Large part of Korea is either a Mountainous region or seashore. Capital city Seoul is surrounded by hills on all sides, a river in the southern side and Mt. Namsan, a beautiful mountain at the centre. The 2 hr 
trek to the top of Namsan is a wonderful one. There are also stairs, or the ropeway to get to the top, but nothing beats a trek.
At the top lies Seoul tower. Not as famous as the Tokyo tower or Eiffel tower, but a great place to see. The observatory at the top presents a breathtaking view at night. The river flowing through the south, football stadium, Hyundai, LG and Samsung buildings, Huge towers, the seven mountains surrounding the city.The tower keeps changing its colors and looks great from a distance. There’s a huge teddy bear museum at the entrance.
Area around the Olympic stadium is also similarly well developed. Skating arenas with snow are throughout the city where you can see kids from the age of 5 ice-skating. It’s so cute to see the little ones skate, but sadly we can’t for the fear that if we fell in that cold, certainly one of our body parts would go numb. Seoul metro is a great way to travel. It’s a bit crowded as it’s the common man’s transport over there, just like our locals. But take a day pass, and travel unlimited. However your chances of seeing more than 4 places a day are bleak in this weather.
Cheonggyecheon is a very famous stream of water flowing through downtown Seoul. It was previously a stream of waste water, but the government has put in so much money for it’s development to transform it into a wonderful landmark. Trees lit with light around it. Several small bridges with various themes, small time artists putting up laser show on the walls, cool breeze and the sound of flowing water. One of the most romantic places I’ve ever seen. I so wish to make a walk on this stream again with someone I love. This 6 km walk surely rocks. Thank you Korea.
The Han-gang river offers many ferries and boats for tourists. There is a bird sanctuary at a small islet in the river bed and lot of tourists opt for ferries to see that. But it was so damn chilly to stay 5 minutes at the dock that we thought better opt out of this. Birds hamare yahan bhi dikhte hai!!
Several Museums, art galleries and Palaces are famous in Seoul. I don’t really like to go to these places, usually thinking all Palaces are the same. So are the museums. But seeing one or two is okay. I met a Manchester fan over there and went to one of the palaces with him. Throughout the palace, we were discussing football. I had a great time. Herd many stories about England and how they don’t get to see the Saturday 3 pm fixtures over there and stuff. Picture of wonderful Changdeokgung palace is below.
European travelers are great to talk with, anywhere in this world. They go to a city, stay there for a month and tell you everything worth seeing about the city. Many Europeans are English teachers in Korea and they guided us in places where hardly any English was spoken. I can go on and on about Seoul, but I guess this much is enough to give an overview.
Jeju –do is a small Island south of Korea, about an Hour flight from Seoul. Size similar to that of Mauritius. Not as famous as Mauritius, but I feel it’s equally wonderful as Mauritius. Infact this small Island has 7 UNESCO heritage sites that are amazing and amazingly well preserved. I still doubt entire India might not have so many UNESCO protected and preserved heritage sites.
There’s everything to this Island. Great clean beaches, Mountains, caves, waterfalls, rivers, golf courses, everything. Mount Halla lies in the centre of the Island. It’s a four hour trek to the top. We were determined to do it, but due to heavy snow, the mountain was closed for trekking. There are massive orange plantations around this mountain full of big oranges, clad with snow.
Cheonjiyeon waterfall was a nice place for a walk deep inside the woods, really enjoyed the place and there’s another waterfall which directly falls in the ocean which is a nice spot. So many places to see on this beautiful island, so little time. Green tea plantations are famous on this Island. There’s also the migratory bird sanctuary, World cup stadium, Sunrise peak which apparently is a cool 20 minutes trek to see the sunrise from a mountain. But coming on the streets at 6 in morning isn’t such a great idea.
trek to the top of Namsan is a wonderful one. There are also stairs, or the ropeway to get to the top, but nothing beats a trek.At the top lies Seoul tower. Not as famous as the Tokyo tower or Eiffel tower, but a great place to see. The observatory at the top presents a breathtaking view at night. The river flowing through the south, football stadium, Hyundai, LG and Samsung buildings, Huge towers, the seven mountains surrounding the city.The tower keeps changing its colors and looks great from a distance. There’s a huge teddy bear museum at the entrance.
There's also a famous fence at the top where young couples tie locks to it
, they believe that it will make them inseperable forever.
, they believe that it will make them inseperable forever. Mt. Achasan and Mt. Umyosan were the other mountains we trekked. Cold is unbearable, but the joy you get from the view at the top is just what keeps you driving.
Two major Sporting events have changed the face of the city. The 1988 Seoul Olympics and 2002 Korea-Japan FIFA world cup have led to great development. The World cup stadium is the biggest in Asia with 65000 capacity, which also has 2 malls, a museum, gymnasium, swimming pool and a multiplex theatre inside it. The stadium tour is great. World cup has brought in great funds. 5 wonderful parks are created near the stadium, and in the snow, the trees, well arranged give a spectacular view.
Two major Sporting events have changed the face of the city. The 1988 Seoul Olympics and 2002 Korea-Japan FIFA world cup have led to great development. The World cup stadium is the biggest in Asia with 65000 capacity, which also has 2 malls, a museum, gymnasium, swimming pool and a multiplex theatre inside it. The stadium tour is great. World cup has brought in great funds. 5 wonderful parks are created near the stadium, and in the snow, the trees, well arranged give a spectacular view.
Area around the Olympic stadium is also similarly well developed. Skating arenas with snow are throughout the city where you can see kids from the age of 5 ice-skating. It’s so cute to see the little ones skate, but sadly we can’t for the fear that if we fell in that cold, certainly one of our body parts would go numb. Seoul metro is a great way to travel. It’s a bit crowded as it’s the common man’s transport over there, just like our locals. But take a day pass, and travel unlimited. However your chances of seeing more than 4 places a day are bleak in this weather.
Cheonggyecheon is a very famous stream of water flowing through downtown Seoul. It was previously a stream of waste water, but the government has put in so much money for it’s development to transform it into a wonderful landmark. Trees lit with light around it. Several small bridges with various themes, small time artists putting up laser show on the walls, cool breeze and the sound of flowing water. One of the most romantic places I’ve ever seen. I so wish to make a walk on this stream again with someone I love. This 6 km walk surely rocks. Thank you Korea.
The Han-gang river offers many ferries and boats for tourists. There is a bird sanctuary at a small islet in the river bed and lot of tourists opt for ferries to see that. But it was so damn chilly to stay 5 minutes at the dock that we thought better opt out of this. Birds hamare yahan bhi dikhte hai!!
Several Museums, art galleries and Palaces are famous in Seoul. I don’t really like to go to these places, usually thinking all Palaces are the same. So are the museums. But seeing one or two is okay. I met a Manchester fan over there and went to one of the palaces with him. Throughout the palace, we were discussing football. I had a great time. Herd many stories about England and how they don’t get to see the Saturday 3 pm fixtures over there and stuff. Picture of wonderful Changdeokgung palace is below.
European travelers are great to talk with, anywhere in this world. They go to a city, stay there for a month and tell you everything worth seeing about the city. Many Europeans are English teachers in Korea and they guided us in places where hardly any English was spoken. I can go on and on about Seoul, but I guess this much is enough to give an overview.
Jeju –do is a small Island south of Korea, about an Hour flight from Seoul. Size similar to that of Mauritius. Not as famous as Mauritius, but I feel it’s equally wonderful as Mauritius. Infact this small Island has 7 UNESCO heritage sites that are amazing and amazingly well preserved. I still doubt entire India might not have so many UNESCO protected and preserved heritage sites.
There’s everything to this Island. Great clean beaches, Mountains, caves, waterfalls, rivers, golf courses, everything. Mount Halla lies in the centre of the Island. It’s a four hour trek to the top. We were determined to do it, but due to heavy snow, the mountain was closed for trekking. There are massive orange plantations around this mountain full of big oranges, clad with snow.
Jeju is scientifically valuable for its extensive system of lava tubes (also known as lateral volcanoes or in Korean as Oreum). These natural conduits through which magm
a once flowed are now empty caves that are some of the largest in the world. The caves provide opportunities for scientific research and are also popular tourist destinations. Manjagul caves is a very famous lava tube cave we visited. Very well preserved site. Picture aside shows a frozen lava column, 7.6 metres, largest in the world.
The beaches are very clean here with extremely cool wind waves flowing near that it drifts you along with it. Very difficult to capture an image of it, but surely it presents a wonderful sight. We saw the Hamduk beach where after putting my feet in water made me numb for 5 minutes. In summers, many water sports can be done on the beaches, but winter, we were the only 3 people on the beach.
a once flowed are now empty caves that are some of the largest in the world. The caves provide opportunities for scientific research and are also popular tourist destinations. Manjagul caves is a very famous lava tube cave we visited. Very well preserved site. Picture aside shows a frozen lava column, 7.6 metres, largest in the world.The beaches are very clean here with extremely cool wind waves flowing near that it drifts you along with it. Very difficult to capture an image of it, but surely it presents a wonderful sight. We saw the Hamduk beach where after putting my feet in water made me numb for 5 minutes. In summers, many water sports can be done on the beaches, but winter, we were the only 3 people on the beach.
Cheonjiyeon waterfall was a nice place for a walk deep inside the woods, really enjoyed the place and there’s another waterfall which directly falls in the ocean which is a nice spot. So many places to see on this beautiful island, so little time. Green tea plantations are famous on this Island. There’s also the migratory bird sanctuary, World cup stadium, Sunrise peak which apparently is a cool 20 minutes trek to see the sunrise from a mountain. But coming on the streets at 6 in morning isn’t such a great idea.
Yongduam is a famous rock near the airport beach. It has the shape of Dragon Head and also called Dragon head rock. Naturally formed, great view at sunset.
Next, we took a flight to Busan, a coastal city in the East of Korea, very close to Japan. This city contains some of the best buddhist temples in the world. Beomeosa temple is very famous for tourists who come for Temple stay in Korea. Temple stay is a nice concept wherein you can stay a weekend in the temple, and live a lifestyle the traditional way. People from far-off places come for temple-stay booking around an month in advance. There’s one more famous temple touching the beach which is a wonderful sight to view.
Haeundai Beach is a fantastic place where all the famous Hotels are located. We opted for apartment Stay in Busan. Busan Aquarium is a very different aquarium than you have ever seen. It has great protected rare aquatic species, plus it has also 3d animation theatre movies as showing the thrilling ocean life. It's nice. Our rented apartment was on the 24th floor and presented a spectacular view of city. Yongdusan is a nice garden for young people to trek to. Close to it is the Busan tower.
Next, we took a flight to Busan, a coastal city in the East of Korea, very close to Japan. This city contains some of the best buddhist temples in the world. Beomeosa temple is very famous for tourists who come for Temple stay in Korea. Temple stay is a nice concept wherein you can stay a weekend in the temple, and live a lifestyle the traditional way. People from far-off places come for temple-stay booking around an month in advance. There’s one more famous temple touching the beach which is a wonderful sight to view.
UN war memorial in Busan pays tribute to 200 UN soldiers who sacrifised their lives when North korea attacked South Korea in 1952. Each died soldier has a plant planted against his name. Such a nice way to pay a tribute. Silent and nice place to visit.
Haeundai Beach is a fantastic place where all the famous Hotels are located. We opted for apartment Stay in Busan. Busan Aquarium is a very different aquarium than you have ever seen. It has great protected rare aquatic species, plus it has also 3d animation theatre movies as showing the thrilling ocean life. It's nice. Our rented apartment was on the 24th floor and presented a spectacular view of city. Yongdusan is a nice garden for young people to trek to. Close to it is the Busan tower.
Gwangan Bridge presents a great view from the beach with more than a billion lights constantly changing colors. Such a nice view it presented, totally worth the money you spend…..Great Country…Surely like to visit again. The image below is a wonderful picture of Gwangan Bridge. It took almost 15 retakes in the freezing cold to getthat right. The moon and it's shadow looks brilliant in this picture i feel. One of the best pic i've taken. Also it's zoomed view below.
1 comment:
Similar to my last year's Japan experience. Cool climate, lava mountains..Nice!!!
Sad that you dint get nething for us from there. Would like to visit Korea sometime.
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