FIRST TRIP :D

Assalamualaikum. I don't know how to make this informal. However, I would like to write about my experience during my trip to South Korea.  I hope all the readers enjoy reading our blog as this is our first time writing blog by group. Going travel to Korea has been my dream since I was 15. Heard that i could went there, I was so excited ! At first, i did'nt believe that I could travel to Korea at this young age. Plus, i went there only with my sister which are still teenagers.  Yup, both of us went to a foreign country without our parent for the first time !  Could you imagine that ?  We are brave aren't we ? HAHA :D

Well, not so brave to be precise. We went there to visit our brother who was studying there for his graduation day. Our parent could not make to his graduation day so we went there as their replacement. hehe ~  Ok, I will go straight to the point. Let the pictures tell you everything.

20th February 2013

Here we are ! - at Incheon International Airport

We arrived there at about 4 p.m. We went through immigration and visa counter smoothly eventhough they can't spoke english fluently =.='  We managed to meet our brother two hour later as we only follow the signboard (and our instinct. kekeke.. We refused to asked citizen as we afraid that they could'nt understand us). Then we took subway to our brother's house and then after maghrib prayer we went out for a dinner and bought some daily needs.

our first dinner ! don't remember the name of this dishes =.='

21st February 2013

held at a small university stadium.

burgerr ~

It was my brother graduation day. It was a very simple ceremony yet bring a huge meaning to us. Yes, I do proud of him. The ceremony ended on the afternoon and then we went to a burger shop for lunch. Don't worry, it was halal as the owner of the shop was a muslim foreigner. After finished eating we head to Dongdaemun market. Dongdaemun market was one of the major shopping places in Korea. It sells many goods such as clothing, souvenirs, foods, jewellery and so on. Most of the goods there were very affordable and cheap. If you are lucky, the seller will gave you something for free. We bought some souvenirs for our family and friends.

so many dazzling brooches ~

this unni (kakak), she knows how to speak malay ;)

Next destination is : Myeong-dong. Myeon-dong was listed as the ninth most expensive shopping street in the world. That's why we did'nt bought anything from there. HAHA :D There was many branded shop there for example Polo Ralph Lauren, Forever 21, Bulgari, and Louis Vuitton. It is a popular area for young people and rich tourist for fashion and sight-seeing. 

people - at myeongdong

At night, we went to Namsan Seoul Tower. We rode the cable car up the mountain and then walk to the tower. Here, we can see most of the city of Seoul can be seen from the top. Most interesting place here was love padlock trees. Couples will hanging their name on the padlocks and hanging it on the tower fence as a symbol of teir love. Another attractive area was Teddy Bear Museum. It showcases teddy bears in the past and present of Seoul as well as attraction places in Seoul City.

view of Seoul city from cable car

love padlock tree

 me : you love me, ain't you ? . HAHA ~

inside the museum

ohoo.. these teddy were the same height with me.

our late dinner.

22nd February 2013

it's snowy here ! - at our house

The next day, we went to Seoul Land. Here, I got a chance to play slide as current season there was winter. I'm so excited as in Malaysia there is no such thing. So, I played until I nearly got hitted by the blocked wall. Fortunately, the accident was not so serious. I do have a great time there.

here we are. SEOUL LAND

waiting for my turn.

dinner ! seafood ~

23rd February 2013

A trip to Seoul would not be complete without a visit to Nami Island. It is a famous tourist attraction with different scenes during each season. we arrived at the island after 15 minutes by riding a ferry. The place was famous because of Winter Sonata, top romantic korean drama was filmed there. Plus, the scenery was very beautiful.. We have our lunch at restaurant. We got to taste 'nasi goncang' (the named was given by my brother. I don't know what is the name in korean =.=') for the first time. We have to shake the box to make sure all the ingredients are mixed well. It contains rice, some fish, kimchi and seasoning. 

front door of Nami Island

before

after

24th February 2013

This was the last day of our trip. We went to korean folk village to know detail about the country history. As I entered this place, we were approached by two young men wearing orange coat and they volunteered to be our tour guide. I was a little shocked as I'm afraid that we could'nt communicate well. However, i'm glad as they were very fluent in english and they do this work voluntarily to improve their english. Well, at least not all of them were bad in english. hehe ~

In Korea, they also have traditional house like us especially during their old dynasty. They used big pot to store soy sauce, soy bean and many more seasoning for cooking. We also played some traditional game such as 'bulu ayam'.

with our tour guide ;)

one of their traditional game. not sure how they played it =.='

Next is Gyeongbukgung palace. It was a main palace of Joseon dynasty. Gyeongbokgung palace is a royal palace located in northern Seoul, South Korea. It has once constructed, but later burned and abandoned for almost three centuries, and then it was reconstructed. It was the main and largest palace of the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty.

in front of the palace

We went to Cheonggyeochun stream. It was a normal stream but it is in the middle of the Seoul city. At night the scenery was so beautiful as it was lighted by colourful lamps.

Lastly, we went to Seoul Central Mosque. It was located in the center of Seoul in Itaewon, the Seoul Central Mosque is Korea’s first permanent mosque and the only mosque in Seoul. The mosque is made up of three floors: on the first floor is the Korea Muslim Federation office and meeting room, on the second floor is the men’s musalla (prayer hall), and on the third floor is the women’s musalla (prayer hall). As a muslim, we must perform the prayer despite where we are. 

THE END. For your information, we were only using public transportation such as buses and subway throughout all of our journey in Korea. For the direction, you can browse it on the inthernet as i was just following my brother. hehe.. It was the unforgettable moments in my life.