11th
April 2012
Today is the
day for our 2nd and last day trip – Nami Island. As we had to catch
the bus at 9.30am, it was another early day.
We had
breakfast at Bread & Co. – again, another expensive and not great breakfast.
We decided to settle here because we were not sure whether there is any more
food outlet near Tapgol Park (the waiting place for the shuttle bus to Nami
Island).
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| Bread & Co. |
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| Bread & Co. |
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| Our breakfast |
After a simple breakfast, we walked to Tapgol Park.
This was a real chilly morning and it was sooo…….. cold. We can’t wait to get on
the bus to hide from the wind.
Tip: If you want to save trouble, take the Nami
Island Shuttle Bus. It costs KRW23,000 and includes 2-way coach transfer +
ferry ticket. The bus leaves Insadong at 9.30am for Nami Island and 4.00pm to
return to Insadong. Another thing to note is to book your bus tickets in
advance as there is only one shuttle per day and you won’t want to miss
it.
Where to buy
tickets: As mentioned earlier in my blog, Nami Island Seoul Center is located
on the 3rd floor of Gallery Sang Building which is right opposite
Starbucks Insadong.
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| Nami Island Shuttle Bus |
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| Nami Island Shuttle Bus |
The bus ride to the Namiseom takes about 1.5 hours. Other than taking the ferry, if you are game enough, you can zip-wire to Nami Island.
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| Zip-wire |
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| Try it if you want to save some time |
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| Eeeeee.................. scary!!! |
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| On your mark...........Get set................. |
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| Go.............. *SCREAM* |
After a short 10-mins ferry ride, we arrived at
Naminara Republic.
Nami Island
Namiseom is a tiny half-moon shaped island
located in Chuncheon, South Korea,
formed as it was inundated by the rising water of the North Han River as
the result of the construction of Cheongpyeong Dam (청평댐) in 1944. Its name
originated from General Nami (남이장군), who died at the age of 28 after being falsely
accused of treason during the reign of King Sejo,
the seventh king of the Joseon
Dynasty of Korea.
This island was made famous by Winter Sonata, the 2002 Korean drama
credited with kicking off the Korean Wave (Hallyu), which was filmed here. The
famous 'first kiss' was set on Namiseom as well as was other important scenes
in the drama. Tourists come from all over Asia to retrace the star-crossed lover’s
steps.
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| Winter Sonata |
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| First kiss |
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| All the advertisement on Winter Sonata |
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| This is really where it is filmed. |
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| You can see it everywhere. |
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| No one can missed this. |
As this is a small island and the fact that it rained the day before, we
decided to take a slow stroll round the island rather than riding a bicycle
(which was our original plan). The island was filled with tree-lined pathways.
There were white birch lane, ginkgo tree lane, metasequoia land and many many
more. It’s really a beautiful place and you have to see it yourself.
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| We visited Nami Island in 2012. |
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| Nami Island |
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| Nami Island |
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| Tree-lined pathway |
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| Tree-lined pathway |
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| Tree-lined pathway |
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| Tree-lined pathway |
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| Cottage for an overnight stay |
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| Resort for an overnight stay |
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| River and bridge |
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| Bridge |
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| Bridge |
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| Bridge |
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| Tree-lined pathway |
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| Tree-lined pathway |
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| Tree-lined pathway |
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| Tree-lined pathway |
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| Tree-lined pathway |
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| Tree-lined pathway |
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| Tree-lined pathway |
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| Tree-lined pathway |
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| Tree-lined pathway |
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| Say cheese.............. |
To promote harmony with nature, ostriches, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks,
ducks and peacocks were introduced into Nami Island. We managed to sight some
during our trip.
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| Squirrel |
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| Ostrich |
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| Mandarin Duck |
Another interesting thing to point out about Nami Island is the Nami Island
International Children's Book Festival (NAMBOOK). As a result of this book
festival, books can be found everywhere on the island, even in the bathrooms.
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| Books in washroom |
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| Books in washroom |
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| Books in toilet cubicle |
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| Books in toilet cubicle |
Many materials that are decorating Nami Island come from the great use of
recycling. Garbage, wasted bottles, cans and old benches are reborn as artworks
through creative touches by many artists.
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| Can drinks |
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| Cards |
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| Xmas tree made of Cards |
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| Xmas tree made of Soju bottles |
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| Soju bottles |
Founder of Nami Island – Mr. Minn Byeong-do
(1916-2006)
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| Mr. Minn Byeong-do |
Lunch @ Nami Island
As it was a public holiday today in Korea – Polling Day, Nami Island was crowded and every eating outlet was packed. We managed to grab a table right in front of a food stall and settled our lunch there.
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| The eatery |
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| Seafood pancake |
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| Our lunch |
The sun was really warm by this time (totally opposite of the weather this morning – chilly wind with vapour when you talk). We decided to have ice-cream…yum yum.
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| Ice-cream time |
Soon, it was time to leave Nami Island.
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| Entrance and exit of Nami Island |
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| The ferry from afar |
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| Slightly nearer |
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| Nami Island |
Pris was very curious about one thing and she
went up to ask the Nami Island Ferry crew about Namimaid. We read that the
Namimaid will be near the shore, welcoming visitors to Nami Island. We have
walked almost the whole coast but didn’t see it so where is it actually??
Answer: The Namimaid was “killed” by the snow
during winter. It fell on her and “killed” her, breaking the sculpture.
No wonder we didn’t see it!
After another power nap (1.5 hours’ bus ride),
we are back at Insadong. As there was still time, we decided to explore
Ssamzie-gil.
Ssamziegil (쌈지길)
Ssamziegil opened on December 18, 2004 and it
has been marked as the 'Special Insa-dong within Insa-dong'. This unique area
was designed in such a way by connecting its charming alleys in the form of a
spiral-like stairway. As you do your window-shopping through the lovely, cozy
stores all the way to the top, you will arrive at Haneulmadang where you can
get an extraordinarily clear view of the sky. Ssamziegil covers 42,700sq. ft.
(1,200 pyeongs) with over 70 shops including handicraft stores, souvenir shops,
art galleries, restaurants, and more.
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| Ssamziegil |
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| Ssamziegil |
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| Ssamziegil |
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| Ssamziegil roof terrace |
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| Ssamziegil |
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| Ssamziegil |
Another
interesting thing about this place is graffiti is legal. You can see them all
over the building.
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| Graffiti |
One more thing to
add, you will see people gathering or queuing in front of 3 monitors at the
staircase beside the main entrance. Our curiosities always win over us and we
joined the queue. Those 3 monitors were actually photo taking machines
(something like Purin Purin – Photo Sticker machine) for you to take a memorial
photo in Ssamziegil. With our zero understanding in Korean, we managed to take
the photo but do not know how to add message.
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| Memorial Photo taken |
Dinner time @구이가
We couldn’t get over the BBQ from yesterday and decided to visit this
restaurant again and so ta-da, here we are again. As it wasn’t raining today, the
doors were all opened. We got a table by the corridor.
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| BBQ place in Hongdae |
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| The entrance |
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| Hungry and tired looking woman |
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| The more energetic one |
How to get to this restaurant:
From Exit 4 at Hongik University Station, you will see a road on your
right. Keep walking till you come to a T-junction and you will see the
restaurant.
Hope you have a nice meal there too.
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