The Apple's Diary!

Winter Sonata Journey Day 6 - 11 January 2010 Monday This was it! We woke up early, changed into our ski suit and all geared up. All ready for our ski trip. me in the ski suit him in the ski suit We walked out our hotel and entered into the ski park. But first, we took a cable ride up to the highest slope to have a bird's eye view of Phoenix Park. road block - take a breath and ski down from the advance slope not convinced it was the steepest? check this out. Sometimes, it's good just to play safe. practicing for the role of Santa Claus - riding on a sleigh The real thing started after we got down from the highest point - by cable. Since we had anticipated plenty of falling, the camera was put away for its safety. But I tell you, even though it was a -9 ° C out there, we were sweating away. At one point, I was so tired I just sat on the snow ground. me after the ski trip We packed up and left Phoenix Park at noon and headed for a nearby restaurant for our lunch. Dumplin...

Day 5 started early. We barely had enough sleep as we reached Sorak Hotel past 10pm. But we were relieved to have some place to rest, to re-charge our camera and sleep. The weather was good. After breakfast, we boarded the coach to Seoraksan National Park, which was also known as Mount Sorak. As it was a Sunday, we could also see Koreans waking up early to hike up Mount Sorak. Big Snowman Besides having a hiking trail, Mount Sorak also house the biggest Buddha statue in Korea. Korean use white candles as praying items. They inscribe well wishes on the white candles and light up in the cupboard in front of the statue. Note the size contrast between the people in the background and the Buddha statue. Like in Jeju, Mount Sorak has this crescent moon bear as its mascot. If you see this crescent moon bear, it means you are in Mount Sorak. This is also the place that separates North and South Korea. Unfortunately this bear had long extinct. Extinct Crescent Moon Bear Mount Sorak is really gr...

After an exciting Day 3, we looked forward to our Winter Sonata Day 4 at Everland. As the saying goes, always start the day with a good breakfast and our good breakfast is Abalone porridge. Abalone Porridge Breakfast After arriving at Gimpo Airport, we boarded the coach to Everland. It was a long ride. By the time we reached Everland, it was already 12pm in the afternoon. The weather was freezingly cold and it was snowing throughout. Despite that, I was quite impressed with Everland. First, it was really huge and all outdoor. The top part was more for shopping, kiddy ride plus a few extremely thrilling rides. The bottom part had restaurants, a Safari and thrill rides. Everland reminded me of Hong Kong's Ocean Park. And also Genting's theme park. Look down if you dare We had to get our own lunch here and it was super crowded partly because it was a Saturday and also all the Korean school kids were having their winter holiday. We were recommended to go for their Safari. And so we...

After such an exciting horse-riding, it's time for something more serene. We came to Jusangjeolli Park. The rocks resembled hexagon pillars which were naturally made. Jusangjeolli Along the way, we saw Lady Diver or also known as sea women. They braved the cold sea water and dived into the deeps with no special equipments to harvest the seafood. Usually they will set up stall and sell their finds. Haenyeo - Lady Diver (in purple) The Sea Food We didn't stayed for long and after 15 minutes, we were out. In a cold weather region, any hot food is always welcomed. We found a fish cake stall at the roadside. Fish Cake Stall Gobbling up my fish cake It was relatively long in portion. But thinner than our local fish cake version. The hot soup was really good! Time to be in the comfort zone. Welcome to Teddy Bear Museum! Oh! So cute! Who's the 3rd Party here? Big Boy and Big Girl also like to hug the Teddy Bear. But you come to Teddy Bear Kingdom, you just got to be careful. Other...

After Yellow Submarine, we were treated to another colour rendezvous - Orangey Tangerine. The smaller the sweeter the tangerine. I thought we would not get to pluck the tangerine since I already saw Jeju tangerines selling in our local NTUC. I even joked with ASA counter staff that I needed to bring one pack over, to hang up for photo taking. Each of us was only allowed to pluck 2. We took our time, exploring the farm. I made my choice! Look how fresh it was! The colour..... sweet sweet Our tour guide bought a big bag of tangerine for us. It was free for all to take, as many as you like. Lunch break was the famous BBQ Pork. Not your air pork from Australia but their black pig. The lunch was good but messy. I was contemplating to fill in the feedback form, asking them to provide disposal apron for a "safer and cleaner" dining. Failure to control the heat level would cause the oil to splutter out. Having such a good lunch could only means one thing. Are you ready for the next a...

Winter Sonata Day - 8 January 2010 Friday @ Jeju Island Day 3 was packed with activities to the brim. We started the day with a 6am morning call. Korea is 1 hour ahead of Singapore time, which means we actually woke up at 5am. Breakfast was taken at Hotel lobby cafe. Not wasting time, we set off for the first destination of the day. Nope... this was just along the way to our destination. A garden to showcase their culture and history. Love in the air Love Hut - noticed that the ceiling was made of straw. The straw were bundled up tightly to prevent cold wind from gushing in during Winter and keeping the interior cool during Summer. The hut was low ceiling with no fence. History has said that this the type of housing for the ancient Jeju islanders. The ancestors were too poor for any robbery to exist. Finally we reached... Seongsan Sunrise Peak. In Jeju, there are 3 things are significant and representative of the island. 1. Earth God 土地公 2. Lady Diver 3. Black Rock No guess for whether...