hmm...)
Soon, itz night again and being a curious-bout-everyth tourist, Marpig just have to take a pic while standing in the middle of the road!!
As well as the Xmasty Korean shopping street
*yawns* and itz seafood hotpot for dinner!! FYI, tt squid still moves!! Itz suckers were still sucking!! (>_<)After dinner, all checked into Sheraton Walker Hill Casino Hotel (featured in "Hotelier") Itz a hotel on a hill/mountain with nth much to see xcept, yes, u guessed it, casinoes...With nth to see/do to pass the night, wat else can Dingko Nut, her sis and Marpig do?! :PSupper and beer!! BTW, 2 of Marpigz frens said she is an emotional drunk while another said she is a noisy drunk... hmmm... Marpig dont really noe bcos she always try to keep herself sober (cos she dont have much 酒量!!)

Anyw, last yrz Xmas in Korea is coming to an end!! This yrz Xmas will be at Marpigz sisz place and itz Marpigz 2nd white Xmas (1st one was in Leeds)!! Plus, strange tt this yr snow falls b4 Xmas (quoting very old colleagues) Marpig am so looking 4wrd to having snowball fights & snowmen building sessions with Marpigz sis and BIL!! It will be the 1st time with Marpigz sis!! *beaming* Oh, JM made a very good comment (which Marpig agrees too); Marpig is just like Marpigz sisz daughter... hahahahahahaha

And so, b4 Marpig ends this entry with the flight home, herez the last bf Marpig had in Korea!!
B4...
After!!

And lastly, flight home onboard Korean Air

Korea Day 5 (Mt Seorak, & Hotspring)

Itz been almost a week of snow and dae 5 也不例外!!

The dae started with every1 headed for Mt Seorak which is the 3rd highest mountain in South Korea, after Hallasan (refer to entries on Jeju) and Jirisan (not covered). The peak is bout 1708m high

The tour coach was able to bring tourists up (though not the peak!!) and wow!! The snowy mountain scenery was soooooo soothing and picturesque~~The snow-covered frozen river under the walk bridge... Bcos itz a touristy place & also bcos itz cold, therez vendors selling hot snacks such as roasted chestnuts and Marpigz fav escargoes!! (though they don really 102% resemble the snails... hmmm)

Moving on, Marpig came to the entrance of Shinheungsa Temple, believed to be the worldz oldest Zen temple, being 1st built in 653. It was subsequently burnt down twice
And ttz the statue of the Buddha!! How big is it... ah!! Marpig should had taken smth tog with it so tt one could tell the scale... hmm... think itz bout 3/4 size of the Buddha in Po Lam in HK?

With abit of free time, Marpig went trotting to the inner temple along a calm route with thick snow...Nearing the end of the route, Marpig was greeted with the templez pavilion
Ah~~ snow-capped 亭子 against a backdrop of mountains with a lonesome path... 诗情画意的宁静~~ :PGetting a closer look at the architectural style so typical of Korean structures...

As it was, Marpig loves to leave her trails bhind and watz better to leave her trails on?! The soft thick snow!!And so Marpig trots right into the foot-deep snow!! Argh!! It was fun at 1st but Marpig soon realised she was being silly!! :P Cos shez wearing jeans and it bcame wet!! But!! Itz fun!! Cant miss doing smth silly like tt since youth is always a gd xcuse for doing silly ths :P

After a light workout on the snowy mountains, every1 checked in at Hanwah Hotspring Resort for a night of relaxing onsen!! Marpig had been to the onsens in Hokkaido with Marpigz dad and sis. 1st time seeing the naked body of Marpigz sis!! 超 pai seh (for the 1st 5 sec!!)

But this time, Marpig did not try the Korean onsen since shez having her period. Didnt want to 血流成河!! ahahahahaha And so, Marpig noe naught if one would also be 102% naked. But reckon itz not in Korea 吧? Wat say u Ding?!

Anyw, the room at the hotspring resort was soooooo cosy!!
With itz own kitchen!! Yeah!!
Tatami style of beddings!! Save space and gd for the back!! BTW, although Marpig did not join Ding and her mom and sis for onsen, she did have a wonderful, pte time having "onsen" in the bathroom!! So much so tt she almost fainted bcos itz so warm!! hahahahahaha

And~~ watz the best after onsen?! Supper and Soju (燒酒 aka 소주)!!真是的!! Despite not being a gd drinker, Marpig just want to try 소주 (like everynight!!) Poor Ding who prefers beer (& recently wines?) got to 应酬 Marpig :P BTW, the cuppa noodles were gd!! Think itz bcos Marpig am hungry + MSG wor, 怎么可能不好吃?!

Korea Day 4 (Everland & Skiing in Yongpyong Resort)

After the 1st night in Korea, the 2nd dae proved to be more xxxciting becos of~~ more snow!! But 1st, itz impt to begin the (freezing) dae with a scrumptious and filling bf!!
Bf was really delicious!! Everyth is Marpigz fav (wat isnt?!) Therez soul-warming noodles in hot soup, side dishes, dumplings and 馒头!! :D__
Once again, no waste!!

So watz the 1st stop? Itz~~ Everland!!Therez the Taj and... looks like the clock tower in Venice bside San Marco...
Everland is South Koreaz largest theme park and was ranked 10th in the world for amusement park attendance. Similarly with quite alot of companies, itz operated by Samsung Group. As shown in the pics, Everland is often compared to Disneyland bcos of their size, architecture, theme and atmosphere. Therez even a "Global Village" as opposed to Disneyz "Itz a Small World"!! Everland, like Disneyland, is also divided into 5 theme areas namely, Global Fair, European Adventure, American Adventure, Magic Land and Zoo-Topia
Like Singaporez night safari (just tt itz in the dae), pple can take a (safe) enclosed bus to xplore the "wilderness" in style!!BTW, the above is a "liger"; a x btw a male lion and a tigress. Itz the largest of all cats and similarly to "tigon"; a x btw a male tiger and lioness, it has a short life span and tend to suffer mutations of the genes. These sorta x only happens in captivity since lions and tigers will not mate in the wild!!A couple of snowmen singing carols :D
B4 Marpig move on to an activity which she tried and sooooooo lurves, herez one of the many roller coasters in Everland called the Rolling X-train. It was built to celebrate the 1988 Olympics in Seoul

And NOW!! For smth Marpig lurves!!
Sledging!!!!!!! Therez simply so many children (and adults) Q-ing for this!! Although 1 has to carry the "sledge" (a float) up a travelator, itz still worth it!! Marpig went for 2 or 3 rounds of it!! Yeah!!
Get ready~~!!Go~~!! WHEEEEEEE~~!!

After the xxxciting moments and going ard the theme park, itz time for a bit o lunch at 1 of the many themed rests. Marpig had seafood kimchi udon!! *slurps!!*After lunch, itz time to check in for the nightz hotel which was another "dramatic" place, being featured in Winter Sonata (again); the Yongpyong ResortAbove is said (by guide) to be the fireplace where the male lead put his hand on... dont even rem wat scene the guide said...

Really, having not watched Winter Sonata b4, Marpig am abs clueless as to all the places which are associated with the drama but since every1 seems to go googoo and gaga over them, Marpig just plays her part to bring on the laughter. So she went on and did a "compromising" pose with the male lead...Muahahahahahahahaha!!

Of cos, Marpig also had her virgin go at skiing!!
Marpig did not go to the proz slope but rather, she had a very short beginners' skiing lesson with the pple at the ski resort, learning bout balance, safe falling, gniwols down and stopping. However, the person did not teach bout changing directions... ...

Anyw, taking the ski cable up to the top (albeit not skiing down!!), 1 could tell the sheer height of it all by the teeny weeny pple at the bottom!!
And ttz the top of the highest ski slope with the ski cable
Like wat Marpig said, she did not ski down from the slope but rather, just going up to enjoy the Alpine-like scenery as well as having a bit of snowball fights with Ding and her sis!! :D

Although Marpig learnt snowboarding in the UK (been only on 2 lessons, learnt snowboarding down and backwards!!), Marpig had chosen skiing since every1 else was skiing too (and hey, skiing is easier than snowboarding!!) But!! seeing a snowboard lying on the ground, Marpig just couldnt resist the temptation for yet another pose!! :P
Noticed tt the brown ski-wear tt Marpig wore was puffy?! Well, itz rented which was why it isnt a perfect fit. But oh well, itz fit for purpose!! :D