Winter Sonata II

Yong Pyong Ski Resort.

It's Feb but the Christmas decorations are still up. Maybe the wintry season prolongs Christmas for them!

Terrorist and Bank Robber! Muahahah!

The sub zero air was drying out my skin by now and my nose couldn't stop dripping. The ski outfit was complimentary. But I really hate the pink and black ski jacket... with fur trimming some more. With the black pants, I look really like some 'mountain tortoise from some backwater village in China. Not to mention that the pants was some 30cm longer than my legs. I was tripping over it half the time.

At first, skiing was challenging. There were so many items to mind, unlike snowboarding. The boots were so so heavy and just to walk that short distance uphill for a short slide down made me soak my thermal wear with perspiration. Later we gave up and bought the ticket for the ski lift. Then it start being more enjoyable. I'm glad to announce I only fell twice. While stationary. Not even while I was skiing. I left the resort with a big bruise on my knee.

Those little round blobs in the background are stones in the little stream. So cute!

The resort at night...magical!

The next day...off to EVERLAND!!!!

I took this roller coaster made of wood!

Nah...like real...more like this kiddo one here. The big one was closed to my dismay. Too cold. :(

Another kiddo ride.

Here's the reason for all the kiddy rides...Xuan, the tour guide. He chose to chaperon all of us due to limited time. So we were shooed from place to place. I was disappointed cos I'm kinda a theme park junkie.

The funniest pic so far...

Street parade,  just like in Disneyland.

Having some last minute cam whoring fun at the stores. And walking my little tiger here....

O man, my nose is soooo red from the cold weather. It was a hassle wiping it dry all the time: looking for tissue paper underneath all the layers, taking off glove, wiping nose, keep tissue, putting back gloves. Winter is really a hassle.

My dream candy store. Imagine all the calories you can chalk up in this place!

Then it's goodbye EVERLAND. I will come back again someday for that rollercoaster. Also missed the safari ride here.

Do not adjust your screens...this is NOT an optical illusion! Cool art huh?

Performers from MISO, a traditional Korean performance. I couldn't help falling asleep although I do appreciate the beauty of the performance. Managed to take a shot standing next to the prettiest gal in the troupe. The one standing next to David was also stunning. They're all so tall. Hmmm...are they wearing 6-inch heels underneath or what?! I feel like a dwarf already...

Yeah, I know I look ashen, thanks to waking up at 6am, coupled with bad lighting at the hotel room. Can't do any kind of makeup in that light.

So here we go making Kimchi. Actually it's not much of a cooking class. It's one of those places that con

tourists of their $$ while masquerading as a noble educational event.

Here at the same place, we also get to pretend to be Korean. We even 'borrowed' kids from a couple from the tour group.

That concludes my Korea trip. We did visit Lotte World as well, but it couldn't hold a candle to Everland. Unfortunately, it was CNY, and most of the shops were closed so shopping was a let down. There was only one night to spend our Korean won. We went to Doota Tower to offload our wallets till 3am.

Farewell Seoul, I will be back for more retail therapy!!

My Winter Sonata I

Went on a tour with CTC to Korea over the CNY. In all my life, this is the only once I have actually booked a local tour. It was a hectic week to say the least, waking up early, adhering to a timetable and rushing place to place to cover the itinerary. The bright side was that I didn't have to do any homework, and flex any muscles lugging my luggage anywhere. It helped that my Korean guide was obscenely hilarious with his broken and misguidedly inaccurate Mandarin. The picture above shows our first pit stop at mountain grocery shop.

Besides selling food, drinks and winter peripherals, I found these weird, vulgar objects in phallic and mammary shapes. No idea what they were for; I didn't venture to pick any up for closer inspection. :p

Ginseng Chicken was our first meal. They used a tender succulent young chicken and stuffed glutinous rice inside it. That raised the bar for subsequent meals, which unfortunately turned out to be hotpot with kimchi, cuttlefish as side dishes. I have given up taking photos. They all look the same. Mushroom hotpot, seafood hotpot, pork hotpot, shabu shabu. Yes, every meal except for one BBQ chicken one. That was yummy.

I loved the hotel in the Seoraksan Mountain - the Kensington Stars Hotel. It was so quaint it looked like something from the English countryside. Here I am, outside freezing snow with the LONDON BUS!!!

The room was typically English with floral sheets and wallpaper.

I was delighted with the toilet! Electric toilet seat ~ perfect for winter. The jet of water could be adjusted up and down for the perfect butt wash, and you can even choose how powerful you want it. You can use "massage mode" for more "anal enjoyment".

I let out a little squeal when I discovered that the toilet paper was so cute. Kawaii!!

The funny thing is how formal the holder look against the cartoon prints.

Here I go again, taking photos with strange uniformed men.

This is just the lift lobby.

GOLD fire extinguisher. Looks real expensive and opulent, reminiscent of TT Durai's golden taps (remember the NKF saga?)

In case you're wondering, the flowers are fake.

I didn't know if we could touch the display but I have a soft spot for teddies.

There is even drawing room filled with fake books, fake fireplace and maybe fake painting. It's fake everything English.

This is a piano from the 1800s by the brand Weber. It is so ancient it doesn't even have 88 keys! Well, it was badly out of tune so I couldn't display my musical virtuosity. Haha, like real!

And here's a panel in the breakfast room. Disclaimer: It is not what it looks like!

Here's to a hungry reindeer!

Sadly, it was only one short night in this cosy hotel.

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The next day...a short 300m trudge in heavy snow to the Seoraksan National Park, a Unesco Heritage Site. That's the hotel in the background. Beautiful eh? Can you imagine having breakfast in their Princess Room with the wintry landscape just outside? Best breakfast I've had ever.

First attempt at making a snowball. Not very good I'm afraid. My fingers were freezing!

Cute eh? A hole just for 2.

In the gondola up to Dragon Peak. Why don't they have heating in the cable cars? As we ascended it got colder and colder. My nose protested with a slight shade of pink.

At Dragon Peak, the filming site for Winter Sonata. I salute the actors for working under minus 20 degree temperatures. My face was numb but my neck was sweaty with the fox tail round my neck. My fingers virtually couldn't feel anything. Taking my gloves off to take a picture was an exercise in endurance.

Knee deep snow. Breath-taking scenery.

Can't wait to leave the place. Much too cold for a tropical girl. I happily ran back to the gondola station and scurried into the nearest gondola.

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End of Part I