Korea - Dec 2013: Day 11, Seoul

Day 11 - we went to the Noryangin Fish Market, Seoul's largest seafood market.

There was an amazing array of seafood .... and they were sooooo cheap!

We ordered 1 big fish, 10 oysters, 4 big scallop, 1 tuna, 4 big tiger prawns and 10 smaller ones .... and I lost count .... all for USD 210!

We were then brought to a restaurant above the market, for our seafood feast. Had wanted to steam the fish, but the PRC seafood stall owner told us that the Koreans do not know how to steam their food, and wouldn't do a good job with our fish. So we had it barbecued instead. It was still very good. 

We stuffed our faces so much that we had to walk it off at Myeong-dong after that. Completed other stretches that we missed the night before. And rounded up the night with a McDonald's dinner. I'd never seen the kids enjoy their burger, nuggets and fries so much! Both Nadine and Aaron sat quietly at the table and finished their meal. Aaron finished a whole cheeseburger! That's a first for him. Think they, just like the adults, had had enough Korean food!

Yes, we've had enough Korean food in the last 11 days to last us for quite a while. Tomorrow we go home, and we're sure ready for home! This trip was the longest trip we'd taken with the kids. The kids had been cooperative, mostly. It had been great bonding time, with family and friends.

Till the next vacation!

Korea - Dec 2013: Day 10, Seoul

Day 10, the Gans went to the Korean Demilitarized Zone, Gong-Gong KK went exploring on his own, and we went to the Seodaemun Museum of Natural History.

It was a great museum, with lots of fossils of dinosaurs, stuffed animals and insects and wax models.

They also had a small outdoor dinosaur park which fascinated the kids. But it was too cold to stay out for long.

Just next to the museum is a condominium. A bit strange to see a t-rex right next to civilisation. 

And their butterfly collection is amazing! Very colourful and beautiful!

Nadine was a bit spooked by some parts of the exhibition, especially in areas where that was dark. But other than that, she enjoyed herself. And both kids bought their first toys at the museum shop! Nadine got a pink stuffed brachiosaurus, and Aaron a truck.

After that, we met up with the Gans at the Yongsan-gu War Memorial of Korea.

We started with the outdoor exhibits - planes and tanks galore. The kids ran from one vehicle to another.

Aaron wanted to look at the interior of all planes, and Daddy happily obliged.

But once we got inside, it wasn't so interesting for the kids anymore. Especially for Nadine. There was a lot of reading in order to understand the exhibits. Gerald was the only kid who was interested. Daddy was disappointed that we couldn't spend more time there.

Next, we went to the Lotte Department Store at Myeong-dong. We figured, there has to be a huge toys department in this 12-storey department store. We were soooooo wrong!

Aside from this toy car, there were no other toys in sight!

There were lots of clothes and shoes for kids though. Our conclusion - the Koreans were more interested in dressing their kids than buying toys for them. And Korean kids probably played their games online!

There was nothing interesting for us at the department shop. So we decided to venture out to the streets, and found the "pasar malam" kind of shopping a lot more interesting. Loved the cold wintery, Christmasy atmosphere.

By the time we'd done enough walking, it began to snow! Sure added to the Christmasy atmosphere!

Korea - Dec 2013: Day 9, Seoul

Day 9 in Korea, we went to Lotte World. Were supposed to go to Everland, but it was really cold, so we decided to stay indoor instead.

Lotte World, like many other theme parks, has all kinds of rides for different ages. We figured that Nadine and Aaron are too kiddy for the kind of rides that the Gan boys would want to try, so we split up.

What caught our attention first, was the Pororo Park, for which we had to purchase additional tickets to enter. But it was money well-spent, coz it's not as crowded as the rest of the park, and was a very safe area for the kids to run around.

This is Pororo's little bedroom

Pororo's bathroom

Her family room

There was also a mini train ride in Pororo Park.

Aaron piloting Pororo's rocket

And Pororo came out to greet the kids!

We even had lunch at the relatively quiet cafe inside Pororo Park. We figured that the restaurants outside will be super crowded. The kids loved the yummy beef rice.

After lunch, we ventured out and queued for 20 min for a very unhappening monorail ride. Then we went to the kids zone, and rode on the Boong Boong Car and Eureka. 

Nadine had wanted to ride on the Drunken Basket too. It's similar to the Madhatter's Cups at Disneyland, which she loved. But there was a 75 min waiting time, and we were due to leave.

As we walked towards the entrance, the parade started. But the parade was a far cry from the Disneyland parade. They had only 1 open-top bus, and a handful of dancers. Was over even before many people realised it had started!

If we had never been to Disneyland nor Universal Studio, perhaps Lotte World would have impressed us. But ..... 

After Lotte World, we went ginseng and cosmetics shopping! Aaron was again, asleep in the bus, while Nadine followed Mummy. She was so fascinated by all the cosmetics and facial products, such a little vain pot!

For dinner, we decided to go to Dongdaemun. We all had the impression that Dongdaemun is similar to Chatuchak in Bangkok. But, the Gans and Gong-Gong KK, who went there the night before, found out that it's actually an area of shopping malls! But inside each mall, there are many many wholesalers.

They were disappointed with the mall they went to the night before, so we decided to try another mall. It was equally disappointing. There were not many shops, and all were selling winter clothes. Greatest disappointment for the kids, there were no toy shops!

Back in our apartment, I realised we'd not taken any photos of Aaron and me - in matching outfit. That's the thing about winter. We're covered by our jackets all the time. We look the same in all the photos coz we're always wearing our jackets. 

This was a photo Nadine took of us

Korea - Dec 2013: Day 8, back in Seoul

Back to Seoul, we were greeted by snow on the trees and roads. Apparently the temperature in the early morning was -8!

Our tour guide wanted to make use of as much daylight as possible to bring us sightseeing (it typically gets dark from about 5pm onwards).

1st stop - National Folk Museum of Korea. It was a very interesting museum that showcased Korean history and culture. But it's huge, and we only toured 1 area - what Lucy deemed as the most interesting area.

We then went to the Seoul Tower. This is the view of Seoul city, from the top of the Tower.

There were a number of these Christmas trees on the 1st floor of the Tower, where lovers write messages on locks and hang them on the trees.

After Seoul Tower, Lucy took us to the Ice Museum and Trick Eye Museum. Initially, we had wanted to skip these 2 museums, and go back to the service apartment. We were so glad we didn't because both museums were super fun, not just for the kids, but for the adults too!

The Ice Museum was quite small, but had very cute sculptures like this penguin,

these gigantic fruits,

a slide that the kids loved,

and even a toilet bowl!

The Trick Eye Museum was even more fun. It has all kinds of paintings and installations for visitors to take photos that trick the eyes into seeing something else. 

Daddy and Aaron relaxing on beach chair .... they were really sitting on the floor

Mummy and Aaron sitting on a mega moon

Daddy levitating ... he was lying on his side!

Gerald trying to hammer a captured Nadine ... who was in a box with mirrors

Daddy being swallowed by a shark .... again, he's just sitting on the floor

Nadine the angel

Daddy, having a phone conversation with Obama, and featured on the news!

So much fun on our 1st night back in Seoul! Hope our remaining days in Seoul will be just as fun!

Korea - Dec 2013: 3rd day in Jeju

Day 3 in Jeju - we went to the southern part of Jeju, which was much more sunnier and warmer than the northern part of Jeju, where our hotel was. As we drove down south, we could really see the difference in weather.

1st stop for us - O'Sulloc Museum (Green Tea Museum), where the retail area and cafe were bigger than the museum. It seemed like a must-stop for all tourists, coz we saw lots of tourists, and a family from our church!

Next - Jeju Mini-mini Land, where there were models of famous architecture from all over the world, such as, London Bridge:

Aside from the architectural models, there were also lots of random sculptures, statues and displays, such as:

Snow White and the 7 Dwarves

Astro Boy, beside an American soldier and his bike

Dinosaurs

Shrek and Fiona

And a mini train that goes round the park. The kids wanted to ride it, of course. Then as we were buying the tickets, the attendant told us that we could pay a much cheaper price for all of us to ride on it. And so we did, even though we looked ridiculous, and invited lots of curious stares from other tourists. But the kids enjoyed the ride thoroughly, especially Aaron.

It was a nice walk around the park, both educational and entertaining. A good break for Daddy also, not to have to carry Aaron all the time. And there were very few tourists, so we could let the kids run wild.

We had a buffet lunch today, much to the delight of Gong-Gong KK. Actually, it was a delight to everyone, because aside from the usual Korean food, there was very delicious pasta, pizzas and cakes as well.

Aaron was tired out after the morning at Mini-mini Land, and refused to eat. But somehow, Gerald and Marcus managed to feed him a big bowl of rice! So grateful to these 2 brothers!

After lunch, we went to Jusangjeolli Cliff, where its hexagonal rock pillars were really an amazing sight. 

Humongous seashell just before the stairs down to see the cliff

Next, we went to the Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls. The path leading to the waterfalls was beautifully lined with maple trees with red and yellow leaves.

Again, the 2 youngest boys fell asleep on the bus on our way to the waterfall. So Daddy and Aunty Wendy (who were sleepy themselves), volunteered to stay in the bus with the boys, while the rest of us went to see the waterfall.

We seemed to have done a lot less today, compared to yesterday. But it was still very tiring. We were glad we managed to see so much of Jeju. The program was quite kids-centric, yet still provided enough entertainment for the adults.

For dinner, we had another round of bbq black pork. Another excellent meal, although toooooo much meat. And again, we left the restaurant smelling like we've been barbecued.

Tomorrow, we head back to Seoul.