Throwback to my Autumn Experience in South Korea
We literally enjoyed every minute of our stay there and this was how we summarized our travel diary from October 30 - November 4, 2013.
On the eve of October 29, we departed from NAIA Terminal 3 en route to Incheon Internet International Airport.
At the break of dawn of October 30, we arrived in Incheon. It was freezing cold since it was already autumn there.
We had our two-hour travel to Gangdong-gu, Sangil-dong via airport bus.
It was our first time there so we need to have our meet and greet with the family of Ate Maricel.
First, we went at the house of Ate MJ, younger sister of Ate Maricel. We ate our breakfast there along with sweet peaches and authentic kimchi.
Next, we went in Godoek Rien Park to visit Ate Myrna, the older sister of Ate Maricel.
And even if we were tired from our travel from the Philippines, we eventually said yes to the invitation of Ate MJ's Husband. We decided to go to the province of Gamkokmyon Sangpyongri.
Along our way there, we had some few stop overs for some picture taking.
We tasted Korean traditional rice cake (Songpyeon) paired with hot chocolate drink which are common during Chuseok Festival.
Of course, I went outside to view everything around the house.
What shocked me was the vast area of apple farm that I don't usually see in the Philippines.
We roamed around the small village and felt the atmosphere in a province in South Korea.
I realized also that jars containing the spices and pastes used in cooking Korean food are common in the household
I suddenly felt that I was in Korea when I saw the empty bottles of soju there.
After our tour, we had our late lunch and early dinner. There, I've got to experience the real samgyeopsal meal that I only saw on Korean dramas.
Our first day did not just end by stories about apple picking and having samgyeopsal but by visiting Daiso where we found cheap pasalubongs. It was a day well spent.
When we went home, my favorite Korean dram, Heirs, was shown on TV. It was at that time that I've got to watch it live.
We also drank Cass beer to celebrate my first trip abroad.
For me, Cass Light beer is better than San Mig Light. It does not have strong taste.
Before going to sleep, Korean ice cream is best eaten after beer drinking :)
On to our second day, we had our mini hiking experience after waking up. It was a strange feature in a small residential compound to have a mini mountain where people can visit from time to time.
Before our next itinerary, we transformed into kids at the playground across Building 318.
Next side trip we had was souvenir shopping at Itaewon.
There, we had our clear view of the Namsan Tower.
We filled up our tunnies first with Budichige Lunch.
Then, we had our historical walk at the Gyeongbokgung Palace.
We went shopping again at Myeong-dong.
And also, we had Pizza/
Came our third day in South Korea. We had our morning walk first.
We then went to Cheunho via bus and traveled our way to Lotte World via subway.
It was the dork in me that made me capture this photo with the weird cubicle for the oldies in Korea.
That was also the time I learned how to reload my T-Money card used for traveling around South Korea.
But wait, G-Dragon suddenly smiled at me while finding our way to Lotte World. I was not his avid fan before but there's a sudden change of heart that made me fall for him and connect my existence to his life events especially that of Daragon (Dara and G-Dragon) related ones.
And at last, we found the Lottle World, which the world's largest indoor theme park.
The theme park was full packed that it took us more than an hour before riding the bump car.
After going around the park outside, we decided to go inside and check out rides there. And to try one, we chose giant loop. A long line welcomed us but our collected courage made us wait. My heart sank for a few minutes. It may seem easy but it will flip your body upside down.
We also watched musical presentation there.
We ordered ramen just to appease our hunger at lunch time.
Before sunset, we went out with hopes of going to many places.
I spotted Mango Six also. This place is memorable for Heirs fans like me,
As promised, we went to Gangnam. I did not regret being sandwiched by people since this place is famous at what the lyrics of Psy's Gangnam Style say.
Since there were too many people in Gangnam, we thought of a peaceful way to end the night so we went tot Seoul Lantern Festival.
Little did we know that Seoul hosts too many festivals in a day. It took an hour before we reached the venue passing through King Sejong's statue.
The Cheonggyechoen stream was filled with huge lanterns lit up to brighten our eyes.
For our fourth day, we went all the way to Gapyeong Station thru subway and train.
From Gapyeong Station, we went to Nami port via bus then to Nami Island via vessel.
Setting my foot on Nami Island was like walking down the memory lane of Winter sonata. My addiction to Korean dramas manifest on my addiction to taking photos like the succeeding ones.
It was supposedly our last night to enjoy South Korea so we had our farewell Gamjatang dinner plus soju and cider drinking.
Our host family also introduced us to Noraebang so we can sing ala Korean Style.
All hopes were high that our fifth day will be our last full day in SK. We started the day by attending a mass at a Christian Church.
We had Chajangbop lunch with the parishioners.
They even gave us souvenirs. They're so kind and warm hearted.
Then we had our photos ops in Samsung Engineering Korea Building on our way back home.
We also tried food shopping at Emart Cheunho.
And for our grand finale we had Hanbok fitting and pictorial.
We may not be so lucky on our sixth day since we missed our early morning flight to Manila. There was zero visibility on our way to Incheon Internation Airport.
However, the pain did not stop me from enjoying my first trip abroad. I opted to have my own Airport Strolling and KPop Sightseeing modes on.
I was lucky to spot Infinite's arrival in South Korea. They just came from Manila for a concert. The paparazzi in me made my take this photo of them. I was so ashamed of holding my digicam against the DSLR with super zoom lens.
Ate Maricel's family comforted us by bringing food. Another advantage was the same flight with their mother who we can accompany on the way to Manila.
From our Air Asia flight, we boarded Cebu Pacific carrier going home.
DJ Ronney was so generous to fetch us at the airport so we can rest after our tiring trip.
Upon arrival at my boarding house, I took a photo of my Korean product hauls as my pasalubong for my loved ones.
I was so impressed by the beauty and order of South Korea way back 2013 so I will never forgot the images I kept in mind. And by 2016, my sister and I planned our 5 day stay in South Korea with Ate Myrna's family of course.
I just wanted to share this to you so if you're planning to go abroad, choose South Korea and you will never regret it.
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