My trip to Korea- Soul of Asia (Day 4- Everland)

4^th day and we are suppose to take the plane back to Seoul and travel up to Mt Sorak in the evening. I wasn’t feeling well since the night before, so for breakfast, I settled with a miserable bowl of porridge and soup. Right after breakfast, we rest for a while before leaving for the airport again. It was raining cats and dogs so the airport send a shuttle bus to sent us directly to the plane. When we arrived at Seoul it was 11am.

We passed by Seoul famous Han Gang or River Han where countless of drama’s and reality show were filmed. I distinctly remember my favorite show Running Man had a Bride race on the bridge and the popular drama Master’s Sun was also filmed there.

 The tour guide decided that we are ready to have lunch. I was certainly ready, what with the little porridge I had in the morning. Our lunch was Ginseng Chicken(Samgyetang)and it was superb. The dish was a whole spring chicken in ginseng soup and we were given some ginseng wine to mix in the soup. After that throw in some rice noodles into the soup and dig in. I finished the entire bowl. I was THAT hungry and my stomach was fine. The chicken is small so one person can settle it, no problem.

          Later, we did what all tourist must do while in Korea- wear their traditional Hanbok. It is an absolute must. When we got there, we can start choosing the Hanbok that we wanted to wear. I chose a blue and red Hanbok because the color was very vibrant. They had the walls decorated with different background for us to takes pictures. Needless to say, we snapped away. I got to admit, wearing a Hanbok made me felt classier. The Hanbok I was wearing are colors fit for the royals once upon a time. 

           Part of our tour was to learn how to make Kimchi, I wasn’t really interested in that since I’m too lazy. I prefer pre-packed Kimchi in the supermarket than doing it on my own. I went along anyway. The Kimchi making class was on top of the Hanbok studio so we just climbed up one level.

In the class, there were already soaked cabbage and Kimchi paste on the table. All we had to do is actually splatter the paste on the cabbage and wrap it. The instructor gave us a brief introduction on how the paste is made and how to preserve the cabbage, the duration and skill. I didn’t pay much attention. Later the instructor watched as we spread the red paste of the leaves and wrapped it. I did it wrong for the first time so I had to rewrap Kimchi. She mentioned that our end product would be donated to the Children’s home. When we were done, they brought in some sample for us to try. I knew there were many types of Kimchi but I didn’t know that there was ginseng kimchi and raw octopus kimchi. At the end of the class, I bought some since my dad just loves it. They were going to pack it for us and sent it to the airport on the day we leave. How nice to have one less baggage to lug around. Here’s my Kimchi. Tadaa~~~

For our next journey, it promises full of adrenaline rush, thrills and fun for the entire day! Yep, we are going to Korea’s biggest theme park- Everland! The trip was long enough to make me fall asleep in the bus but when we got there, it was a little past noon. I was all geared up for the rides. The theme park was beautiful. The main entrance was shaped like a castle, I reverted back to childhood. Seriously, when you’re in a theme park, it doesn’t matter how old you are, you just NEED to be a kid again. My sister, being a flower fanatic, was more in love with the flowers they planted throughout the park. It was the normal Chrysanthemum flowers but the way they decorated it is just lovely. I love the “Italy” themed fortress near the entrance. But Halloween was just around the corner so the whole place is full of pumpkins, bats and eerie skeletons. Now I’ve never been to Disneyland but I think I’ll be happy enough to just play here for the rest of my life. Now don’t forget to grab your map brochure at the entrance, you can get lost in this huge park.

I understand now why everyone loves to go to theme park, its suitable for old ages. There’s section for young children, more thrilling rides for preteens to adults and if you’re too old for a good fright down the rides, then you can just enjoy a relaxing walk in their beautiful garden. The four seasons garden is a must to visit if you don’t plan to ride, the flowers bloom for all season and it looks magnificient. I guarantee you would feel like you’re in a fairytale story. Further in the park is a rose garden which I didn’t visited because time waqs scarce. We were only given 4 hours, what a bummer. I could stay there an entire day.

Everland was exploding with life. Squeling teens in cat ears head bands walk past us, crying children that didn’t get their favourite toys and couples being excessively romantic can be seen all around. Koreans could be good boyfriends, I’ve seen so many guys holding their girlfriends handbag, bending down to tie their girl’s shoelaces, tucking her hair behind the ears and all those little sweet notion you see in dramas. They really do that in real life and in public and no one finds it weird. That’s it! I’m finding a boyfriend here! Haha~~

The tour guide insisted we take the safari ride first to see Ligers (Tigers + Lions mix breed). It’s like their pride because Ligers are extremely rare. Okay, let’s go see some ligers! To save some time getting down, we took this Ski lift and the view was amazing from the top. When we reach the safari, we didn’t even have to stand in line, just go through the back door because we are a huge group. The whole bus was reserved for us and we entered the carnivore’s lair. First animal that greeted us was the beautiful white tigers, they were sleeping. Next were the ferocious lions and then tigers. They all have sections dedicated for themselves because these Kings of the jungle can’t be friend each other, they’ll fight to their death. Then finally, their main attraction, the liger. It looks more like a lion than a tiger but you can see some strips on the body- the distinctive tiger characteristic.

They look so tame like this~

The infamous Liger!

The safari bus entered this gates which closes behind us and we entered the bear’s lair. They weren’t grizzlys but boy are they HUGE. They are close to 6-7 feet tall when they stand up on their hind legs. Each of these bears have their own antics and I find some of it cute, especially the kissing bear and the praying bear.

Don't be intimidated by it, he just wants a kiss!

The carnivore safari only last a few minutes and suddenly, we’re out. That was when we are free to roam the premises. Whee!! Let the fun begin. First stop, the T express roller coaster. One of the theme park attraction that could let you taste death. Only three of us dared to take the ride, including me of course. You’re in a theme park! You don’t waste your time walking around and doing nothing. I got only 4 hours, no time to waste. It took me almost 30 min to wait for that ride and the safari wait took 1 hour off my 4 hours already. We got lost trying to look for the T express and when we got there, a long queue awaits. We waited in line and there where over excited kids behind us who screamed that high pitch shriek when the roller coaster zoomed past us. I was preparing my heart for the scary ride and these kids weren’t helping. 

The T-Express!! 

Sitting in the coaster waiting to depart was agonizing. You don’t know what awaits and my heart was already trying to jump out of my mouth. The MC told us to do some neck exercise but I was busy excersizing my vocal cords. I’m prepared to scream my lungs out. Then it started with a slow creep up this hill and towards towards the steep fall. Writing this right now still reminds me the chills. Oh, I feel bile coming up. Excuse me while I hurl~

Suddenly, I fell and I screamed and screamed like I never did before. I don’t undestand how some people can jump off the building when they try to commit suicide. This is one scary death. The drop was 90˚ and I clung on to the bar for dear life. Screams erupted everywhere and I even hear some people laughing with glee. They’re nuts!!! Just when I thought it’s the end of the fall, the coaster climbed up in lighting speed and fall again. I don’t remember how many times I fell and mind you, it all felt like a 90˚ descend.

When it was all over, my legs were so wobbly it almost buckled. I was so lightheaded, I think my soul left my body. Everyone was chattering excitedly about the ride but I was more focused on the stairs in case my legs gave way and you’ll see me rolling down the stairs like a ball. That was the scariest ride I’ve ever had, my sister described it as “tasting death” for a minute there. And that was the only ride I had in Everland. For the rest of the time, we just walked around, looking at camel rides, cute animals and more flowers. We didn’t have much time and all the rides looked like we needed to wait for a long time. We wandered into the four seasons garden and I remember Running Man being filmed here. I don’t need to be told and my photographer mode was switched on. I went to all of the places that I remembered the running man members went to.

Does this jog your memory?

Remember GwangSoo and Jaesuk hiding here?

Jaesuk hid in here

I remember Yoo Jae Suk dashing through the shops with his grasshopper hat and Kwangsoo hiding behind the flowers in his giraffe hat. Good memories indeed~

For the rest if the time, we walked into confectionary stores and toy shop. The confectionary store is a children’s heaven. All sorts of candies and chocolate you can find are on displayed, even I felt attracted. But I persevered my sweet tooth cravings. In the toy store, I was even like a kid, playing with the plushies and cute toys. I love the adorable baby penguin soft toys and pumpkin headbands but my budget is holding me back from buying. My sister and I just walked all over the park, marvelling at the decorations and flowers.

Dinner was supposed to be our own responsibility, we are just meeting up with the main group at 5pm before we take the long ride to Mt Sorak. I had pizza and my sis had this delicious cream cheese bagel. I was thinking of getting some churros too but I held back. Everland was an unforgettable memory and I’ll be sure to come back the next time I visit Korea. 

Aren't they adorable?

I love pumpkin ears!

 When times up, we were on our way to Mt Sorak. It was a very long journey, I think it was 4 hours or so. All of us fell asleep from wearing ourselves out at Everland.

It was 2 hours before midnight when we arrived at the resort. Mt Sorak is really cold, it is the coldest place in Korea. The tour guide warned us about it and I for one, will not argue with him this time. I hauled my bag into my hotel room again, it looked more like an apartment. Since Mt Sorak has no streets to walk during the night and we’re far away from the nearest town, I went to the convenient store in the resort and bought some instant noodles. I cooked it with the stove in our room and that’s my supper. After that I zonked out for the night.