Korea Trip Part 6

Continue from: http://www.coffeeluvs.blogspot.sg/2013/03/korea-trip-part-5.html.

That day, we departed Jeju Island after breakfast. We took Korean Air back to Seoul. Can't remember if I have mentioned about this before but I quite like Korean Air's customer service. I find that their air stewardesses and stewards are prompt and attentive. The last time I took Singapore Airlines, the air stewardess took a long time but still did not give me my cup of warm water. I had to ask for it again but they gave me scaldingly HOT water. Really =.=

 Supposed to be abalone porridge. But I didn't see the abalone. Oh well. It was kinda expected.

Breakfast.

 Nian Gao. It's tasty.

Back to Seoul. Can see that it's white all over. Snow~!! Whee~!!

Our next destination after we returned to Seoul was to Namiseom Island. I heard the tour guide said that it is owned by a very rich guy. At first, he did not want to buy the island but his friend persuaded him to buy the island as it looks beautiful and there's a nice scenery. Who knows? Nami Island became a popular tourist spot after some scenes of the famous Korean drama Winter Sonata was shot there. That guy must really thank his friend and the director (or scriptwriter?) of Winter Sonata.

Anyway, some introduction of Namiseom Island. It was formed as a result of the construction of the Cheongpyeong Dam. It is a half moon shaped (462,809㎡) island, and on it is the grave of General Nami, who led a great victory against the rebels in the 13th year of the 7th king of the Joseon Dynasty, King Sejo (reign 1455 ~ 1468). Namiseom Island is 63 km away from Seoul in the direction of Chuncheon, and is famous for its beautiful tree lined roads. The island is 30 minutes away from Chuncheon and an hour away from suburbs of Seoul. Since it is not far from Seoul, many couples and families come to visit.

A special feature of Namiseom Island is that there are no telephone poles. This is because all electric wires were built underground to keep the natural feeling of the landscape. The complex is 553,560 square yards with chestnut trees and poplar trees. In the middle of the island, there is a grass field of about 316,320 square yards. It is made up of education and training facilities, camping sites, swimming pools and water-sports facilities for motorboats and water skiing. There is also a theme park with merry-go-rounds, a shooting range, roller skating rink, and there are lodging facilities such as resort villas and bungalows. Do come and visit this place if you have the chance to =)

Taking the ferry to Nami Island. There were so many people onboard the ferry. It only takes about 10 mins to reach Nami Island.

Photo taken from the ferry. See, the lake (or sea?) was frozen. Cold~!!

The famous scene from Winter Sonata.

Need a cup of hot coffee!

Hot coffee and hot pancake in the cold weather. What an enjoyment! This is life!

A fireplace to give us warmth.

Bae Yong Joon.

This snowman looks so kawaii. Haha.

Getting some warmth. I need thicker gloves!

What a cute bank!

Familiar scenes?

After Nami Island, we went to Lotte World. But I didn't have time to ride on any ride as we only had 2 hours there and there were long queues for many of the rides. Argh! That's one of the disadvantage of joining a tour group. Very rush!

Lotte World is a major recreation complex in Seoul. It consists of the world's largest indoor theme park (a Guinness World Record) which is open all year around, an outdoor amusement park called "Magic Island", an artificial island inside a lake linked by monorail, shopping malls, a luxury hotel, a Korean folk museum, sports facilities, and movie theaters.

Opened on July 12, 1989, Lotte World receives over 8 million visitors each year and is considered, along with Tokyo Disney Resort, as one of the most world-class theme parks in Asia. Lotte World can be easily accessed from Jamsil Station, on Line 2 and Line 8 of the Seoul Subway. Located near the park is Seok-Chon Lake. I will go there again the next time. I wanna go to Korea again in April when I can see flowers blossoming and blooming. Winter is too cold for me to enjoy properly.

Very crowded inside.

The outdoor theme park area:

Food.

There's an ice-skating ring.

Stone rice.

At night, we went shopping at Dongdaemum before calling it a night. As it was winter, many shops were selling mostly winter clothes. I bought a top, a pair of gloves and a bag there.

We stayed in Novotel Hotel.

My purchases. I got that cute coin pouch from Lotte World.