After that we had lunch! and i found yet another reason to live in Korea... for the LA NIAN GAO!!! its really nice! it looks like our carrot cake, but its chewy! ahh.. craving!!!!!! it was really fun to eat as well cuz you have to fry it with a mini shovel looking thing! hahaha!

When we were done stuffing ourselves with nian gao we took a ferry to Nami Island where the famous two rows of trees from Winter Sonata was filmed! urgh.. i hate boats! but luckily.. i didn't upchuck all the delicious nian gao.. ahaha..

my mom and i wanted to take a pic.. but it ended up like this.. haha!

THIS is how it was supposed to look!

looking slightly green! =S

Anyway.. enough cam whoring.. we were quite tired by the time it was all finished cuz we had to walk reeeeeeeeeeeeeaaally far in to see the famous stretch of trees.. where the scene was filmed when actually, ALL the trees in the island are all planted in one straight row......... -_-"" heh.

Back to SEOUL!

When we arrived back at Seoul we went to the Ginseng shop where my parents went crazy and bought 2 boxes worth of Ginseng! the total cost of the Ginseng was even more expensive than our entire trip! crazy right?!

After spending so much money on Ginseng we headed to Dong Dae Moon a shopping area.. In the mall each floor caters to different people.. it was a biggggggggggg shopping haven! and to the locals, the stuff there is considered cheap.. which to us of course.. it really isn't cheap.... =S

Basement - tees, cartoon tees

Level 1 - Women's clothing

Level 2 - Women's clothing

Level 3 - Men's clothing

Level 4 - Bags and shoes

Level 5 - Accessories

Level 6 - Children's clothing

SSOOOOOOOOOOOOO much shopping.. but the damage wasn't that big.. i bought 2 tees while my sister bought a cap and one tee.. the shoes were too ex tho!! around SGD40 for a pair of shoes!

After two hours of walking and feeling very down in the dumps cuz we could only see no touch... =S we headed to our hotel, Walker Sheraton which is a Casino hotel.. the decor was quite nice.. =) and finally we checked into a REAL 5/6 star hotel of international standards!!!! ahhhh!!!

we found this outside the casino

we went to our parent's room to take this pic...

not because we forgot our key... just that our key didn't work!!!!!!!!!!! aaaaarghhhH!! and there i was in my night gown cuz i had already taken a shower, and we were stuck!!!!!! sigh.. had to wait for the hotel person to come up.. heh..

that night was kinda funny cuz the hotel wansn't totally sound proof, so we could hear Michael talking next door to us! hahahaha! so me and my sis started imitating him and we couldn't go to sleep cuz every time we'd hear him we'd just crack up!!! hahahahaa!

Day Five was so relaxed and much fun cuz i really for once felt that my sister and i were friends! =)

oh.. on the way to the cable car station.. we saw this lady selling cricket soup! hahahahahaa!

and we haven't even climbed to the top yet!

after climbing up for what seemed like forever

of the three pics.. i really have no clue which one is Mt Sorak... -_-"" whoopsie.. haha.. so while we were up there.. we decided to take a few photos like normal tourists would... hahahaha! right. with my wacky family of course we couldn't take normal pictures!! hahaa..

back down at the foot of Mt Sorak we turned one corner and arrived infront of a Giant Buddha and there was a temple there as well.. we walked further down and there were two bridges! my sister ended up on one bridge and the rest of the family on the other bridge... and of course, we had to take silly pics! hahahaaa...

look at my brother! hahahahaaa! damn funny!

after all that climbing, walking, jumping and phototaking we were starrrrvveedd!!! another thing that i love about Korean food is the BBQ! ahhhhh!!!! BBQ pork! so juicy and tender! wrap it with cabbage and stuff it in your mouth! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

After lunch we headed to our hotel which is an apartment style hostel, each apartment has two rooms, one room where there's a bed and another room where you can sleep the traditional Korean way, on the floor! of course when you're in Korea you should do as the Koreans right? so my sis and I slept on the floor.. which is actually quite comfy!

We were told to pack our swimming gear and assemble downstairs again.. and then we headed off to Waterpia!

I feel that Waterpia has this very good system where by when you reach, firstly you have to take off your shoes and then put it into a personal locker specially for shoes, then you take the key to the counter and put money into that key (kinda like an ez-link card) where you can buy drinks and rent towels and caps just by presenting your key.. and then after that you go down to the changing room where you find the locker with the same number as your shoe locker and open it with the same key! so cool right? hahaa!

anyway. the first thing you realise when you go into the changing room is not the amazing lockers that open with the same key.. but all the naked women walking around baring it all.. which was a big culture shock to all of us cuz we DEFINATELY couldn't walk around naked like its no big deal.. but for the Koreans it was perfectly normal, they could even blow dry their hair, apply make up and chit chat in the nude! the most obvious way to tell if a person was Korean or a tourist was simply to see whether they were wearing clothes! but i guess its all part of their culture ( bah.. sociology.... sigh... ) that is their norm.. if i were Korean i bet i would have no qualms strutting around naked in the changing room.. ahhahahaha!

we only saw the spa part of the Waterpia, there was a wave pool, slides, jacuzzi an a water massage area ( which we spent most of our time in..) it was damn shiok i tell you!! the jets were blasting out at all angles! tense muscles from the many hours of bus rides were chased away! oohh.. there is an outdoor hot spring area with many differnt springs the temperature of the water was 40 degrees C!!! there was an apple spring! hahaa! OHHH.. and Korean couples give each other foot massages in the springs! hahaa.. so sweet!

we spent two hours there just soaking in the warm water and letting our blubber jiggle in hopes that it would shrink! =) the wave pool went on for 30 mins which really made me sea sick tho.. hahaa... and then back in to the changing room with naked women.... we didn't dare to bathe cuz there were no shower rooms.. cuz shower cubicles with no doors.... so we just rinsed.. hahaa..

that's about it.. again.. the place was really quiet no night activity.. so we stayed in and watched Korean Dramas and CSI! hahahaa.. and slept on the floor!! =) Day four was an eye opening experience for me and although people in S'pore are already considered quite open.. i don't think that we'll be walking around naked in our changing rooms anytime soon... =)

The ingredients..

the little cup on the right is ginseng milk.... beugh.. not the nicest tasting thing on earth..maybe its just cuz i don't like milk....

The final product!

the kimchi that is made during these classes are sent to the orphanages and old folks home if the students don't want to bring it back.. Michael told us not to bring it back cuz it'll stink up the bus! hahahaaa.. he said our bus will smell like a toilet..

In the end my parents bought 6 packs of cabbage kimchi and 6 packs of squid kimchi back! ( the squid is REALLY good.. ppl who love chilli should try! ) so much KIMCHIIIII!! which i love by the way, cuz aparently it is good in helping weight loss! cuz there's Capsicin in the chilli that's in the kimchi which speeds metabolism or something.. and you know me.. i'll do ANYTHING to lose weight.. so i had tonnes of kimchi in Korea.. in fact. i just had Kimchi Ramen aka korean instant noodles with one plate of kimchi today! =)

so after making the kimchi, in the KIMCHI SCHOOL it self we got to put on the Korean traditional costumes!! which i have also been looking forward to! heh! but the only thing is that this isn't the full costume... =S i would have liked to try the whole thing on.... heh.. nvm.. next trip will try.. =)

this is a good pic! perhaps should print and frame it up somewhere! =)

my mom bought Korean chopsticks from the Kimchi school.. hahaha! she bought 10 pairs! hahaa.. we only need 5.............. -_-""

so after the Kimchi School, we headed to the Winter Sontata Resort where, according to Michael, the cast stayed for 1 year to film the drama.. if you've watched Winter Sonata (its on my list of things to do next holls.. heh) you would know that its very very sad story.. but ever since i came into the picture, Bae Yong Jun has been doing much better now that i'm his new girlfriend! wahaha.. look at all our pics together! =)

but anway.. that's besides the point.. hahaa.. so while we were at the resort we took a Gondola up to 1400m above sea level.. if i'm not wrong... it was a terrifying 20 mins up the cable car ( i have a fear of cable cars.. which became worse after that trip to Australia where the floor of the cable car was transparent!) but the view from up in the mountains was just breath taking!! and the air was so fresh my lungs were having a party!! it was so calm and serene up there... so romantic! and there's a cabin up there where Bae Yong Jun and Cui Zhi Yong were stranded that fire place.. aparently they couldn't get down cuz it was snowing and the cable cars wern't working..

I told you i have a crazy family! which pretty much explains why i can be quite crazy too!

a scene from Winter Sonata

My sis and I were posing like the Autumn In My Heart (Qiu Tian De Tong Hua)! hahaha!

can you see the heart?

there were sooo many pretty flowers and butterflys up there!

hehe.. that's pretty much all that happened up there.. it is actually a ski resort but we couldn't ski cuz no snow (duh) .. sigh.. i miss skiing! i still have my skis and ski suit! HAHAA! so we headed back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner...

nothing happened after dinner... the whole town is really sleeping during the summer time... so we spent the evening in front of the TV again watching Korean dramas only guessing what they are saying.. hahaa.. so that's day three for you!