Nami Island

Fall in Korea is known for its fall foliage, and one of the best places to see and take photographs of this is Nami Island. I actually wanted to go there a week earlier, but the weather forecast lied to us saying it was going to rain when it didn't. So we pushed it back. Regardless, we still got a good collection of colorful pictures that showcases the wonder of nature.

The closest subway station to Nami Island is Gapyeong Station, which is almost a 2-hour ride from school, and we had to transfer 3 times. From there on, you can either choose to take the Gapeyong Tourist Shuttle Bus (which costs 5,000KRW and is unlimited on its usage) or the taxi. We decided to take the taxi because we had enough people to split the cost and we had limited time.

For lunch we had Dakgalbi (spicy marinated chicken) which the area is very famous for. It fulfilled two functions: filled our tummies, and warmed our bodies.

Tickets were 10,000KRW but foreigners can get them at a discount at 8000KRW. They didn't even check our passports, I think they just assumed we're foreigners cuz we spoke English haha

An alternative way of getting into the island was to zipline in. It seemed really fun and I constantly see people on the ride. I really wanted to do it but it was too expensive (costed 38,000KRW) and too cold. Next time.

An interesting fact about Nami Island is that it claims to be a Republic country. This is why we are going through immigration just like at an airport!

A glimpse of what we're going to see on the island!! I'm already getting excited!!

This is the ferry we took to get into the Island. It was a fairly short ride.

Finally we arrived!

This is apparently why this island is called Nami Island in the first place. General Nami was falsely accused of treason in the Joseon Dynasty and this is where his body was supposed to be buried.

Another reason why this place is so popular is because this is where the drama Winter Sonata was filmed. This set specifically is where the two lead actor and actress had their first kiss.

We were also thinking of going to a village called Petite France, which was actually nearby, but we ran out of time since we had to meet our friends back in Seoul. Overall, it was very enjoyable and if you're a photographer, this is definitely the place for you to come!!

Busan Excursion: Day 3

On the last day we decided to go the Haeundae Beach area. Probably one of the top 2 most popular places to go in Busan (the other being Jagalchi Market), it was packed with people even though it's not summer anymore.

돼지국밥  (Dwaeji Gukbap) - A popular and must-try meal choice in Busan. It's similar to Seolleongtang but the taste of pork is definitely there.

It's Sunye from the Wonder Girls!!

Since the Aquarium was right next to the beach, we decided to check it out. Wasn't exactly my choice... but it was generally enjoyable.

They offered glass bottom boats, which means you're able to see through them. Thank goodness the times didn't match with our schedule, I would've been scared out of my life...

This tunnel is the highlight of the whole aquarium. But at the same time it was also pretty suffocating, apparently air ventilation is not a thing for the underwater world.

Though we couldn't ride the boats (what shame...not), we did happen to able to see the shark feeding show, which is subjected to stop if the sharks decided to have a human limb for dinner instead of the fish that was provided... But it went well :)

We were planning to go to the skywalk after this, but we realized we should probably start heading back to Seoul after we were done with the Aquarium. Oh well, next time.

Time to go home!!

This was the part of we regret miscalculating the most. we did not think about the possibility that tickets going back to Seoul would be sold out. Even though we had the KR pass and can just jump on the train as we like, if we want to sit, we should have exchanged for a ticket earlier. We got to Busan station at almost 7pm, but the fastest train that had seats going back to Seoul was at 10pm which means by the time we get back to Seoul was 1am and then we still have to get back to school. We didn't want to be back so late, so we just decided to hop on to the fastest train available, which meant we had to stand for the entire trip of almost 4 hours. Although the standing was tiring, we got to meet an Englishman and we talked the whole way. People around looked at us weirdly because we were talking in English the whole time, but it made our time pass more enjoyably. But it did end on a good note, we all got home safe and I definitely slept soundly that night. 

To reflect, there were a lot of places that I still wanted to go but did not have time for it. But in general, it was still really fun! We were also really blessed with good weather for the whole duration of our trip. I can't wait to come back!!