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| We're in Sokcho City |
It was a good night sleep. Morning call was given at 7.30 a.m. (Korea time) Julie told us that we're not rushing and we should felt comfortable with the departure time (8.30 a.m.) She said that some clients especially from Taiwan simply love to take whatever was offered free. They loved to have free show which probably would only start at 10.30 p.m. And by the time they reached hotel, it would be past midnight. And as if they were losing time, they wanted to depart as early as possible. This scenario would stress her and most probably on the tourists themselves.
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| Class 300 Hotel |
We ate breakfast in the hotel itself. A classy Korean and Western style meal. The kimchi was nice and the savoury pork was great. And the most tasty would be the Korean grape. We only tasted it once in Korea. Hardly could find any grapes along the trip. The moment I bit it, the juice was incredibly sweet. I had a few helpings of the grapes!
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| First plate. I loved the Korean deep spoon. |
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| Very good tasting meat |
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| Close up look at the grapes |
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| Remember to taste the Korean grapes again and again! |
As I was enjoying the meal, I realized that we're staying near the ocean. And to every tourist's nightmare, it was raining cats and dogs out there.
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| Ocean view |
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| Ready to depart to Seoraksan National Park |
By 8.30 a.m, we're in the bus, departing for Mount Sorak. In an hour's time,we reached our first destination. Seoraksan National Park to view the great Mount Sorak. The air was as cool as Cameroon Highlands due to the rain.
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| I simply pointed to the map without knowing where we were |
We walked and walked, following the tour guide. The path was muddy and water was everywhere.
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| I loved the leaves. I'm sure the golden colored leaves would be better. |
We needed to take a cable car up Mount Sorak. I didn't know how much Julie paid for the ride but the price was 8500 won (Rm25.50) as indicated at the ticketing booth.
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| The mount's view was almost completely covered by the fog |
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| Almost here |
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| Before going in the cable car |
The cable car ride took about 5 minutes. The misty view ruined our mood. Wife said that her friend took wonderful pictures from the cable car. And all we saw was a big sheath of white air. 8-( What a great disappointment. As soon as the cable car docked in, we walked around, expecting, at least some nice views. There were some trees and to my delight, seeing maple-like leaves up close.
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| Never ever put an umbrella in front of my face when my picture is taken |
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| Surronding view |
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| View after walking away from the cable car station |
After walking up some stairs, we're out of breath. Young people these days, as you all know, hardly have much stamina in their bodies.
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| Walk 100 steps from the cable car station and you'll see a small stream gushing down |
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| No sight of the famed mountain |
We hardly spent more than 20 minutes at the place and we took the cable car down.
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| We could not walk further up anymore |
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| Take picture only |
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| Walking back to the cable car station |
Julie guided us to the Shinheungsa Temple. More walks again. The air was cool and refreshing except for the patches of water everywhere. Pictures and more pictures ahead.
One noticeable in every tourist attraction in Korea is that the toilet is very clean and beautifully structured.
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| Beautiful clean toilet |
After 20 minutes walking around the temple, we walked back towards the park's entrance.
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| Nearby stream |
If you want to leave mark, you can buy a black clay-like plate and write something like "I love Korea" "I had been here. Yeah" but most people wrote "We pray for good health, more fortune ahead..."
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| See those black plates arranged neatly |
Lunch was a typical Korean self-cooked BBQ pork with side dishes. But the grilled fish was very nice.
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| Forgot to put in my face just now. So, ta daa.. |
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| We finished the whole pile of meat |
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| The restaurant where we had our lunch |
Let's move on to our next destination. Teddy Bear Farm. Lots and lots of beary exhibits. More pictures and take more photos activities. We took pictures most of the time that we didn't really immerse in the beauties of the teddy bears.
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| The first exhibit when we walked into the farm |
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| Hello pal. |
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| Mosaic bears |
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| Entrance to one of the many sections in the building |
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| Didn't see any golden maple leaves in Korea. Fake one would do just well. |
After the beary visit, we're on the move again. After an hour, we stopped at a resting place. We couldn't resist buying some snacks sold there. We had a huge corn. I'm not sure about Korean corn but the one we had was tasteless, starchy and kind of hard.
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| It wasn't nice but I used my thumb to compare the size of it |
Julie entertained us with many stories about how North Korea and South Korea came about. Wife actually dropped tears while hearing some heart-breaking stories. Julie's history lessons were that good. If only History teacher in Malaysia can learn a thing or two from her.Finally. we reached Holiday Inn Alpensia Resort. It was a beautiful resort and Julie said it just started business a few years ago. Highlights of the day were water park and sauna with bunch of naked Koreans. Huh? What she meant was I had to take of everything as well when doing sauna. Err.. what the heck.. I paid already. Might as well enjoy the views while being naked myself. Let's not talk about the Korean's family treasure shall we?! It's story for another day.
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| The view once we're inside the water park. The sauna was in the same building. |
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| First, put your shoes in the compartments provided. Then, the men entered through the door as indicated above. Girls went into another entrance. Once inside, almost everybody was naked! We changed our clothes and put the clothings in the compartments provided. |
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| Water park |
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| First activitiy at the park would be the beach. The waves were strong. |
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| Then, all kinds of thrilling rides |
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| Staircase towards the most scary one. The Tornado! Remember to relax while taking the ride. I was scared and hardened my body. I hurt my neck a little bit during the ride. |
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| After sauna and a bath with naked men, boys and babies, we bid goodbye to Ocean 700. |
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| Getting ready for dinner. Background was the Holiday Inn Alpensia Resort. Our hotel for the night. |
Dinner was squid stew and BBQ pork. The piece of meat was HUGE! Unfortunately, there were hardly any pieces of squid inside. Julie showed us how to eat the meat. First, get a piece of lettuce, put some nicely BBQ meat, some sambal and kimchi. Fold the lettuce and eat it in one huge bite. I couldn't do it. I needed at least 3 bites. Blame my genetics for having small mouth. Hahaha.. Dinner was nothing to talk about but just one typical Korean meal.
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| Dinner place. |
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| The huge uncooked piece of meat |
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| Hit it, baby! |
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| It's Chuseok festival. A grand thing in Korea. Julie was kind enough to let us try the tangyuan-like must-eat food |
After dinner, we had a walk around the resort. There were two G25 convenience stores. I asked Julie to show which was the best beer, best soju and the wine in Korea. At least consumed by the young people.
She strongly suggested Cass beer, green bottled with blue cap soju and 15% alcohol containing black raspberry wine. Most of our tour members got themselves a bottle of the raspberry wine that the store ran out of stock. We bought one in the other G25 store while walking back to our room
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| Best soju in Korea |
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| Cass beer. Didn't try it as I had allergic to alcoholic drink |
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| Rows of instant noodles |
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| A shot taken in the G25 store |
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| 500 grammes of Kimchi was around RM18 |
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| Ice cream for each of us. |
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| Watermelon ice-cream was nicer. The reddish stuff was actually red bean |
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| Last drink for the night. Taste just like red wine but fragrant smelling |
Good night, everyone.
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| Yet another 5-star bed in Holiday Inn Alpensia Resort |
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