SK 2012: East Meets West

I've been to Nami Island before and the almost 2-hour commute is literally a pain in the ass. It's worth it though and I wouldn't miss going back there during the fall season where all the leaves are turning into beautiful shades of red. As expected, Nami found it's way back to our itinerary. To make the commute even more worth it, we decided to visit Petite France as well since it's also in Gyeonggi-do, just two stations away from Nami.

We woke up around 7:30 AM (an hour later than our original plan) and met up with Faye's cousins so all in all, there are now 12 of us. Field trip much? As we made our way to the subway, a group of ajummas approached us and asked for directions. They looked like Filipinos but I know better than to assume. We were already telling them how to get to their guesthouse when one of their amigas suddenly spoke in Filipino! Kami na nag-Englishan sa Korea! Haha Apparently, they thought we were locals and told us we look like Koreans already (even though we've been in SK for only 4 days). Maybe because of our outfits? :)) I don't know. But as a traveler, passing as a local in any country is definitely a compliment.

Before and after

To get to Gyeonggi-do, it took two train transfers, one of which was more than an hour long. But as you already know, I can sleep through anything. And apparently, so can the rest of the girls! Haha Obviously, this week-long trip is slowly taking it's toll on us.

First stop: Petite France. After almost two hours of train travel, we finally arrived at Cheongpyeong Station (Gyeonchun Line) only to discover that the Gapyeong City Tour Bus we're supposed to take has already left. We had no choice but to separate into groups of 4 and take cabs. The ride took around 20-30 minutes but we didn't mind. The beautiful scenery kept us entertained the entire time.

When we arrived at Petite France, there were groups of kids out on a field trip and they were busy posing as their teachers took pictures of them. I loooove their wacky poses! Even Vanie couldn't help but take a couple of shots too. So darn cute!!

Look mom, I'm in France!

Petite France is a mini French village located on top of a hill and is home to traditional french houses, flower gardens, and several exhibit halls including one that serves as a tribute to the Little Prince. So if you like any of those, this is definitely a must-see! Admission costs ₩8,000 but we only paid ₩7,000 thanks to another coupon.

It's the Little Prince!

Growing up, I grew fond of the Little Prince thanks to our English class. I still remember the first time I said Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's name out loud and dreamed of speaking French fluently someday. Hmm... I guess it's never too late, eh? Seeing these references definitely brought out the inner child in all of us.

Princess Sarah finally meets the Little Prince.

We first stopped by the doll village even though I absolutely hate dolls. Or at least those that look like they come alive at night. Normal girls might enjoy the display but it sure freaked me out. The only thing I loved about the exhibit was the Little Prince statue and the super cute mini village.

The Little Prince is everywhere!

Then we went to the exhibit solely dedicated to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry where his life and works are displayed. I was in awe of all the different editions they have of The Little Prince. I couldn't help but fangirl. The good news is, the Little Prince wasn't only contained in exhibits, he's all over the place!

At one of the traditional French houses

We also went inside several French houses which were really pretty. Maybe it's just me and my OC-ness but I wish there were descriptions or short write-ups about the relevance of the items displayed. Also, we weren't sure if we could use or at least touch the display because there were no signs in sight but the furniture looked old and fragile so we decided to just forget it.

After grabbing a quick bite and watching the on-going commercial shoot (for a Japanese airline), we went to the bus stop to wait for the Gapyeong City Tour Bus. We were at the bus stop alright but on the wrong side of the road!!! HAHAHA We were busy taking pictures of each other when a coaster bus suddenly arrived and we all wondered if that was our bus. Since we were waiting for a tour bus, I assumed that it would have to be bigger and more distinct so I confidently told them it's not our bus. Suddenly, a colorful bus stopped on the other side of the road and I struggled to make out the words written in Hangeul.

Me: Ga-gap-gapyeong...? Shiiiii...ti...teu...eo? GAPYEONG CITY TOUR BUS!!!!!

Without saying another word, the 12 of us started running like mad men! Thank goodness, we hopped on the right bus or else imagine our embarrassment causing a commotion like that. HAHA

A ticket costs ₩5,000 which gives you unlimited bus rides for the entire day so you can get on/off anywhere you like as long as it's within the bus route. Pretty cool, huh? The bus driver and the tour guide were really friendly too. They even stopped the bus so tourists like us can have our pictures taken with Petite France in the background. How nice!

Next stop: Nami Island. Being adrenaline junkies, most of us wanted to try the Nami Zipwire. After watching the video one last time, we started pairing up for the ride only to get our hopes crushed. It turns out, they only have one pair of trolleys and harnesses so you have to wait for 30 minutes before your turn. And since there were 6 of us plus Faye's cousins, that would be a lot of time wasted in waiting! We knew better than to waste our time waiting in line so we headed for the ferry. There's always a next time, I guess. At least we were able to save money as the ferry only costs ₩10,000 while the zipwire package costs ₩38,000.

Off to Namiseom!

Upon boarding the ferry, we went straight to the enclosed section to keep warm. We were chatting the time away when tourists seated beside us started speaking to us in a different language. We have no idea what they were saying but they just kept on going anyway. Thanks to my listening and interpreting skills (whut? haha), I realized they were speaking in Thai so I quickly told them we don't speak Thai. That obviously surprised them so they asked us in English where we're from. I proudly said we're from the Philippines and they went "Aahhh we thought you were Thai." o.O First, fellow Filipinos failed to recognize us as their kababayans and now, here are Thai tourists claiming we're one of them. Oh the irony! Hehe I told them I've been to Thailand during Songkran and I found their country really beautiful. They somehow thought I was telling one of them that she was beautiful. Haha I didn't even bother correcting them. At least, I made someone's day.

Look, I have my own line of postcards now! :))

They say love is sweeter the second time around. Well, for Nami, it sure is. ♥ Upon arriving, we were greeted by the familiar rows and rows of trees. But this time, the leaves have all turned into beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red. Such a lovely sight to see! The most obvious thing to do was take lots and lots of (profile) pictures, of course. Every picture came out looking postcard-perfect! Oh how I wish we have autumn in the Philippines too! :(

Kimchi pajeon (파전) and tuna dosirak (도시락) for lunch.

We had to cut our photo sessions short though if we wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon biking. Not to mention, we were already starving by this time so we decided to finally look for Drama Cafe Yonga-jiga. It sure wasn't easy to find because we kept getting sidetracked by the beautiful trees that lined the streets. :"> We found it though and ordered traditional Korean lunch boxes called Dosirak (도시락) for each of us and an order of Kimchi Pajeon (파전) for sharing.

Experiencing our Korean childhood for the first time.

Dosirak is Korea's version of the Japanese bento or our local baon so it brings nostalgia to those who eat it. Except for us first timers, of course. It comes in a rectangular tin can filled with rice, your choice of topping (tuna or cheese), egg, and kimchi. After putting on the lid, you have to shake it violently to mix everything up. Tip: The more you shake it, the spicier it's going to be.

I was this close to getting my hands burned when two Korean girls saved me by handing out their gloves to me before I could touch the hot container. I was so hungry, I forgot to take protective gloves from the counter! Bless you kind souls. See, language isn't much of a barrier in helping other people out.

Autumn in our hearts

After lunch, we went for a quick stroll and a couple of photo ops just to rest our tummies a little bit before proceeding to the bike rentals. We rented four bicycles for Vanie, Rona, Jona and I, and two e-bikes for Ate Light and Erin who weren't confident enough with their biking skills.

Biking in the woods.

For me, biking is the best and fastest way to tour the island. Be warned though that taking dramatic biking photos will surely take most of your time. Haha So make sure to manage your time well as it sure flies fast when you're having so much fun. Before we know it, our time was up so we hurriedly went back to the rental center and returned our bikes.

Winter Sonata.

Of course, a trip to Namiseom wouldn't be complete without visiting the famous Winter Sonata photo spots where scenes from the drama were shot. Fans will sure enjoy reliving the sweet moments shared by Jun Kang and Janice Choi (Hello, GMA7!) on the island. By 4:30 PM, sad as we are, we had to leave the island and wait under the bus stop for the Gapyeong City Tour Bus which will take us back to Gapyeong Station.

Misadventure #98712364:
Upon arriving at the station, we checked the train schedule and found that the next train to Seoul will be arriving in a few minutes. Like the crazy people that we are, we all started to make a run for it. We were rushing up the stairs when an ahjussi saw us and cheered us on. He screamed, "Pali! Pali!" (Quickly! Quickly!) as he motioned with his hands to the nearby train. Panicked, we all rushed in without second thoughts.

Only when we have taken in our surroundings did we realize that something's not right. The train looked high-class - far different from the one we took to get to Gapyeong Station. I worriedly looked at Ate Light and only then did she remember that there were two trains sharing the same track in Gapyeong Station. We were supposed to get on a different train! And definitely not the ITX. Our doubts were confirmed when Faye relayed to us her conversation (interrogation?) with a man in uniform.

Man in uniform: Can I see your ticket?
Faye: No ticket. Only T-Money. *proudly shows her T-Money*
Man in uniform: T-Money?? Impossible!

Weirdly, we found Faye's story amusing and started literally laughing out loud after realizing our little boo-boo. Several passengers (including the men in uniform) started looking at us, seemingly amused by these lost yet weirdly happy tourists. Since Faye absolutely loves asking strangers for directions or whatever, we told her to ask Mr. Army Man how we can transfer to the right train. With the subway map in hand, she went back to Mr. Army Man and asked for directions. She came back and told us to get off at Pyeong-jeong/Pyeongyang/Pompyang and any other word you can possible combine with pyeong and jeong. Naturally, we ended up laughing again. Finally, we realized she meant Pyeongnae-Hopyeong Station. Pretty close. Not. Haha

Since we're in the subway, I didn't worry too much about getting lost. No matter where you end up, there's always a way back. We were already starting to relax a bit when we remembered that riding the ITX requires a ticket! Now, we really started to worry about the ticket inspector. As tourists, we didn't want to violate any laws or whatever. And as if on cue, the inspector arrived and asked for our tickets. We carefully explained that we got on the wrong train and we plan to get off at the next stop. Thank goodness, she understood. Not only did she let us off, she also gave us directions on how to get back to Seoul. Who says getting on the ITX without a ticket is impossible? Haha Yay for a free ITX ride!

We finally got off at Pyeongnae-Hopyeong Station and waited for our train. This time, we made sure that we're on an ordinary-looking one. We were definitely tired but our spirits were still up somehow thanks to our little misadventure. Tired as we are, we still decided to drop by Cheonggyecheon for the Seoul Lantern Festival.

Seoul Lantern Festial 2012

The line was crazy long when we got there but as it's continually moving, we didn't mind falling in line. Believe me, we've seen worse. *cough* UP reg *cough* We passed the time by chatting (of course) and munching on our snacks (duh). Eventually, we were able to enter the exhibit. The lanterns were so beautiful and they lined up the seemingly endless stream. At first, we walked fast wanting to get to the end of the stream. But as time went by, our legs and feet started to give way so we decided to go back once we see the Philippines' entry to the exhibit. It's a pretty long walk but eventually, we made it. Our entry looked like it came straight from one of our highways where vendors sell parols made from capiz shells. It may seem ordinary to us but for other tourists, our entry definitely stood out. It's heart-warming to see locals and tourists alike taking pictures of our humble lantern display. Cute!

Cheesy Korean activities for couples.

Little by little, we slowly dragged our heavy feet towards the exit. Funny how Korean couples seem to have all the energy in the world as they participated in the different cheesy activities available at the stream. Well, they haven't been walking/biking around all day so I guess that explains their enthusiasm. Or maybe it's just love? Haha

We ended the day by having a mini search and rescue operation for Rona in the cold autumn/winter air. I was really cranky by the end of the day as nothing affects my mood as much as hunger and cold. We had a late dinner at the KFC across the street from our guesthouse. It didn't really satisfy my hunger as I found the bulgogi burger a tad too sweet for my liking. Oh well, tomorrow's a new day!


Traveling party: Erin, Faye, Jona (organizer), Light (organizer), Rona, Sera (organizer), and Vanie
Travel date: 9 November 2012 [Day 4]
Photo credits: Faye, Light, Vanie