This late entry is a combination of innate procrastination, a dysfunctional laptop and a whirlwind lifestyle that seems to have been solidly attached to my previously mundane life!
Anyway….
Korea was fucking AWESOME…!!
The night before my flight, I had to complete a scrap project for a colleague that had resigned. The ward had planned a farewell party to send her off on her last day and so, I stayed up pretty much into the wee hours of the morning cutting and pasting like the shoe maker's elves on steriods to finish the scrap before flying off to Korea.
Finished..!!
The ward staff took polaroids on the day of the event and pasted it in the blank space because they wanted to 'fill in' the gap. Hai.. can't anyone comprehend my artistic vision?
To keep in line with her cooking prowess, the ward decided to make her an apron so I thought it would be cute to incorporate that element into her scrap design. Cute eh?! I made the apron from scrap bits of paper and ribbon which coincides with her actual gift!
The next morning, I dragged myself to attend some conference at the hospital. And, as always, only my subconscious mind took notes. I met Aini there and we ended up yapping from start to finish. Thankfully, they provided pdf notes for the lectures so I was able to churn a pseudo authentic (what an oxymoron!) report. Heehee..
After which, I flew home to get changed for my flight at 8pm. Heeeeeeeeeeectic..!
Unfortunately, Asiana’s seats felt super cramped..! Their 3-4-3 arrangement seemed narrower then other planes and left me with a body ache that could only come with only economy class. Besides their staple beef Bibimbap (which I ate to and fro), meals were truly nothing to shout about. No dessert either!! Sad...!!!
Bibimbap set..!
Comes with a tube of hot pepper paste that you squeeze out and mix with the rice.
Entertainment wise, the console offered a large, clear screen and was pimped out with many Korean titles! Heehee.. And the flight offered the usual toothbrushes, blankets, eye covers, combs… etc.
Incheon Airport..!
After arriving in Seoul’s Incheon International Airport, we eyeballed the other tour mates. Our eclectic tour group consisted of a total of:
1. A pair of Hobbits
one always wore shorts. Yes, shorts in the 10 over degree weather! The other hobbit bordered slightly more onto normalcy. Sane her ,wore pants.
2. A pair of OLs
Short for office ladies. 1 was this wannabe fashionista whom incindentally always wore HEELS to the great outdoors and carried her neverfull as if it were gold. She also didn't thank Kristabel when she helped open the door so the claws came out and we went on a bitch fest with her as our main staple! Hohoho.
3. Husband and wife combo which was christened Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu by the tour guide. The man had a terribly distracting squint while the woman was Kristabel 30 years down the road. Plus or minus an uncle with a squint.
4. The four of us. Normal, beautiful and super chirpy people.
Hoho. This is MY blog. My opinion is and will be the ONLY opinion here.
We were then hauled off to have breakfast in a shop near the airport. The udon soup was fantastic! With free flow crunchy Kimchi readily available!
Super yummy, chewy udon soup!
The others were not as keen to eat, nobody except the 4 of us devoured the kimchi! I mean, hello, we’re in Korea! You’re supposed to eat Kimchi..!! Alas, this was to be the start of a truck load of eyeballing and bitching that was to pepper our conversations throughout the trip!
Then we went to Wolmido dock for the seagull cruise. Well, facts first.
Fact 1: The dock is damn smelly.
Fact 2: This is NO cruise. More like a ferry.
The whole ferry trip lasts about 20 minutes. On board, the tour guide bought a large pack of prawn crackers to feed the seagulls. If you dare, you can hold the cracker really between your finger and the seagull may just come bite it away! We tried that, but those birds probably had their danger radar on that day, because I would have tried to grab them! Hohoho..! Needless to say, besides the enthusiastic, beautiful and smart 4 of us, the others slinked into the resting area to….. sulk.
There's a little snack shop in the resting area of the ferry and the owner has a really, really, really noisy dog!
Entering Dragon Hill Spa!
After buying an entrance ticket (inclusive in our package), you will be given a rubber bracelet with an embedded chip to tap your purchases whilst inside and a set of clothes. Shoes are placed in lockers on the 1st floor. After which, you proceed inside and choose the floor to change according to your gender (5th floor for females).
Wendy at the shoe lockers!
Facts first: Jimjilbang culture is an extreme shock to non nursing personnel.
Once the lift door opens, prepare to be bombarded with mass porn. Everyone walks around naked. Be it with perky boobs or nipples that threaten to graze the floor, young or old, fat or slender… 99% of the people are naked, though nobody bothers to look at each other. And the sickening thing is that we could not find a single woman with cellulite or stretch marks!
CHEE BYE!
We met the other tour members exiting as we were going up the lift. Clearly, the pallor and dilated pupils broadcasted their trauma. Still, we decided to give it a go.
Heck, when in Korea, do as would the Koreans!! There are toilets you can change in so one can easily change modestly upstairs.
Morons!
More Morons!
If you are comfortable with your own nudity (and that of others), you can soak in one of the tubs available AFTER you shower. It is a cardinal rule to scrub yourself clean BEFORE entering anything shared.
We took the lift back downstairs to explore the available saunas. Basically, Dragon Hill offers 2 types : Hot & Cold Rooms. Hot rooms has extreme heat and arecovered in jade, pine etc, while the cold room saw temperatures dip to single digits.
There is an open area on the 1st floor where one can watch TV, get some snacks and even have a manicure. All of which you can charge to your account via your electronic bracelet of course! Wifi is also avaible in certain areas on the first floor and the girls just went wild updating their FBs.
Besides the changing rooms and sleeping rooms (just a room full of mats), the other areas in the Spa are unisex. Therefore, be warned..! You may get to see some ‘action’ between couples. Read: Hugging/movement under towels/lying too close and pretending to sleep.
Not exactly conservative family entertainment!
There is a small family style restaurant in the basement providing moderately priced Korean fare. The food was amazing! I had the beef bibimbap (W8000, approx SGD10), LH had the cold noodles while Wendy and Kristabel had kimchi stew or something. Delicious!
Opp Deoksu Palace
Next, we headed to Deoksugong, a small palace where we walked around the grounds, admiring the lovely scenery. At certain intervals, the main entrance will come alive as actors re-enact certain rituals, like the changing of guards ceremony. Guests even have a chance to don the Hanbok for some photo opps. Although I tried in earnest to listen to the broadcast, which I believe was translated into something that sounded remotely like English, the accent was so thick I gave up and just took photos. Hohoho.
Fight Club..!!
The tour then brought us to a casino. I cant even remember what the casino is called (7 luck casino?) but I recall the guide saying that it is run by the Government and foreigners are given W5000 (SGD6) to play. But the catch is that the voucher can ONLY be played on the Big-Small table and you have to win at least 3Xs before you can cash in the chips.
Lessons learnt:
Nothing in this world is free. And Greed is often used as a ploy in business.
I didn't gamble. Gambling is wrong (in my books at least). Well, nobody played except Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu. Our guide placed bets on our behalf and managed to triple the money which was pooled into money to buy a meal towards the end of the tour. I was bordering delirium by this time and everyone was asking when we could just check in! Ok, I digress. Back to my day...
Next, we were dragged to Namsangol Hanok Village. Yes, the tour never seems to end! The village consists of many Hanoks or traditional houses, showcasing how people used to live in the past. There are areas where you can participate in traditional games, craft projects or buy souvenirs. If you’re lucky, like the enthusiastic 4, you may even witness a wedding!
A real Wedding..! The bride looks like Chermie..!
Look...!! Dragon Ballz..!! wahahaha...
The strange things I see while overseas..!
More sights around Namsangol =)
For dinner, we were brought to a seriously secluded restuarant for Ginseng chicken. The meal was alright, I much rathered the side dishes! Heehee.. and as usual, the other women in the flock didn't seem to enjoy their meals very much.
Ginseng chicken
We were then dragged to Gimpo Airport awaiting our flight to Jeju via Asiana Air. We ate at Lotteria, Korea’s answer to MacD, where they have gorgeous shaker fries and the most delightful cheese sticks!
Super yummy...!!
It was around 9pm by the time we reached Jeju. We finally checked in to Jeju’s Hanwha Resort near 10pm.
The quiet resort is made up of blocks of serviced apartments. Our room 375, was ondol styled, meaning it comes with traditional heated flooring. There are two rooms, one empty (though the unit comes with extra foldaway mattresses and pillows in the cupboards), one queen sized bed, one bathroom and a kitchenette attached to the main living room.
The living room
Living room offers a sofa, TV, an air con unit and a door you can open to a balcony. Our room was situated on the first floor so we kept it closed. Else, you can use it to hang your laundry?!
Fact: The large windows in the main living room may cause someone undressing in the living room to mistakenly think nobody can see them. Oh gawd, why am I always sooo HENG??! I am soooo thankful that my professional training has equipped me with strong eyeballs and a brain that can repel such a flurry of information.
The kitchen comes well equipped with cutlery, fridge and cooking utensils like a kettle, rice cooker and a stove! And boy did we make good use of it..!!
The room has a decent queen sized bed, while the bathroom was comfortably clean.
There are loads of extra mattresses in the cupboard so you can be like me and sleep as how Koreans would sleep! Yes, you guessed it... I slept on the toasty floor!!
We ended the day by rushing over to the supermarket for some late night supper before calling it a (good) night!
