Traveling in Seoul for 5-6hours

This week's travel & living segment for Yatie Chomeyl's blog, I will bring you guys to explore the heart of South Korea i.e Seoul. The three of us had the chance to tour around Seoul during our transit flight from KL-Fukuoka. We purposely choose the longest hour of transit as we have planned to do a short sightseeing trip in Korea for "free"; just like what we've done for our Hong Kong trip few months ago.

As for this time, we opt a guided tour service offered at the Incheon International Airport (IIA). We decided to join the travel tour which cost $50 per adult which also include lunch meal. Though we realize the fact that a group guided tour means that less independence for our time and activity, but we have also need to consider baby SN's condition at that time. After the 6 hours flight from KL-Seoul, baby SN is not feeling well + sleepy + tired so I guess we have made the right decision.

=- kat belakang I tu, ahli2 lain dlm group tour kami-=

This English guided tour lead by Jane as the tourist guide were also joined by a newly wed couple from US + 2 families from Philippine and China + 3 other people. During that 5 hours trip we were given the chance to went to 3 famous tourist spots in Seoul.

=- Hi there, we are your tourist guide for today -=

(1) Gyeongbokgung Palace
This is the first place for the tour which is about 1 hour journey with car from the IIA. Gyeongbokgung Palace is a royal palace located in northern Seoul. The name of the palace, Gyeongbokgung, if translated in English mean "Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven."

=- the entrance ticket -=

=- the entrance area -=

=- on top of the roof -=

=- surrounded by other modern high-rise building -=

The premises were destroyed by fire at the time of the Japan's occupation of Korea during 1592-1598. However, all of the palace's 7,700 rooms were later restored under the leadership of Heungseondaewongun in the years of King Gojong (1852~1919) .

=- inside view of the palace -=

There were Five Grand Palaces built by the Josen Dynasty. It is advised by the travel guide to spend 3 hours around the Royal Palace.

=- guard changing ceremony -=

The main palace building Geunjeongjeon is an ornate two-storey building. Gyeonghoeru, a large raised pavillion resting on 48 stone pillars, is the second one. This building is located on the left of the main building. On the right is the large living quarters for the primary queen which is called Gyotaejeon. On the eastern side the quarters for the crown prince Jaseondang is located. *sila tak perlu kagum camne I leh ingat nama2 panjang dlm bhs korea melainkan info di cilok dari sini, I tak dengar sangat pun masa Jane explain hoho*

To be honest, hubby and I feel excited to see the palace only for the first 30 minutes. Lepas tu dah agak bosan sebab bagi kitorang lebih kurang je design untuk setiap palace tu. Plus, baby SN is being cranky and grumpy due to the hot weather and lapar. Since this is a group tour, I couldn't really have the chance to take a break for a while to BF budak kecik yang dah kelaparan tu. The only chance that I have to BF him is when we were inside the car.

=- muka budak kecik adalah sangat masam mencuka -=

(2) National Folk Museum
Located inside Gyeongbok Palace, the National Folk Museum comprises three interconnected buildings. Inside the museum are examples of the different periods of Korean history, from pre-history through the Japanese occupation.

The National Folk Museum of Korea is the only national museum devoted to the history of traditional life, and most of the collection is closely related to the daily routines and occupations of pre-modern Koreans.

The diverse range of items includes wooden kimchi containers collected during a folk survey of Gangwon Province mountain communities, the skirts and jackets worn by newlywed brides, Joseon-era ornaments unearthed from graves, farming implements, and records of real estate transactions and many many more. *yea, sekali lagi info di cilok dari sini, mak tak kuasa nak hafal apa yang Jane dok pot pet explain ekekekeke*

(a) Exhibition Hall 1 displays the representative materials of everyday life and customs in Korea from prehistoric to modern times.

(b) Exhibition Hall 2 illustrates how Korean life of the Joseon period (1392-1910) revolved around the cycles of nature central to an agricultural society.

=- upacara untuk anak yang baru lahir -=

(c) Exhibition Hall 3 traces the major events in the life of a Korean born into the upper class of Joseon (1392-1910) society.

(d) The Donation Hall was established to honor those who have donated family heirlooms permanently to the museum. In so doing, they are sharing personal property with the public and making it available for research

(e) The Open-air Exhibition on the grounds of the National Folk Museum of Korea offers many items that remind the Korean viewer of traditional rural life. You can also see the stone piles and carved wooden birds atop long poles that were objects of village worship. Also of interest are the stone guardians of the twelve directions, with their humanoid bodies and animal faces.

(3) Insa-dong
The next destination for our tour is to the street of Insa-dong which is a narrow street lined with antique stores, art galleries and secondhand bookstores. This street is the most reliable place in the city to purchase antiques and reproductions, especially on the different types of Choson Dynasty chests. Traditional teahouses and art galleries are also concentrated in this area. *info cedok dari sini pulak*

=- along the Insa-dong street * I je tak berpayung, sebab tak bawak payung daa* -=

Since it was Sunday, the main street is blocked to vehicular traffic, allowing the throngs of people to mingle without fear of being run down by Seoul drivers taking a shortcut. It was raining cat and dog and chicken and duck upon arriving there.

We were given only 20 minutes to walk down the street,so tak cukup masa lah untuk shoping apa sangat. In the end, we just bought a Korean traditional sweets i.e Korean court cakes: KkulTare. Kkultarae are made with honey. Thick, firm honey is stretched and pulled into strands, dipped heavily in cornstarch to keep the strands from sticking together, then wrapped around a filling of ground nuts. The finished product is made with 16,000 strands of very fine honey!

=- tengok muka hubby yang bersunguh makan KkulTare yang sungguh2 lazat -=

The kkultarae is dry and sweet, with a bit of a nuttiness to the inside. At first we bought the almond flavor. Since the taste of KkulTare is so tempting; we bought another box of KkulTare of peanut flavor at the airport *which cost higher price than the one sold in Insa-dong uhuhuhu*. Here's a video that I shoot on the making of the KkulTare. The vendor man is so funny and entertaining; he even used dual-language (Korean & English) while explaining the process.

The tour ended at a Korean restaurant where all of us were given the chance to taste Korean meal. It is more or less similar to Japanese food, with an addition of kimchi + seaweed on top of the rice. The rice is put in a claypot bowl and served together with miso soup. The taste is OK..not so bad yet not so delicious..biasa2 jer lah kan, nak expect apa sangat makan nasi dengan sayur je pon hehe.

=- nama restoran tu tapi I tak tahu baca eheh -=

=- rice + seaweed + veggie -=

=- kimchi + veggies -=

Okeh, ni I nak buat promosi sikit. Sambil2 I tulis entry ni, ada keluar promosi dari AirAsia kat Nuffnang ads I. So, cekidaut *click the image* for those of you who was thinking of going to Seoul (*sebab-terus-rasa-teruja-lepas-baca-entry-ini*) at cheaper and affordable flight ticket price.

=- 안녕히 계세요 (annyeonghi gyeseyo: goodbye) KOREA -=

Psssstttt : banyak lagi gambar2 kat Korea untuk di share, kalau rajin I buat lagi satu entry..kalau malas, takde la jawabnya eheh