Scenic * Snow * Shopping

SEOUL: Surprisingly, it's an Excellent trip. Was kinda worried that i won't take to the food; that the weather might be too harsh; and the locals may be too rude. But, thankfully, i worried too much... none of these at all! The city is tourist frenly to foreigners. The food is delicious; it's easy to navigate around the city via the subway. Thoroughly Enjoyable, tho' a lil' Expensive. : )

SHOPPING: In my opinion, Seoul is the Best Place for shopping. Even HKG can't beat it. The variety is good, and it's fun to have so many places to shop. The korean gals are so lucky! Unlike us, where we only have Orchard Rd.. and every mall is a duplicate of the others with similar mix of stores/brands. *sighz* The shopping in Korea is not cheap, but worth every cent! : )
We only managed to check out Ewha Women Uni's Fashion Street; MyeongDong (明洞); Dongdaemun (東大門); Namdaemun Market (南大門). Didn't manage to complete Apgujeong and Gangnam district... Insadong (仁寺洞) is a quaint place for tourists. I like. : )

SNOW: It snowed while we were there!! : ) We were walking on the street toward the Ewha Women Uni, when we realized tt everyone were suddenly picking up their pace. We thot it was drizzling, until we were on open grounds and realized that it wasn't drizzling.. it was snowing! It's my 1st time to experience snowing @ ground level. :P We were so excited, but bimbo me forgot to put back the battery into the camera after charging. *slapz forehead* We rushed back to hotel to change our clothes and for the batteries. But by the time we returned, no more snow. :(
The 2nd time it snowed was when we were on Nami Island. It was so cold, and my toes were numbed... was worried that they would drop off! Nami Island is the filming site for Winter Sonata. We took pictures of the rows and rows of trees - Green trees, Yellow trees, Botak trees! :P

SCENIC: Korea is a very beautiful country. I guess we should have know after watching from all those k-dramas.. all those beautiful scenes. Jeju Island was created entirely from volcanic eruptions approximately 2 million years ago, and consists chiefly of basalt and lava. The island is popular for the local honeymooners and golfers. Even in winter, the island is beautiful and v. unique with all those lava rocks and caves; and the waterfalls. We have a nice workout climbing the Seongsan Ilchulbang (Sunrise Peak) which is actually a huge crater of an extinct volcano that protrudes from a peninsula into the sea. When we reached the peak, there were a group of middle-aged folkz have worship session there singing christian worship songs. :) Hmmm... imagine having cell grp in such scenic locations. :P
Sopjikoji - a romantic place with huge volcanic stones of different colors and shapes, and a tall rock in the sea. This is where the popular chapel/orphanage in one the korean drama is set. You get many tourists visiting the site, and they even charge for entrance to view the building!!

I must say that the Korean Tourism Board has done an excellent job promoting the country, with the comprehensive website, and free maps and guidebooks. Will definitely go back again for more shopping!! : ))