I know it has been slightly more than a week since I returned from Korea, but it seems strange not to post about it when I've been there. Korea was cold but awesome. The people in my tour group were great too - well not all, but all of us are only human.

3-4 December 2010

Mum and I went to the airport slightly earlier than 11.15pm just in case. We were trying to spot who was going to be in our tour group. I initially expected girls my age who were crazy over kpop to be in the group. When we were there, we could only spot a few Korean families who were waiting to check in their luggages for the same flight and a huge family waiting at one side. My mum guessed correctly that the Singaporean family would be in the tour group. I didn't believe her though - because there were only two boys near my age in the group. More people gathered after a while. Imagine my surprise when I saw more boys my age than the girls.

Our tour leader was a really friendly lady. Carole treated us like family for the whole week in Korea. At the start, my mum mistakenly placed a bottle of lotion and toothpaste in our bags instead of the luggage despite the 100ml limit on fluids on bags that are hand carried. Since we had already checked in our luggage at that point of time, Carole magnanimously let us put the banned items in her luggage instead since she hasn't checked in. She later gave them back to us when we checked into the hotel the following night.

The flight was after midnight and maybe it was because of the medication, but I didn't experience any dizziness or migraine. I must admit that the flight was smooth actually. I didn't suffer much during turbulence. I couldn't sleep much on the other hand unfortunately. At the beginning of the flight, even though it was 2am, everyone was busy playing games or watching movies on the plane. I watched a little of Step Up 3 but got bored somewhere at the part where Natalie was apologising to Luke for lying about her identity. The dancing was excellent but somehow I found the pace of the plot slow and that made it bland after a while. But I found the choreography awesome - I was focusing on the dance moves rather than the plot, so I lost interest after a while.

I tried to sleep next but lo and behold! Someone one or two rows behind was snoring loud enough to hold a concert for it. I didn't sleep a wink while the rest of the plane was in darkness and everyone was snoozing away. Even if my eyes were closed, I was counting down to the end of the flight with my watch. I even tried to listen to my own music on my iPod but amazingly, the snores could penetrate through the cover of my earphones. I know how there are people who can claim that snores can be taken as a lullaby. But I couldn't do it - not when the snores had a bigger resemblance to a series of thunderclaps than a peaceful, innocent lullaby. Breakfast finally came at 7am (Korea time). I fell asleep right after breakfast, while everyone was awake. At least there was no snoring before we landed at Incheon airport one and a half hour later.

We were greeted by Andy, our Korean tour guide, and Anthony (whose name is also An Kijung), who was the unofficial photographer for the tour. Time was given for everyone to change into suitable clothing before we set off from the airport. However, because our flight was delayed, there was no time for us to visit Nami Island (which was the original plan) if we wanted to catch the six o'clock evening flight to Jeju.

Our first stop was a Ginseng Chicken soup shop. Lunch there was great although it was the first time I had such a big chicken in the soup just for one person. It was nearly three times the serving in Singapore! Andy told us about the history of the dish while we were on the bus. We drove past the Presidential Blue House and went into this place filled with portraits of Korea's past presidents. Andy then went on to talk about Korea's history and each President in detail. I didn't quite catch everything because it was in Mandarin but I think I got the general idea of their history.

After that, we went to Shinchon Fashion Streets, where I bought ear studs and a hoodie. My mum and I even ventured into a Neoprint shop and took pictures. I think the girl at the shop had a hard time trying to explain how the machines work over there in Korea. Plus we had to change our notes for coins.

I fell asleep again on our way to Gimpo airport afterwards. I woke up in the middle of the long journey when I heard the thunderous snores again though. The one who snored on the plane was sitting right behind me. I couldn't remember the face since I was so tired but it was one of the children's fathers if I'm not wrong. Carole then asked if anyone wanted to buy some sticky thing to paste behind the ear to relieve the pressure since we were going to take a submarine ride the following day. Those could be bought over the counter at the airport. Thank goodness I followed my mum to the shop, because I spotted the Le Sucre rabbit I wanted at the shop opposite it. I nearly squealed in excitement and insisted to buy it. In fact, we were the last to check in while everyone was rushing in just for me to buy the rabbit. The shopkeeper, a really nice lady, tried to tell me the name of the rabbit but I didn't quite catch it since I was already rushing. At least I got the rabbit - even if it was a little expensive: 35, 000 won. That rabbit accompanied me for the rest of the week in Korea. 

Maybe because it was winter, but the sky starts to darken at five and by six, it's completely dark outside. When we arrived in Jeju, it was really dark outside and the coach drove us to the Yongdaum Rock (Dragon Head Rock), where we got the chance to look at the famous landmark of Jeju in the dark, with all the bright lights.

Dinner was at a traditional Korean restaurant where we had to sit on the floor. Quite a few of the restaurants we went to for the rest of the days required for us to sit on the floor too. It was a seafood feast that day and thank goodness mum brought her medication. I ate a clam raw but it was awful because I forgot that it was cold and nearly frozen because of the temperature outside. They served loads of dishes and I lost count after a while. Right after dinner, we drove on to the Jeju Grand Hotel where we would be staying for two nights. 

We met the tour group at the hotel lobby at seven the next morning. We were then driven to an eatery where they served bread, an egg and abalone porridge. It was the most delicious breakfast I had there actually and I finished everything that was served. The abalone pieces were small but they were caught by the island's women divers. Most of the women divers are more of less old because most youngsters have gone over to the mainland to work instead of keeping the tradition. 

We then went to a tangerine farm, where we could pick the fruits and eat them right on the spot. It was a fresh experience for me. The tangerines were quite sour however. The farmer said that we should keep them for a few days and the taste would be sweet instead. Many people bought the famous 'chocorin' products and tangerines from the farm. The farmer was also really kind and gave us a huge bag of tangerines as a gift to us. 

Midway to the submarine place, we stopped at two places where we only had less than an hour to look around. We went to a Rape Seed Flower Farm, where everyone posed for photos against the yellow background. We also went to Seongsan Sunrise Peak. No one could reach the top sadly, since we were pressed for time (we had to go for the Submarine Tour at noon). The Submarine Tour was cool! We took a boat to a little jetty in the middle of this place that seems to be a lagoon. Then we climbed into a submarine with windows before the submarine went down into the sea. There were coral reefs, and ruins which they dropped into the water for the fishes to make their homes. There was a diver who swam down with us and attracted hordes of fish with food so that we could look at the variety of sea creatures in the water while trying to snap clear photos of them. There were no sharks fortunately. According to Andy, if there were sharks, no fishes would come and we would have to spend the entire tour just watching the sharks swim about. 

We then had lunch at a eatery where they served barbecued pork. The pigs they used were native to Jeju Island and are black. It was delicious! Eating the lettuce with pork wrapped inside and then accompanied with rice - it was heavenly. We sat with a couple and the four of us were wondering if we should follow how they eat in those Korean dramas: Wrap the meat with vegetable and push it into your mouth. But after seeing a  few Koreans doing the exact same thing nearby, we decided to just eat it that way. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. 

Right after lunch we went for the horse-riding. It was a wonder that I didn't puke from my nervousness. The horses were all well-trained however. They could even follow the path without any guidance at all. My mum was right in front of me and she was singing some song to her horse. The horse ended up trotting to the beat she was singing. I was too nervous to even say a word to my horse sadly. Poor horse. I should have given it a pat or something. My horse kept trying to look at me. It kept turning its head. Overall, it was fun and my horse was really clever and good but I pulled a vein while coming down from the horse. I fed carrots to the horses in the stables afterwards but I just couldn't find my horse. Poor horse.

After horse-riding was the trip to the Teddy Bear Museum. I rushed through the exhibits because I knew that I wanted to buy a bear from the gift shop (I was aiming for this once I saw that the museum was included in the itinerary). In the end, I bought a pair of bears over there. Unfortunately, because I zeroed in on the Gift Shop, I didn't visit the third part of the Teddy Bear Museum which was outside the building. It was really cold anyway, so I didn't really bother. Heh. We later went to the Glass Museum. Mum and I smartly decided to leave our coats on the coach. I was freezing at the Glass Museum. Nearly all of the exhibits were outdoors. The two of us rushed through the beautiful glasswares. 

We then got a chance to drive through the Mysterious Road, where things rolled up the slope instead. We could not alight to look at the surroundings sadly - it was already dark and I could barely see out of the window anyway. We also went to watch the famous Nanta Show! It was really entertaining and funny.