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UNTUK VERSI BAHASA MELAYU, KLIK SINI.

Finally! I manage to update post in here while I’m traveling!. Well, I still failed to do it while I’m in South Korea though. I picked and did photo editing at all over airport I throughout South Korea (Seoul, Jeju and Busan airport). I used my transit hour in Baiyun Guangzhou airport for the writes up and finally post it all up here, in LA. Really something huh?

I might be the 8^th million Malaysian that visited South Korea. But I still want to tell you among the standard, touristy attraction list such as Gyeungbokgung Palace, Myeondong Market, N Tower, Lotte Theme Park, Kimchi making and so on, Bukchon Hanok Village is my favorite. I was impressed with this place until I choose to blog it as my first Seoul travel post. I still remember while I was working in Travel agency, people keep asking me to include Nami Island in their tour itinerary just because of Winter Sonata drama series. To me, Nami Island is no difference than any other Botanic Park scattered around Seoul itself. All I can find in google image was, people stood in one beautiful alley featured in Winter Sonata’s poster and that’s it.

Since there are many beautiful park around Seoul, so we decided to skip Nami Island at all. Plus, we do not have enough time to cover all touristy places in Seoul in 5 days. Note that it was a walking, train riding tour that we do in Seoul. The main actor of Winter Sonata is log time dead, anyway.

Actually Seoul has many old traditional house residential area which they choose to preserve it as surrounding developed into high rise and skycraper vicinity. Whenever you see ‘Hanok’ on the map, that it is. Just like Kampung Baru behind KLCC. Except, perkampungan Hanok is 10 times cleaner and worth visit. We choose Bukchon Hanok Village since it is sitting next to Gyeungbokgung Palace, just one train stop away. I love this area so much, we spent like few hours here.

Before we arrive at the actual village, we went through its town. It’s the cutest town I ever seen so far. You girls will go “awww..ohhh..ahhh” around here. Everything in here is extra cute. From flower pot on the street to its food. But not weird overboard like Japan cuteness. It’s… reasonably cute.

I would categorized this town as girly town. If your male companion don’t mind to go along with you, he could turn into a girl for a while too. This town is 100% fit for pose addict, selfie junkie and day dreamer. Ever nooks and corners of this town, walls and drains appear like something in photography studio. Ah! It’s good for pre wedding photoshoot I guess! But I don’t have many pictures with me in it over here because I was busy “ohhh and ahhhh” over all the cuteness around me until I forgot to be my real self (pose addict) for a while. Clothing and knick knacks here are fairly cheap. It’s all screaming K-Pop.

Even the trees here get the TLC.

Actually, map route is provided just outside Anguk Metro station for you to have proper, complete get around this town and its village. After we done with the cuteness of this town, we move enter the village with a little stairs hike.

It is pretty impressive that they manage to maintain these old house for public, tourist view. What impressed me more, they willing to let their private property as a live museum. Thousands and thousands of people walking around, close to your house door and walls everyday until it is almost impossible for you to leave the gate or door open for more than 5 seconds or else, people will peek in. They must be careful with loud farts too, or else we, the tourist could hear it. And when it comes to family disagreement and quarrel, they had to do it in very low tone or else it will become a new drama series called “Bukchon Sonata”

I also can say that 98% of house doors in here are very exotic. Although it has an old look from the past, it is also has digital scanner lock installed. I wish I can take picture with all doors in here just like any other tourists did. But I can see Mike not very happy to become a door photographer. So, I canceled it.

If you want to make it even more real, you can rent a hanbok (Korean traditional gown) for a day (you can find the shop in metro subways) and walk around this town, or even Seoul and get the feeling of being a Korean girl from the past. Attract all the attention from thousands of tourists and be a celebrity for a day since people will keep asking to be photographed with you. I also wanted to do it. But Mike don’t entertain my girly daydreaming thoughts and wish so, that’s it.

We were here until skies turns dark. Well, we planned it that way because we about to visit Namsan Tower (N Tower) at night and watch Seoul in glimmering lights.

Until next time. I will continue with other photos and stories of Seoul, Jeju and Busan in my next post ya. Now it’s time for me to put hot massage cream on my legs. Soreness to the max!

Seoul, South Korea

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