Everland Resort and Theme-park Gangnam station exit6; then bus 5002 (bus every 15mins) / Suwon station; then bus 66 or 6000 (bus every 30 mins) Sledding at Everland would have been the highlight of our trip. Prior to our flight, we have checked out several ski resorts. The themed-park Everland was our top choice because of price, location and its attractions. The bus frequency from Gangnam station to Everland is every 15 minutes so we decided to go there.  And yes, we learned our lesson when
read more »

If there’s a day I would like to re-create, it would be our 4th and shopping day. When I got off from bed, it was already raining. I half-wished for snow instead of rain. It seemed that the rain wouldn’t stop… and it didn’t… We endured a very cold, rainy, and windy day inside the malls of Dongdaemun the entire time. Another reason why I would like to re-create this day was, at that time, I haven’t seen the Korean drama Secret Garden. If I knew, I would have bought that ridiculous
read more »

Namdaemun Gyongbokgung to Namdaemun market via bus Our next stop is Namdaemun, one of the shopping districts of Seoul. We were looking for a money changer but decided to eat first…tummy first.hehe. Alas! When we came back, they were all closed. Namdaemun is a place to haggle and buy pasalubong (I saw teas and different types of biscuits here). Unfortunately, some of us don’t have enough money (and it’s already Saturday… no banks), so we didn’t shop. Besides, our shopping day wa
read more »

We were supposed to set off to Gyeonggi-do area and visit their tourist spots. At first we planned to go to the DMZ area, the Hwaseong fortress and its palace. If there's enough time, we would go to the World Cup stadium which is also at Gyeonggi-do. Back at Backpacker Mr. Sea, we were told that we won't be able to get inside the DMZ area without a guide. We could go there (Dorasan station, Dora observatory) but there were lots of areas that were probably off limits without a guide. We decide
read more »

  Our flight to Incheon was at 130am(GMT+8) arriving at 630am(GMT+9). As we arrived, we immediately felt the chill in the air. It probably distracted me as I wasn't able to distinguish the male and female toilet. It was funny and embarassing as one Korean inside the toilet said "Oh yeah!" Oh well, I guess that's a start of our misadventures. hehe [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="281" caption="the gang arriving at the hotel"][/caption] There is an airport limo bus stop near
read more »

It was raining in Shanghai when we arrived. We return to Jiang’an temple station since the bus to the airport could be found here. It took us a while to find a place where we could leave our luggage. Anton suggested trying it to one of the hotels. Fortunately, a Swissotel staff was helpful enough and checked our bags in without any payment. I didn’t see that because I was checking the bus station if there were left-luggage services around. Hoorrayy! We finally tasted an authentic Chines
read more »

Our Beijing tour was finally over. We didn’t plan any more tours but concentrated on shopping and buying souvenirs. It’s a good thing that the Happy Dragon Hostel allowed us to take a shower in their common bathroom even though we’ve checked out already that afternoon. Katie even handed us towels, and offered a hair dryer. Too bad, we’re unable to say goodbye to her. They’re hosting a free dumpling party that night so she’s probably busy. At 930pm, we finally got a taste of t
read more »

We were scheduled to visit the Tian’anmen square, Forbidden City, and all centrally located tourist spots. We head off to Tian’an’men East station. Tiananmen Square It was cloudless and very humid that day. We took some pictures of the square, its surrounding buildings, before finally proceeding to the Forbidden City. The National Museum could also be found here. Fact: Tiananmen was also known for its 1989 Tiananmen massacre wherein protesters, mostly students were killed in
read more »

One of my biggest dreams is to climb the Great Wall of China. It’s included of one my to-do list before I die.hehe. Months ago, Xty and I searched for the best possible great wall tour, and found a USD20 or RMB140/pax tour. We’ve booked it since commuting to the Great Wall is a big hassle. Besides, Changling, the tomb of Ming dynasty’s powerful emperor Yongle is included in this package. Our tour bus picked us up at Wahaha Hotel. We were 11 on the coaster. 2 Britons, a family of
read more »

We were a bit disappointed with Beijing’s metro. Beijing railway station was situated in probably 2 of the oldest line of Beijing’s subway so there were moments that we carry our luggage up/down the stairs. After a gruelling morning, we finally arrived at Dongsi station. While going to our hotel, we were surprised by the bustling market that we need to cross. The crowd was so boisterous. We actually thought that our hotel would be worse. Thank God we’re wrong. When we got to Happy Dragon H
read more »