Seoul Tower - promise for Endless Love

"From old times, there was a story that if lovers make a wish at a shrine on Nam-Sam (Mt.South), it comes true.

Since that, this place became a symbol of the promise of an everlasting love for couple who hang a lock together.

"A Lock of Love"


already made famous by media, is not just expressing couples' love by hanging locks, but meaning endless love with experiencing an unforgettable moment in the place you can see a view of Seoul.  Now N Seoul Tower is the icon of love and friendship with family and friends as well as love stories (A Lock of Love). We will remember your precious moment @ N Seoul Tower."

This was where we visited... A lovely place for people who are together.

Seoul Tower - teddy bears

If you enjoy looking at teddy bears then this exhibition is just for you.  Adjacent to the lobby of the Seoul Tower is a large area dedicate to them.

My family were enthralled by the variety of positions that the teddy bears were organised in and many scenes reflected the History of Korea and then a more Modern Korea.

Seoul Tower

After the shopping we drove through the ever darkening streets of Seoul and we soon found ourselves at the bottom of a very steep hill.  The bus took us some way up and then we all disembarked and walked up the rest - stopping periodically to take some photographs.

The view was obviously 360 degrees but you could not really see very much but there were a plethora of intersecting roads and street lights.

As we approached we found that Seoul Tower was a very big attraction for the local people as well as the tourists.

We entered inside the tour and went up as far as we could go... then we visited the two exhibits...

Seoul - shopping

We were left to our own devices for the evening - Shopping - now this did not appeal to me much so I watched...

The streets were like a standard street - there was even a 'Lush' shop. I found that the price of a lot of the cosmetics (and similar materials) was a lot cheaper in Korea than they were in Thailand - so the coach was filled with happy shoppers with lots of bags.

There were a number of stalls selling foods - looking similar to Thailand, but I did not know what a lot of the items were. I found that there were a number of food items which were deep fried which made it nigh impossible to ascertain what it was....

Seoul - a coffee shop

After our trip to Neverland Jemma was ready for a sleep and I needed some caffeine.


I was directed into a building and ushered carefully to a coffee shop.  Wow, there was no smoking ban - but i needed to sit down.

The latte was wonderful and for a while the Internet worked...


Met a younger American gentleman who had also escaped the West - wished him luck and drank my coffee whilst Jemma slept...

Todai buffet

Todai restaurant was again something different - this restaurant was on the top floor of what I think was a department store. The restaurant served a mix of Asian foods...


The capacity of the restaurant seemed very large - it seemed as if we were carefully seated away from the 'standard' guests but what did I care?


Jemma was calmly asleep in my arms and I wasn't really hungry - but what I did eat was tasty!


 

Everland - the Flume ride

this photograph is the property of coasterforce - used with permission

No photographs from me for this one but Jemma loved the ride and wanted to go again!!

A 'roadtrip' through the country

After the excitement of the rides it was time for a little peace and quiet as we drove through the country side - really quite lovely.

Everland - space ride & rollercoaster

I want this one - and Jemma meant the space ride....


Jemma enjoyed this one.

BUT this was not a real rollercoaster :-(

Everland - rollercoaster & spooky house

The rollercoaster, which was made with smaller children in mind, was enjoyed by Jemma, so much so that we went twice and this did not seem to satisfy her...

The spooky house was TOO scary...

Everland - pony rides and walking the dog

Where do I start?

We entered as a large group and went to take the cable car ride so that we could have an idea of how large Everland was - cable car rides are always fun.


Jemma wanted to have a go on everything - suppose so did I...


The first was the safari drive (see previous post) but the first wish was to have a go for a ride on the horse - Jemma had a ride on a pony. Jemma then decided that she MUST have a pull along dog - daddy gave in rather swiftly - but it beats having a real dog to take care off.

  

Everland - Safari World trip

Our next stop was Everland... very Western and every bit as good.


Our first stop was the Safari World trip in a small coach. We drove carefully and slowly  through the area. 

We saw some Lions,

we saw some white tigers

we saw a liger?

we saw brown bears

A short trip and fun.

Galbi or Kalbi - "delicious"

On entering this restaurant I was immediately worried - what was next.

The table settings were immaculate and the slabs of meat were slabs - a pair of scissors were also available to cut them...  Here goes nothing - have a look...


"Gabi - delicious..."

I was surprised and then contented myself for the next 30 minute to eating the meat and barbecued garlic - there were more vegetables and herbs available to accompany the meat but it was not necessary.


I would have this one again.

A strawberry farm

I was not aware that Korea was famous for it's strawberries....


We drove up to what can only be described as an abandoned plot of land with long rows of small tunnels of tents on...

We were told that we could have 6 strawberries each - this was the maximum.  Jemma and Chuen began to collect and I watched - strawberries are not my favourite fruit. I also saw no double cream and sugar so the idea of strawberry picking was not a good one.

I watched Jemma happily play with the locals dog... and we got back on the coach. I do not understand this business and how payment is made to these strawberry growers or have all the best strawberries gone?

Putting on traditional Korean dress

The time that we had in this establishment - adjacent to the Kimichi making was minimal so it was all a little bit chaotic, but it was all just a bit of fun for us all.

Jemma was 'adopted' by two of the young girls from the coach who proceeded to dress her. This was lovely to see and take some photographs.

When Chuen was ready they had group photographs and then Jemma had a little tea party with another little girl on the coach - simple fun.

Learn how to make Kimchi

Well this was certainly different.  We were all ushered into a small room where we were given plastic gloves and an apron.  We stood around the room (well I took photographs) in front of a large plate with a blob of red mixture and some cabbage.

We were there to make kimchi – this is a Korean dish and the main ingredient is feremented Napa Cabbage.  We were then told that the red stuff was a mixture of different spices but I have to admit that I did not pay attention.

Jemma and Chuen mixed the substances together on the tray and emptied it into a plastic bag and hey presto – Kimchi…

No I did not eat it!

 

Yongpyong Ski Resort, Pyeongchang gun, Gangwon do

Yongpyong Ski Resort was very convenient if you wanted to go skiing - which we did. We were also on the ground floor which made moving our luggage around also very simple.


In the evening we wandered around just outside the Yongpyong and found that many of the restaurants had closed by 7:30 pm so we went back to eat in the hotel.


Delicious - I had my eyes on the fruit but after my sandwich, Jemma's spaghetti and Chuen's lasagne I was full.

The drink that we did try looked very strange - it was Korean beer? - a little sweet but I liked it.  It may have been stronger but I was unaware - Chuen said that it was strong.


The amenities were adequate and there was also free wi-fi in the room, so we now had the 'Fruit Ninja Puss in Boots' App for the iPad.


This is the website of Yongpyong Ski Resort.