Day 2.1 - GAPYEONG STATION to FERRY STATION (of Namiseoum)

Mukhlis : Keluar dari Gapyeong station, ada tourist centre. Kami tgk2 sekejap dan ambil pamphlet kemudian ke perhentian teksi betul2 depan banggunan bari stesen Gapyeong. Teksi mmg byk. Kami naik teksi ke ferry station. Dekat je, tapi driver tu pusing jalan jauh sedikit, sbb jalan dekat sgt jem, ramai org. Si pemandu teksilah yg kata. Jadi kami naik teksi dan perjalanan ambil masa lebih kurang 7 minit dengan bayaran lebih kurang 10 000 won. Kalau ikut jalan dekat seminit je, dengan bayaran 4000 won lebih.


Dan before naik teksi lah aku membuka balutan kimbap. Dan di sini lah pertemuan pertama kami <3. Cinta gigitan pertama. Xsampai 3 minit dah habis semua satu gulung. Sgt lapar ok, dah la breakfast pun tak. Oh sebut pasal kimbap juga, setibanya di ferry station, Feena dan Dima buka 1 balutan kimbap, makan kongsi2. Dah separuh makan, tibe2 sebelum ambil kimbap potongan seterusnya, baru derang perasan yg kimbap yg dimakan itu adalah yg beli untuk Kar Yee punye ._.


Harga tiket, termasuk ferry dan entrance fee adlah 8000 won. Masa nak beli tiket tu sgt ramai org beratur. Tapi jgn risau sbb kaunter tiket byk dan laju. Dan majoriti orang tempatan yg datang pada hari itu. Rasanya mungkin sbb nak masuk autumn jadi ramai org tempatan datang, dan hari itu juga adalah hari ahad, jadi sbb itu mungkin ramai. Dari dengar2 orang kata, waktu best untuk ke Namiseoum ini adalah Winter dan peak autumn. Kemudian baru spring dan last skali summer. Kitorang pegi time baru nk masuk autumn, jadi masih byk lah daun warna hijau.


Ada 2 cara nak ke Nami-seoum (pulau). satu melalui feri mcm yg kami naik, ada 2 feri dalam satu2 masa. Dan satu lagi melalui flaying fox dari terminal feri sampai ke Namiseoum. Seryes nampk sgt best ok. Tak tahu lah harga berapa. Jarak antara terminal feri dan pulau hanya lebih kurang 1km. Naik feri ambil masa 10 minit je kot. Seronok juga angin dingin meniup2 dan menggigil sekejap.

Dima : Ok, i didnt know Mukhlis was gonna make this short transit into an entry by itself, but i guess i'll talk about it anyway.

Feena : zzzzzzz

Kar Yee : zzzzzzzzz

Dima : So we went to the Tourist Information booth to enquire on further transportation. This is also where we got our brochures.

Dima : This is us, waiting at the taxi stand. We were ogling at lil Korean kids all bundled up...they look adorable

Dima : aahhh...the fateful kimbap, Mukhlis' 'Korean girlfriend'. This is what the vegetarian kimbap is supposed to look like. Too bad we didn't take a picture of the one with ham for comparison.

Dima : You see that tower with the cables? That's where you can go on flying fox to cross over to Nami Island...would cost a bomb though (around 30k won if i'm not mistaken), definitely not for our budget. We were just gonna take the ferry instead, for 8000 won.

Dima : Now you see that thing that looks like a yellow construction crane? We learned much later than you can go bungee jumping over there!

Dima : the long ticket queue. Fakhrul was nice enough to queue for us while Karyee, Feena and myself had the fateful kimbap mix-up. He didn't take long though, they had many counters open....unlike in Malaysia, which would've taken hours.

Dima : There you go, our entry passes into Nami Island. Checkout the picture on the pass; a view of Nami island in Spring

Dima : There are several ferries operating at once, so there really isn't much of a wait. Even the ferry ride itself takes less than 10minutes

Mukhlis : 2 gambar atas ini adalah flaying fox yg dimaksudkan. Kalau tak nampak sila lihat betul2. Kecil sahaja. Next time datang mesti kene cuba. Mesti lebih cantik permandangan dari atas tu.

Dima : statue of the Maiden of Nami Island....i'm not sure of the story behind it though

Dima : We have arrived!! I have a thing about posing with signboards...this one is at the entrance gate to Nami Island

Dima : Isabella, stylish as ever

Dima : initially I didn't even noticed that the leaves were arranged in a heart shape...they're really trying to market the 'romance' angle to the place...and they're succeeding! Throughout the day i was growing more and more *ehem* sentimental

Dima : this signboard in particular intrigued me...i've never seen a 'warning, wild ostrich' before... we didn't see any ostriches though

Mukhlis : Setibanya di Namiseoum, tengok sangat ramai orang. Rupanya sejak dari awal pagi dah ramai orang sampai. Kami sampai ini lebih kurang jam 11.30am waktu tempatan. Sudah hampir tgh hari. Suhu pun dah naik sedikit, around 12-16 darjah Celcius. Kalau tak pakai sweater takpe, boleh tahan lagi, tapi bila angin tiup, fuhhhh sampai ke sum2 tulang rasa. Masa petang before nk balik rasa nya suhu turun balik sbb hari mendung dan hujan rintik2 namun untuk beberapa minit sahja.

Dima : Although Mukhlis was initially slightly disappointed that it wasn't peak autumn, I kinda like the scenery when we went. Some parts of the trail we fully green, giving us a glimpse of spring, while some are fully yellow with tinges of orange and red, welcoming autumn. The weather wasn't cold either, no need for the jacket in my backpack. More of Nami in the next post!

Feena : zzzzzzz

Kar Yee : zzzzzzzzz

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Day 2.0 - DONGYANG MIRAE UNIVERSITY to GAPYEONG

Mukhlis : Pagi itu asalnya kami bercadang untuk ke Nami Island. Cadangan awal untuk gerak pada jam 8 pagi. Tapi last2 gerak jam 10 pagi. Sbb nya tiba2 Fakrul kata die sudi bawak kan kitorang jalan. Dan dia pun mmg plan nk gerak jam 10pg. Jadi kami tunggu la die kejap. Dan sebenarnya kami sgt bersyukur dia ikut sekali sbb kalau tidak mesti sesat dan sgt susah. At least ada Fakrul dan Nuna Isabella dapat sembang2 dengan orang tempatan. Fakrul dia pernah pergi sekali, time tu spring kot(?). Jadi agak senang sbb dia dah tahu jalan. Kami ikut sahaja. Itupun sebenarnya agak keliru pada mula2 kerana ada satu line keretapi baru di buat untuk ke Nami Island tersebut. Dan line baru itu sgt menarik kerana ia menyambungkan semua kawasan2 semula jadi yg cantik untuk dijelajahi dan di lawati. Ada tasik, bukit, gunung, air terjun dan juga pulau. Oh Nami Island ni ialah pulau di tengah2 sungai, bukan laut. Dan perjalanan ke sana mengambil masa sejam setengah juga. Terima kasih kepada line keretapi baru itu, sbb kalau tidak 2 jam.


Dima :

Day 2 in Korea. Our initial plan based on our itinerary was to hike Mt. Inwangsan and to visit a few of the old palaces. According to our hosts, the weather forecast for the day was not suitable for sighseeing in Seoul and they suggested we go to Nami Island instead....swap with our plans for the next day. Just to let you know, Nami Island is one of the locations where Winter Sonata was filmed.

Feena : zzzzzzz

Kar Yee : zzzzzzzzz

Mukhlis : Permandangan secara kasar kawasan Dongyang Mirae University, tempat kami tinggal untuk 2 malam.


Dima : Well the 3 ladies were ready by 8.30am. Nami Island was quite a distance away, roughly 2-3 hours of travelling. Then we found out that Fakhrul (Mukhlis' host) was willing to take us there. How kind of him, eh? And so the 3 of us went walking around the surrounding area, just to have a feel of the place. We took a whole bunch of silly photos (which won't be featured in this blog) and met the boys around 9.30am. Now we were waiting for Fakhrul's friend to join us before heading to Namiseom.

Feena : zzzzzzz

Kar Yee : zzzzzzzzz

Mukhlis : Saat2 pertemuan pertama aku dan kimbap <3. Fakrul yg cadang kan asalnya untuk ktrg beli kimbap untuk breakfast dan lunch, sbb nak jalan satu hari suntuk hari ni. Sure lapar. Die order kan 3 kimbap vegi utk aku, Feena dan Dima dan 1 kimbap babi untuk karyee. Dan dah suruh asingkan plastik lain2 siap2 supaya tak tertukar nnt. Kedai ini di area2 tempat kami tinggal.


Dima : Ahh....the fateful kimbap. What's a kimbap? In my opinion it is the Korean equivalent of a Japanese futomaki. Its rice, packed around vege/meat, then rolled in seaweed (checkout the pic). So anyway, Fakhrul decided to order some for us to bring as a snack; 3 vegetarian and 1 ham for Karyee, and asked to pack separately. Anyway, mistakes happen. Much later when we had our snack, Feena and I shared a roll. Halfway through it, Karyee decided to eat hers and realized that the kimbap given to her was vegetarian. Lo and behold : Feena and I were eating the ham by accident. Needless to say once the shock and facepalm moment dissipated, we swapped the rolls and finished our food.

Feena : zzzzzzz

Kar Yee : zzzzzzzzz

Mukhlis : Oh dah pergi bersama kami adalah nu-na (kakak) Isabella. Nuna Isabella berumur 27 tahun, berkulit sgt cerah dan sudah bekerja. Dia tinggal di kawasan berdekatan je dengan Dongyang Mirae University. Dan dia tak pernah ke Nami Island ._.


Dima : This is Fakhrul's friend, Isabella. I don't know how to spell her Korean name. She's following us today because she's never been to Nami Island. Notice how she's in a short skirt in this weather.

Feena : zzzzzzz

Kar Yee : zzzzzzzzz

Dima : That's Fakhrul, our tour guide for the day. I bet we would've gotten lost beyond words without him around.

Dima : OOohh and one more thing, have a look at Isabella's shoes... with the amount of walking we were gonna do, she could do it all in heels!! I am also amazed at how her toes didn't freeze up.

Mukhlis : Kawasan Dongyang Mirae University ini tiada subway, jadi untuk ke subway terdekat perlu naik bas dahulu ke Sindorim Station. Dari tempat menginap ke stesen bas xsampai seminit. Cuaca pagi itu sedikit mendung dengan suhu lebih kurang 14 darjah Celcius (jam tangan aku ada thermometer). Ikut ramalan cuaca hari ini akan hujan. Tapi harap2 tak hujan lah.


Nak jadi cerita bila bas sampai (bas 6637), Aku, Feena dan Dima sedang selok poket dan buka beg untuk ambil T-Money before naik bas. Bas tu berhenti 4 saat je, org last melangkah naik terus die jalan balik. Aku, Feena dan DIma tercengang. Okaaaaaaaay sgt efektif sampai lambat sesaat je bas dah jalan. Maksudnye bas sampai patut terus je naik. Ragu2 walau sesaat bas tu terus jalan balik. Kitorang dah cuak tak tahu nak buat ape. Tapi jalan yg terbaik adalah tunggu je kat situ.


Dima : So here we are, waiting at the bus stop. The bus arrives and passengers get it. Mukhlis, Feena and I were searching for our T-money passes and poof! the bus is gone. I didn't even realize what had just happened, but i noticed that Karyee, Isabella and Fakhrul were no longer there. Lesson 1 : Have your T-money at hand when you know you are taking public transportation

Feena : zzzzzzz

Kar Yee : zzzzzzzzz

Mukhlis : 7 minit lepas tu nampak Fakrul terlari2 dari jauh. Dia turun pada stesen bas selepas itu dan berlari balik. Ok dah rasa sgt serba salah. Yang lain2 pun turun pada stesen itu dan akan naik skali dgn bas yg seterusnya. Kemudian waktu itulah baru nk tukar2 no. Tapi aku tak boleh ambil no Fakrul sbb die kata die punye call pakai software(?). Jadi aku just bg no aku kat die. Silap juga sepatutnya masa mula2 sampai hari tu ambil handphone sewa. Akibatnya sepanjang di korea kitorang roaming je. Sgt mahal ok. Okay nnt kne buat satu posting khas mengenai ini. Dima mesti banyak benda nk cerita pasal roaming ._.


Dima : Fakhrul, the knight in shining armour. Thank God he noticed we were missing and came back for us. We had no way of contacting each other...only Mukhlis' and my phone was working and we didnt have anyone's number.

Feena : zzzzzzz

Kar Yee : zzzzzzzzz

Mukhlis : Bas dia exactly mcm dalam cerita winter sonata (mmg la xkan nk buat bas baru semata2 utk darama -.-'), jadi aku duduk belakang skali belah kanan bas, mengambil feel masa Joon-Sang dan Yoo-Jin sweet2 atas bas >_< (okaaay sgt -.-'). By the way aku tak suke cerita korea dan cinta2, aku tgk sbb nk tengak tempat2 lokasi pengambaran je ._. . Mcm dah di beritahu dalam post2 sebelum ini, nak naik dan turun touch sahaja T-Money pada tempat sepatutnya berdekatan pintu. Oh nk turun pun kne bangun siap2 tunggu depan pintu kalau tak nnt tak sempat turun bas dah jalan. Kami turun di Sindorim untuk ambil subway.


Dima : zzzzzzzzz

Feena : zzzzzzz

Kar Yee : zzzzzzzzz

Dima : We got off the bus and took the train at Sindorim station, the nearest one to our accommodations. Anyway, in all the trains your keep seeing these illegal vendors (according to Isabella) selling these foot covers. ooh, and sitting in the row on your left are the ajumas I was talking about in the earlier post; notice they are all in bright pink jackets and have similar hairstyles?

Dima : this is the 'before' shot

Dima : and this is 'after'...ugly, ugly

Mukhlis : Aku tengah termenung2 dan terdengar mereka bertiga ni sembang dgn siapa ntah. Jadi join lah dengar. 2 orang ajushi, sorang dari India dan sorang lagi orang tempatan.


Dima : As we were standing there, suddenly I hear someone say Assalamualaikum. Turns out it was the ajashi sitting right in front of me. He'd worked in Saudi Arabia before and noticed we were Muslims. Next to him is a tourist from India. We got into an interesting conversation about culture and a bit of Bollywood cinema. Here I learned that the drama Winter Sonata (which was so famous in Malaysia a while ago) was not popular at all in Korea; the ajashi likened it to a children's fairytale. Not that i know what the story was about, I didn't even watch the show but here I am, on the way to it's filming location, rumoured to be beautiful and wonderfully picturesque.

Feena : zzzzzzz

Kar Yee : zzzzzzzzz

Dima : the only map we had at that time was in Korean. Karyee can read a teeny bit of Hangul but frankly It wasn't enough to navigate

Mukhlis : Ini adalh group2 ajuma yg sgt ramai yg pernah di tulis oleh Dima sebelum ini. Mereka datang dalam group masing2 dengan gaya rambut yg sepesen dan memakai baju berwarna terang dan cerah (mengikut warna group masing2.


Dima : zzzzzzzzz

Feena : zzzzzzz

Kar Yee : zzzzzzzzz

Mukhlis : Video pendek secara ringkas permandangan dalam train dan susana di luar train, di train terakhir sebelum sampai ke Gapyeong station. Kami ada tukar beberapa train sebelum sampai ke sini. 2 kali kot. Untuk detail mungkin Dima or Kar Yee lebih igt.


Dima : zzzzzzzzz

Feena : zzzzzzz

Kar Yee : zzzzzzzzz

Mukhlis : Atas ini adalah station Gapyeong. Sgt baru. Dan sgt besar juga.


Dima : and here we are, finally at Gapyeong station. From here, we need to take a bus or taxi to the ferry bay to get to Nami Island. More in the next post!

Feena : zzzzzzz

Kar Yee : zzzzzzzzz

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