Snow sledging at Seoulland

Winter would not be complete without any snow-related outdoor activities.
And..this belief had ticked us into the doorstep of Seoulland~one of Korea's theme parks available near Seoul.
It was in January and the snow was at its peak!
We had a concession tickets for foreigners and that was a great advantage for us. We just needed to pay 10,000 Won each. Well, what d' ya' know....the daily pass was usually 33,000 Won.
Woah..what a treat!

 So, we went there with whole family and friends.
The first thing first: snow-sledging....: the first must-do activity for the kids.....and their Daddy..and her Mom, too^^
Yes...the view was nice from up above the starting point--as seen on the pics.
Eyra was so excited that she kept insisting on doing it many many times. She never felt tired or ...let alone...got bored of first-ever snow-sledging.
Well......it was a good thing that she eventually could manage to do it by herself....
First, we got to be with her....and..then....she just enjoyed the whole fun-time experience alone....to her heart's content.
As for us, we were just enjoying what Seoulland had to offer.
Seoulland is not that far from Seoul. Just taking a blue line, it would take about 20 minutes or so from downtown Seoul.












Once we got there.....it would be like we were not in Seoul again..since it was surrounded by the hills and  lakes around it.
worth-visiting place? yes.
In fact, we are already planning on going back there again in Spring, this April.
The tickets are already in hands. ^^

Swimming during Winter?

Why Not.!
and..that's what exactly what our family did last February at Vivaldi Resort.

Eyra and Freya were excited!! They were already in their swimming suit...as soon as they woke up.^^

It was at first...too good to be true...but as things got clear...I got the idea as where we could enjoy the comfort of swimming in Winter.
It was an indoor water park with warm water!
Now I remember all of the ads I saw on the subways which depict the two-worlds that Vivaldi Park has to offer. People can do both skiing and swimming at one place.










I guess..the better route would be: just do your skiing first, and then end your day with swimming in hot or warm jacuzzi inside the Ocean World...which lies next to the Skiing resort.
What a nice offer it has!












So, Eyra and Freya could not resist the temptation of having to feel the warm water inside this magnificent indoor water park.

I guess...in summer it would not be this special...but, since it was WINTER...it became so memorable!!!

Here is the main gate of the Ocean World!
See the banner? It's a Ski World + Water World in One place.

Two Families on the Go

We were taking the Metro from Namdaemun on our way back home to Imundong when we bumped into a family of six from Malaysia who turned out to be having their Winter vacation in Korea. Wow what a coincidence. We felt like brothers already since we came from Southeast Asia. What struck me most when we met them was the fact that the family of six came to Korea for their Winter vacation to see the snow...but unfortunately..they did not see any, yet.

We chatted along the way on the Seoul Metro and got a chance to exchange address and promised to keep in touch.

I was touched by the fact that they did enjoy having their one-week trip in Korea.

and...what's more interesting than that....was the fact that they brought up 70%  of the family members. (I mean: two stayed home due to their jobs back home). But.....the idea of having a trip for the whole family to Korea was more than intriguing for me.

Before saying goodbye..we managed to take a picture as a token of memory at the Dongdaemun Station.

Night Shopping

It was meant to be a usual night-out for dinner--nothing else.
What was supposed to be a dinner-then-go-straight-home occasion turned into a prolonged night of shopping. Not to our nearby E-Mart--where we mostly go.....BUT to a 20-minute-ride-by-metro shopping center called HOME PLUS at Yongdo station.

On the way back home...

It was supposed to be me and Wawan having dinner.
Then....Ilya, my friend from Kazakhstan, reminded me as to whether I wanted to go to E-mart for daily shopping.
As I had also a plan of going out for buying some stuffs, I asked him out to go to Homeplus, instead. Afterall, I've been meaning to ask Wawan to go there as I had promised him some weeks ago. ^^
So, here we were.
Three of us were walking down to the Metro station when someone we knew showed up walking towards us. It was Elmira.

Since she was actually not in the mood of going back to the dorm--well, she kinda like to stay out for some more shopping....as I learned, so...she decided to join us.
---off we went to Home Plus....thinking that it was like weekend. Well, in fact...we ARE in the midst of holiday.

After 20 minute ride from our campus, we got there at about 8 pm. Since the store opens 24 hours, it did not matter what time we got there as it'd be open as usual.
We started our shopping journey from the food and fresh market section where we encountered lots of discounted foodstuffs. We bought some potato crisps and other stuffs.
Then..we went to fashion and toys section where we spent most of our time. We were like zoomed into the labyrinth of endless temptations since Winter fashion was on sale. Wawan, Ilya, and Elmira were undoubtedly tempted to buy some for themselves. As for me, I bought some gloves for my daughters.
let's highlight what we bought: Emmi could not decide which one to choose to buy, as to whether the red sweater or the blue one. She ended up buying BOTH:) *chuckles*

on our way back home. hwajangsil? ^^ (it's a toilet)

Ilya bought this dog-shaped pencil-case where he put his three little mice that he bought into it. So, instead of mice eating cat, he made a funny rendition of mice eating dog:)
As for Wawan, he could not decide as to what kind of sweater to buy--just like what Emmi was experiencing. But, he bought one in the end-the better one.

Then....we went to the 2nd floor where electronic section was. We checked out the prices of rice cooker, camera, television set, toaster, mixer, and others that we might need to buy later on.
The time flew so fast that we had to rush home since it was already 11 pm.
As a token of our memories of doing some midnight shopping, we took some pictures as posted on this entry.

Spending A Day in Petite France, Korea

One of the highlights that one should not miss when visiting the La Petite France (or 쁘띠 프랑스  in Korean) is the Marionette show. I think this is a daily show for any travelers or visitors to this place. I did not expect to see this kind of show right here, so when I found out about it, I was like...wow...cool....! It drew lots of people since it is simply interesting to watch. It was a good decision of me to start filming the marionette being moved about and moved around corresponding to the music. 

It was good thing to know that the men behind or above (?) the marionette are professional in their careers. I could judge from the way they handled the movements of the marionette. Irresistibly stunning.

If asked as to whether I would want to go there again and check out what the place had in store.....I would say...Why Not.
Bring it On!

I guess...coming back again there in Spring time would also be a nice plan.

Exploring & Traveling with friends

Traveling in Korea by car with friends. What better way to explore the wonder of this natural beauty but by car. Of course, traveling with train with all of its advantages would give different taste of experiences. But, traveling by car would give more advantages like....stopping over some place nice....stopping over again...to take pictures....stopping over again in some place we think nice to take a rest...stopping over again to have some snacks.....etc etc.
So, I am blessed to have Korean friends who ask me to go around Seoul and its surrounding areas. Well, so far...it was our first trip together. And..I hope that we will have some more exciting trips along the way when I live in Korea.
Apart from studying, exploring Korea by traveling to other parts of the country would surely help me appreciate this country. I know..it takes time and MONEY....but....I do hope that I can manage both world (study and travel) wisely.
I cannot just stay at home........
I got to travel and explore...........

Namu Geuneul Park 나무 그늘 Park

Nasi Goreng ...and its simply fresh salad

It is a name of a restaurant specializing in a fusion food combining Korean food and those of Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesian food.

with Ms Lia, and
 Mrs. Park (the owner of the restaurant)

So, I went there for some occasion.
It was actually a too-good-to-be-true kind of chance since I was actually accompanying Ms. Lia in search of a human-related or human interest program.

ready to dig in.....

I do not need to tell what it is but the thing is.....
I had a greaat time being one of the informants
for the program.
like this one..
I would never have known it existed, had I not become a friend in need for Mbak Lia's program.

three sets of nasi goreng on the menu for us

So, shortly speaking, this so-called restaurant serves dosirak or bento or lunch box or any meal box ready to be made ....made to order....^^
the food is delicious since the cooks are from Indonesia and from Korea.
Even some cooks have had some experiences of working at Hyatt Hotel.

the front facade of the restaurant

Yesterday (November 26, 2011), I went to two of the restaurants at Gangnam area in Seoul.
Nasi goreng.....yippiee....it's spicy sea food fried rice...with the touch of Indonesian flavor.
It does indeed taste different from the Korean fried rice or bokgeumbab.
It is simply dazzlingly delicious.

the decorative touches of the restaurant

And..I also learned that some Korean artists
living in Gangnam area also love this fried rice...and other Indonesian-food inspired lunch box.
I loved it.
So, in case anyone wonder where to go.....
just simply click the following site:  www.foodstyling.co.kr

Another restaurant: the headquarter

You will find arrays of meals.
Check out the star food. ^^
But, the site is in Korean, but for those who cannot read Korea's Hangeul...pls. enjoy the picture of the meal being offered there.