Korea - A glimpse of korean market and a taste of its delicacies...

Another best way to enjoy visit to another country is to have a taste of its native
delicacies and one  more,  experience doing the market by yourself.

Just like here in the Philippines where we have plenty of street foods everywhere,
Korea offers a lot too.  We had a taste of its different street foods: fish cake,
vegetable cakes, shrimp, squid, hotdog and alike. It costs 1,000 won(40+PHP)
each. Its really delicious and tasty. 

 

It is only in Korea that I had a taste of this big size of strawberries. 

And these are its different version of Kimchi.  My family now loves kimchi. It gives

a twist in any viand that we mixed it with. Or just a side dish, my husband loves it 

very much.

 

We also had a taste of their native cakes...

 

And cooked also some of its seafoods...

 

 

 And here are the vegetables which I think make most koreans slim and fit. 

They eat plenty of fruits and leafy vegetables.

 Enjoying our market time...

And their delicious sweet corn.

 

We had a full from our market experience and enjoyed it very much.

Korea - Busy street of Insa-dong

It is a street known for its cultural scene. Full of  handicrafts, antique, artworks
and souvenirs for visitors.

It is located in Insa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea.

Great souvenirs for give-aways are fans, keychains, nail cutters, pearl jewelry
boxes, hats, Korean dolls, shirts, and traditional jewelries.

I saw a lot of artists too who can draw your caricature or portrait. And this is
one of the crowded places in Seoul that I have seen. A lot of foreigners strolling
down the street. 

And most of all, you can satisfy your shopping and food cravings here after a
long day at Seoul.  It has plenty of shops, coffee shops and korean restaurants.

A sumptuous korean dinner ended our great whole day tour @Seoul.

How to get here:
- Subway line 1, Jonggak Station, exit 3
- Subway line 5, Jongno 3 (sam)-ga Station, exit 1

Korea - Playtime @ Yeouido Park

After enjoying our Han River cruising, we took off at Youido station and headed
in the park to at least warm-up our numbed bodies due to coldness. Of course,
this is one park that should not be missed when you visit Seoul because of the
tranquility, the cherry blossoms of spring and the amenities it offers for both the
young and the old.

 
Yeouido Park is a large recreational area located on Yeouido Island in the
central part of Seoul where koreans and visitors go for a little rest, play
sports, watch cultural events and enjoy just strolling around with the cherry
blossoms of spring.

My son enjoying his playtime...

 

You can also rent a bike and take a ride along the scenic bike path,  which is
around 2.4 kilometers. Roller blades/skates are up for rent too.

A nice photo-op in the park bench...

My son had his rest too...

The walkway beside the road is famous for cherry blossoms starting mid of April.
It is why, the walkways and roads are crowded with friends, families and lovers
most especially.  And we are just one of them...

My son kissing his old barney pillow too...

How to get here:

Subway line 5, Yeouido Station, exit 3, 5 minutes towards National Assembly
Subway line 5, Yeouinaru Station, exit 1, 5 minutes towards Kukmin Daily Bldg.

Korea - Wonderful Everland Experience

We spent our whole 2nd day(Apr 21) tour in South Korea on its renowned
Everland. It is located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

Everland is ranked as the 4th theme park in the world by  offering 5 main
Festivals and exciting entertainments all year around. Snow Festival from
Jan to mid Mar, Tulip Festival from mid March to early of May, Rose Festival
from early May to late of June, Summer Splash from late June to early of Sept,
Happy Halloween from early Sept to Oct. and Christmas Fantasy from Nov to
Dec.

Our visit was very timely to their Everland Tulip Festival from March 18 to May 1,
thus, offering a colorful and vibrant scenery.

 Everland is divided into 5 distinct zones namely Global Fair, Zoo-Topia, European
Adventure, Magic Land and American Adventure. My son's picture with the
Everland Guide Map. Every time we go to places like this, he always look for a
map and uses it as a guide in going from 1 ride to another. Especially now that he
is good in reading, he can insists what we wants to ride.

In the Global Fair zone, a good view of the main entrance of the park. It is
surrounded by beautiful and colorful tulips.  A place for restos, souvenir shops,
photo-ops and where you'll have a chance to meet and have photo souvenir
with the Everland mascot characters.

In the Zoo-Topia zone, an animal-themed portion of the park. Before heading to
this zone, we rode first the skyline ride (like a ski lift). This is a popular way to
get from one section of Everland to another. I was a little bit scared. I have fear
of heights.

There is a small zoo with polar bears, sea lions, penguins, bears, tigers and primates.

We also had a safari bus ride in the Safari World with lots of wild animals such as
lions, tigers, bears, elephants, roaming around a contained habitat.

As of this date, below is the number of wild animals in the Safari World.

Photo-ops during the Safari bus ride which the whole family really enjoyed. It
was our first ever close encounter with such animals. 

 

 

 

My son loves his Safari World souvenir...

My son riding a camel with his grandpa.

He also enjoyed riding the pony as much as he enjoyed riding  a pony in the
Singapore Zoo.

In the European Adventure zone, where many restaurants in various European
styles. It is where the "T Express" which is the South Korea's highest,  fastest,
longest, steepest roller coaster. Also South Korea's  first wooden coaster. It
has world's steepest wooden roller coaster record (77 degrees, 2009)

Of course, we did not ride on it. we just had pictures of it. It was really a full
of thrilling excitement to watch people riding on the T Express.

And the pictures below show how lovely and picturesque the Four Seasons
Garden is. With colorful tulips and lots of restos in the Holland Village.

 

In the Magic Land zone is consists of array of buildings and rides.
The Top Jet.

Riding on a mini roller coaster...

Spooky Fun Haus, a mysterious haunted house where a little ghost named
'Spooky' lives.

This is also where the Ferris wheel, a log ride, a futuristic flying ride, and a
robot ride are located.

In the American Adventure zone, it is where themes from American history
are presented. It is where you will experience Wild West rides, Eagle's
Fortress ride, the rodeo and roller coaster rides.

My Little Prince Marty...

Another nice pose...

Our one-day ticket pass costs: 38,000 won(1600+PHP) for adult and 29,000
won(1305+PHP) for kids with around 10% discount coupon for foreigners.
A whole day pass is not enough to fully enjoy around that is why it offers a
two-day ticket. It costs a discounted doubled one-day pass.

Good for us, foods are allowed inside. We bought something for meryenda
but we had our lunch in one of their restos inside.

Next time, we will try to visit Everland for its Christmas Fantasy Festival.
And maybe by that time, we can ride the all-kids adventure rides because
my son will be 5 by then and can stand long walks and have more patience
in the waiting lines. 

But wait, Everland Resort is not all rides, safari and sceneries.  It has the
Carribean Bay where you get to enjoy exciting waves and surfing at the wave
pool, the world's longest lazy river, sandy pool, kiddy pool, various water
slides for great adventure and thrill, salt sauna of healthy skin all await you.
It is actually the biggest indoor and outdoor water park in the world.
Unfortunately, it was closed during our April visit there and will open starting
April 30 for the summer time. Whewwww....how we love to return to this place
by their summer time.