On both visits to Seoul, I stayed in the same area: Myeongdong. Why? Because I felt it was the most convenient for my itinerary. The first trip was planned by my friend Peach, so I had no hand in it, but on my next trip, I saw no reason why I shouldn’t find a place to stay in the area. And I picked Namsan Guesthouse.
Continue reading “odysSTAY: Namsan Guesthouse in Myeongdong, Seoul, South Korea”
There are several South Korean things that I am envious about. Their subway system. Their artifacts and relics appreciation and preservation. Their zippy-speedy internet connection. Their skin care products. And their public bathhouses. Yes, your read that right: “public bathhouses”. Or, as they call it, “jjiimjilbang”.
Continue reading “Our Jjimjilbang Experience at Dragon Hills Spa (with Doraemon & Totoro!)”
There is always THAT place or landmark that, wherever you are, when you feel disoriented, you just have to look up, spot it, and feel reassured. For me, when I am around the Myeongdong (and neighboring) areas, that landmark would be the N Seoul Tower.
Imagine feeling bored and tired of your usual routine, so you retire to that garden at the back of your house, where you could smell the fresh air, read a book (or even write one), walk for hours along the picturesque trails, sit inside any of the pavilions and be mesmerized by how calm and still the water on the pond is… Oh wait, I suppose you can only do that if (1) you are royalty and (2) you lived during the Joseon era. You can still catch a glimpse of that long-gone era, however, by checking out Huwon, the Secret Garden of Changdeokgung.
Continue reading “SoKor 2015: Huwon, The Secret Garden of Changdeok Palace in Seoul”
Palaces are a staple if you’re visiting Seoul. Or South Korea, in general. In fact, I think you cannot say you’ve made a proper visit to this beautiful country without having visited at least one of these national treasures. Changdeokgung, or Changdeok Palace, is one of these palaces: a well-preserved historical relic of the past and a beautiful reminder of that past in the present. Out of the five major palaces of Joseon, it is the most well-preserved to this day, and that’s partly the reason it was declared another UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Continue reading “SoKor 2015: Changdeokgung (Changdeok Palace) in Seoul”
We always find new hobbies, and we even actively seek them out when things are starting to become “meh~”. But hiking, going out in the great outdoors, and travelling is sure to be a hobby that I will have for a very long time to come. I always stop and savor that feeling of gratefulness for the opportunities that I get to see as much as I can (or as much as my resources would let me). When we reached the peak of Mt. Bukhansan was definitely one of the moments when I felt that gratefulness wash over me. In great waves.
When do you feel that you are freest? When do you feel like all burdens or ill thoughts are simply taken away from you by some other unseen force, leaving you so lightweight and… and free? I can probably name a few instances. One of them is being in the cradle of nature, when I am walking up a mountain path, up to the moment that I am standing somewhere high, far above everything (or almost everything) else. Well, that’s exactly how I felt on that day I went on a hike up Bukhansan, or Bukhan Mountain, in Seoul, South Korea.
I suppose I should apologize for posting too much about Everland, but then I realized, why apologize for something I thoroughly enjoyed? We took the Special Tour of The Lost Valley, and I blogged about that in the previous post. But even if you decided not to get on that ride, you are still going to be able to feast your eyes on gorgeous creatures, as we did!
Continue reading “SoKor 2015: The Lost Valley at Everland Resort”
Everland is the largest theme park-slash-resort in South Korea, and it is also one of the theme parks that commands the most number of visitors all year round. The T-Express was one of the main draws, and then they opened the Safari World, and attendance increased even more. Later on, they opened another major attraction, “The Lost Valley Safari Adventure“, and the numbers were higher than ever. When we were there August last year, the resort was celebrating the first anniversary of The Lost Valley, and we were so glad we were there, even for a bit.
Continue reading “SoKor 2015: The Lost Valley Special Tour at Everland Resort”
Growing up, zoos haven’t been one of my favorite places to go to. For starters, there weren’t a lot of those where I grew up. I remember the Manila Zoo being my first ever zoo visit and that was for a school field trip. I vaguely remember it to be fascinating although, as I grew older and realized seeing animals in captivity was less… exciting than watching them roam free, zoos lost some of their appeal for me. The Safari World at Everland Resort, however, was different.
Continue reading “SoKor 2015: Safari World at Everland (plus the Amazon Express!)”
Imagine this: you went to Boracay, but you never got your feet wet. You visited Osaka, but did not even taste takoyaki or okonomiyaki. You went to Sagada, but you did not check out any of the caves. You drove all the way to Baguio City… and never laid eyes on Burnham Park. See what I’m getting at? So I’m saying that you cannot go to Everland without going on any of the rides and, once you’ve worked up the courage, get on the T-Express, a wooden rollercoaster with one of the steepest drops in the world.
Continue reading “SoKor 2015: Everland Rides – Working Our Way To The T-Express”
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. From a fangirl’s POV, we could spin that into “when in the land of K-pop, do as a K-pop fan does”. I know of many fans who purposely head over to places such as Cheongdam-dong and Apgujeong-dong to “nonchalantly stroll” past the entertainment agency buildings, hoping for a sighting of this or that idol. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), this was never high on my list of things to do. That does not preclude, however, my perking up when I hear a familiar K-pop tune playing on the street or a poster or a standee of a K-pop artist that I took a particular shine to. What can I say, once a fangirl, always a fangirl.
Continue reading “FF#5: YG & Big Bang Feels at Everland (a.k.a. K-Poppin’ at a Theme Park)”
Amusement parks and theme parks used to be marketed to kids, tweens and teens (I blame Disney for that), then came the parks with scary-to-terrifying rides, and adults ceased feeling irrelevant. I haven’t been to many of these parks but, several months ago, I found myself in a place that I can – without any reservations – declare to be my favorite theme park. EVER. And it’s called EVERLAND (see what I did there?!?). And I had to go all the way to South Korea for it, and even further out of Seoul.
Continue reading “SoKor 2015: Best Time Ever… at Everland Resort”
So who else, besides me, is none too pleased with this heat spell going on? I know it’s summer and all, but I am always positively sweating buckets, even when I’m standing still. Makes me long for the chill you can only feel atop mountains in the north. Before that, though, let me continue my SoKor series, picking up where I left off in my last post, when we decided to try to walk as far as we could along the Suwon Hwaseong Fortress.
Post-election drama aside, it has been a lulzy week. I am currently fighting off sleepiness as I type this post, and it’s only midmorning (which does not bode well for the rest of the day, oh dear me). But the day is still young, so let me take this opportunity to take you to Hwaseong Fortress, a must-see (in my opinion) if you find yourself in Seoul or Gyeonggi-do anytime soon.
Continue reading “SoKor 2015: Hwaseong Fortress – Seojangdae (Western Command Post)”
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