Korea Winter Itinerary 2016 / 2017 Day 3

Day 3
Stay: Seoul Lucky GuestHouse
Nearest Subway: Gyeongbokgung Stn Line 3 Exit 2

Today is out of city day! But before that, we need to check in our new accommodation. This time we are going to stay in a traditional Koreans home, hanok! I was very excited and looking forward to this stay.

HANOK STAY

Cost: $234 for 2 nights

A good thing about travelling with Mic is that he doesn't care about the whole planning as long as the accommodation is decent and the itinerary is not too packed. So, I chipped in hanok stay in our itinerary even though Mic wasn't keen because most traditional hanok requires shared bathroom (which he doesn't like) and the price is quite steep if you want a spacious and decent room. So, I found a hanok on Airbnb which looks traditional on the exterior and yet have all the modern utilities plus a private bath.

Exterior. This hanok has 5 private rooms equipped with private bath and a shared kitchen.
Our room is the one at this corner.

The small garden and drying area

Door to kitchen and 2 other rooms attached to the kitchen

Private bath + toilet

Our room with extra blankets provided by the host due to super cold weather

The things you see in this photo are the only things in the room. No other furniture can be placed inside the room. It is considered really small for 2 persons as our luggages cannot be opened up once we spread the futons beds on the floor. Mic was kinda stunned and the first thing he asked was how many days are we going to stay there. I bluffed him and said, for the entire stay in Seoul lo. Then he asked if we can try to book the Airbnb in Hongdae again. LOL. After seeing this place, honestly I immediately missed our Hongdae Airbnb. The price is almost the same but the service apartment in Hongdae is much much more comfortable with much bigger space and nice ambience, needless to say, much closer to the food and shopping haven at night.
That being said, I believe this host tried to accommodate most guests' demand for private bath so he has it built in all the rooms which takes up the room's space. Rooms are equipped with heated flooring and heater but we felt so cold inside our room because the outside of our room's wall is actually expose to the outdoor.

After checking in our hanok, we quickly went out for breakfast and proceed with today's adventure!

Cute X-mas cups at Paris Baguette!
I always like this place because their breads and food stuff all look so tempting 😋

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TRANSPORTATION TO GAPYEONG

Our destination today is Gapyeong where Nami Island, Railbike and Petite France are situated at. We forgo Garden of the Morning Calm due to time constraint.

There are a few ways to reach Gapyeong (by Nami shuttles from Namdaemun/Insadong, subways or tour agencies) but I chose to go by subway because...

#1. Most Nami tour or shuttle reaches Nami around 10am and returns to the city at 4pm. The duration is too short to tour all the places in Gapyeong

#2. We prefer to tour leisurely instead of rushing to meet the shuttle timings. The shuttles leave at 4pm, those who takes the shuttle need to gather at 3.45pm

#3. I wanted to reach the rail bike early to avoid bumping into tour groups which usually reach around noon

#4. Nami shuttle costs 15,000 won (round trip) or 7,500 won (1 way). Subways only costs 2,250 won per trip!

Of cause you will save more time and hassles of transferring subways if you choose to go by shuttle. So, it's really up to your preference.

You may check Nami shuttles information and make your reservation here

In case you would like to travel like we did, here's the subway guide

For us, we travelled from Gyeongbokgung Line 3 > 2 stns transfer at Jongno 3-ga Line 1 > 7 stns transfer at Hoegi Station (Gyeongui Jungang Line) > 2 stns transfer at Sangbong Station (Gyeongchun Line) > 14 stns reach Gapyeong Station (Gyeongchun Line)

Durations: 1 hour 30 minutes (25 stations)

Once you reached Gapyeong Station, walked out straight and you will see a waiting stand directly in front of the station with signboards of the Gapyeong City Tour shuttle bus route and timings. You can freely hop on and off along the bus route with purchase of a day ticket.

Fare: 6,000 won / person (pay directly to the bus driver upon boarding)

Get the updated info on Gapyeong City Tour shuttle bus here (in Korean only)

I only managed to find an English version from this website

To save time on waiting for the bus, Mic and I travelled by cab at Gapyeong.

The Entrance/Exit of Gapyeong Station

Enlarged the picture to have a clearer view

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GAPYEONG RAILBIKE

Operating Hours (for winter Nov - Feb): 09:00, 10:30, 12:00, 14:00, 15:30

Fare: 2-seater bike 25,000 won / 4-seater bike 35,000 won

Route: Gapyeong Rail Bike Station → Gyeonggang Station (Rest) → Gapyeong Rail Bike Station

Duration: 1.5 hr
Website: http://www.gprailpark.com/ (in Korean only)

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/ (English)

Cab from Gapyeong station to Gapyeong Railpark | 10 mins | fare 3,800 won

The driver did clarify with us whether we wanted to go Gapyeong Railbike or Gangchon Railbike. Please remember to tell the driver it's GAPYEONG because Gangchon is far far away from Gapyeong Train Station. I cannot imagine how much the cab fare will costs if the driver drove to Gangchon. In case you are interested to take Gangchon Railbike, you have to alight the subway at Gimyujeong Station instead of Gapyeong Station. We did not wait for the shuttle bus because we wanted to take the rail bike at 10.30am, otherwise we will have to wait for the next session at 12pm.

Revised timings for winter

Container-like ticketing counter

Just a reminder that 25,000 won is for 2 persons per rail bike.
I overheard someone thought that 25,000 won is for per person per bike 😓

Left side are 4 seaters bike. Right are 2 seaters bike

Before we hop on our bike, we were briefed by the railbike staff for 10mins who only speaks in Korean. So Mic and I and a few other foreigners were just standing there listening, not knowing what the staff is saying but we know it's most probably about safety.
Then the staff came to Mic and me and said, You. First bike. No stop. No photograph. Ride fast fast. Summary of that 10 mins briefing, i guessed.
We were damn excited to be the first bike, so we happily and quickly rode our bike out of the station. The sceneries were breathtaking. It's such a waste if we did not take any photos 😄

Our legs were tired to the max after riding only one quarter of the journey due to upslope! There is no way we can stop halfway or slow down but continue to ride to the rest station. An old couple behind us was seriously so energetic throughout the whole journey, at many times they almost caught up with our bike. Another lesson learnt: Never take the first bike

The opposite way are people who rode the railbike from Gyeonggang Station (which is our rest station).
So their rest station will be Gapyeong Station instead

This is how the scenery will looked like if we ride in spring/summer

We took a rest for 10 mins at Gyeonggang Station which is our rest station before riding the opposite track back to Gapyeong Station (the same station where we started). There's a restroom here and a café for us to grab some coffee or snacks. Saw this mini melts! Couldn't stop myself from buying this even though the weather was so cold.

Mini melts!

Mini melts didn't get the chance to melt that day because it was too cold.

Both of us didn't manage to finish this small cup of mini melts. By the time we reached Gapyeong Station, my fingers had become senseless due to the cold wind while on the bike. But we are glad that the weather is cold, else we will be sweating like mad from the excessive cycling.

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ISAAC TOAST & COFFEE

Website: http://www.isaac-toast.co.kr/isaac/main.php (in Korean only)

We walked out from railbike park to the main road to hail a cab to Petite France, then I saw this signboard, isaac toast & coffee!! I didnt realise they have a shop here and I even did a google search to confirm it's a genuine isaac toast shop 😄. Since this shop serves dine in, it became our lunchie spot (some isaac shops only do take-away). I intro to Mic that it's a very famous toast shop and a must eat in Korea. Mic was sceptical about it because he is not a bread lover and to him (and most guys), bread can never be treated as a main meal.

I'm so lucky I bumped into u, isaac~

The menu

Ham & cheese for HER
Shrimp map for HIM
Caramel macchiato for US

I instantly fell in luv with this toast at the first bite! The sweetness of the toast plus the cheese plus the ham (all my fav ingredients) is a perfect combi for me. I guess people who had never try this toast will never understand how this toast can be so famous in Korea with so many franchises. What surprised me most is that, Mic also found the toast to be so yummy, he ordered another set!

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PETITE FRANCE

Operating Hours: 09:00-18:00 (365 days)

* Hours extends until 20:00 during Little Prince Lighting Festival

Admission: Adults 8,000 won
Tips: print voucher here to get 25% off the admission ticket. Please double check the voucher's validity. 1 discount voucher is entitled for 1 ticket, so do print the amount of vouchers for the number of tickets you want to purchase

Website: http://www.pfcamp.com/

Cab from Gapyeong Railpark to Petite France | 30 mins | fare 23,000 won

The place was very crowded with most of them are locals. We leisurely walked around the place while enjoying the cold weather. We spent about 1.5 hour there even though the place is not very big. I guessed most of the time was spent in waiting to take a proper photo (without photobomb) or waiting for our turn to take a photo at the iconic landmark or backdrop in Petite France.

The drama that brought fame to PF

Who would have guessed this is a restroom

Sneak peak inside one of the accommodation in PF

Accommodation in PF

It's a norm for me to send a postcard to myself and some of my friends when I travel.
Stamps to SG, MY and HK costs the same for postcards, 400 won ($0.50)

Can you see the hill on the Left covered with ice? It was very cold when we went

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NAMI ISLAND

Operating Hours: 07:30~21:40 (first ferry from Gapyeong Wharf and last ferry from Nami Wharf)

Website: https://namisum.com/en/information/

Cab from Petite France to Gapyeong Wharf (Nami Island) | 20 mins | fare 17,300 won

There are 2 ways to enter Nami Island from Gapyeong Wharf:

1. Ferry - discounted foreigner rate 8,000 won (pls tell the staff that you are a foreigner if she sold you a 10,000 won ticket)

2. Zip-wire - 38,000 won including return ferry ride

We reached Gapyeong Wharf around 3pm. The enthusiast me had mentally prepared to land at Nami is the coolest way - via Zip-wire! Mic had no choice but to follow me. We were queuing to buy the admission ticket when the staff told us that the boarding time for the next zip wire batch will be at 4.30pm, which means we need to wait for 1.5 hour to be able to enter Nami Island. Because today is New Year Eve, we wanted to go back Seoul earlier for NYE celebration. So we had to cancel this plan and take the ferry instead. Sad 😔. I swear Mic is celebrating in his heart because he can escape from this.

Nami Ferry Schedule

07:30-09:00 (30min intervals)

09:00-18:00 (10-20min intervals)

18:00-21:40 (30min intervals)

Bicycle Rentals

4,000 won per 1 bicycle (30 mins), 7,000 won (60 mins)

8,000 won per 1 tandem (30 mins), 14,000 won (60 mins)

Rent a bicycle instead. Tandem bicycle looks super romantic but we were cursing and swearing on it because it was so hard to ride on especially on upslope and uneven soil. The hotdog stall beside the bike rental shop is good. Must try!

Zipwire Tower

Entrance at Gapyeong Wharf to take ferry to Nami Island

Visa to enter Naminara Republic

The cold weather turned the water fountain into ice sculpture

The Q at Nami Wharf back to the Gapyeong Wharf. The actual length of the Q is 4x from what you see here

I mentioned earlier that Nami shuttle leaves Gapyeong Wharf at 4pm. So, I guessed this is why a lot people were queuing to take the ferry back to Gapyeong Wharf to catch the shuttle bus. At this point, we felt glad that we took the subways because most people would have left Nami by this hour hence there will be lesser crowd there. If I'm taking shuttle and waiting in that queue, I surely would be super duper gancheong. It's really no fun rushing in a holiday or missed your transportation.

Welcome to Naminara Republic!

Most photos taken in Nami has a dull and brownish background due to winter. But they still looks nice to me though 😄

Finally got a chance to take this photo without much crowd

Nami Wharf when we left around 5.15pm. No queue! 😄

We left Nami and took subways back to Seoul as the sky was getting dark around 5pm. As we were leaving Nami, we saw people still coming into the island. They are probably locals because I saw them brought their picnic mat and food baskets. Some even brought their dogs there. How I wish I can bring KieKie along. Nami has such a wide space for the dogs to run around. Upon checking on their website, only dogs 5kg and below are permitted into Nami Island. Sorry KieKie, you are slightly too heavy...

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TOSOKCHON SAMGYETANG

We went out for dinner at 9.30pm after having a short rest at our hanok. Luckily for us, Tosokchon is nearby our hanok and it's still open at this hour. Most shops closed earlier since it was new year eve. I'm a big fan of samgyetang, so this is a must eat place for me.
We ordered 1 bowl of samgyetang (16,000 won) and a seafood pancake (15,000 won) to share. The soup is actually a little bit bland to me but never mind, I felt healthy after having this due to overeating of Korean BBQ and fried food for the past 2 days.

Seafood pancake is too big portion for the 2 of us and we don't really like it because it was a bit wet in the inside. Mic and I would prefer if it's fried to crisp. But then, this is a healthy shop.

(source: google map)

Tosokchon Samgyetang
Direction from Gyeongbokgung Station Line 3 Exit 2.

Go straight about for 170 metres and turn left into Jahamun-ro 5-gil Road. Tosokchon is located 10 metres ahead on the left.

Operating Hours: 10:00-22:00 (365 days)
Website: http://tosokchon.com/

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NEW YEAR EVE CELEBRATION

BOSINGAK BELFRY

Nearest Subway: Jonggak Station Line 1 Exit 4

We walked out from Tosokchon towards the main road and was surprised to see a lot of people holding candles and walking along the main road while singing in a soft tone. Mic suggested to join them. He said it must be some church celebrating the new year eve.

After walking about 500m, I became suspicious because more and more people were seen behind us and I heard someone shouting and yelling thru the loudspeaker and the crowd echoed and cheered. I asked Mic to clarify with one of them on what's happening and he finally got hold of an ahjumma who speaks fluent English. She was reluctant to explain to us at first but her daughter who also speaks fluent English told her mum to explain to us. The ahjumma told us that tonight was the largest street protests due to their country "political issue". Most main roads around the palace were closed for this "event". She felt that this is a disgrace to their country hence she wasn't very keen to explain it to us at first.

I was so shocked and scolded Mic for dragging me into the street protest. It was scary that we could not even made a U-turn back because there were so many people. We followed the flow and walked bit by bit to the roadside and finally made our way to Bosingak Bell which was our plan to do countdown for new year.

Part of the street protest

Along the way to Bosingak Bell area, there were so many people on the road and lotsa and lotsa of police buses were seen along the roadside. I was so nervous I didn't take any photos.

Along the way to Bosingak Bell

The only cute thing I saw that night

As we were reaching Bosingak Bell area, I saw policemen were making human barricade along the road. I was getting so tense up seeing this and the crowd who were seen marching on the street earlier begins to gather around Bosingak area. We arrived at the Bosingak Bell around 11pm and I told Mic that we should stand far away from the bell area in case anything happened. It gets more and more crowded when it's approaching 12 midnight. When the clock strikes 12am, the bell was rung to mark the new year. It was a very short event and the crowd dispersed immediately after that. It was a good experience to celebrate NYE in Korea, but it was also a very stressful new year countdown for me that night.