Fall in South Korea

In Oct 2013, I traveled to South Korea with my sister. We wanted to take a guided tour from a travel agency, but that got cancelled due to miscommunication. Looking back, that was actually a good thing because we wouldn't have done so many things on this trip if we had taken that tour.

If you're traveling without a tour and do not speak Korean, I recommend you get a general idea of how you will travel between places before you reach. For free translation service at any time (24 hours and 7 days a week), call the Tourist Information Hotline 1330 [We did not use this service though so can't comment on how good it is].

We rented an Olleh WiBro Pocket Wifi device so we would have Wifi coverage in most of the areas we were traveling to. We reserved one here and then picked it up at the Olleh airport counter. Then we used the Google Translate app on our phones to converse with locals where no one spoke English.We found that in Seoul usually the younger generation would speak English but in Jeju it was difficult finding anyone who did.

Here is our itinerary in a nutshell -

Day 1 - Arrive in Seoul, take bus to Sokcho
Day 2 - Sunrise Point, Beach, Mount Seoraksan, bus at night back to Seoul
Day 3 - Gyeongbokgung Palace, Nami Island
Day 4 - JSA & DMZ tour, flight to Jeju
Day 5 - Jeongbang Falls, Sangumburi Crater, Manjanggul Lava Tubes, Seongsan sunrise peak, Seopjikoji Day 6 - Oedolgae, Yakcheonsa Temple, Jusangjeolli Cliffs, Trick Art Museum, Cheonjiyeon Falls, Seonim-gyo Bridge, Suweolbong (to see the sunset)
Day 7 - Seogwipo Submarine, Nanta Show
Day 8 - Flight back to Seoul, shopping at the airport, return to Singapore

Day 1 - Seoul to Sokcho

We took the subway from the Airport to Gangbyeon Station. If you find the subway system confusing use this link to figure out the route. It took us some time to find the Dong Bus Terminal when we got out of the station because we had to find someone who spoke English, to point us in the right direction. You can use this blog as a guide to reach Sokcho. Buses ply half hourly between Seoul and Sokcho. The bus ride took around 3.5 hours. By the time we reached Sokcho, the sun was setting. We stayed at Goodstay Ritzcal Hotel in Sokcho. The staff did not know much English so we used Google translate to converse with them. They were friendly and tried to help as much as possible.

Taken from our taxi on the way to the hotel

Day 2 - Sokcho and Seoraksan

SOKCHO

We left early the next morning to catch the sunrise at Sunrise Point. Unfortunately it was cloudy. Most shops/restaurants were closed at this point so we had to wait before getting breakfast.

Sunrise at Sunrise Point

We went to the Sokcho beach next. It was really windy (and cold for someone from Singapore)!

Windy and beautiful Sokcho Beach!

We finally found a restaurant which was open and showed them the paper which said "I'm a vegetarian" in Korean. And we got this at the end of it-

It was the best non-Bibimbap meal yet!

SEORAKSAN

If you're going to mount Seoraksan and especially on a weekend, get there REALLY early and buy the cable car tickets. We got there around 9.30 am. The earliest cable car tickets available were for 2.45 pm!! I'm guessing travel agencies buy the morning ones out early because there seemed to be a lot of tour groups there.

The park itself is gorgeous and has some awesome hiking trails and courses. But we were short on time and our main goal was to see fall colours (without hiking to the top of the mountain), so we waited till our turn came to board the cable car. In the meantime we visited the Sinheungsa Temple and walked around the beautiful park landscape.

The giant Buddha at Sinheungsa

Sinheungsa Temple

Beautiful paintings on the temple roof

Walking around Mt Seoraksan National Park

And finally when our turn to take the cable car came, we caught sight of the fall colours!

Fall colours at Mt. Seoraksan!

We also climbed to the top of what I believe was the Gwongeumseong fortress at one point in time. The views from the top were beautiful and we could see for quite a distance even on a slightly-foggy day.

Gwongeumseong Fortress

It is fairly steep. Ropes to-hold-on-to are available at the most difficult part of the climb.

We took the bus back from Seoraksan, collected our luggage and then made our way back to the bus station for the ride to Seoul. We managed to convey our vegetarian requirements to the Hotel staff before we left and they arranged for some noodles at the small restaurant across the road. To our delight, we ate these at the traditional low tables, while sitting on the floor. :)

Customised vegetarian noodles!

Day 3 - Gyeongbokgung Palace & Nami Island

Since we had limited time in Seoul, we picked one palace to visit. Gyeongbokgung Palace has a free "Royal clothing Experience" and we got there just in time before it closed. We had 5 minutes to pose in the royal clothes. :D

Royally dressed! Gyeongbokgung Palace

We explored the palaces inside the compound and visited the adjoining Museum as well. Then we rushed back to the entrance area to witness the "Changing of Royal Guard" Ceremony.

Changing of Royal Guard, Gyeongbokgung Palace

Day 4 - JSA & DMZ Tour

The pavement-height line in front of the soldiers is the border. The white building is in North Korea.
You could cut the tension in the air with a knife here!

The tour to Panmujom or Joint Security Area at the border of North and South Korea can only be taken through a travel agency. Book this in advance because it is difficult to find an available tour closer to your travel date. We shifted our travel dates based on availability.

Before you can enter the JSA area you need to sign a release saying you will not hold S. Korea or USA responsible if you get into any trouble and you're going in at your own risk.

In hindsight the only thing worth our time was the JSA tour. Skip the DMZ tour, especially if you're short on time.

Thailand!

Someone asked what to do in Thailand and I didn't realize how much I liked the place until I rattled off a bunch of stuff off the top of my head!

1. People are so polite!
2. Street food is amazing! - I so totally want to eat khanom krok right now!!
3. There is soooooooo much fresh fruit around that you really have no reason to not eat a healthy snack every day!
4. Wat arun is beautiful, the night view of the river is beautiful, and even the floating market is not so bad!
5. Sunset from the river taxi is awesome! Walking along the quaint streets is awesome too!
6. Kanchanaburi is absolutely fabulous! The floating raft hotels with no electricity and absolutely gorgeous views of the stars are amazing! The bridge on the river quai is beautiful even though it reminds you of the painful past behind it..

Happy just thinking about it now! :)