Month: December 2013

Bangkok Day 3 (20 Dec 09) – The Township of Death: Kanchanaburi and Riding the Death Railway over River Kwai

/ kktong76 / 1 Comment

The day that went wrong. Well initially wanted to head to Ayutthaya, overslept and as a result missed the first 2 trains to Ayutthaya. So I changed the plan and head towards Kanchanaburi instead. Before embarking on the trip, things had already gone wrong. First thing on the list was the cab (no choice the bus station is so far that the only way to get there is by cab), the cabby told me he was rather new on the job and he drove me to a service terminal instead of the passenger terminal. However, he was nice enough to charge me less for the boo-boo and ensured that I get on the right bus headed for Kanchanburi. The bus then drove to the right station and again there was a wait. This is the 2nd thing that had gone wrong; this wait had resulted in me missing the Death Railway train. The journey to Kanchanaburi takes about 2 hours, but the time the waiting at the bus terminal commenced it was already 9 am and the death railway leaves at 10.30 am, while the next train leaves at 4.30 pm and there wun be any train back. I thought to myself “since I am already on the bus, just head out and see what can be done about the situation”.

So the bus headed out for Kanchanburi. Upon arrival, it was already 12.30 pm. I headed for the Tourism Authority of Thailand office. The lady there said I can still take the death railway on the return leg. I was thrilled to know about that! She advised me to leave Kanchanaburi latest by 2 pm to make it for the 3.15 pm return leg. Taking her word for it, and I did not bother to read the timetable she gave me. Anyhoo will come back to this later. So in the meantime, I got some time to kill, so I decided to head towards the JEATH museum.

Streets of Kanchanaburi
Streets of Kanchanaburi
Streets of Kanchanaburi

JEATH Museum is an open-air museum that was established to collect various items linked to the construction of the death railway. It showed case the sufferings that the POWs went through during the construction. The first thing that caught my eye was this bamboo hut. It stored various photos, drawings and news clippings of the constructions and the POW. By the way, if you are asking what in the world is JEATH, it simply stands for” Japan, England, Australia, Thailand and Holland”. These countries were involved in the death railway project. Anyway back to the hut, as I read further, the hut was the living quarters for these POWs, everyone was given only a small space to sleep. These men were practically packed like sardines. The museum also displayed a bomb that was dropped over River Kwai (seem like River Kwai is the life of Kanchanaburi, pretty much like Chao Praya to Bangkok). Outside the hut, part of River Kwai can be visible. This museum right next to a Chinese temple that worshipped Guan Ying. This gave me the thought that Kanchanaburi was predominantly Chinese. As I headed towards my next destination, the war cemetery, it became very clear that there is a heavy presence of the Chinese community in Kanchanburi.

View of River Kwai behind the JEATH Museum
View of River Kwai behind the JEATH Museum
Inside the JEATH Museum

As I was walking towards the War Cemetery, I came by my next thing on my to-do list for this trip that is to eat on the roadside store. I walked past this lady and her assistant selling noodles just beneath a tree. Well since it is lunchtime, might as well catch lunch there. The noodle prepared was simple, by tasty. As I added quite a bit of chilli flakes (that was provided), the spiciness of the soup gave the noodles extra tastiness. Din take long for me to finish the noodles (and the soup of course), I headed towards the cemetery. As I was walking past what seemed like the Chinatown of Kanchanburi, it seemed that I was transported back in time in the 60s/70s period in Singapore! Everything was so retro and life was really simple for the locals. One can see pre-teen children riding around on their motorbikes with perhaps 2 other passengers and no helmet on!

The delicious soup noodles by the roadside
This is where I bought the soup noodles

After around 30 mins of walking, I reached the War Cemetery. It seems like the one we have in Singapore, but of a smaller scale. This cemetery has a total of 6982 POWs buried in it. These men died during WWII while building the death railway. It seems like death is the main theme in Kanchanaburi and the whole town was there to remember these men who gave their lives in the construction of the railway! I took the advice of the lady in the TAT office and started to wait for the bus heading for Sai Yok Noi train station to catch my death railway ride back to Kanchanaburi. This is where one thing led to another series of event that went wrong for me today. As I was waiting for the bus (which never seemed to come), I realised that the bus took 1½ hour to reach Sai Yok Noi! Given the bus departed every half-hourly (assuming that it left at 2 pm), by the time I reached where I wanted to go I would be late for the train ride. As I was looking for a cab to take me there, a local turned up in his tuk-tuk. He proposed to bring me to this place called Tham KraSae Cave, where I will still be in time to catch the last train back to Kanchanaburi. I guess this was the only logical way to do it and I went on with it!

Gate near the war memorial
Inside the War Memorial
Inside the War Memorial
Inside the War Memorial
Train Museum

The ride to Tham KraSae Cave took around 1 hour 15 mins. By the time I reached there all, I can do there was go into the cave and see the Buddha statue in the cave and walk part of the death railway by foot! I remember reading somewhere one of the things to experience was to walk on this stretch of the railway, as this is the stretch that killed the most people in the construction! As I was walking on the railway I can see on the right, River Kwai! On the other side of the riverbank, there are raft houses for tourist to stay in (these people dig into the tourists pocket deep). However it was interesting to see people jumping into the river for fun (note: the river was #1 really dirty if; you were to take a closer look; #2 the current was really strong), thought interesting I thought these people are really stupid for jumping into the river! After waiting for 30 mins, the train finally arrived! The seats on the train were made of wood and 2 benches were facing each other. There were a couple of Argentines and an Israeli sitting together with me during this train ride. Thanks to them, I got a free ride!! The train conductor must be thinking I was part of the tour guide (locals get to ride the train for free), and he din bother collecting my fare from me… so I act blur like what most Singaporeans would do.

On my way to Tham KraSae Cave
Some shops at Tham KraSae
Overlooking River Kwai at Tham KraSae
Part of the Death Railway
View of River Kwai
View of River Kwai from the Death Railway
View of the Death Railway
View of River Kwai and water lodges for tourists
View of the Death Railway and the cliffs
Tham KraSae Cave Shrine
View of the railway from inside the cave
Tham KraSae Railway Station
Train pulling into the station
View of River Kwai

As the train pulled from the station, going pass the cliff that the railway was built on slowly, the views were amazing. However much to my disappointment, it was a short stretch of the rail. So the Argentines and the Israeli left with their tour group a few stations after we embarked. It seemed that that short stretch was the highlight of the train ride, and the rest was monotonous. True enough the rest of the ride was pretty much farms, mountains etc. Nonetheless, my next stop was at Bridge at River Kwai so I continued the train ride towards the station. After about 2 hours of a bumpy ride, I finally reached Bridge at River Kwai.

Riding on the Death railway
View of River Kwai from the Death Railway
The scenery on the Death Railway
The scenery on the Death Railway
Inside the train
Me on the Death Railway
The scenery on the Death Railway
The scenery on the Death Railway
The scenery on the Death Railway
The scenery on the Death Railway
The scenery on the Death Railway
The scenery on the Death Railway
Crossing River Kwai
Crossing River Kwai
Crossing River Kwai
View of the railway bridge
View on the Railway Bridge
View on the Railway Bridge
View on the Railway Bridge
View of the Railway bridge

The bridge over River Kwai was part of a strategic railway route to Myanmar in which the Japs aimed to secure supplies to aid them in their conquer of the other western Asian countries. History was it that part of the bridge was damaged by allied plane attacks in 1944 and 1945. However several arches of the iron bridge stood undamaged. The bridge was repaired after WWII and is usually opened for people to get across the river and of course, it became one of the tourist attraction. On either side of the bridge, there is a small platform for bridge users to stand on in the event a train is trespassing the bridge. It is quite interesting to see tourists, locals seeking temporary shelter on the platform when the train was crossing the bridge. I was lucky that I was in time for sunset when I reached River Kwai. The view was beautiful and tranquil, it had seemed that things fell back to where it was (and even better, as I did not expect to see the sunset at over River Kwai). Not too bad a day after all!! The area around the train station at Bridge over River Kwai was rather touristy. Huge hordes of tourists flocked there just to see the bridge during sunset timing. So I decided to leave this place and head for the bus terminal for my return journey to Bangkok (all that I wanted to do was accomplished so no point staying around). So I walked to find a Song Theaw that would take me to the bus station (was a long distance if I were to walk).

Upon arriving at the bus terminal, I walked past this area that seemed to be a place for the locals to eat other (just by the road outside the bus terminal). As I walked past 2 of the 4 stores there, there was this store that sold something like our Hao Jian. I ordered a plate and decided to try it (the other store I walked past sold what looked like satay to me). Waited for around 5 mins for my food to arrive. It was tasty! Goes very well with the chilli sauce that was provided. The food was crispy (even the oysters tasted crispy), topped with semi-cooked bean sprout! Not too bad did 2 roadside eateries in 1 day. After eating I walked to the bus terminal (was around 7 pm already), I got to know from the staff there that the next bus would be the last bus at 8 pm. As the bus does not leave from the terminal, they directed me to go “outside” to take the bus. As I was walking I saw this tentage with the words “To Bangkok”, so I inquired about the ride. It turns out that the van’s destination was at Victory Monument, next to it was a BTS station which I can ride back to the hotel. I thought this would be a better deal as I dun have to take a cab back to the hotel. Boarded the van and made it back to Bangkok within 1½ hour. Took the BTS back and had a sudden craving for Starbucks coffee so I headed to Siam Paragon to get 1. As I was there on the B1 level, it struck me that this looked exactly like Singapore! Lots of eateries, a huge supermarket, and it even has a breadtalk/toast box selling nasi lemak!

Well, the day went past starting with things that went wrong, one leading to another like a domino effect. I realised that it may not be a bad thing after all. Things would straighten itself out and I had achieved what I started to achieve! Of course, that takes a bit of making things happen and not just let things be. I guess this is what we should do in life! Things go wrong (and they DO go wrong), instead of whining perhaps we should do something about it rather than allowing it to deteriorate. Well, tomorrow is another day, hope I can wake up in time for the train to Ayutthaya……

Bangkok Day 2 (19 Dec 09) – The Wats, Transports and Shopping Malls

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Wat (temple) time! My first destination was Wat Pho. To get there from the hotel, I had to take the BTS and then changed to Chao Praya River Boat. Hopped onto the wrong BTS and end up having to return to the station I boarded to the BTS and changed to the right one (Remember Siam was THE interchange for BTS). What stroked me when I saw the locals taking BTS, the ALWAYS queue up and ALWAYS let people alight first. They also automatically go into the centre and not blocked at the door! The BTS and their MRT have different tickets, and there is no such thing as a rebate for the Thai transport system. Their buses are still using the conventional conductor system. I guess this is a must given the traffic situation in Bangkok.

Waiting for BTS
Locals Queuing patiently for the BTS
Cruising down Chao Phraya River
Seem like full load today
Traditional Thai longboat
Sights along Chao Phraya River
Sights along Chao Phraya River
Sights along Chao Phraya River
Famous Wat Arun

Anyways getting back to my journey to Wat Pho, upon arriving at the pier, took the boat (only cost 13 baht). Got to my destination. Wat Pho is where the reclining Buddha resides. This temple is the oldest in Krung Thep, even older than the city itself! When I read about this, I had to visit it. The Buddha was indeed HUGE, occupying the whole of the main hall in the temple. The sole of the Buddha had some pictorials on it, and it was made of this thing they called “Mother of Pearls”. On the other side of the Buddha (it’s back) there was this lady preparing coins (not compulsory). Since I am already here, might as well do some good Karma (if there is any left in me). Gotten one of the buckets and started to distribute on the bowls by the window. Was quite fun though.

The entrance of Wat Phao
Inside Wat Phao
Inside Wat Phao
The largest reclining Buddha in Thailand
The largest reclining Buddha in Thailand
His sole is decorated with Mother of Pearl
Donation bowl for well-wishers
Inside Wat Phao grounds
Inside Wat Phao grounds

After I left the temple, just outside it only, met a local telling me that the Grand Palace is close until 1 pm (my next destination). So he suggested me to hop onto one of the tuk-tuks outside the temple, which will bring me to this “lucky Buddha, Golden mount” place. Then it stroke me that something I read from the guide books (well it pays to do some homework and read a lot before you embarked on a journey) – if anyone approaches you and say something is closed, it is most likely a scam trying to get tourists to board the tuk-tuks! Once you fall into the trap there is no return! So I rejected the guy and headed for Grand Palace anyways. As accurate the guide book was, the Grand Palace was not closed.

The Grand Palace – a place I always din managed to visit despite me having come to Bangkok for the past 4 times. The Palace covers a total of 218,000 sq metres and is surrounded by 4 walls. This is the place that housed not only the royalties (in the past), and also the site of some administrative offices. The palace was roughly divided into 9 segments. The palace was huge, there are some areas which opened for visitors visit, there are also some parts which can only be accessed by the royalties. The whole palace just felt like a touristy place, maybe partially due to the massive influx of tourists! However, there are a few museums within the palace itself. There are 2 weapon museums, showcasing the weapons both sword and guns used by the Thais. There is also a coin and decoration museum, displaying the crowns, badges, and some royalty utensils and of course the royal swords. There is also a museum that displayed parts of the constructions of the palace and how it was built. I guess the most import part of the palace is not where the throne of the king is, but where the emerald Buddha is! The way this Buddha was discovered was out of this world. Legend has it that a monk accidentally saw the plaster on the Buddha’s nose flaked off, thus revealing the emerald Buddha in 1434. This has sparked the whole country at that time to chip off the plasters of all the Buddhas in the hope to find more treasured images. This Buddha was believed to be the treasure of Thailand, so much so that every change of season, the king must redress the Buddha personally! After browsing through several museums within the palace, I was wanting to get out of it… man I was lost for a moment. Finally found the exit and I headed to the bus stop to my next destination – Golden Mount.

Statue of Thai Buddha in The Grand Palace
Vibrant architecture in the Grand Palace
Local Students listening attentively to the monk
The scene outside the Grand Palace
Buildings inside the Grand Palace
Vibrant architecture in the Grand Palace
These temples are dressed in bring red, gold colours
Simply love the Thai architecture
This temple reminds me of Ang Kor Wat in Cambodia
Thai Temple from another angle
The building in The Grand Palace where the famous Emerald Buddha is housed in
Glittering Thai temples in the Grand Palace
Very vibrant architecture
Reminds me of Disneyland
Government building in the Grand Palace

Well wanting to take a bus was on my to-do list this time around. Boarded the bus 44, and was on my way to my next destination. The conductor on the bus reminded me of the days when we have conductors on buses in Singapore. This conductor was very helpful, she reminded passengers who asked her about the route to alight the bus at the appropriate bus stop. The afternoon was hot and the aircon was barely helping. When the conductor saw the aircon was not directly blowing me, she adjusted the blower for me. How nice! Something I felt was lost in our buses back at home. Finally, after the jams through the roads, I reached Golden Mount. Golden Mount was boasted as the tallest temple in Krung Thep. From the temple, one can see as far as Wat Arun and Grand Palace! Was breezy up at the Golden Mount and the view was magnificent. However, it was best visited at night where the lights lite up the temple to give it a different personality. Well, where got time to come back at night man….. so pass….. originally I wanted to visit one of the other temples that are just right across the street…. But laziness caught up to me, and I thought I have enough of wats for the day. So I decided to head back to the hotel, relax a bit (the afternoon was rather sunny, thought of going for a swim).

Fortress looking building nearby Golden Mount Temple
View of Golden Mount temple from its base
These bells can be seen on the way up
View of the surroundings inside Golden Mount Temple
View of the surroundings inside Golden Mount Temple
View of the surroundings inside Golden Mount Temple
Stairways leading up to the temple

What best way and faster way to get back to downtown Bangkok then to take a ride on one of the Khlongs. Spoke to one of the locals and she advised me against it, as the long-gaos are smelly and she also said the ride is uncomfortable. Well decided to go against her advice anyways, it was an interesting ride. The ride takes about 15 mins to reach my destination (could have taken much much more if I go via bus). At some parts of the long-gao, where the bridge was too low for the canopy of the boat, the khlong conductors will lower the canopy slightly to pass under these bridges, what an interesting and refreshing sight! After alighting the khlong (in fact I am glad I took the khlong ride), I headed back to siam square again. This time round there seem to be more things to see then when I visited it yesterday! I realised that Siam square is a place where you have to go to the ulu places to discover things to buy, as most of the stuff is hidden away from the main road and rather out of sight too. Got me some t-shirts and in all only cost me 1100 bahts (around SGD45). Look at the time, almost evening and the sun is almost setting, so I decided to head back to the hotel (right around the corner anyway). I passed by some hair salons, so I decided to get my hair cut (mine was a bit long anyway). Got a good haircut with hair wash for only 350 baht (around SGD14), something like that would cost at least SGD30! The lady washing my hair even gave me a good massage (Seriously that got rid of the stiff neck I have been having for the past few days). Anyway back to the hotel, wanted to go for a swim but looking at the time, almost time for dinner. Went to eat some pad thai around the corner, and headed for Suan Lam, my next destination.

Riding the Khlong
A very old movie theatre
Walking around Siam Square (again)
Siam Square is where lots of Thai youngsters hang out
Sunset from the deck of my room
Christmas is in the air at Siam Paragon 
Christmas is in the air at Siam Paragon
Christmas is in the air at Siam Paragon
Siam Paragon
Siam BTS interchange station

Getting to Suam Lam was a breeze with the BTS and MRT. Every time I was on their trains, it never fails to impress me with the ethics the Thais was taught since young I guess, they never complained if they din know when the train was coming, they queued orderly at while waiting to board the train, and they did not complain even though they have to pass by metal detectors at every MRT station. I guess this is where we see the “Jai yen” (cool heartedness) of the locals. Got to Suam Lam, din last me more than 30 mins. The whole place was “meh”…… nothing much to see, seemed like they have the stuff elsewhere in Siam square as well. Frankly, it was boring as hell, but a word of advise if u wanna visit it, to get the best bargains to go at around 6.30 pm local time. This timing is significant as the shops just opened for business, and the Thais believed that they have to make the first deal for the day if not they would not have a business throughout the day. So they would normally sell at rock bottom prices if you happened to be their first customer. They might even go at cost price and at the time even rather make a lost to uphold this belief than to let a customer go. After paying the shop keepers, you can see they will use the money you paid them and tapped all over their shop, as they believed this will bring them more business for the day (and in this case, night). Headed back to the hotel and rest for the night after Suam Lam.. tomorrow gotta wake up early to catch the first train out of Grung Thep towards Ayutthaya……

Soaking in the Christmas atmosphere around Siam
Soaking in the Christmas atmosphere around Siam
Suan Lum Night market
Suan Lum Night market
Suan Lum Night market
The MRT Station near Suan Lum Night market
Inside the MRT

Bangkok Day 1 (18 Dec 09) – Hello City of Angels

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To most of us, Bangkok isn’t a road less travelled it is a road most travelled by any Singaporeans. Some come here for shopping, some come here for the massage, while others visit this city for sanook. Most of us known Bangkok as the name “Bangkok”. To the Thais, Bangkok is known as “Krung Thep”. This is already the short form for the city that most Thais come to look for opportunities. The name “Grung Thep” simply means City of Angels. It is a name bestowed by King Rama I in 1782 when he shifted the capital of the country from Ayutthaya to the present Bangkok. The last time I came to Grung Thep is in 2003, a good 5 years. One of the distinctive change is the place of landing. The new Airport is impressive. It is very very big, despite its sheer size, the immigration procedure remains a nightmare. Perhaps is the number of people that arrived here when my flight landed, plus the worldwide school holiday, there are tons and tons of people who came to Grung Thep in search for a cheaper yet modern holiday destination. The moment I hit the city itself, things became familiar. MBK is still where it is, still flowing with heaps of people day in and day out. The only thing that I vaguely remember is where I put up during my stay in Krung Thep.

Well upon touching down, my first destination is, of course, the place where I will be staying. (Gotta dump my barang-barangs somewhere before I walk around right?). At the check-in counter, as I waited for my roomed to be processed, I had requested to be given a high floor room. I read from the net a mixed comment on this hotel. Some loved it, yet others only love its location and not the actual room. The moment the room was assigned to me (15th floor), I thought to myself: “damn it, it is not as high as I would want”. But I guess the hotel is rather full, so I accepted the room anyways. As I entered the lift on my way up to my room, I realise the 15th floor is one of the higher floors! The hotel only has 18 floors in total. So I thought to myself again: “Oh well, would be too bad anyways”. As I walked towards my room, I realised that it is a corner room! What surprised me most is the fact that the room came with a private sundeck or a huge huge balcony! This hotel only has 8 of these rooms, and to be assigned to this room I must be damn lucky. I am also pleased to know that this room has free internet access, and the room is huge! It even has a couch inside the room and there is plentiful space to even cramp 5 adults in this room! (Well I dun think 5 adults in this room, we would feel cramp anyways. The most some of these people can sleep under the stars.) I practically got 2 rooms for the price of 1. The sundeck is so huge that it is about the size of another room! I was so excited about this room that I simply must tell my siblings about it! I called my sis immediately to tell them how wonderful this room is. I took the opportunity to photograph Siam Square from my sundeck. The view in my room was so good that one can see the whole of Siam Square, Siam BTS and partial Siam Centre. Talking about this room, the bathroom was decent, but it came with “test-tubes” of toiletries.

My corner room in Novotel Siam Square
A generous deck outside the room
View of Siam Square from the deck
Bathroom

Okay, enough of the room. Time for me to walk around the area. Since my next program wun start till 6 pm, I went orientate myself around. First stop was Siam Square of course. The last time I came to Siam Square, I do not remember it being lively, with tons of young Thais coming to look for the latest and the hippest in Farang fashion. As I had time to walk around and explore this familiar, yet foreign place, I began to realise Siam Square and the nearby Siam shopping region bears similarity to our Orchard Road! Day-in-Day-out there are tons of people walking around in Siam Square. Perhaps this is attributed to it being the only interchange station for the BTS (something like our MRT, but it is built above ground). Siam Square is not exactly a Square that one would have imagined it. It is merely an area, where a lot of young Thais hang out. Partially is the fact that it is just next to Chulalongkorn University, and partially it has a few big shopping malls that were built around this area. From MBK to Siam Centre, to Siam world to Siam Paragon. This area is rather lively especially this holiday season where the foreigners come for holiday, and the locals coming to this young and trendy place to find the latest in fashion, watch the latest movies, and to meet their friends for a dinner or to shop. The liveliness of this place is not much worst than our favourite Orchard Road. The Xmas lighting is as impressive if not more impressive then Orchard Road. I popped into Siam Paragon just to kill time before my next schedule was due. As I was trying to kill time (which I completely forgot that I told myself I needed to go Erawan Shire to pay respects to the 4-faced Buddha), I stomped across the aquarium beneath Siam Paragon. Well, the time needed to be killed so I thought to myself “Might as well see some fishes here”. I know it sounded kinda stupid and pointless since all aquariums around the world are similar. “Oh the hell with it, just go!” This was what I thought. Upon entrance to the aquarium, well this aquarium is kinda different from those I have been to thus far. This Aquarium has glass-bottom boat ride, Free popcorn and Pepsi (I know it sounds kinda out of the place to give visitors popcorn), and this Dr fish thingy (where those skin eating fishes come and eat away your dead skin on your foot). Speaking of the Dr Fish, hhhmmmmm……. those fishes that I submerged my foot into seem kinda full. They are just swimming around and not eating. After around 5 mins, I thought “This is so stupid” and left the Dr Fish. My time was up anyways for my next itinerary on the list.

Walking around Siam Square
Hard Rock Cafe Bangkok
Siam Aquarium in Siam Paragon
Siam Aquarium in Siam Paragon
Siam Aquarium in Siam Paragon
Siam Aquarium in Siam Paragon
Siam Aquarium in Siam Paragon
Siam Aquarium in Siam Paragon
Siam Aquarium in Siam Paragon

After leaving the aquarium, I left for the cultural performance at Siam Niramit. Well, this performance is something. Highly recommended by anyone who has seen the show. The show also boasts a Guinness World Record, where the venue was dubbed as having the highest stage in the world. Before the show, a buffet dinner was included in the price of the tickets. Well speaking of the buffet, it is kinda disappointing. The buffet venue just looks like a canteen! Maybe is due to the massive influx of tourists, and business being business they are merely trying to achieve economies of scale in the feeding of the hungry audience affair. After dinner, there was sometime before the show started. I walked around within the grounds of Siam Niramit. It showcases the different building structures in different regions in the kingdom of Thailand. It also showcases the native food and the skills these differing regions brings and contributed to the culture of Thailand as a whole. After 20 mins of walking, I decided to take a seat early for the show. The show was truly impressive, though some parts are boring. The part I liked the most is where the performers floated in and out up and down on the stage. It was amazing!

Outside Siam Niramit Theater
Thai culture display outside Siam Niramit Theater
Thai culture display outside Siam Niramit Theater
Thai culture display outside Siam Niramit Theater
Thai culture display outside Siam Niramit Theater
Thai culture display outside Siam Niramit Theater

After the show ended, I suddenly remembered I needed to head to Erawan Shrine to pay respects. I read somewhere that Thursdays is the most auspicious day to pay respects (dun ask me why I also dunno). Headed there paid respects to the Buddha, I walked around the area appreciating the Xmas lighting and how the Thais used this holiday season to get-together with their friends, having booze at the “Beer Garden”. Now, this Beer Garden essentially is merely the open space in front of one of the shopping malls. What was truly impressive was 3 beer brewers set up their business in the beer garden. One of them was our local brand Tiger beer. Each vendor has its stage and performances, the mood around the area was truly joyous! Xmas is totally in the air! I looked at the time at this point, and realise it was rather late! Time to head back to my room and rest for the night. After all, there are more to explore tomorrow…..

Christmas Lighting around Siam
Beer Garden in Siam
Beer garden in Siam
Huge Xmas tree
Traffic Jam in Bangkok

Korea Day 7 (09 May 09) – Time Fillers

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This is our last day in Korea, after spending about a week here. In the morning after breakfast, we were driven to the airport for our flight back to Seoul. The flight was uneventful. Upon reaching Seoul some 2 hrs later, our guide gave us some options on how we wanna spend the rest of our time here before we head to the airport. Some of the folks chose Chinatown. So we were driven to the Chinatown. Well nothing much here, as this is the place where the Chinese set up businesses and sell stuff, the usual stuff one would see in any Chinatown around the world. However, we did get a shock here. One of the members in the tour group approached this shop browsing through their merchandise, then came a woman’s voice very loudly and rudely commented in Chinese “Don’t touch if you don’t want to buy”. We were like if we don’t touch and see your products how the hell we know what to buy? Several of the group member (including my auntie) rebutted the comment and told the woman she should just close her shop if she is having a bad day. After that incident, we continue our walk around this area…. really uneventful.

Walking around Chinatown in Seoul
Walking around Chinatown in Seoul
Walking around Chinatown in Seoul
Walking around Chinatown in Seoul
Walking around Chinatown in Seoul

We were then brought to this pier where our bus was driven up a ferry (with us in it). After the driver parked the bus, we got off the bus and went to the upper decks of the ferry. This is the seagull feeding itinerary as stated in our tour package. My auntie bought a packet of fried prawn crackers and started to feed the seagulls, and so did some of the member of the tour group. Upon reaching the other side of the sea, we got on our bus and we were driven to the airport for our flight home.

Seagull feeding onboard the ferry
Crossing the channel towards Seoul
Crossing the channel towards Seoul

This is my first time to Korea, if not for the language barrier (very few Koreans can speak English), I would like to do a free and easy of this country and not subjected to the touristy stuff like being pushed into a ginseng shop listening to them promoting their products and such. Korea is a vast country and gives me the impression that they are very self-sufficient, the locals are also very proud of their heritage through the preservation of some of these palaces, and also we saw locals visiting these palaces. I might return to Korea one of these days to travel a bit more on this place, but this time round not in a tour group.

The bird that is gonna take us home
Korea art and craft in the airport
After the immigration area in Incheon Airport
Last-minute shopping in the airport
Ready to take off
Last glimpse of Korea
Last glimpse of Korea
Last glimpse of Korea
Food onboard Asiana Airlines
 

Korea Day 6 (08 May 09) – Jeju Island

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Our first stop of the day is a visit to Yongduam. This is a lava rock formation that resembles the head of a dragon. At first, I was looking at the rock and couldn’t seem to see any dragon head. This is when my auntie described to me and suddenly I was like there it is..all along it is in front of me. Took some imagination to see it through. As we were walking around this area, we spotted some middle-aged women selling some seafood. Our guide told us that these were the famed divers in Jeju, these women would dive underwater without an oxygen tank and pick seafood like clams, abalone, sea urchins, seaweeds. Walking along the rugged coast, I was looking out into the sea. This place is very peaceful (more so if not for the tourists I guess). Listening to the waves hitting the rocks, the sea breeze gently blowing, it is a very relaxing moment. Around the corner we were shown a statue of a mermaid, no idea why this was here… my guess is to commemorate the female divers who worked like mermaids when they dive to gather the seafood.

Cute signage for toilet
Me with the guardians on Jeju Island
It says “Dragon Head Rock”
The coastline on Jeju Island
Dragon Head Rock (Well doesn’t look like one from this angel)
Looks more like a dragon head from this angel (use some imagination)
Effects of Volcanic activity
Dragon Head Rock close up
Mermaid Statue

Our next stop was breathe taking, we were driven to the eastern part of the island to visit the Seongsan volcano crater. My first impression of this place was it is full of tourists, but the scenery around it at the base is breathe-taking enough. There was a roll of Guardian statues and some stones that make out to be some calendar system. As we walk up some 500 steps to the top, we were greeted with beautiful scenery even halfway up the peak. I turned around from time to time to snap some pictures of these picturesque surroundings where one can see the emerald coloured sea and an island not too far. We were getting pretty excited by the sights that we saw and expected the peak to be even more breath-taking. Some walk later we found we were right at the top……. well at least to me the scenery was more beautiful on our way up then at the peak. What we saw was a disappointing crater filled with soil and greenery. Maybe our expectation of seeing a volcano crater was over-hyped, or perhaps our impression of a volcanic crater should be red filled with molten lava and not green fill with soil and grass that had led to this disappointment. To me, this is more like a soccer field then a crater. After snapping some “touristy” pictures, we proceeded down to the base and along the way admiring the scenery that surrounds us.

Driving towards Seongsan volcano crater
Seongsan volcano crater
Series of Guardian statues at the crater
World sundial
Picture before the walk towards the crater centre
View of the surroundings
Sundial
Traditional Korea Building Structure
Flower Blooming at the crater
View of the coastline on my way up
View of the coastline on my way up the crater
A great walk up
Halfway there
Nearing the crater centre
View of the crater (the volcano has been dead for centuries)
View of the coastline from the top

Leaving the Seongsan Volcanic crater, we were driving south-westerly to Seong-eup folk village. Here we were shown the traditional homes of the locals in yesteryear. In those days, there is no lock or proper doors. We were told that the locals were so honest that doors were not necessary then. All they had was some logs placed at the entrance of their house. A different number of logs on the gate means different things (can’t remember what the meant). We were shown the tools they used for farming and processing of the harvests as well as a black pig pen! Then we went around snapping pictures of the houses and finally, we were brought to this area which seems like a living room of some sort which we were given the touristy treatment. A lesson on the Jeju honey was given followed by the selling of that product…… sigh….

Traditional Jeju House
Some of the farm animals (more for display for tourists)
A traditional house

Leaving the Seong-eup folk village we drove further west to our next destination -Weodolgae or lonely rock as the locals call it. This coastal rock formation is rather popular with the locals as we could see people picnicking here. This park was made famous by some Korean drama. This rock formation is a result of erosion I guess, however, our guide offered a local version of the rock. It was believed that this old woman was waiting here for her husband to return from fishing but her husband never returned. Hence she turned into this rock to continue waiting for her husband. One can see some human features on this rock, but I did not, guess I am not that imaginative to see all these…. a walk around the area looking into the sea and the crowd enjoying their day out here was rather festive as some locals are playing Korea music and dancing around. By this time my camera is running low on battery, can’t snap a lot of pictures of this place.

The coastal feature is common on the island
The lone rock

Our next stop is a waterfall – Cheonjeyeong waterfall which is due west of the lonely rock. By this time my camera has already run out of battery (damn…) can’t snap pictures of this area. Anyways, the bus stopped at the bus parking area, we were told that we need to do some light walking to the waterfalls. As we were walking through the parks, we can see flowers were blooming (this is the end of spring transiting into summer by the way). What greeted us next was this bridge. The red coloured metal bridge with some white coloured cement sculptures on it. This 128m arc bridge is the Seonimygyo bridge, the white sculptures are nymphs, 7 on each side. After crossing this bridge, a little more trek, we arrived at the waterfalls. Listening to the water hitting the rocks at the base of the fall was therapeutic and relaxing. Little time was given to us to take pictures of this place (well I thought the time given was sufficient as other than the waterfall, there is nothing much here), we headed back towards the bus to our next and final destination of the day.

We arrived at this must-see road on Jeju Island, doubted as the mysterious road, this road is believed to go against the laws of gravity! On the way there our tour guide gave us an account of how this road was discovered. Urban legend has it that there was this cabby, who had to relieve himself while driving along this road. After peeing, when we returned to his car, he found his car on top of the sloppy road. The cabby returned to tell his friends about this road and that is how this road attracted millions and millions of visitors to this road on the island. As we were approaching the road, our tour guide to look at the road ahead. Yup, it did look like it is sloping upwards. Soon the bus driver turned off the engine and what we experienced was the bus moving up the slope! At the top of the slope, the driver reignites the engine and drove us to a car park. This is when we alighted took a bottle of water and see the water flowing upwards. There are a lot of theories explaining this phenomenon we saw, well who cares… this sight just amazes me…. time to head back to town for dinner and some free time.

After dinner it is our free time my auntie, my sis and myself went shopping around the area, to look for local produce. We went to some night market and the famed underground shopping centre that we missed the night before. Did some walking around to digest the food we ate, we then head back to the hotel to do our packing as tomorrow is our last day in Korea.

Flowers on the street 
Flowers in full bloom
Downtown Jeju Island
Downtown Jeju Island
Walking around the night market
Fresh Jeju Orange

Korea Day 5 (07 May 09) – Shopping and more (boring) Shopping

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Time to finally check out of this cramped hotel. We packed our luggage and met at the hotel lobby. The itinerary for today is pretty light as we have to catch an afternoon flight to Jeju Island. Our first stop (after breakfast) was the so-called Woman’s shopping district. This place got its name due to the Woman’s university nearby. My sis was looking forward to good shopping in this area. However, she was disappointed when we arrived here as she commented there was nothing much here. We were given 4 hours for our shopping, but we covered most of the shopping is barely 45 mins. We spent our remaining time in a cafe and walking around like zombies looking at the things repetitively. Indeed the shops here mostly sell the same stuff, the goods are neither unique nor cheaper than elsewhere. Feels like shopping back home. The 4 hrs was a torture, we constantly look at our watches hoping that the time would fast forward. End up we did not buy a lot of things, my sis just bought a pair of earrings, as for me, I bought nothing at all. Roaming around this area we came across some of our tour mates, they were also commenting that this area has nothing to buy and that they too are roaming around aimlessly just to kill time.

Shopping around “Woman’s Street” (got its name due to an all girl’s college in the district)
Shopping around “Woman’s Street”
Shopping around “Woman’s Street”
Shopping around “Woman’s Street”
Shopping around “Woman’s Street”
Shopping around “Woman’s Street”

After some repetitive scenes and spending longer then we would break in Starbucks, we finally killed the 4 hrs that was given to us. We couldn’t be happier to be able to head towards the airport for our flight into Jeju Island. This was originally planned at the beginning of our tour, however, due to strong winds flights to this island was cancelled. The flight from Seoul to Jeju Island took around 2 hrs. The first thing that caught my eye as we came out of the airport terminal is a huge Volcano – Mt Hana. This is a dead volcano, but the sheer size of it just impresses me. We were driven to the hotel to check-in and then to our dinner. After dinner, we were told to go to one of the underground shopping centres near the hotel. By the time we finished our dinner and proceeded to the underground shopping centre, the shops are already closing. We were too tired to even bother about this and went back to the hotel for a night’s rest.

Seoul domestic airport
Getting ready for our flight to Jeju Island
One of the guardian statues on Jeju Island
Seafood hotpot for dinner
Temple across the street where we stayed on Jeju Island

Korea Day 4 (06 May 09) – Downtown Seoul

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We were brought to see several highlights within Seoul this day. After breakfast, we were driven to the Presidential Palace. Upon reaching near the palace grounds, we had to alight and walk up to the palace entrance and we can only see the palace from afar. Opposite the Presidential Palace was the old GyeongBokGung Palace. I find the sights within the GyeongBokGung palace more attractive than the Presidential Palace. Too bad we were not given time to explore around this ancient palace, time was given only to take pictures of the Presidential Palace.

Ancient Door
Ancient Palace Doorway
The Presidential Palace
Presidential Palace
Statue of a phoenix in front of the Presidential Palace
Presidential Palace
The ancient GyeongBokGung Palace
Ancient artwork on the ceiling of GyeongBokGung Palace
Ancient housing opposite the Presidential Palace
Part of GyeongBokGung Palace
Guardhouse of GyeongBokGung Palace

We then proceeded to Deoksugung Palace, a private villa built by one of the princes in 1400. This palace is right smack in the middle of downtown Seoul. We wandered around the reasonably sized villa, seeing several buildings for administration, bedroom for the queen and some more buildings. I find the structure is very close to Chinese palaces, certainly reminded me of the Forbidden City in Beijing. After walking around the palace, snapping some pictures (the tourist thing to do), we were in time to witness the guard changing ceremony. The guards are still wearing their traditional costume, as this palace is now a tourist attraction. The guard changing ceremony is rather manpower intensive and was certainly fun to watch.

The entrance of Deoksugung Palace
The palace is the middle of downtown Seoul
The building structure of one of the buildings in the palace grounds
One of the buildings in the palace grounds
One of the buildings in the palace grounds
This is where the Korean Emperor once sits
Inside the palace grounds
One of the palace buildings
Inside the palace grounds
A wall inside the palace
Inside one of the buildings
This is the entrance to the queen’s bedroom
Inside the queen’s bedroom
The man who invented the Korean script
The well-restored palace roof
Change of guard ceremony
Change of guard ceremony
Change of guard ceremony
Change of guard ceremony
Change of guard ceremony
Change of guard ceremony
Change of guard ceremony
Change of guard ceremony
Change of guard ceremony
Change of guard ceremony
Change of guard ceremony

We then headed for our next destination within the capital city – Namsan Park. This a garden which records Chinese connections in Korea. We were told that there is a general who was so captivated by the Chinese wisdom that he ordered people to haven these words carved into stones and place them at this park. Up in this park, we can see the Seoul Tower. Too bad we were not given time to even visit this tower. This place feels like a rest area for the tour guide, so he can steal some time for a rest. Other then the tower, there is nothing much to see here…..

Seoul Towers in Namsan Park
View of part of the city
Chinese writings in the park
Chinese writings in the park
Chinese writings in the park
Chinese writings in the park

We were then brought to the Casino in Seoul. We were told that people with Korean passport are not allowed entry into the casino. Seemed like a place purely for tourists. Tried my luck in some jackpot machine, and won a bit (Think about 50,000 won). This trip is a waste of time. The tour guide then brought us to the famous canal park. This place was once dirty and smelly and the Korean government decided to do something about it. So they converted the canal into a park! Walking down the pathways alongside the canal was rather unique, it is hard for me to imagine the state of this park before its transformation. Along the pathways, we saw locals strolling, jogging along the canal. We also saw some artists setting up stores trying to sell their paintings.

Canal Park in Seoul
Canal Park in Seoul
Canal Park in Seoul
Canal Park in Seoul
Me at Canal Park in Seoul
Walking along the canal
Canal Park in Seoul
Love how they spruce up this place
Canal Park in Seoul
Canal Park in Seoul
Canal Park in Seoul
Downtown Seoul

As one of our itineraries was cancel (can’t remember what was that), it was replaced by some break dancing show. Since there are still quite sometime before the show, the tour guide brought us to this shopping area and gave us some free time to roam around. We roamed around this place, making use of this opportunity to do the other touristy things – buying of souvenirs. This place is nothing much just heaps of people walking around buying things and selling things. We then headed over to KFC for dinner and met up with the rest of the group for the breakdance show. The show was entertaining and unique. After the show we went back to the hotel for rest, getting ready for Jeju Island the next day.

Downtown Seoul
Downtown Seoul
Downtown Seoul
Downtown Seoul

Korea Day 3 (05 May 09) – The Touristy Bits

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This is a day where we do all the touristy rituals…. by rituals I mean the stuff that the tour guide usually brings tourists to do, like shopping for local products, making kimchi, dressing up in their traditional hanboks and stuff… boring for me and half the time I have no idea where we are. We started the day with a trip to a strawberry farm. We were driven to this strawberry farm where we are allowed to picked and eat strawberries on the spot. However, we were given limits on how many we can bring back along with us, 5! We walked around the strawberry farm looking for the biggest and not so rotten piece of strawberry. As I don’t eat strawberries, I was picking on behalf of my auntie, who loves strawberry. Not a very eventful thing though, I did not quite enjoy this bit….. it felt like a competition of who got the biggest and sweetest looking strawberry.

Strawberries!
Strawberry picking “Competition”

We were then driven to this kimchi factory where we were given  explaination on the process and subsequently given a hands-on in making kimchi. Makes me wonder where do these touristy kimchi go to after each batch of tourist come and get their hands dirty in destroying these vegetables. Our teacher patiently explains and went around to ensure the group did the correct method in kimchi preparations. Well, this is where they sell kimchi to tourists as well. After making the kimchi, came the promotion of their house brand kimchi. We figured since we will be buying anyway, might as well buy from here. After the ordeal of making and buying kimchi, we were led to another building within this kimchi factory, where we were given a chance to don the Hanboks and take some pictures in them…. damn makes me feels like a damn tourist…. reminded me how much I hate to join tour groups.

Our Kimchi making teacher
Explaining to us the ingredients to making Kimchi
My not so appetising Kimchi
In Hanbooks

We were then driven to another ginseng factory where we were given lessons on the different types of ginseng and the values of this Korean ginseng. The most valuable ones will be 5-year ginseng which is insured by Samsung! After the ginseng factory, we were then driven to this place where they sell some herbal medicines…. I did not enjoy this day as it is very touristy…… hoping that they will bring us to someplace nice soon. After the touristy ordeals, we spent the afternoon in a spa called Spa Greenland. This seems to be a popular place with the locals for a spa treatment as it was crowded with locals. There is a rule here that we are not used to, everyone who came here has to don on a cap, if not you will not be allowed into the pool. We rented some caps and started to spa hop, hopping from 1 spa to another with different waters in it. We also did what the tour guide had recommended the cold and hot “sauna” treatment. We were told to go into this hot room and then into this cold room and back into the hot room again. It seemed very popular with the locals and was believed to be good for the skin. We lazed the afternoon in this spa place running around like a kid in a playground.

Lunch Time!!
Very delicious hotpot
Spa Greenland

We were then driven into Seoul and checked into our hotel. Though the location of the hotel is great, the hotel room is miserable! It is very small and the toilet is small as well. It is so small that you are bound to knock onto the basin or the toilet bowl as you shower. We did some minor shopping around the hotel as it is very close to Dongdaemun shopping malls. The shopping malls look more like a consolidation of small shops within a building. There is a small stage or some sort in front of each shopping mall with the youths performing for the general public. Not too sure if there is some competition organised by each shopping malls or what, but I did enjoy the performances.

Driving into downtown Seoul
Downtown Seoul
Downtown Seoul
Korean Ginseng for dinner
Downtown Seoul
Dongdaemun Shopping District
Dongdaemun Shopping District
Live Performances in Dongdaemun Shopping District
Dongdaemun Shopping District

Korea Day 2 (04 May 09) – From the coast to the mountains

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The day started with an American breakfast at the hotel after a great night sleep. After breakfast, we wandered outdoors with whatever little time we have to inhale the very fresh misty air. I don’t even know when was the last time I had inhaled such fresh air, it is like the air fresheners that we found in the supermarket, except that this has less chemical in it. Our first stop for the day was a drive to the coastal market where Koreans staying around here come to purchase their fresh seafood. As we were driven towards our destination, I saw kilometres and kilometres of fences along the bench. Our guide told us there are military patrols along this bench after sunsets to prevent their northern nemesis from invading their land as this bench is very close to North Korea. We were told that there were incidences whereby the North Koreans sent their midget submarines to land along this bench. Such beautiful bench and landscape where I can distinctively see the sea stretching as far as one’s eye can see. This would be a perfect place for sunrise (as this bench is on the east coast of Korea), picturesque if not for the fences.

From the coast to the mountains
Just love the mist
Driving towards the coastal area
Scenic drive along the way
Coastline!
Coastline!

At the Sokcho seafood market, we saw shops and vendors selling their daily catches. Some of these fishes are more common than a minority few that one hardly get to see in the markets. All the fishes that were put up for sale are swimming innocently in their tank, I wonder if they know their days are numbered. There are a few shops where you can choose the fish you want and their cook will marinate on the fish on the spot and send them to dinners for them to BBQ should the dinner choose so.

 Sokcho seafood market

Sokcho Seafood Market
Fresh seafood!
Live Seafood at Sokcho Seafood Market
Live Seafood at Sokcho Seafood Market
Live Seafood at Sokcho Seafood Market

Leaving the Sokcho seafood market, we proceeded inland towards the mountains. We are on our way to one of the oldest temples in Korea at Mt Sorak National Park, but before we reach there, we stopped by a teddy bear museum. This is a place where hundreds and thousands of different teddy bears were put on display. This is a pure touristy place, perhaps I am not a fan of teddy bears therefore I felt this stop was unwarranted for. Oh well, that is what you get when you travel in a tour group.

Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Museum

Luckily for me, the time allocated for this stop was not too long, otherwise, I would be damn bored. Soon we were heading to our next stop, Mt Sorak. As we pass the ticketing office, our tour guide brought us to this bear statue. According to him, whoever touches the paw will have good luck. So as typical tourists, everyone in the group was reaching to touch it. As we were walking towards the temple, I saw some piles of small rocks. Our guide explained that these are stacked by the locals using whatever rock they can find around, the higher you can stack without toppling the “rock tower” over, the more successful you will be. We tried stacking…. not too bad managed to get my tower rather high. As we entered the temple, our guide began to do his job of explaining the temple, the history and the age of the temple. We were given time to wander around the temple. We came to this quiet courtyard (away from most tourists and visitors) for a rest and to appreciate the tranquillity of this place. Standing in the courtyard of the temple looking at Mt Sorak National Park Ranges, appreciating the Korean architecture of the temple, it was great! As time was about up to gather for our next destination (actually not too far), we chanced upon this pool where we saw locals and tourists alike filling up their water bottles with water. We jokingly call this the holy water.

Entrance to Mt Sorak
Mt Sorak National Park
Bear Statue at Mt Sorak
Mountain Range at Mt Sorak National Park
Me at Mt Sorak National Park
Entering Mt Sorak National Park
Buddha Statue at Mt Sorak
Temple at Mt Sorak
Inside the temple grounds
Picturesque temple grounds
Me at temple grounds
Does that stone look like a bear??
Inside the temple grounds
Temple Grounds
Inside the temple grounds
Inside the temple grounds
Just love the Korea architecture

We then proceed to the next stop within the Mt Sorak National Park –  the cable car which would bring us up to the top of the Mt Gwongeunseong. As we entered the cable car watching the cable car slowly shrinking to the size of a mere ant, we could see afar from where we were. Soon the cable car called upon the peak station, we went around the cable car station taking pictures, viewing the area from a very different perspective. From here one could almost forget all the troubles and relax. As my sis was watching some Korean dramas before we depart for this trip, she managed to found what she has been looking for since we decided to come for this trip – the Korean Spicy New Year cake. Well according to her, the taste was bland and not as good as she would have expected it. She was disappointed. I did some walking around as I did not wanna get stuck in the cable car station where hordes of tourists gathered to snap pictures as if they are engaged in some “Who can snap the most pictures” contest. I did a 10 min walk along the walkway around the station. It was a nice and quiet walk. Well, time’s up (I wish I had more time to walk further), we headed back onto the tour bus which brought us to the hotel where we can rest for the night. Although the hotel looked rather aged, what I like is the views from our balcony. I can see acres and acres of farmland surrounded by hills and mountains, as though we had retreated into some mountain resort…. It is time to sleep……

Taking the cable car up Mt Gwongeunseong
On our way up Mt Gwongeunseong
Magnificent views on our way up
Almost can see the whole national park
One can see the coastal area afar
Nearing the top
Visitors can do light trekking up on Mt Gwongeunseong
The views up here are simply stunning
On our way down
The big Buddha is visible on our way down
Dinner time!

Korea Day 1 (03 May 09) – First Glimpse of Korea

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After a tiring overnight flight from Singapore (though it is a mere 8 hr flight, did not manage to get a proper wink on board the aircraft), we met up in Incheon Airport for our tour group members. While waiting, we felt a little hungry. We scout around the airport for some decent looking food (well at least some Mcdonald’s breakfast – something that we are familiar with before our stomach goes bonkers). Alias there is no Mcdonald’s restaurant around, we paced up and down looking for something familiar or even a food court where we can grab a bite, no such luck. All we see are a convenient 24 hr shop (we called it the 7-11 of Korea), after pacing up and down (passing that deli countless times) we finally surrender to it (seeing it is the only eatery around). Ordered some sandwich platter and some coffee…. my the coffee taste so good…

After eating we went to the group gathering place, by this time, everyone was present and we were led to the tour bus. After the night flight, most of us were rather tired and was looking forward to a good shower. However, our tour guide brought us to Everland Theme park first thing. He claimed that the original date we were supposed to go happen to be a public holiday weekend and the park will be crowded with locals. Today is a better day to visit, without giving us much of an option, we were driven to the theme park. As we had arrived, the theme park was minutes from opening. We went for some toilet break, before gathering to enter the theme park. Soon it is time the park opens its doors to visitors. We see the park staff welcoming visitors into the park with their ever cheerful smiles. Upon entering the theme park, we were told to head for the chair lift that would take us up to the safari within the park. The tour guide said free time would be given to us after the safari trip. So we all headed over to the safari. On our way up on the chair lift, what really caught our eye was the huge wooden roller coaster structure…. so I thought to myself… I MUST take a ride on that later.

Spring Time Flowers Blooming
Entrance of Everland
Clock tower inside Everland
Beautiful flowers inside Everland
Scenic plants inside Everland
Flowers inside Everland

Soon we were at the entrance of the safari and queuing up for our turn into the bus that would take us into the safari area. The tour guide has arranged for all of us to be on one bus with no other tourists. As we were awaiting our turn, I came upon a sign with the word “Liger”. I turned to my sister laughing at the spelling mistake. Not long after I realise I was laughing at my own ignorant! A liger is actually a crossbreed of a lion and a tiger, and there we saw one of 2 ligers in the world lying on the rock. In the safari area, we saw some tigers and lions other than the liger, and also some bears playing amongst themselves. The bus driver drove pretty close to the bears, I guess the bears were accustomed to tour buses so much so that they were minding their own business. The safari tour did not take too long, half an hour later we were free to roam around the park. Soon my sister and I were looking for the queue to the wooden roller coaster we saw as we were entering the park. Man the queue was long.. and believe it or not, we actually queued 2 hours for it! Though the queue was long, everyone in the queue waited patiently for their turn. After 2 hours, it was finally our turn! At first, the roller coaster went up slowly as would other rollers coasters. Then we found ourselves at the very top, ready for the descend! As the roller coaster made its way around the bend for the descend, what greeted us was a near-vertical slope! The few seconds seemed like tens of minutes down the slope, as we thought we had survived the ordeal of the roller coaster, what greeted us was another near-vertical slope (though this one was shorter). Then up we were thrust along the tracks of the roller coaster and then left and right as the train made its way around the track! Boy that 7 min or so ride felt longer than it really was! At this point, I turned to my sister telling her, the 2-hour queue was well worth it.  After disembarking from the roller coaster, we went around to see if there are any more rides that we would fit within mere minutes we have. Nope, no such luck. We figured we might as well walk around and go grab some food. After having some food, we spent the rest of our time walking around the entrance, taking pictures (yeah it is the touristy thing to do) of the park.

Liger, a crossbreed between a lion and tiger
Lioness resting on the rock
Lion resting on his rock
A bear having fun in the waters
2 bears having fun together
Fantastic Roller Coaster in Everland
Me concurred the coaster ride

We met up with the rest of the group soon after and we were ferried to our next destination, Dongjangdae, the East Command Post of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress. We were told that they filmed some Korean TV serials here. The original fortress wall was still in great condition, not too sure if it has been restored before. However, this seems to be a place where the locals come to relax by the pavilions on the fortress walls with their relatives and friends to laze the day. There is also a corner where people can learn some simple archery. We weren’t given a lot of time for this place, not long after some picture taking, some toilet breaks, we were on our way to the place where we will spend our night.

Lunch Time!!
Dongjangdae, the East Command Post of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress
Dongjangdae, the East Command Post of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress
Dongjangdae, the East Command Post of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress
One of the watchtowers at Dongjangdae
Dongjangdae, the East Command Post of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress
Me taking a picture in front of Dongjangdae

The place where we spent our first night in Korea is Oak Valley Resort, operated by Samsung, the resort is a golf course in the summer, and it will be transformed into a ski resort in winter. The area is very tranquil and peaceful. Our rooms are actually a 1 bedroom apartment which comes with a balcony and a small kitchenette where we “cooked” some Korean instant noodles to fill our stomachs at night. We had a good shower and a well-deserved rest after the overnight flight from Singapore and the tour agendas in the day.

Hotpot for dinner
Fogging at  Oak Valley Resort