Korea - White Christmas~

Yes, I went to South Korea again! I went to Korea in early 2009 and again last December 24-29, 2009. Twice in a year, now you know how I love the place. ^^ For the first time in my life, I had a white Christmas! =) I joined a tour again, this time going with my younger brother and my two girl friends.

Day 1 - it's Christmas eve, we arrived in Incheon international airport around 6PM, went straight for dinner. We had a yummy dinner, it's pork bulgogi! ^^ After dinner, we checked in our hotel in Incheon and had a good rest for a busy day the following day.

Day 2 - Theme park day, we went to Everland. I'm not really that excited anymore since I've been to Everland before. Just like before, I really enjoyed the Snow Buster! It's where you sled down a man made snow slope, super fun! ^^ Too bad it rained that day after we had lunch so we had to wear rain coats and walk around wet grounds. =S We had dinner in a local restaurant having mushroom hot pot with meat this time. It snowed a bit after dinner, then we checked in directly to the ski resort where we will ski the next day.

Day 3 - Half day of ski fun! The ski resort we stayed in this time is Yong Pyong Ski Resort where they shot Winter Sonata. We had ski lesson from the professional trainer. When last time I tried to ski, I gave up after 20 minutes because my whole body is aching, well this time is no different. I guess ski is just not for me, well any sport for that matter, lol! =S But it's all good, it's nice to be in the snow and play around. =D We went to the same restaurant we ate the night before for lunch but had a chicken this time.

After lunch, we're on our way to Mt. Sorak where we will stay the night. On the way, we stopped to visit the Shinheungsa Temple and saw the Grand Bronze Buddha. It's almost as big as the one we saw in Hong Kong. Then we took a cable car (a big one that can carry 50 people like the one in Seoul Tower) to Gwongeumsung Fortress. After the cable car, we had to walk up a trail to the top and it's all worth it because the view is magnificent! Sorry because I'm such a bad photographer and I have a really crappy camera that I wasn't able to give justice to the place with my picture. But it's really beautiful, kinda reminds me of a small version of the Grand Canyons in the U.S. On the way down, we bought some snacks and I tried Korea's ever famous spicy rice cakes! It's really spicy and perfect for the cold weather. I love it! ^^ For dinner, we ate in an ondol style restaurant, ondol is heated floors and you had to sit on the floor to eat, no chairs. We had grilled mackerel and lots of delicious side dishes.

Day 4 - It's Nami Island day. Winter Sonata all over again. It's nice to see that the ice sculptures are all different from the last time we went there. I guess it melts in the summer and builds up again in winter. We had delicious barbecued chicken, super yummy! ^^ After lunch, we're on our way to Seoul. On the way, we visited Petite France, the place where they shot Beethoven Virus. Everybody enjoyed Petite France because it snowed!!! And it's not just some snow flakes flying around, it's a snow shower! My brother is enjoying his very first snow experience so much. ^_^

But it so happens that it's also snowing really hard in Seoul so traffic jam is up ahead. We stopped by Dongdaemun market upon arrival in Seoul for a short shopping spree. And just like before, we only get to shop at Doota because we don't have enough time to explore that other markets in Dongdaemun which they say is really great. Maybe I'll do that on my next trip to Seoul. ^^ Dinner at a ginseng chicken restaurant and my friend truly enoyed the ginseng chicken. She loooooves ginseng so much! Finished the whole bowl to the last drop. =D This day is also my bestfriend's birthday!^^ Our Korean tour guide bought a cake for her and even gave her a champagne to celebrate the night! ^^

Day 5 - It's Seoul city tour day. First we went to Gyeongbok Palace and National Folklore Museum. The museum is very nice, it's very informative and we got to see lots of Korean culture in them. Then passed by the Presidential Blue house (no photo stop this time unlike before when I first went there), then the Ginseng outlet, Amethyst Factory and Duty Free Shop (all the exact same shops I went to before, I guess it's the generic Seoul tour places) with the addition of cosmetics shop stop since Korea is very popular for their beauty products.

We had lunch at a seafood buffet then went to the 63 Building and visit the Wax Museum and Obervatory Elevator to the 60th (or is it 59th? not sure) to look at Seoul with all it's lights. Dinner of chicken and ribs at Tony Roma's then shopping at Myeongdong. I love Myeongdong because this is where you can find everything you want to buy. But that night is just way too cold to enjoy shopping so we just had a quick look and went back to the hotel.

Day 6 - it's our last day in Korea. =S Our last stop is another theme park, Lotte World. Since I've been to Lotte World before, it's not as exciting to me anymore. We tried some snacks on stick like sausages and chicken barbecue, yummy! I love Korean street foods!!! For lunch, I've finally got to taste Jajangmyeon. It's not really that special but it's nice and chewy. Not bad at all. =) I'm so happy that I got to taste all the Korean food that I wanted to try and I'm sure I'll be coming back for more (me and my friends keep on going back to a place in Q.C. where we get to eat authentic Korean dishes, totally addicted to Korean food! lol!). We stopped by the supermarket to shop for some goodies and off we go.

On our way to the airport, we made another stop at a Korean food and souvenir shop for last minute shopping then to the airport to catch our flight back home. My brother really wanted to try the bulgogi burger in Mc Donalds but we didn't see it in the airport (we went the other way =s), so maybe the next time I go to Korea, I'll bring home some bulgogi burger for him. ^^

Till my next Korean adventure, I'm sure I'm going back there, count on that! ^_^

Thank you Lord for making my 2009 a great year specially for my love of travels. I'm looking forward to 2010 with You by my side. I put all my faith in You oh Lord, and may we all be more blessed this year. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! To You be all the glory Lord. =)