Land of the Morning Calm: Korea 2012 Day 3 (Part 2)

I'm now on the second half of my Day 3 post! So to continue:

After the morning stroll at the palace, we've decided to go back first to the hotel to take a rest and have lunch at Doota Mall. After that, we continued our sight seeing! Next stop: N Seoul Tower!

For Koreanovela Addicts, most of you would probably rememeber this place as the place where Gu Jun Pyo met with Gum Jan Di (right?haha!) in Boys over Flowers! And for Thai Movie Lovers, you would know this as the place where "Hello Stranger" was shot! Haha! 

Anyway,trivia aside, The "N" in N Seoul Tower stands for "NAMSAN"; it is a mountain located centrally in Seoul where a tower is situated, and which is viewable from all points around the city. Seoul tower is famous for the "LOCKS OF LOVE", wherein couples would bind their own locks on the railings and would throw the keys (not allowed anymore, so just keep it haha!) as to signify "Forever". They said that a koreanovela actually started this "act" and everyone else just followed; and now, the whole deck is full of locks! Amazing! 

You would actually feel the love upon ascending the decks and it is just REALLY MAGICAL! Love!

When going here, you can either take a bus or hire a taxi like we did. If you have a private car, you could park it and from there you'll ride the namsan cable car in going to the mountain ( we did this the first time, but since we have a 2-year-old with us, we chose the more convenient way). 

Trivia: it was in the cable car where jun pyo and jan di slept during their first date hehe 

Anyway, here are the pics:

(Lunch at Doota)

(Road going to the top)

THE Locks of LOVE!

( don't throw your keys! Haha!)

Now, you can go here and just take pictures on the deck or you could actually explore the entire tower and the teddy bear museum inside. We chose to do both! Hehe

(Elevator going to the top)

( observatory )

( Korean Resto HanCook! Actually there is also a rotating restaurant here in Seoul Tower but you would have to make a reservation to eat there! Wish we could eat there the next time we come back! Haha!)

( Inside the Teddy bear museum)

That's it for Part 2 of Day 3! Hope you had fun reading my post!

Xoxo,

Butchik

Land of the Morning Calm: Korea 2012 Day 3 (Part 1)

This is it!!! I'm finally Masipag!! Actually, I'm thankful to the blogger app for iphone/ipad because now, I can finally create posts even if I'm on-the-go!

So anyway, I'm now on our Third Day! Yay! I will be posting two parts for this day since it was a Long 

One! Hehe! Here's Part ONE:

On our Third day, we've decided to just stroll around the city. We've started our day early and first went to Gyeongbokgung Palace. You can take the train in going here since it's literally in the middle of the city, with it's own station. One of the things that we love when travelling in a foreign country is the fact that we can actually take the public transportation, which we don't get to do in the Philippines. 

There are a lot of Palace around Seoul,so you have to choose the ones that you would like to explore. As for us, we were torn between Gyeongbokgung (The Largest Palace)  and Changdeokgung Palace (The one with a secret garden). However, we chose Gyeongbokgung since it holds more history. 

(Trivia: It was in Gyeongbokgung where the first source of Electricity in Korea was generated via the big  Hall located inside the Palace. This was also where the Royals held their parties before; will show you the pics later)

We strolled around the palace; but since it was already our second time (my mom,dad,sister,and I) we just took a rest, and let my brother and sister-in-law to roam around hehe. It was really a perfect day to just sit down and enjoy the cold weather. It was not really full-time spring yet when we came, so there were not too many cherry blossoms this time as compared to our first visit. But still, the palace looked great and it was just really the perfect day!  Here are the pics from palace:

( if you want to see the change of palace guards, go to gyeongbokgung around noon or before noon hehe)

( the hall behind us is the one that I mentioned above, which is the first source of electricity in Seoul)

( feeling part of a tour hehe)

( view from the outside)

( in Gwanghwamun Square)

( typical Scene in Seoul: Tradition meets Civilization) 

Will post the second part of this post asap! Haha!

Xoxo,

Butchik

Land of the Morning Calm: Korea 2012 Day 2

When I say Long Overdue, What I really mean is LOOONNNGGGG Overdue hahaha! This trip was way back last March 2012 and I'm only posting it right now. Oh well, better late than never! 

On our second day in Korea, we've decided to visit another amusement park. We went to Lotte World on our first day; and the next day it's EVERLAND, BABY! Hahaha! Everland is located in Yongin just around 40 minutes to an hour away from Seoul, depending on the traffic. 

My mom had been here for 3 times already, as for me, my sister, and my dad, it's only our second. But it's the first time for my brother, sister-in-law, and my cutie patootie nephew.

 In 2011, our good friend Mr. Shin, gladly brought us here via his own car. This time, we've decided to go on our own so as to not bother him anymore. Anyway, in going here, you can actually take a bus (there are several bus stops going to yongin around the city, usually near the hotels too). We rented our own limousine taxi in going to yongin since we have a two-year-old with us; but it really is more practical if you'd just take a bus. ( the transportation system in korea is very convenient anyway).

Everland is a seasonal theme park; meaning, the theme in here varies depending on the season. During the two times that we've been here, it is always Spring; and I wouldn't have it any other way. The scenery is just beautiful, with different kinds of flowers in full bloom; the weather is perfect too, it's sunny but it's cold ( the perfect weather to just stroll). 

For kids and kids-at-heart ( like us hehe), Everland is the perfect place to be. There are several rides, food carts, souvenir shops, parades, and other scheduled performances around the park. If you would go here, I would recommend you to spare the whole day. Firstly, because the park is so nice and relaxing and big that you would want to savor every second that you're there. Secondly, it's a nice experience to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Thirdly ( and most importantly), the ticket is a bit pricey so be sure to really make the most out of your visit hahaha! 

Here are the pics from this trip:

(Inside the limo taxi)

Enjoy!! And really try to put Seoul in your list of "places-to-visit"

Xoxo,

Butchik

Land of the Morning Calm: Korea 2012 Day 1

 It was not even a year yet since we last came to Korea but we just can't get enough of this AMAZING COUNTRY! Although we really came back this year just so that my Brother, my sister-in-law, and nephew can also have the KOREA EXPERIENCE! Anyeong Haseyo! =)