back from seoul
i came back from seoul on 6th Dec,monday. However there was not enough time to sit down and blog about my trip. So may things to write about, guess I need many entries to finish writing abt the trip. Hmm..how should I go about doing it?? Generally speaking,the trip was alright. it's my first time travelling with a friend, so the excitement was there. I mean no parental restrictions! this is my 2nd time to Seoul, so I visited repeated places such as Everland and Lotte World theme parks.I enjoyed most climbing the two mountains - Mount Daedun and Mount Sorak. These are not the Bukit Timah Hills in Singapore ok!! these are real mountains !thank God there were cable car rides and constructed pathways leading to the peak of the mountains. The natural scenery was just BREATH-TAKING! At the mountains, I just admired the beauty of God's creations. The physical landscape was so beautiful. As i climbed up the mountains, I looked at the layers of rocks. The cleavages present in them tell a story. The existence of these mountains dated hundreds of years back, probably during the ancient times. It is no joke climbing up the mountains wearing 3 layers of clothing and a backpack. Ooo....the elderly of South Korea love to trek mountains. They are so healthy!! Comparing them to us,Singaporeans, we are like the ultimate couch potatoes. One of our tour guides,called Jacky, is so nimble when climbing up and down the mountains!! when my friend and I were panting hard,he was like hopping from step to step, as if this is his daily routine!!
Food was ok, had alot of steamboats. As i do not usually eat rice, I had to force myself to eat them during the trip for survival reasons (sound as if I am so poor thing hor..hahha). But when comes to snack time..hehe...almost every night, my friend and I, together with another girl (whom we met on the trip coz she went alone), will visit the supermarkets and convenience stores to check out the little snacks available. You know what,never before in my life i visited so many convenience stores and supermarkets within a week! it's like the 3 of us had not seen them before! haha. i simply love their canned coffees (heated up in a 'fridge' coz of winter) and banana milk!! Oh! talking abt banana milk, i always say 'papaya milk' in chinese..haha...my friend was exasperated that i got it wrong every time!! hhahaha. ohoh...their kimchi (spicy fermented cabbages) are simply delicious!! very crunchy and spicy!!
Accomodation was fantastic!! 3 of the nights were spent in resorts and I would give a thumbs up esp to the LG (the South Korean brand that produces mobile phones and electrical appliances)Gangchon Resort. The 'room' we had consists of a living room,balcony,kitchen,bedroom and bathroom. The whole 'room' is almost equivalent to a 2-3 room flat in Singapore!! we had the privilege of sleeping on the flr (like what we see on Jap dramas), the flr is heated to a comfortable level and the quilts were so comfy. Frankly speaking, I did not miss my bedroom at home! hee.
Tried skiing..not easy. Fell alot of times, but were painless! What we saw on TV is not as simple as we think. By the way,this year,Seoul's temp is warmer than usual. So there was no natural snow!! sad right. we skiied on man-made snow! *sulks* my friend absolutely loved skiing, can tell from every attempt in skiing from steeper slopes. For me, I just keep to the basics..heheh.
ooo..one thing that fascinates me is the strong environmental friendliness in South Korea. To get a plastic bag, you have to pay like S$0.15 coz of 'Environpolitics'. Recycling bins are the norm. I seldom find dustbins yet the roads are very clean (with the absence of 'fines') cuture wise, over there people generally do not say 'excuse me' or even 'thank you'. On my first day, I was pushed roughly aside at everland! i was like 'what the....'Then from there, I just pushed my way through (not surprisingly, no glares from the strangers) if I need to get through crowds.
It was really cold and dry there. Temperatures wavered between 0-12 degrees. I practically soaked myself in moisturizers and lip balms. we 'smoked' daily without getting lung cancer. hehe.
One thing that puts me off is the language barrier. Over there, English practically became useless. Korean is the main language used. For communication, I had to 'bi shou hua jiao'. sometimes, both of us get really exasperated but well, cannot blame the South Koreans. It's their culture and since we are there, we have to deal with it. They are quite nationalistic and protective of their culture, similar to the Japanese.
oh!!On 5th Dec, which was a Sunday, we went to Full Gospel Church in South Korea aka 'The largest church in the world'!! That was not part of the itinerary. I can strongly say that this trip is super blessed and God is behind it!! Though i gave up many places that I could have visited on that Sunday, I would say it is worth it!! i have heard abt this church, but going there is like a dream. Really have to thank God coz it is not by coincidences that we went to that church. People might say that 'nah...coincidences'. I disagree, once or twice maybe, but all the way?? Questionable. Will elaborate more of this in the next blog..hee..
okok....a very long blog entry i had written. time for a break..
listening to: 'My Greatest Love Is You' by Hillsongs
posted by Jiatine @ 8:43 PM
1 Comments:
Yea!!! Praise God for Full Gospel Church, for Prayer Mountain, for the friends that we made, and yes, for skiing!!! =)
Of course, not forgetting my dear travel partner & everything else! Hallelujah!!!
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