It was really freezing today, and the strong wind make things worse. The locals said today was the coldest since winter...went to deosugung, namdaemun and myeongdong yesterday...gyeongbukgung and unhyeongung today. The subway and road directions are quite easy to follow...The motels here are quite comfortable =) 50,000W per nite with a huge LCD tv and private pc...The people here are very friendly and helpful, even before reaching korea, met a korean uncle sitting beside me in the plane. We talked and he gave me a pen and an apple during the flight.hehe...how i hope malaysian are like koreans.haha

Went to Namiseom yesterday and intended to go han river cruise at night....but after changing lots of subway stations and walking to the ticket counter in freezing weather, the girl at the counter said yesterday's cruise was closed due to rought waters or something...i dun understand wat she said n draw but it just mean no ticket....went to namiseom via shuttle bus at tapgol park and came back taking the train. We took a taxi from gapyeong wharf to gapyeong train station (3800won per taxi). Taking the train was very nice as the scenery along the way is very nice and its cheaper...3800 won per pax from gapyeong to cheongyangni...went to jeonju today via free shuttle from kto but its kinda boring for me, the bibimbap was good and lots of hanok houses there...btw, yesterday i went to kto office and found out that they are giving out free tickets to watch a non-verbal show called 'Chaser' (or sth like that) but too bad i cant go cause i will be goin to gangwon-do till the 10th. Anyone interested can go to kto and ask them bout this gua.hehe.

Anyway, anyone knows how to get from seoul to everland? thanks

Thanks very much huiyin. What if i want to get there from suwon? Can i go to the main bus terminal and get the bus bound for suwon, and get to everland from suwon? Are the destinations at the main bus terminal written in english?Thanks alot =)

Saw quite some heavy snow in yongpyong resort!!! happy... ...but it was cold, the skiing at yongpyong was quite cheap i think, just paid 37000won for all equipment and ski wear rental for 4 hours. I dont think the gondola is suitable for beginners cause its really high up at the peak of the mountain, coming down with no experience will be really scary.hehe...currently at sokcho now, staying in The House Hostel, a very nice place with a very nice owner who explain all the interesting places around sokcho in detail once we arrived.

For those who want to find a cheap place to stay...i stayed at Daewoo Motel and its not bad. Although the room is abit small but its good enough for me, no wifi thou, they provide lan cable if u need it. Located near city hall station, just 2-3 minutes from deoksugong palace...and the good thing is they provide free breakfast, not just toast bread and jam, but also eggs, ham, rice, soup, noodles etc for just 40,000won per night.

http://www.daewoomotel.com/

Oh ya be sure to bring body lotion or moisturizing lotion and apply it everyday cos the winter is very dry and it'll make ur skin crack.

This is how seoraksan looks like on 9/12...for those who have the time, hiking up ulsanbawi rock is a must do as the view along the hike and from the peak is really beautiful, worth the 4.5 hour hike

seoraksan



ulsanbawi rock


This post has been edited by Derwyn: Dec 14 2010, 03:17 AM

I think there are less cheap shoe shops in myeongdong...saw i feel selling genuine ones...I saw some cheap ones at dongdaemun shoe market, its across the Cheongechyeon from doota and cerestar, in a small alley with both sides full with shoe stalls. Saw some girl's boots for just 10,000won over there. =)...can bargain abit too.

For those who plan to travel by themselves can sign in KTO's website and book the free shuttle to a few places in Korea such as Jeonju, Gyeongju, Yongpyong, Busan etc. I took the free shuttle to Jeonju and Yongpyong, the bus took us straight to the entrance of the resort...and most of the palaces and temples provide free english guides. If ur traveling with a companion, its a guide for 2 persons, so its kinda awkward because when my gf and i visited the palaces, there is a private explaining everything for just the 2 of us. It's free!!

Here's the link
http://www.visitseoul.net/en/statics.do?_m...3001004004&p=04



I'm sorry if this has been posted before, just sharing.hehe...cheers

Although there is a language barrier, but i think most of the younger generation understand some basic english, just say the keyword if u wan2 ask something...don't tell them a long story.

Ya the cosmetic sellers in myeongdong mostly can speak chinese and japanese. But the thing i love bout korea is that korean are the most friendly and helpful people i ever met...there are several times people come over to us and offer to help when they see us looking at the map. When i was in everland, I used up all my cash accidentally and got enough money to take the bus and subway home to seoul (i left my t-money card in the room that day )...i have no usd to change with the locals too, so last choice i borrowed money from a waiter, i just need 1000won and after explaining my situation to him, he and his fren gave me 2000won, i wanted to give them rm6 but they don't want it, just took rm2 from me as a souvenir...really touched

haha...maybe i was lucky, but there were also times that i really find a hard time communicating...went to han river hoping to go for the river cruise and the ticker seller keep saying no and making a cross with her hands...she spoke in korean n tried to draw something for me but i still don't know what she meant.haha

oh ya sometimes on the streets u might see 2 people wearing red uniform with an 'i' on their cap...they're people from the seoul metropolitan government or something and are located at tourist areas to assist tourists. I saw them at outside deoksugong palace and myeongdong...just approach them and ask them if u need any help, and they will give u a map...and show u how to reach your destination...but i doubt they will be standing at the streets of seoul during late december or january cos of the freezing temperature.

If ur afraid of missing the last train...get to the AREX train immediately after u've retrieved ur baggage, better bring some food before ur flight so u can take it as "alas perut" before reaching Seoul. AREX is located at the building directly opposite of the airport so u need to either cross the road or follow the AREX sign n get there using the connecting bridge...I managed to reach my destination in Seoul at 11.30pm via AREX and subway, 3 transfers in total. But better don't take the ultra big luggage with rollers cos it will be tough carrying it up the long staircases in the subway stations.

U can find food at the convenience stores after u reach Seoul.

I took airasia and my flight touched down at 9.05pm that night...i think this options is feasible, except if u take dinner at the airport before departing to seoul.

There are many shopping malls at dongdaemun...Doota being the most high class and most of the items have price tags, around Doota are malls like Migiliore and Hello aPM...these malls looks like the pics from zstan, usually the items don't have price tags so u need to ask and bargain abit...the people selling women's clothes are fine but those selling men's clothes are scary as they will pull your hand and keep asking what are you looking for and where are u from.

There is another shopping mall called Cerestar behind Doota...it's a departmental stall so most of the items have price tags, the stuff there are cheaper too, but most of the stuff over there are not so trendy compared to the other malls.

Everland and suwon is at gyeonggi-do right? I dono bout train but i took the bus from gangnam to everland, its bout 1 hour....kangwondo is kinda big so which part are u going?...i dont know bout the train too but there is direct bus from dong seoul to sokcho bus terminal which cost 16,100won...3 hour journey.

Aiks, i think the tour agent got some commission from there...I went to yongpyeong too...i took the 4 hour session (12.30pm - 4.30pm) which cost 22000won for equipment rental and 15000won for ski gear rental, so total 37000 only...but i think 4 hours is more than enough d cos its very tiring having to drag the ski up after coming down from the slope.

Assuming that your hotel is in seoul....vivaldi park should be nearer compared to yongpyeong right?(I'm not sure where is vivaldi park).

Agree with stimix...i think it should be cheaper if u try to get the directions and go there yourself and rent the equipment and clothes there...i skied for 4 hours, ski and boots rental=22000won, ski wear rental=15000won, shuttle from seoul to yongpyeong=free from kto...i think the 100k includes an instructor, u can check with your hotel...but i think u dont really need an instructor cos i saw some posts from people who went earlier said that the instructors mostly teach in Korean. But it depends on u la...if ur on a budget, u can try to do everything by yourself....but if u can afford it and want to save the trouble of looking for transport and communicating with the people in the ski resort, u can take the package.

By the way I find skiing quite fun but tiring...bend your knees when ur going down and when u want to stop, make an A shape using ur ski (looks something like this '/\'). And don't be afraid to fall, I fell many times and it did not really hurt...had to purposely fall to stop many times when i almost knock into someone because can't stop in time.haha

Should be ok i guess...When are u going? If I'm not mistaken there are fireworks every night at 7 or 8pm at everland...if u want to wait for the fireworks need to spend whole day lo, and try not to go on weekends, or else u'll spend alot of time que-ing for the rides. =)

I think it should be more than enough if u dont buy too much stuff over there...i spent bout 1900 excluding flight for a 12 day trip (i did not spent much on food, accomodation and souveniers).hehe. U plan to be in seoul only travel to other cities/town?

Im not sure bout that but better be careful when ur eating at road side stalls...be sure to check the price 1st.
We were hungry on the night we reached and went to eat at the roadside stall (the type which looks like a tent and selling many types of seafood, normally managed by an aunty)...we ordered 2 bowls of 'shin' instant noodles and 2 plates of mushroom...it cost us 30,000won!!

If u travel via backpack i think rm2000 should be more than enought....i spent bout rm2200 for 12 days in Korea, inclusive of flight, accomodation and everything.


Oh ya the famous dumpling restaurant in Myeongdong...the noodles n soup are refillable too.hehe

This post has been edited by Derwyn: Jan 7 2011, 10:00 PM

I didn't know that we can refill at first until I saw a local old couple sitting next to me asked the waitress to add soup...so I also called the waiter and showed her a hand sign to add my bowl of soup...to my surprise she dumped a bowl of noodles into my bowl then only add soup.haha