34 Things to do in Seoul and Jejudo, Places to see, Food to eat :D

Annyeonghasaeyo Yeorobun!!

Damnnnn, sem 2 has started but still, it felt like every piece of me are still in Taiwan and Korea :( The past 4 months was just like a dream to me, something I never thought would happen in my life (really). Grateful of all those experiences and fun moments.

Korea, was just amazing. It may not be the best traveling experience (considering the schedule was too packed) but it was one hell of an awesome getaway! So much to see and experience despite being 7 days only. Well I can't say others will feel the same, but I'm sure there are wanderers like me who crave for a multi-faceted experience.

Well I decided to do an overall post about Korea trip, just to tell you the essence of our 7days (coz God knows when will I finally have the time to blog in detail) ASK ME IF YOU NEED ANY DETAILS ABOUT OUR TRIP IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW

Day 1: Urban Seoul

1. Visited one of Seoul's beautiful campus: Ehwa Womans University 梨花女子大学

2. EAT: Tried Mandu (Dumplings) at Kim and Bab (Ehwa Womens University Station)

3. Observed Seoul's Cityscape at Yeoido Hangang Park

4. Mesmerized by Seoul's city lights : N Seoul Tower at Namsan

5. EAT: Korea's version of Chinese cuisine: Jjajangmyeon Black Bean Sauce Noodle

6. Spent the night exploring different types of Sauna rooms : Siloam Jjimjilbang

7. EAT: Drink Sikhye and Smoked Hard Boiled Eggs. Don't forget to crack the eggs with your head. It hurts haha

Day 2 : Jeju's World Heritage

8. Checked out a lava tunnel : Manjanggul Lava Cave

9. EAT: Jeju's Black Pork Barbeque OMGGGGG so good

10. Have a view of Jeju Main Island at Seongsan Ilchubong

11. EAT: Have a cup of coffee to warm yourself while rain hits hard outside

12. Have a glimpse of Korean's market with loads of seafood! : Jungmun Market

13. EAT: Koreans' everyday comfort food in one shot: KimDeokSun (RunningMan was here!)

Day 3: Nature wonders of Jeju

14. Breathtaking views and the FROZEN experience at Hallasan Eoseungsaengak Trail

15. Leisure stroll at a calm and peaceful park: Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls Park

16. The Majestic Waterfall that falls straight into the sea: Jeongbang Falls

17. Date with Teddy Bears at Teddy Bear Museum

Day 4: Glorious Seoul

18. Feel the vibrant atmosphere at Insadong

19. EAT: Korea's lunchbox and yummylicious Bingsu at Miss Lee

(you've probably seen this in We Got Married)

20. Try pretty Royal Hanbok at Insadong Tourist Information Center

21. Appreciate Korea's prime national identity, the beautiful Gyeongbuk Palace

22. Immerse yourself in the unique and ancient vibe of Bukchon's traditional houses

23. Seoul's Monuments of Transformation at Gwanghwamun Plaza and Cheongyecheon Stream

24. EAT: Enjoy Streetfood in bustling Myeongdong

Day 5: For the Vibrant Seoul

25. It's more than just Winter Sonata, enjoy nature with bliss at Nami Island

26. EAT: Take a sip of coffee, chew on Heoteok while smoke blows out from your mouth

27. Feel young and energetic like never before at Hongdae

28. EAT: Afternoon coffee time while watching street dance performance at Coffee Brown

29. Shop like there's no tomorrow at Myeongdong

Day 6: Ever Fun

30. Enjoy roller coasters while you are young at Everland

31. Get up close and personal with beautiful beasts at Safari (Everland)

32. Be Enchanted by the Christmas Illumination (Everland)

33. Futuristic world at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul.  

The filming set of "You who came from the Stars" 

34. Last minute shopping at Lotte Mart till midnight!

WHICH.....I DON'T HAVE ANY PHOTO OF IT lollllll

was too focused on shopping and totally forgot to take a photo of Lotte Mart at Seoul Station. It's one of the big hypermarkets where it opens till midnight. You'll see many tourist over there.

Personally think the only thing that was cheaper compare to here was Peppero and the Dokbokki Chips. Other snacks like the Market-O and Crown Biscuits are pretty much the same if not more expensive.

But I must say, the chilled beverage section was like wonderland for me!! So many types of coffee omggggg

If they didn't have to be chilled I would have bought one whole bag to Taiwan haha

Now time for the favorites, here's some of the things that I really enjoyed while I was in Korea:

1. Hallasan Eoseungsangak Hiking Trail. Hands down the most memorable experience. It was my first snowland experience (though I'd seen snow for the first time in Seoul on Day 2). I thought snowland was just about the visuals but damn it was about the feeling, cold winds, snowflakes, the sinking feeling when your foot steps on the soft and powdery snow, the moments when snow turns into water on your palm, the weird feeling of breathing out smoke while you speak..... these were all first times for me.

2. Hongdae. I don't know why, but I just love that place. It's really young and energetic and makes me feel proud of being a 20s. I swear I will go there again before I'm 28, spend at least half a day there next time, with pocketful of cash to shop haha.

3. Everland. Not to say I will visit there again, but I really think the experience was super worth it. We paid for a ticket price that is slightly less than USS's ticket price but the theme park was really huge and the visuals were overwhelmingly delightful. It's like a storybook to me. Not to forget the huge area of mesmerizing Christmas Illumination. The Safari was also something cool as well.

4. Gyeongbukgong and Bukchon. Just deeply fell for the unique Korean culture where you can't find else where in the world. In fact this area of traditional buildings are surrounded by all the modern sky scrapers. Stand at Gwanghwamun gate and you instantly sense a strong aura of the nation's proud identity and unparalleled prosperity.

Anyhow, Korea was really awesome to me despite me complaining about the prices most of the time. It was still a memorable and fun trip. The people!! I'm lucky to have met lots of nice people especially during our trip in Jeju Island. Koreans are really friendly to tourists! In fact I guess Koreans love traveling in their own country as well, which is probably why they love sharing their experiences to us. Our roomies in Jeju were super nice and friendly, and the strangers we met at Hallasan were super helpful and people will just say Hi to each other while you meet on the hiking trail (Though I'm quite sure they said Hi to us because Shiyien looked like a local haha). To the unni from our guest house and the family who offered to give us a ride to Jeju downtown, thankiuuuu so much! You guys really made my day!

well now that I'm back to SG, I do try to be kind to others, especially tourists but for some reason it's just hard coz you remember the many times where people just ignored your kind act. That's the sad truth over here, people are getting afraid to be kind now, including me. Well I guess you just have to be brave and step out of your comfort zone, don't be afraid of people's reaction but remember the meaning of your kindness :D

Lastly, I'm grateful to have a travel pal who is super tolerant of me and let me decide everything haha on the other hand she's good with keeping track of details as well. I really liked how we just do whatever we feel like doing. Thanks again dear!

CarmenXTW: Beautiful Alishan Forest Park 阿里山森林公园

Hey all, sorry for the wait. Just got back from another weekend trip and I'm kinda exhausted. Will tell you why soon haha. Anyways just gonna quickly share loads of photos from Alishan's trip. 

Continuing from the previous Chiayi post, the main agenda of our weekend escape was to visit the Alishan National Scenic Area 阿里山森林游乐区! I bet many of you knew that this is one of the must-go places in Taiwan! Wasn't sure what to expect at first, because it seems that the best time to visit Alishan is during spring time where the cherry blossoms blooms. Thought it wouldn't be that nice, "It's just a forest afterall, Malaysia oso got a lot laaaaa" But I was wrong. Love the weather, the beautiful sights of nature especially the super tall trees with dark green leaves that looks like a carpet over my head. Loving the peaceful and calm atmosphere. It's autumn, so there were sights of red, orange and brown tones... My camera memory was occupied at full speed haha...

Since we were staying in Chiayi City, we took the Alishan Shuttle Bus at Chiayi Train Station. 

Crazy enough, we took the 6am bus to maximize our time at Alishan.

The whole journey took around 2.5 hours!! So do check the bus schedules or else you will end up reaching only at 12pm and had to go back by 5pm. 

Anyways the journey was kinda amazing, I didn't expect 70% of the journey was on the mountain roads! Enjoyed the foggy and dream-like view haha  

Can't forget the moment I stepped down the bus, instantly feeling the cooling stream of air around, and the sun was shining brightly. Such a comfortable weather! 

The bus stopped at the tourism center, where you can find many souvenir shops and local products.

From the visitor center, we went up for our first stop. One thing I love about this scenic area, is that there's a clear route for tourists to walk along and enjoy the attractions. So you don't really need to plan on where to go or worry about getting lost, just follow the road signs or the walking path.

1. Alishan Train Station 阿里山车站

Alishan consist of several areas connected by a railway system and Alishan Train Station is one of the main stations. Each station has a different architecture and this one being the main station has a more majestic structure, spanning 3 floors, very rustic.

2. Alishan House 阿里山宾馆

Situated on a small hill, it's a beautiful hotel with an awesome patio in front. The patio has many cherry blossom trees and I can totally imagine how beautiful it will be during spring. Despite being a hotel, they actually welcome non hotel guests to visit. There's a coffee bar at the patio, wished I was enjoying a warm latte while overlooking the beautiful mountains in front.

Check out the red cherry blossom leaves. It's my first time seeing autumn hues!

3. 沼平公园 Zhao Ping Park

Up the slope from Alishan House, ZhaoPing Park was an open area with various trees surrounding. There's actually an elevated walking path that allows you to enjoy the scenery of ZhaoPing Park at higher position but I thought it's the wrong road and skipped that instead haha...

Anyways manage to catch sight of an incoming train!

One of my favorite photos

Green and reds 

If it's srping it would be green and pink (cherry blossoms!)

The railway just makes a good photo

4. 沼平车站 ZhaoPing Station

Just a few steps away from ZhaoPing park, the Zhao Ping Station is another beautiful train station with lots of cherry blossom trees surrounding it! Do explore around the area and take in the beautiful scenery of mountains and clouds ahead!

Gorgeous don't you think?

It was really foggy and the whole area looked so mystical!

5. 姐妹潭 Sisters Pond 

After Zhaoping station, it's the journey in the woods! Really love all the densely packed trees surrounding me while allowing flares of sunlight to shine down on me. Take a deep breath and let the oxygen fill your lungs. 

It didn't take long to reach Sisters Pond. 

Thought of twilight when I see all the straight and thin trees. 

You get to see trees in many different shapes as well. 

Sisters lake actually consist of two separate lakes. The first that came into sight was the "younger sister" pond 妹潭 which is smaller and looks more....gloomy...

Probably because of the light green trees around that created a canopy above the lake, with minimal sunlight going through. With the fog, it looked like a place for Chinese Ancient Kungfu Drama Series.

Just a few steps away, the Elder Sister Pond was a larger lake with dense trees surrounding it. The water was a shade of emerald and this too, looked like a place for those Chinese Ancient drama's people to sword-fight while flying around with 轻功!

6. 永结同心 Heart Tree

well unlucky for us, the heart was broken :(

The trees were suppose to be connected in a heart shape but I guess some wind or storm broke the branches.

7. 受镇宫 ShouZhen Temple

There's a block of shops opposite of the temple which sells souvenirs and food. We reached around lunch time and had the nation's popular packed lunchbox 便当!

爌肉便当 Braised Pork Lunchbox TWD100

Abit pricey but it's really a hearty meal with all the side dishes of veggies, tofu and egg. 

Of course there will be a temple in Alishan. Many visitors have prayed for good luck at this majestic Taoist temple on the hills!

A mystical lake right next to the temple. 

8. Giant Trees Boardwalk Trail 巨木群栈道 

Next we started a jungle trail of exploring the thousand years old trees. Once again, just immerse yourself in the oxygen rich jungle and snap your head up to see all the super tall trees. 

The famous no.28 Giant Tree  (28号巨木)

Think it's small? compare it with the tree next to it, the one next to it looks like chopsticks!

9. 神怡桥 Shenyi Bridge

An ancient bridge across a stream with lots of fog over. Mystical and dream-like.

10. 神木车站 Sacred Tree Station

Another out of this world place haha... It was super foggy and this wooden structured station looks like a mysterious station with trains that will take you to somewhere magical.

11. 慈云寺 CiYun Temple

Another temple and this is above the clouds. It's a hike up to this temple and when the moment I saw the temple, it did felt like I was some kid trying to go to Shaolin Temple to learn kungfu haha

The temple looks vry peaceful and undisturbed.

12. Alishan Museum 阿里山博物馆

Just a short distance from CihYun temple, there's a small museum that showcases the history and functions of Alishan. It's a place to learn about Alishan's development and it's importance to Taiwan. 

Mini figures that tells the story of Alishan's development. 

More giant trees and sights around: 

13. 千年桧木 Thousand Year Cypress

14. 三代木 Three Generation Tree

A tree on a tree on a tree. 

15. 象头木 Elephant Tree

Well my photo can't really show how it looks like. It does look like an elephant head on the front!

16. 香林拱桥 Scented Wood Bridge

And that's pretty much for Alishan, I took loads of photos, wished I could share them all!

It's really pretty over there and I really enjoyed all the walks and sights. Will miss the autumn colors of cherry blossoms, the rustic railway stations, the fairy-tale like woods and the serene surroundings. But I guess the best time to visit would be spring, where the cherry blossoms and magnolia will be in full bloom! Well, that's a good reason to visit again! :D

[Some tips]

Transport: We reached Alishan around 9.30am in the morning and finished the trail around 3pm. Well there were some attractions that we missed so I guess you will need more time (especially if you love taking photos haha) so take the earlier bus or leave with the latest bus.  

The one-way tickets cost TWD236. You can buy the bus tickets at Chiayi Train Station Ticket Booth.

Food: Suggest you to have breakfast first before starting the trail because we end up getting super hungry by 10am even though we had our breakfast at 6am . You may grab some food at the tourist center. There's 7-11 and some restaurants.

Have your lunch at the Shouzhen Temple area, many snacks and of course the famous lunchbox.

Sights: Personally think the railway stations are super beautiful and you have to visit them!