Vacation Korea - Tours' Pictures

Posting few pictures of our four day tours of South Korea..........

 Historical Cheonggyechoen river in the middle of the metropolis. 

I love this cool, beautiful, very clean and serene stream.

At the Buddhist temple

 Lotus abloom on display at the Buddhist temple.

 Orchids too 

 Imperial Palace - we were in time for the changing of the guards.

 Double dragons, the symbol of his imperial highness.

 Emperor in his own right! My husband Lucas is a dragon himself! Hahaha!

 A display of the old Korean village.

 Korean gypsy dance and acrobatic performance. A truly unique show.

 At DMZ - De Militarized Zone, bording North Korea.

 Peace Park

 Train station to Pyongyang.

 At Petite France - a quaint place created from the concept of The Little Prince.

 Photo-op with the drawing of Antione De Saint-Exupery

Those were the destructive baobabs from the novel.

 My daughter Martha was lovely though! Hehehe.

Little bells of happiness.

 At the arena, ready to watch a noon time show.

 Marionette show - Michael Jackson puppet, dancing to the tune of Billy Jean.

 I did enjoy this place, even though it was a very warm sunny day.

Notice the umbrellas? Hahaha

 At Nami Island

Martha posing with the Nami macots (snowmen) inside a gift shop. Hahaha!

 Nami Island would have been totally different when you come during the Autumn. It will be so cold that you need to wear gloves to protect your hands. In the winter, the pond is completely frozen. hahaha.

Vacation - Dongdaemon Pictures

With Martha at Dongdaemon night market district.

 Behind us is the architectural dome of the Historical and Cultural Park.

 Waiting to be served at an all-pork full house restaurant.

 Inside the park in Dongdaemon - rose garden

 Thousands and thousands of roses.....

We came back purposely at night to see the lighted roses.

Vacation - Korea

I was away for several weeks, on vacation. My husband Lucas, my daughter Martha and I left Manila on July 24 for USA to visit my son Roy. Since it would take about 16 hours to reach our destination, we opted to see Korea for few days. We were in Seoul on transit for 6 days, including arrival and departure time. We were billeted at Dongdaemon district, a very convenient stay for tourists who like to roam around the night market. Up there were plentiful of eating places to choose from, mini marts and convenient stores too. In the middle of the bustling district was a beautifully modern designed historical and cultural park to chill out and roam. We were in Dongdaemon most of our evenings: eating, shopping or simply looking around and enjoying the bustling city. But it was hot! Korea was hotter than Manila when we left. The temperature did not daunt our adventure spirits though. We had much fun with different tours we booked in advance. Thanks to Jeng Ringor, my very efficient travel agent in Manila who arranged for our tours. During our free day though, Martha led us to Myongdong, a tourists' district by shuttle bus. We came back via the train in the afternoon. When we were in Myondong, I think it was the hottest day of summer in Korea. Aside from  going around the bustling tourist's mecca, we also visited the Cathedral on the uphill. Climbing the steps made us sweat profusely. We rested and prayed inside the church. We also took refuge inside the church's air conditioned gift shop. Hahaha! Coming down to explore some more, we also went inside a cafe to eat ice cream and ice shaves (beansu). When we had enough shopping, we decided to get back to our hotel via the train. Whoa, walking back though, we all came home completely drenched in sweat. My compliment to my 78 year old husband Lucas, who was such a good sport!!! No complain from him what so ever. That trip was indeed one memorable, enjoyable journey for us. Hahaha!

The next day, we embarked on our last day tour to Petite France and Nami Island. After Nami Island; we asked to be dropped at Myongdong instead of the hotel. We went back to Myongdong on Saturday afternoon to attend an anticipated mass before our flight on Sunday. To my amazement, Myongdong, after 5pm, was transformed into a street food market. It utterly looked different from the day's scenario, really quite exotic.

Next time I go to USA, I will pass by Seoul again. Hehehe. I wont get tired of visiting Dongdaemon and Myongdong once more. Hasta la Vista!

Pictures on the next blogs.