South Korean Trip in Summary

Sorry friends, I have the lazy bug. So the Korean trip will not be covered like the other trips. Not that South Korea wasn't interesting; it was. I guess because age is catching up, doing it free and easy was not the best option to travel anymore. By the 5th day I was feeling tired and homesick. First time ever on a trip.

Some notes and observations:

1. There are a lot of millionaires in Korea,(in Won, anyway). A fresh graduate will earn about 3 million won a month. That's like RM8,000. Right away, you know things are more expensive there than in Malaysia. If you are used to shopping in Indonesia or Vietnam, brace yourself to pay more in Seoul.

2. Nami Island where they shot Winter Sonata to me is over-rated. It is a small man-made island with not more than 5km in circumference. No one lives there, except for squirrels and rabbits. There are structures made for tourists and of course, Winter Sonata sites and memorabilia. We had to travel one and half hours by train from Seoul, then took a taxi and a ferry to get to the island. Luckily the trees are lovely in November. That Friday, 5th November 2010, I think there were about 50 Malaysians amongst the tourists on that tiny island. Nak tergelak pun ada. So powerful the pull of Winter Sonata.

3. One good thing we got out of that trip to Nami Island was meeting a Matrade officer. She gave us a tip where to shop for brooches which is on 1st floor of Kwangjang Market, parcel nos 166 and 167. When we located the place, we were soon joined by three more Malaysians who apparently got the same tip. As for Korean silk, we couldn't locate the merchant even though we went to the right market, i.e. Namdaemun Market. These wholesale markets are seriously humongous; make sure you come armed with the right parcel number.

4. Insa-dong is a cute touristy place for souvenirs and tea-shops. To our delight, it is within walking distance from our guesthouse. We ate, browsed and bought some goodies there. But for serious bargain hunters, the place to be is Kwangjang Market which has more variety and better prices.

5. Seoul's subway system is pretty fantastic since they are catering to 10 million people of the city. It's cheap and tourist friendly and it's not that difficult to master. They even have facilities for paraplegics and for the old, they have elevators. On a few occassions, my friend and I wanted to feign ignorance by joining them. Luckily our conscience got the better of us.

6. We knew there is a mosque in Itaewon, but we didn't get to see it. We went to Itaewon for a very satisfying dinner twice in a row. It has a nice international crowd. And best of all we got to greet fellow Muslims with salaam. If I get to go to Seoul again, I would stay in Itaewon for its close proximity to the mosque and abundance of halal eateries.


7. Lonely Planet says the best time to visit Korea is in November. I agree. It's gorgeous as the autumn leaves are in season. The downside is the weather could be wintry cold thus resulted in most of my photos have me in my winter jacket, and my sensitive skin developed a rash that had me scratching from day one.

8. Koreans are polite people; they know we were not Koreans but did not stare. In the trains especially, they would take one quick look and soon after averted their eyes and put on that 'selamba' face. After the second day, I was already feeling comfortable sitting next to them in the trains. South Korea generally is very safe.

9. The Seoul Tour Bus is a great way to see the city. One thing we missed seeing was the rainbow fountain spectacle at Banpo bridge, as it is only on during summer.

Korea has a lot to offer. Jeju Island in the south for example requires at least two days to explore. and there's North Korea which is not very far from Seoul. Lonely Planet recommends a day trip there. But our Korean friends were aghast when we told them about it. They said South Koreans do not receive any coverage about their northern neighbour in the media. Hopefully I can come back in the future in a warmer time. Watch out for bargains offered by Air Asia. Some of our fellow trippers paid only RM400 for a return ticket to Incheon.