Day 07 - Seoraksan to Nami Island

My typical morning usually hovers between dreams and waking for what feels like half an hour and finally I give in to consciousness. But it was exceptionally different these days, as I was at another place. At 7, I woke in a sudden. Realizing I suffered from backache due to the improper sleeping position last night. After cleaning up, it was still early, I decided to enjoy the morning breeze in this magnificent woods. Hardly I was at the point of wakefulness in the morning. But today was special. The air in the mountain was so fresh that it took away my drowsiness. I went back to the stream where we sat the day before, I wanted to see how it looked like in the day time.

At 8am, everyone gathered at our chalet to have breakfast. Prof cooked us Korean instant noodle. They tasted differently from our local noodle. But it was delicious. After the meal, we washed up and packed our stuff, ready for our next destination. We really had quite a lot to pack. Besides our own belongings, we had souvenirs from others as well. I felt like I had moved my home along with me. J)

Soon, we were in the car again. Prof drove us along the mountain area, to have a look at the surroundings. They were pretty much the same as what we saw the day before. But to us, it was always never tired to see. We wanted to see as much as possible. We continued our journey to Seorak mountain. This was the place I had been waiting for! Seoraksan, here we come..

Along the journey to Seorak mountain, there were many small villages, I was pretty amazed by how the villagers manage their gardens - with tidy meadows and plantations along the way. Vege lovers like me should live in this place! When we arrived at the foot of Seorak mountain, there were many visitors. There was even traffic congestion as people trying to find places to park their vehicles. Due to the traffic jam, our Seoraksan trip was shortened. Prof finally found a place to park his car. We went down to catch a glimpse of the surrounding. Many visitors were Korean. I believe Korean really do tour locally. Hardly seen any foreigners around, perhaps there were people like Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Hongkee? mostly Asian faces. But I sure did hear a lot of Mandarin and Cantonese speaking people. There was a huge Buddha statue. I’ve never seen such a big Buddha statue before. We took some photos together. Then headed to the cable car station. There was a long queue. Prof brought us the ticket and then we lined up, waiting to be brought up by the cable car.

We didn’t wait long for our turns. Of course, happy times are easier to pass. We stepped into the cable car. There was no seat, unlike the one in Genting Highland. Practically everyone was standing. This was made to fit in more people. I have acrophobia. But I would have to overcome it this time, I would risk the feeling of dizziness to stand by the window and have a greater view.
It was indeed very steep. But we got to see the mountain covered with fiery red leaves. Suddenly, prof mentioned that there was once, a bunch of people were caught in a cable car for 10 hours during their trip to Seoraksan. We prayed we will reach there safely.

The cable car dropped us at the opposite station. After that, we climbed up some flights of stairs and then finally reach the rocky part. I saw many ladies n gentlemen in their 50s or more were climbing with much enthusiasm. Apparently, they have been doing this quite often. This motivated me to do better. My stamina was not strong, together with the strong breeze, there were a few times I practically felt that I was about to fall off the mountain. Jimmy was not a climbing person too. From the day we went to Sineosan, we knew that he really needed some extra workouts. Hehe But finally we did able to climb up but not to the peak. We stopped at the mid level to take some photos. As can be seen from the pictures, the wind was so strong that I didn’t have any proper photo taken. But that’s okay. The experience we had are invaluable.

After awhile, Prof and Mr. Soh went up to the peak. Cathy and Siewchun continued to climb up too. This time I did not have the nerve to do so. First, due to my weight, I afraid I would be blown away by the strong wind. Second, I could feel my legs were wobbly if I were to be up there. Third, Jimmy was still down here with me. So I was not alone, this added another item to my list of excuse! -which caused me much regret till today. Aiyo…
They came down to meet us very soon. Cathy said, there was nothing up there except a Taegukgi (Flag of South Korea). We continued down hill and back to Prof’s car.

It was time for lunch! We filled our stomach at a small cozy restaurant by the road. The food tasted home cooked. What a nice place for lunch. After lunch, we embarked our journey to the ever popular place – Nami Isle – the place of romance in Winter Sonata. This time it was Mr. Soh’s turn to take the drive. I had a sit next to the window at the back seat, prepare to have a good sight seeing. I certainly was not going to sleep although I always do when I got in a car for a long journey.




These are the places in Gangwan-do province. Gangwan-do is surrounded by high-rise mountains. Apparently, this province is renowned for its agricultural produce. We also passed by Soyang River, which was one of the tributaries of the North Han River. And then as we entered Bangha-ri, we were very close to Nami Island. According to prof, Nami Island was named after a patriotic Hero – General Nami. It was half-moon shaped, and on it lays the grave of General Nami, who led a great victory against the rebels. However, he was accused of having plans to seize the king throne for himself. The island today provides a place for people to rest and away from the crowded civilization. Upon arriving, we took a ferry across Cheungpyung lake. The weather there was unbearably cold. I do not know why. It was even colder than we were in Odaesan that night. Nami Isle is famous for its beautiful chestnut and poplar trees lined by each side of the road. It is a perfect place for slow walks, romantic dating and the shooting place for the ever popular Korean series – Winter Sonata. I did not watch the series as i felt the love stories were too mushy. Hence, some may think that the place would not give much impact to me. But i can't deny that this place really caught my heart on the moment i stepped on Nami Isle.

One of the best things about Nami, and something that is immediately evident, is that there are no cars; and so the air is so crisply clear and fresh. With only a circumference of 6 kilometers, the island can be walked through in a matter of minutes. Hence, there is no need for cars. But i did see a pair of bicycle in the distance. The island, despite its isolated location, was crowded with people coming for vacation. We chatted along and took a lot of photos, not to forget the classic pathway in Winter Sonata.

Soon, the sky was getting darker and darker. We rushed back to the ferry and had our dinner at a restaurant nearby. It was by the lake, so we sat next to the window in order to have a nice view of the lake at night.

After the dinner, we would be heading back to Incheon where prof Kim lives. Prof drove this
time and the route back to the highway was very very dark. It was a winding and narrow road
and the atmosphere was eerie. So I told some ghost stories in my office. we also discussed some
other matters such as religion etc.

Two hours later, we arrived at his condo. Mr. Soh is staying nearby too. We bid farewell and gave him a bottle of honey which we brought from Malaysia. We were very grateful of his guided tour. Prof parked his car at the basement. There was a man shouting at us. I did not understand what he was talking. But I was sure that he was scolding something. Prof said something to him and asked us to ignore him, obviously that guy was nuts.

We arrived at his house which is the highest at that block. He likes to stay at the highest level
as to be able to see the nice view and the feeling of being at the top. An elegant lady with a warm smile welcome us at the door. She is Mrs. Kim.

There are four rooms in Kim's house. We were assigned to the rooms of their children since they
were away from home. We had our shower and gather at the living room. It is time to give away the souvenirs we brought from Malaysia. Since it was mooncake festival, hence mooncake was the best souvenir we could give. Prof Kim and Mrs. Kim entertained us with a few korean songs which they played with guitar. It was marvellous. We were even thrilled when they sang a chinese song.




Around 11, we all went to bed. After long hours of journey, we really need some quality time to rest.

Day 06 - Heading up North

The alarm rang at 4.30am, I got up from the warm cozy bed and headed to the washroom. Cleaned up and got ready for our next journey to Suwon. At 5.30am, we met up Tae woon and shin at Bio Tech village entrance. Shin had a solemn expression on his face, probably because of the arguments with his girl friend the night before. Tae woon’s car was big enough to fit all our luggages, fortunately. And there was still enough space to fit Shin.:))

The early morning streets of Gimhae were not quiet at all. There were many vehicles on the road, I supposed Koreans are active workers with high productivity. When we arrived at Gupo station, we were still early. Taewoon bought us some Gim bap as breakfast, how nice of him. My head was throbbing with pain and felt dizzy, I sat on the bench and observed the news on tv, displaying the temperature of cities all over Korea. Gimhae was not very cold. I didn’t feel the chill that morning, but I wasn’t feeling comfortable. Weird. Soon, it was time to leave, we bid goodbye, to one another, and thanked them repeatedly for their warm hospitality, which we will never forget. I guess we left with heavy footsteps, felt reluctant to leave this small, but peaceful town with warm hearted people. At 6.28 sharp, Mugunghwa train arrived, we hurriedly got our backpacks and trotted in. In a few minutes after settled down, we fell asleep. I was half conscious all the way, due to my severe headache, I didn’t take much breakfast. Soon before we reached suwon, I felt much better after going to the washroom a few times and a lot of sleep. :p
The train stopped in front of Suwon station at 11.11am sharp. I was very impressed with the punctuality of Korean public transportation.

At the arrival hall, Prof Kim welcomed us with a big grin. We followed him to the place where he parked his car. We were practically running our way there. As we reached, he introduced us to his friend, Mr. Soh who would be guiding us to Seoraksan. Mr. Soh served in the military for 3 years around the area of Seoraksan, that was why he was very familiar with the route there. We squeezed all our luggage at the boot and the back seat. Poor Siewchun, he got to cramp himself together with the luggage at the back.

We left Suwon immediately. Using Yeodong Expressway to Seoraksan. Around 12.30pm, we stopped at a rest house for lunch. The sky was gloomy, and the wind was strong. We dashed into shops and ordered our food. I had Bibimbap for lunch. It was more expensive than what we ate in Busan. Anyway, it still tasted good. After lunch, Prof Kim and Jimmy went to carry a box of food, there were fruits inside. We ate some Korean pears. They ate once in Hansu’s house, which I did not take that time as I was having shower.

Then, We continued our journey. It was drizzling outside, and everyone fell asleep. I could not sleep as there was no supporter behind my head. To neutralize my boredom, I looked out the windows and admired the scenery that we do not have back home. Our next destination was Odaesan National Park. It was a surprise visit, as we were not told before hand. And outside, spreading all the way up the mountainside, were the colours we had come to see.

We were duly appreciative. "Wonderful!" "We're here just at the right time ..." "The colours are so beautiful!", “I would like to stay here!” etc. etc. And it was indeed a very pleasant scene – trees clothed in fire.

Prof Kim pulled over by the road, and we got down to take some shots of the unspeakable charming scenery. Gangwando province has many recreational opportunities such as camping, mountain climbing, jungle tracking, boating, canoeing, sight seeing and much more. After experiencing the Korean everyday lifestyle in Busan, now it was time for us to be close to the nature.

We continued uphill to a temple. There were many lanterns in the temple. According to Prof Kim, they wrote their wishes on the lantern and it will come true. He translated some wishes written on the lantern. Many were sent in by students, praying for good results in examination. After that, we went to another temple down hill. There were many temples in Korea, as these holy places were free from government taxes. After temple visiting, we had a stroll at the forest. It was when we could have a closer view and felt ourselves surrounded by the autumn air.

Approximately 5pm, we left Odaesan National Park.. again back to Yeodong Expressway, we traveled across quarter of Inje, and also the 38th division line. After the world war two, the 38th division line served as the demarcation line that divided the nation into two where the north part was occupied by the Soviet forces and the south governing power belonged to Japan until the establishment of the American military government. Many people were sacrificed during the outbreak of the Korean War, as we had seen in Taekgukgi.

On the way, we stopped by at a mart and Mr Soh bought Soju. We saw many young people with uniforms along the street. They were students, I was surprised they hang out late in the afternoon. According to Prof Kim, they were having extra classes at private institute, which we called, tuition.

We continued our journey as the sky getting darker. Soon, we reached the mountain area. The vehicle sped along the winding road up the hill. No street lights, no other passerby. It felt as if we were in a haunted movie. Finally, we saw a few small huts in the distant and pulled over. Prof got out and spoke to the man in the hut, and we also got down to stretch our legs. Few minutes later, he got the keys and gestured us to get back to the car, and drove us to the chalet. There was a row of wooden chalets up there. In the night, we could see nothing except the small light on the front porch of the corridor between the huts. It was a thrilling experience. We did not know which house the key belong to. So we searched from the left. There were two isolated huts at the corner. Prof and Mr Soh went closer to the door, and they said it was the wrong house. Finally, we found the chalet that we checked in. It was the left one in the middle row. Hurriedly, we got our luggage into the hut and unpack our stuff. Cathy and I shared a hut, Jimmy and Siewchun another, Prof and Mr. Soh another.

Obviously, we were starving after a long journey. Prof Kim and jimmy went out to carry all the food that he brought all the way from Incheon. We explore the small little house and found that there were some cooking equipments. Great, we were going to prepare a korean dinner. Cathy and I washed all the plates and woks in the cabinet as they certainly had been unused for quite some time. Then we began cutting cucumber, and roast the pork. Prof Kim brought a sauce called samjang. It was supposed be eaten with raw cucumber. This was a wonderful combination! Jimmy and prof kim cooked some pork as well, just like samgeopsa.

Soon, Mr. Soh joined us for dinner. It was a fabulous dinner probably because we were so hungry. We had rice, seaweed, cucumber with samjang and samgeopsa (pork). Then we also had some fruits. After the satisfying dinner, they all went back to their chalets to clean up. Needless to say, the girls will end up cleaning the mess! Haha... So we washed the dishes and boil some water. Prof said, we shall meet outside at 8pm! Hurriedly, we had a quick shower and met them at the front yard.

I saw everyone was there except Mr. Soh, Prof said he wanted some rest. It was quite tiring anyway.. Prof brought us to a small stream nearby. The place was surely dark. But there was a street light somewhere. The stream was beneath the bridge, it was quite rocky but prof went down. We were hesitant for awhile as it was totally rocky and slippery down there. Soon, I saw jimmy went down, so we tailed behind him. Prof said this was for our unforgettable memory. Then he folded his pants and dipped his feet into the piercing cold stream. We were terrified, unable to imagine how cold the water would be. I was already in my sweatshirt, feeling colder than we were in Busan. Dipping my legs into the water was indeed an unforgettable memory. The coldness hit me. But soon I was numb and felt warmer as the coldness in my feet was more intense than the chill in my body, so were the rest. We had some talking. Jimmy said he would be applying to study master in Korea. Prof told us some story as well. Anyway, we had a great time.

The night ended as we walked back to our chalets… hiding under the thick warm blankets, what a comfy place to rest our feet.

Day 05 - Last day in Inje

Today, we did not have to wake up early as Jimmy had appointment with his friends and we gonna have lunch with Ling. Yet, I still woke up early as my clothes that i washed the previous night was not completely dry, i needed to use the dryer again. This time, i will put it to the maximum heat! When i stepped into the laundry room again, i realized the left partition written 남자 , and right, 여자. I was shocked and embarrassed suddenly as last night, i used the guy's laundry without noticing the sign board. No wonder, the people there looked at me with weird expression. Sigh, what a stupid thing to do. Fortunately, last night, i did not take the guys clothes out from the machine while waiting. Else, I would be no where to hide. Anyway, there were not many people in the morning compared to the night. I continued with the dryber. It took about 45 minutes, so while waiting, i can use the pc in the lab to online. After 45 minutes, i took my clothes out and back to my room. We still had some time to go before 12pm. Initially, we planned to phone Ling to tell her we would be having lunch together. However, the public phone is unusable, so we failed to contact her. I had left an email to her, but i guess she didnt check it. Hence, we went back to biotech lobby, but she wasn't there. I realized how much i was attached to mobile phone. I went up to the lab at 3rd floor and checked my mailbox to see if she left me any emails, but she didnt. So I met up with Cathy and we went to the canteen which she mentioned. Finally, we saw her. We had our lunch with the coupons she gave. The food there was ok. But we saw many of the korean adoptees who took a lot of food but did not finish it.
Ling said, they had the habit of wasting food. Ling asked us to bring a present back for her children. We had to agree and promised we 'll see her again to get the bag of goods. Soon, we finished the lunch and she rushed for class.

We met Jimmy and friends in front of INJE. We waited for about 30 minutes and together we catched a cab to Sineosan. It costed 5000 won. Sineosan was actually a mountain just behind INJE. It was within walking distance, but we had better save our stamina for the afterwards uphill road. The cab dropped us by the bottom of the hill, near a temple.We visited the temple
and snapped some photos. Some of the small buddha's statues looked delicate. The scene in the temple was picturesque. Brown autumn leaves enhanced with the ancient roof design. It was a perfect unity.

Day 04 - Gimhae

Today, we were supposed to meet Ms Kim of IIIHR to arrange our transportation to Gupo station on October 11th. At 9am, we met her at bio tech lobby. Surprisingly, Ms Ling was there too. We walked to the student activity center together to purchase the ticket to Suwon station. To our surprise, the shop was still close. Perhaps it opened at 9.30. So, we waited outside there. At the mean time, we visited the bookstore where Jimmy wanted to help Sangmi to buy a learning Mandarin book in Korean. I wandered around and saw that they even have a saloon in the campus. Is it cheap for students? Soon, the shop attendant came, and we went in together. The price of Mugunghwa train to Suwon from Gupo was 21,000 won. The same as what we saw on the website. Anyway, it's still cheaper than the bus ticket from Incheon to Gyung Ju. Initially, we planned to take the earliest train which was at 5.25am. However, the earliest bus from INJE to Gupo was at 5am. We were not gonna be on time. So, we decided to take the second train which would depart at 6.20am. The transportation from Inje to Gupo, however, was not arranged. We thought perhaps we could catch the bus. After purchasing the tickets, it was free time. Ling invited us to visit her dorm in English Town. She also gave us some free coupons for lunch. Jimmy and Siewchun had gone away to meet some friends. The condition in IIIHR was not as good as Bio Tech Village. It was rather crowded and according to Ling, the bathroom was not attached with doors. There were no partitions in between the showers. I could be very shy if i were to bath there. After the visiting, we left English Town and promised to have lunch with her at 12pm.




For the next few hours, Cathy and I decided to have a walk outside of Inje to buy some fruits. Surprisingly, the shops were still close. It was already 10am and the street was still and silent. We found some restaurants were close and we could even see some remaining food on the table through the glass window. Seem like they close in a hurry without cleaning. I wanted to eat something for breakfast as I was suppose to take the fever pill after that. Bread sold was not cheap as well. It cost bout 1,000 to 2000won. Anyway, i bought some bread and ate along the street. As many shops were not open yet. So the possibility to get fruits were low. Fortunately, on our way back to Inje campus, we saw a supermarket and bought some tomatos. We also stopped by the Face shop to buy some stuff. I found that the eye shadow for Face shop is cheaper than Skin Food. But skin care product of skin food are cheaper than Face shop. Anyway, after that, we went back to our hostel to 'unload' our stuff and got down again to shoot some photos of Inje campus. Roads are hilly in Inje area. Walking down hill was relatively easy than walking uphill, however, to take the photos of Gimhae town, we decided to walk uphill to where we first came on the first day in Inje - "The Titanic Railing", where, we could see the nice view of Gimhae town. Just for a few minutes, it was time to meet at Bio Tech for lunch with Ling. When we arrived at Bio Tech. I saw Siewchun and Ling were already there. I went to the washroom while three of them waited there for Jimmy. When I came out, I realized Ling was gone. Later I knew that Jimmy had agreed to have lunch with his friends and so we called off the lunch with Ling. But Cathy and I would be meeting her the next day.

Around 12.30pm, we had lunch at "Yukanae", the place where we had our first dinner when we arrived in Gimhae. Some of the friends that joined were the first batch that came to MMU. I did not know them, neither do the rest of the group except Jimmy. However, they treated us for lunch. After the lunch, our destination was Haeundae beach. The area of Haeundae beach is a popular attractions for foreigners in the summer. Apparently, the wave is huge and is a conducive place for surfing. There were a few artifacts on the beach. This was amazing as they were all well kept. No sign of vandalism. I believe the koreans are good at protecting their heritage and public liabilities. At the far end of the beach, we could see some dramatic formation of huge rocks. The big waves hitting the rocks and splashes of water could be as high as a standing man.



At 3pm, we left for Damalji Road. The Damalji Road is 15 curves road along the coastline scenery form Mt Wawoo leading to the Songjeong Beach beyond Haeundae Beach. Evening moon-viewing at this location is beautiful beyond belief and it is one of the eight exquisite beautiful scenes in Korea. We came in the afternoon. There was no moon to see. But there was a beautiful pavilion for moon viewing. They call it Haewool (Sea-moon) Pavilion. It is a famous place to view the mystery and majesty of sunrise and moonrise. I bought a desert there, an icecream cake, which tasted really good. We rested there for few minutes and headed to Korean Traditional House in Gimhae. It was like a small korean folk village mainly for viewing purposes. There were also a few tradintional tools displayed. It was mainly built of wood. Houses were slightly higher from ground level and structures were similar to those of ancient chinese architecture. All in all, it was a good place to enhance our understanding on Korean culture. After that, we went to a place which looked like a fishing village. There were three huts there and a boat on the pond. We also drove along the cultural street in Gimhae and the sky was getting dark. Lights started to lit and that made the street glittered. We headed to another park nearby which was also in Gimhae area. In the park, there was an underground passage way which stored many statues of Buddha in a long prism glass. It was a spectacular view! There was also the fountain of lights. As it was getting darker, we could see the water shimmered in colorful radiant.


At 6.30, again the sky fell into complete darkness. We left the park immediately as we had to hurry back for our dinner gathering. Jimmy's friend dropped us by the main gate and we thanked them gratefully for the wonderful day trip.

Dinner was served in a nice traditional restaurant and we ate Samgeopsa. I could say that it was the best korean food. Almost every one of them came, including those from the Environment faculty. We shared with them the mooncake that we brought, and they enjoyed it a lot. This dinner again, was treated by them. How could we repay their generosity? After the dinner, we headed to a bar on the next street. Something funny happened when we were walking up a slope. Shin was so lazy to carry his own bag that Heui Young had to carry for him. It was so not gentleman of him to ask a girl to take his bag, so we told the girl to leave it there, and just ignore the bag. They told Shin to get it on his own. Unexpectedly, he said just leave it there. =)) withot a least bit of worry. Instead, Heui Young was more worried of his bag than he was. Haha, what a funny characteristic of shin.


Finally, we reached the bar, which was infront of INJE. They ordered many things, like squid, snack, fruit juice, beer. It was just after dinner, and supper came right after. Haha .. On one incident, Jimmy wanted to call Prof Kim to inform him about our train schedule. As we were too noisy, he asked us to shut up for a second. On the phone, he said :" Hello Prof, I am Jimmy..." then he couldnt stop laughing, I did not know why, but we couldnt help and laughed together. What a contagious laughter. Yo han asked about our expenses in Korea, initially he thought it was together with the flight ticket, and he was worry that it could be not enough for us. The expression on his face worried me too as it was just day 4 and we still have 6 more days to go. After telling him in detail, he said ok, that was more than enough. Haha, then i breathed a sigh of relief.

At 11. we all decided to leave and go back to the dormitory. We shouldn't stay too late, as they had lectures the next day. Cathy and i planned to do our laundry at bio tech. We gathered our clothes and went down to the 3rd floor. I inserted coin to the machine to buy a washing powder. Perhaps i was too blur , I pushed the coin in the empty slot, so no powder came out :(( Wasted 200 won. It took about 35 minutes to wash and 45 minutes to dry. Due to the clothes material, we adjusted the heat to medium and our clothes fail to dry! However, we were too exhausted, so we planned to heat them again the next day. Hanging the half dried clothes on the wall, we went to bed at 1.30 am.

Day 03 - Busan's warmth

I woke up in the sudden. My clock showed 8.15. We were supposed to gather at Bio Tech lobby by 8.30. I thought we were late, with a shock, i jumped out of bed and woke Cathy up. She was surprised to see why i was in a hurry; it was actually just 7.15. And then i remembered I readjusted my phone again by mistake, so it became 1 hour ahead of Korean time and 2 hours ahead of Malaysian time. Anyway, since I was fully awake that time, I went to the washroom, washed up and got down to 10th floor to fill up my bottle, and prepared for our next outing. At 8.30am, we waited for the of our friends downstairs. Around 8.45am, Sanghyun, Shin and Hansu came, still wearing the same shirt.. haha

We walked down the street and crossed to the opposite site to wait for 128-1 bus in front of the shop we had our dinner last night. I was trying to write down the name of the food that we ate, and the bus arrived. Quickly, i threw my pen and notebook into my bag and got up the bus. It costed 1100 won. The seats in the bus were very limited. All single seats except the last row. It was quite a long journey to reach Gupo station, but it doesnt matter. I had the chance for sight seeing. Finally we reached Gupo station, the place was wide and huge, unlike our usual LRt station back home. It looked clean and modern. Sang Hyun was going back to his home, so he couldn't join us. We bought ticket to Jagalchi Fish market, but it was not a direct trip. We needed to switch at 2 stations called Dokcheon and seomyeon, we got off at nampodong however.

Once we stepped out of the station, we were welcomed by the smell of fish. Along the way to have our breakfast, we saw many shops selling clothes at cheap price. Even the pants sold in Korea Giordano were cheaper than in Malaysia. I also saw The Skin Food, which i returned there later. I had Bibimbap for breakfast. It felt strange to have rice at early in the morning, but i was terribly hungry, so i did not care much. When we were eating, Haeyoung came and joined us. Korean food were served with many side dishes, and we can demand for more without extra charges. Even water was served free.

After the meal, we went to Skin Food. I wanted to buy a foundation which was a mixture of moisturizer and base. Unfortunately, the shop attendant could not understand me. Thankfully, Haeyoung was there to help me translate. Cosmetic sold in Korea were alot cheaper than in Malaysia too. I bought a base cream and a blusher for 12,600 won. And we were given free gifts too. ^^

Our next destination was Nampodong street. It was a street that sold all kinds of pirated goods and stuff at lower price. Girls who crazy for Korean fashion should come here where they can get the most updated fashion in Korea itself at lower price. Few minutes later, more friends joined us - Hye Rim, Ms Inje and bf. She suggested we go to Busan tower. It was at a park nearby. We went up an elevator and there it was, the Yongdusan Park. Jimmy was mistaken as communist
kong sang dang :P since having the look of chinese face. Haha poor thing. We took some pictures
there and also went to an art gallery. Some of them were thirsty so we went into a convenient
store to buy some drinks. Ms Inje treated us a juice called mi nyeon, a kind of drink for pretty lady. She said it's good for estrogent hormone. We also visited some souvenir shops up there.
We saw a man crafting pictures of a pair of couple on the wood. They looked realistic! It's simply
amazing. I stood there for quite some time, impressed by his masterpiece.

Around 12 something, we left for modern history museum. Along the way as we walked on the
street, we saw an old lady by the road side selling a kind of cookie. She was sitting on a small
stool with some pans next to her. The pancake looks like 鸡蛋卷。I was curious, so i stopped
to have a look. Hyun young realized i was interested in the pancake and told me to try it. The pancake is round and contains a motive in the center. We have to use a needle to craft it out from the cake. It was tough, as the pancake was crispy and it cracked when we did so. Anyway, I tried the pancake. It was too sweet. They call it jjokja or talgona.



After the museum visit, we went for Hangbok hunting. Keke, they brought us to a street which
sell various traditional stuff. It was an old street but with a lot of feeling. I saw an apron with very cute design and was very tempted to buy one, Jimmy said it looked like Sangmi's dress... and so we didnt buy it. :P Finally, we reached the hangbok shops. There were many colorful hangbok on the wall all exquisitely designed. I had never seem such delicate hangbok in a close
view. Again, it was very tempting to me too, yet i managed to regain my rationale, as it was too expensive. Even a pair of shoe cost about 20,-30,000 won. It was the shoe that i was attracted to. We all left there empty handed. But to me, it was one of the attractions in Korea.

Our next destination was Jagalchi Fish market. Before heading to Jagalchi, we visited a shop which sold all items at 1,000 won. I managed to buy some pair of chopsticks as souvenirs for friends and family. Then, we crossed an underground pass to the opposite street. On the way to Jagalchi, we walked through a busy street selling alot of food!! Wow.. it was really like a food fair. I was taking video of the surrounding and suddenly Eun Sang stopped me and asked me to try a food, it was something like a dough, which tasted really good. Anyway, i forgot to ask the name of the food. When we came to the end of the street, we crossed another junction and there it was, Jagalchi signboard ahead of us. The scent of the fish was unbearable yet heart warming, as it was something we could hardly experience in the busy city of KL. I was stunned to see big octopus and huge giant fishes along the street. It all looked disgusting but very fresh to us. There was an area particularly for the koreans to eat them raw. We just walked pass and took some shots. It was really an unforgettable scene.



Soon, it was lunch time. We went back to Nampodong and had topokgi. It was Hye Rim's favourite place. Before coming to Korea, we had tried Topokgi by Sangmi. It was marvellous. The topokgi that we took here was good too, but it was too spicy, we ate in a mess :p

After lunch, we catched a bus nearby Jagalchi market. It took us to Taejongdae Park. It was quite a distant from Busan city to Taejongdae. Along the way, we saw the Marine University. It was built on an island, and the whole island belonged to the University. Unbelievable! Finally, we reach Taejongdae Park. We bought ticket and waited to be taken to the cliff with rugged rocks about 150m above the sea. This is something we could hardly see back home. We were actually there to enjoy the sunset. However, it was cloudy that day, we went home disappointed.
When we return to busan city, it was night time. We waited for Ga yong for dinner. I was attacked by the throbbing headache again. And i felt extremely cold. When Ga yong came, she
let me wear her jacket, but it was quite small for me. Anyway, it was really nice of her. We all went back to Nampodong market again and settled at a cozy restaurant for shabu shabu. I heard it is Japanese? Hm.. no idea, but to me it is steamboat :P


Return back to Gimhae after the dinner. We stopped at Gupo station to change a bus. Hyun young showed us a secret scene behind the station. It led to a sea! We could see a bridge at the distance litted with wonderful lights. When we were outside of our country, small things could mean a lot to us. I wonder why.

That night, i went to bed early, no chatting no soju. I needed to get rid of my headache first. And so, i went straight to bed after the shower. Exhausted.

Day 02 - From Gyung Ju to Gimhae

The next morning, we were supposed to wake up at 7.30am. However, we woke up at 8.30am, which was 7.30 Malaysian time. After washing up, we waited for Hansu's friend. He was going to join us for the outing. As we waited, We went upstairs of his house to have a look. There was an open space up there with a wooden table and few pots. According to the tv program which i saw the day before, these were the kimchi pots. Soon, Hansu's friend arrived. We greeted him, but he was shy. Hansu said that he did not speak english much. It would be quite hard for us to communicate. Anyway, he introduced him as Sumo. Sumo drove another car, Jimmy and Sanghyun went to Sumo's car. Siewchun, Cathy and I with Hansu.

Our first destination was Tumuli's Park Souvenir shops. As last night, the shops were closed, we did not manage to see anything in the shops. This morning, Hansu had a problem searching for parking place. Finally, he parked his sonata nearby a small village area. We walked all the way to the souvenir shop, however, we went back empty handed. Things were quite expensive there. We left very soon.

After that, Hansu brought us to Tesco. Along the way to Tesco, we passed by a street full of flowers. They said, it is the symbol of Autumn - Chrysantunum. We got excited and stopped by to take photos.

Korean Tesco namely Homeplus, was almost the same as Malaysian Tesco, the difference was most of the products there were written in Korean. Bananas and pineapples were sold at very high price. About RM12 for pineapple. I saw many kinds of biscuits and cookies which we have back there in Malaysia, but here it was all in Korean. When Jimmy and the others have finished their shopping, we went to the counter to pay. Plastic bags were not given as free. We had to pay about 35won for each plastic bag.

About 11.30, we went to have an early lunch, or I should say, brunch, as we did not take any breakfast. It was a Korean buffet restaurant, with various kinds of Korean food. It's only 6,400won per person. I saw many kinds of rice available there. Such as, barli rice, corn rice, etc which i never tasted before. There were also seafood, rice cake, vegetables, soup. We had a great time enjoying the food and desert.

After a satisfying lunch, we headed to park where there was a huge windmill. The sun was blazing that afternoon and the temperature was ok, not very hot. However, my head was throbbing again, and I really felt uncomfortable. We took some pictures and later headed to Mt, Tohamsan, where Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto located.

First, we visited Seokguram Grotto, which was at the top of the hill. Along the winding road, we could see the breathtaking city view of Gyeong Ju. It was simply marvellous. In Seokguram Grotto, there was the serene central status of Buddha gazes out over the forested hills and across the East Sea to the horizon. According to Hansu, previously when the Buddha statue was not surrounded by blocks of stone, the sun that rises in the morning, the sun ray shined directly onto the Buddha's forehead, forming an impressive scenic view which attracted many tourists. However, we were not allow to take photos there.

Soon after, we drove down the hill and arrived to Bulguksa Temple. Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa were both added to the UNESCO's prestigious World Cultural Heritage list in 1995. Here are some views in Bulguksa Temple. Before we returned home, we stopped by a souvenir stall and bought some gifts. The lady was kind, she gave us some souvenirs too. We walked back with big smile. As SangHyun was exhausted, so Sumo and Hansu went down hill to get their cars and we waited them by the street. The picture here shows our tired faces :P

When we got back to Hansu's home, it was only 5.30, but we were extremely hungry, we had some snack – Gyeong Ju bread. Sumo showed us some Korean coins which we did not have yet, we also showed him some Malaysian coins. We talked and rested and packed our luggage until 6.30pm, then we departed to Gyeong Ju bus terminal. The last bus to Gimhae would be leaving at 7.30. We sat Hansu’s car to the terminal together with Jimmy and SangHyun in Sumo’s car. Later, Hansu returned his car to his house and Sumo fetched him to the terminal.

In Gyeong Ju terminal as we waited, we bought the ticket. Tickets there were purchased through machines. It was a lot more convenient. Hansu came few minutes later and together we headed to the bus. The bus came on time, closed the door at 7.29, and left at 7.30 sharp. As I was too exhausted, I slept all the way to Gimhae. Behind, Hansu was laughing his head off as he saw my head kept falling to the right (sleeping :”>).

We did not reach Gimhae bus terminal. Instead we dropped off at a bus stop, and took a cab to INJE. As we were loaded with luaggage, so six of us had to take separate cab. Hansu, Cathy and I in one and Jimmy, Siewchun and Sanghyun in another. The driver was impatient. We hadn’t even place our luggage in the boot, he already moved forward. So we hurriedly dump our back pack and got in the car. Taking public transportation in Korea indeed was heart racing!

We finally reached INJE university after a turning. The driver drove us to the far end of INJE where Indeokje located. It was the biggest dormitory of INJE. As we got down the car, Shin already waited there, he was so excited and practically rushing his way to see us. We waited the rest at the railing. They called it Titanic, as there was a steel railing there high on the hill. After a short chat, I suggested we asked for the key first in case the person in charge left early. Due to some communication problems, the person seemed puzzled with our enquiry. After the guys translated our message to him, and he checked on with some other people and finally said that, we were assigned to Bio Tech Village not Indeokje. Fortunately we were informed that earlier. Hansu told the rest to wait at Bio Tech so that they did not need to carry their heavy bagpacks all the way up the hill to Indeokje, as they were taking bus, and they hopped off at the main entrance. We went down to Bio Tech Village to meet them.

Surprisingly, Bio Tech Village is a modern building with high tech facilities. They were made of many glass doors with secure entrance. According to them, it was a newly built hostel, and is quite expensive to live in. We agreed to their statement as we saw the facilities in the room. We did not require a key to enter to our rooms. All protected with pin numbers. There was an attached bathroom in each room. Everything was properly designed for twin sharing. Even cabinets, mirrors, shelves, tables were in set of two. There were air conditioner and heater too. After settling down, we met downstairs at the lobby and went for dinner. It was 10pm, and we were starving. We walked down the street outside the campus. Unlike Cyberjaya, Obangdong street was alive with exotic outlets of entertainment, food, fashion, accessories etc.

That night, we ate and as our dinner. Bukgeumbap is a kind of fried rice and naengmyeon is a cold noodle - dough made from buckwheat and potato flour and is cut into slender noodles and boiled while very fresh. The strained noodles are added to a chilled broth made of chicken stock or water from dong chimi (winter white water kimchi). After the dinner, they bought soju again and we gathered at Shin’s room at level 5. As girls were not allowed to enter guys dormitory, Shin was an expert in this, he taught us the way to sneak into level 5, by taking the elevator to level 7 (girl dormitory) and used the stairs to the “secret entrance” of level 5. We used Shin’s laptop to transfer our pictures, and also chatted with them. We also discussed the language of Chinese and Korea. It was another happy moment again before our bed time. At 12am, we went back to our rooms and have a good night sleep.

Day 01 - Historical Gyeong Ju

As the plane landed on Incheon International Airport, a rush of excitement swept pass me. In just a split second, i managed to regain my senses. After getting our hand luggage in the cabin, we walked a long the sky bridge, i knew like i was in a foreign land, yet i felt familiar,. Perhaps i had approached korean and the korean language before i came, and so, there was nothing awkward that i felt.

Due to the lack of time, we ran our way to the immigration counter. It was such a long way to reach there. Fortunately, the queue was not long in foreign passport lane. Cathy and I were in the same lane, and Jimmy and Siewchun went to the other lane. When it was my turn, the immigration officer demanded me the destination address in Korea. I was helpless as i did not have any contact details with me. So i shouted for jimmy, who had all the contacts in his notebook. I asked the immigration officer to get the address from next counter. I think he felt puzzled. I told him i will arrive in Gyeong san. And still he was confused. Later I showed him Jimmy's notebook, and told him i will stay in Gyeong ju. Then only he understood, and let me go.

Together, we went to the baggage pick up point. We got two trolleys for ourselves, fortunately we didn't wait long.. and our backpack arrived just in a few minutes. As we headed to the arrival hall, there was an officer collecting the immigration form, where each of us had a check list for the things we brought. I had overlooked the second part, so i was requested to check the list, and was delayed a few secs. Immediately after this, we rushed to search for the counter for selling express bus ticket. On the way, we saw a rent-a-phone booth. Since in korea, they were using CDMA, so all the GSM phones were not functioning there. To rent a phone, we need to pay 3,000 won per day. However, we had to leave Incheon by today, so it was not worth for us to rent the phone. We thanked the lady in the counter and made our way to the exit. In the opposite direction, there were many express bus in the line. Jh asked somebody there about the ticket counter, she pointed the direction of where we came from. Jh and sc went back to the airport to purchase the ticket and Cathy and I were to keep an eye on our luggages. We snapped some photos while waiting for them. In a few minutes, they came with tickets in their hands. It was 9.40am bus to GyeongJu. The tickets were costly, 31,900won each, about RM120.!! One of us suggested we should went to the airport to wait. And so, we cleaned ourselves in the toilet, brushed teeth and wash our faces. We also bought some waters and cookies for the long journey to Gyeong Ju.

Soon, it was 9.40am, and the bus arrived just in time. Sc got up at the wrong side, haha, the driver side was at the left, opposite of Malaysia's.. On the way to Gyeong Ju, we passed by tol gate of Seoul, tol attendant were wearing Hangbok for the Chuseok festival. After the tol, we passed by some flats. The design of the flat was weird, there were mural painting on the wall. A cartoon-like figure was painted on each block. All flats had the same design. The express way was in a heavy jam that day due to this festive season, as it was the second biggest festival for Korean. However, there was a lane just for bus. So we managed to avoid some traffic. Around 1pm, we dropped by at a rest station. The bus driver mentioned something in Korean, which we did not understood. We proceeded down to the washroom. After that, me and Cathy walked around to search for some food. All of a sudden, Jh came from behind and rushed us to get up the bus. The bus was leaving, it only stopped for us to go to wash room, not for lunch! Jh said the driver appeared to be grouchy. So hurriedly we ran our way back the bus. We were almost left behind.

Around 2pm, finally we stopped for lunch. Again the bus driver said something in korean, and made us puzzled. Luckily, there was a korean lady who translated what he said to us. We were told that we had 20 minutes for lunch break. So, we got down the bus again and had a walk along the corridor where many people were selling things. We searched for the cheapest food to eat. I saw a food which cost 1,000won but i did not know what was inside, so i asked the seller, what was inside. He did not understand me, neither do i understand him. Another girl who stood next to him was trying to explain to us. She said, it was “hotte dou”. I puzzled. Cathy thought it was “huang dou”. But anyway, we bought it. After my first bite, i realized it was hot dog!.. Here is the picture of the food we ate.

15 minutes later, we got up the bus and continue our journey. We were on an endless straight road cutting through the most intriguing landscape I'd ever seen. The changing colors of the leaves marks the visible arrival of fall. Along the road, there were yellow carpets of rice plantation, and misty hills as background. I saw some tombs on the hill, and many people were visiting their ancestors' graves. Later i found out that, during chuseok, they did this every year. I fell asleep soon after. When i got up, i watched the tv in the bus, there was nothing special, just some news reporting the heavy jam in the expressway. After that, the tv was showing some Korean martial art, big guys fighting with big guys. We stopped by a few cities, such as, Daegu, Daecheon, and so on.. Finally around 5.30pm, we reached Gyeong San. As we got off the bus, the driver greeted us “annyeong hasaeyo” and we returned with “gamsahamnida”. A few minutes later, Hansu came, wearing a white shirt and gave us a big smile. He was waiting for us since 4pm. Pity him. Quickly, we got all the things up his car and left Gyeong San. It was evening, yet the sky was getting dark very quickly. The moon was very near to us, like a big yellow ball in front of us. I have never seen a moon so close to me before. At 6.30, the sky fell into complete darkness. As we were in Hansu's car, many called. Haeyoung, Shin, Hiangmi, Miss Inje, they were all very keen to see us again. Especially Jh, he was practically busy answering the phone. And Hiangmi even called a few times to speak with Sc. Keke...

When we arrived in Gyeong Ju, we first went to Hansu's house. Hansu stayed with his parents in a typical Korean house. It was a good chance for me to experience staying in a Korean house. We left our luggage at the living room and then took turns to use the toilet. I was he first to enter. The toilet bowl was very sophisticatedly design. There were several functioning buttons, but i could not see the flush buttons. The icons were not very distinctive and written in Korean. So i just tried my luck by simply pressing a button, suddenly, there was water spraying upwards from the bowl. I was frantic, trying to shut it down. Finally, i restarted the machine and asked for help, feeling embarrassed. Sc came to help but he too could not find the button. Hansu said it was the normal flushing button just behind the cover.. Ah... i was blushing!

After refreshing ourselves, we visited the Tumuli Park. Tumuli Park is a collection of royal Silla tombs. We went into the Cheonmachong (Heavenly Horse Tomb). There were many ancient items displayed in the tomb, including the King's thrown, belt, Queen's earings, etc. Unfortunately, we were not allow to take photos. Our next destination was Cheomseongdae Observatory. It was then i found that i lost my 128mb memory card, I searched everywhere around, but in vain. Anyway, i did not want it to destroy my mood of traveling. I tried to enjoy myself as much as i could. The Cheomseong dao Observatory was known as the earliest existing observatory in Asia. It has a bottle-shaped stone structure and enhanced with lighting. Soon after, we walked to another attractions nearby, Anapji Pond. It was the place where the Silla royal family enjoyed themselves with musical and dances. Every Saturday, there would be performance of cultural dancing, however, we would not be able to witness it as the next day we would be traveling to Busan.

It was about 9pm then. We were starved to the maximum. Without further hesitation, we headed for dinner, Samgeopsa. (something like pork BBQ). As it was quite cold outside, having Samgeopsa would be splendid to neutralize the air around me. Since we were hungry, we ordered twice. This meal, we treated Hansu, it was cheaper comparing to the price in Ampang Korean Town. After the satisfying meal, Hansu said that he wanted to buy Soju at Korea Tesco (Homeplus). To our dismay, it was close. So we had to search for other alternatives. At that time, SangHyung called. He came all the way from Busan to meet us. Together we picked him up at Gyeong Ju bus terminal. Hansu suggested that we visit Beomeosa Lake Resort, to have a stroll there. The weather was getting cold. I shivered under my thin jacket and tagged along with them. The place was romantic for couple to hangout, with paddle boat and bicycle ride. We hanged out a few minutes there, and before going back, we went to a small mart in the resort. There, they bought soju. They were going to have another round of dinner after that.. haha unimaginable.

Back in Hansu's house, we sat in the cozy living room, chatting and eating. In spite of the cold weather outside, our hearts were warm; celebrating our reuninion in house of Korean land.