Tuesday, 10 July 2018

South Korea Trip Day 7 - Nami Island & Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort

Born in the tropics, we have lots of fun experiencing the cold weather throughout the trip, and of course, we do not want to miss the chance to ski since it is winter time. Additionally, I also wanted to visit the beautiful Nami Island, make popular in year 2002 by a Korea drama Winter Sonata. While planning our itinerary, we chance across a day tour package offered by Trazy, which comprises of a visit to Nami Island and a 3 hours skiing experience at Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort at a reasonable price. Hence, we signed up for the package, and embark on the tour on this Day 7 of our trip.

Breakfast was toast from Issac Toast, and since it was still early (around 7.30pm), there was no queue and we got our toast pretty fast, in contrast to Day 3, where we spent at least an hour waiting for our toast. With our breakfast on the go, we met our tour guide at exit 2 of Myeongdong station, and once everyone else in the tour has arrived, we boarded the bus and about an hour later, we reached the ferry terminal to take the ferry to Nami Island.

According to our tour guide, Nami Island is a self-declared "independent island" which requires a visa (ferry ticket) and has its own currency. He provided some suggested route which we could take, and then asked us to assemble again at the ferry terminal before 1pm after our lunch.

Nami Island
Address: 1 Namisum-gil, Namsan-myeon, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, South Korea

Nami Island
Ferry terminal - scenic views that captivates our attention

Nami Island
Visa (Ferry ticket)

Nami Island

Nami Island
Off we go to Nami Island

From Nami Wharf, we walked through the Pine Tree Lane, passing by the Cheollipo Magnolia Garden, to the Ginkgo Tree Lane and then Metasequoia Lane, taking numerous photos with the enchanting trees. As highlighted by the tour guide, we also venture into the picturesque riverside path before heading back to the Pine Tree Lane to take the ferry back to mainland for lunch.

Nami Island

Nami Island

Nami Island

Nami Island

Nami Island

Nami Island

Nami Island

Nami Island

Nami Island

Even though there were some restaurant on Nami Island, we decided to have our lunch at the main island in order not to miss the meet up timing. Since we were in Chuncheon area, we decided to have dakgalbi for lunch at Chuncheon Dakgalbi situated by the ferry terminal.

Chuncheon Dakgalbi
Dakgalbi for lunch 

Chuncheon Dakgalbi
Chuncheon Dakgalbi

Leaving Nami Island behind us, we head towards Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort for some excitement. Since we were novice, we chose to ski and not to snowboard which we read that was more difficult. Our guides then help us to gear up, and taught us some basic skills before leaving us to ski by ourselves. Hubby has great fun skiing down the beginner slope, while I slip down the slope instead. Even though I did not manage to do a proper ski, it was a great experience altogether.

Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort
Address: 688 Bukhangangbyeon-gil, Namsan-myeon, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, South Korea

Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort
Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort

Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort

Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort

Results of rolling down the slopes

Making a snow angel

Another snow angel

After a fun filled day, we choose to drop off from the tour bus at Hongik University Station, as our dinner plan is at 401 Restaurant, a BBQ joint open by Korean celebrities Kim Jong Kook and Haha of popular variety show "Running Man" fame. Yes, I'm a "Running Man" fan, so how can I miss a visit to this restaurant while in South Korea. Even though there is a branch in Myeongdong, we decided to visit the main outlet in Hongdae since the chance that we will meet some celebrities there is higher. Even though we didn't see any eventually, we filled our tummy with delicious barbeque meat with special dips before heading back to Myeongdong to rest for the day.

401 Restaurant
Address: 23 Jandari-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul

401 Restaurant

401 Restaurant

401 Restaurant
Board filled with signatories of many celebrities 

401 Restaurant

401 Restaurant

401 Restaurant

401 Restaurant

No comments:

Post a Comment