The best brunch in Seoul... SuJi's Deli in Itaweon

A quick Google search for the ultimate places to brunch in Seoul will show you a decent number of places to get your fill of a good old fashioned greasy fry up. But, as Seoul is a long way away from our little town, we wanted to make sure we weren't going to be disappointed as we often are with breakfasts here in Korea.

Suji's seemed to be ranked as one of the original brunch spots. So, armed with a bunch of very hungry South Africans we headed off to stuff our faces.

We were delighted with what awaited us...

Prices were what we had expected for a restaurant that caters for the Western market, pricey but totally justifiable. I mean, look at the size of the pancake platter.

Their menu is extensive and has something for everyone.

Everything was delicious (except the tea...who premixes frothed milk into English Breakfast?!) but the orange juice and burger made up for that.

It gets full very quickly, so make sure to get there early if you are a large group. Or just to be safe, call ahead (Tel 02.797.3698) and make a reservation.

Directions

서울특별시 용산구 이태원로 134, 2층 & 3층
2nd & 3rd Fl, 134 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Take Subway line 6 and get out at Itaewon, Exit 4.

It's all the way on the end of the main Itaewon drag, close to the McDonald's and right next door to SkinFood which is what you'll see when you reach the end of the road walking towards Noksapyung Station.

Tel 02.797.3698

Website: Sujis Diner

Opening Hours

Deli Cafe: 8am - 9pm 7 days a week

3rd Floor Restaurant: 11am - 10pm weekdays & 9am - 10pm weekends/holidays

Autumn Festivals in Korea 2014

Summer will slowly be drawing to a close here in Korea, and with that we can expect a break from the humidity and of course something that Korea is very famous for, it's Autumn/Fall foliage.

Here is a list of upcoming festivals to look forward to in September & October. The leaves won't be turning yet, that happens towards mid November, but there are enough interesting things to see before that happens.

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September 2014

25th September – 28th September Wonju Hanji Festival in Wonju (Traditional Korean Paper)

Hanji Theme Park in Wonju-si, Gangwon-do

Source

26th September - 5th October Andong Maskdance Festival

Downtown Andong, Talchum Park, Hahoe Village and surrounding areas in Andong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do

Source

26th September - October 5th Suncheon Bay Reeds Festival

Suncheon Bay in Dongcheon, Suncheon-si, Jeollanam-do

Source

October 2014

1st October - 12th October Jinju Lantern Festival

Namgang River in Jinju-si, Gyeongsangnam-do

Source

1st October - 5th October Gimje Horizon Festival

Byeokgolje in Gimje-si, Jeollabuk-do

Source: CoKoreanAdventure

1st October - 5th October Anseong Namsadang Baudeogi Festival

Anseong Matchum Land in Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do

Source: VisitKorea

2nd October - 11 October Busan International Film Festival

Theater District in Nampo-dong, Suyeong Bay Yachting Center, Haeundae Beach, and other locations in Busan

3rd October - 9th October Mungyeong Traditional Chasabal Festival (Traditional Tea Bowls)

Mungyeongsaejae Provincial Park in Gyeongsangbuk-do

Source: VisitKorea

October 4th - October 8th Gwangju World Kimchi Culture Festival

Jungoe Park in Buk-gu, Gwangju

Source

23rd October - 26th October Jeonju Bibimbap Festival

Jeonju Hanok Village in Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do

Source: VisitKorea

Thank you to Visit Korea for the above information. 

Highlights of Beautiful Bali

Farmboy and I have just got back from our summer holiday in Bali. One of the major perks of living in Korea is the opportunity to travel South East Asia, as places like Indonesia are easily accessible.

We were in Bali for 12 days and tried to see as much as could in the time we had. I will be posting a full travel guide soon, like I did with Vietnam (click here) but for now I'll leave with a visual feast of colour.

I traded in my trusty Nikon D300s a few months ago, for a Nikon D700, which I used to take these photographs. As I now shoot full frame, I have to invest in full frame lenses (and these do not come cheap!) Currently I have only a 50mm prime lens and this is what I used for the entire trip. No fancy zooms (I had to make do with my feet) and no wide angle shots. It can be a stressful process trying to find the 'perfect' lenses to take with you on holiday, and you often feel you need to have ALL the things to take perfect photographs. But, what I soon came to realise is that all you really need is a little patience and practice to train your eye to capture your subjects in new and interesting ways.

We loved our time in Bali, spending 4 days in Ubud, 5 days on the Gili Islands (3 days on Gili Meno & 2 days on Gili Trawangan) and then 3 final days in Ubud. We stayed in a variety of accomodation, from fancy villas overlooking rice paddies, to bamboo huts on the beach. What our time so memorable was the people we met throughout our stay. We had a wonderful host and tour guide for our first few days who taught us so much about the people and their way of life in Bali.

But more on that to come in another post.

For now, the photographs.

Enjoy!

Backpacking in Bali & What to Pack

On Monday, Farmboy and I are off on our summer holiday to Bali. It's been a long semester of teaching and boy oh boy do we need this holiday. As I've been packing, I thought it would be fun to show you what I pack in terms of toiletries for a backpacking trip. I say backpack, because that is what we travel with, and even though we do treat ourselves along the way with nice hotels, we spend a lot of our time in backpacker type accommodation.

Here is what I pack for each of the trips we've done (you can see more about our last trip to Malaysia by clicking here and Vietnam by clicking here). 

There are one or two items that I haven't packed yet (toothbrush, deodorant and mosquito spray) but this is what I will be taking for our trip to Bali:

Toiletries:

I found the handy travel sized bottles at Dischem back in South Africa and top them up with whatever products I am using to the time.

-My shampoo and conditioner were half full with Loreal Elvive from back home in South Africa and I just topped them up with the little I had left of their full sizes.

-A spray bottle with IQ DermaQuench Rose Blossom Toner (also from back home).

-Body wash bottle filled with whatever wash we have in the bathroom here (a fresh citrus smelling wash from Happy Bath here in Korea)

-Face Wash from the youth range of skincare from Dermalogica (also bought back home).

-Hera 50+ Sun Mate Leports waterproof sunscreen

-My favourite sunscreen for face, Oil Cut SPF 40 from The Face Shop Korea.

-Olay Total Effects Eye Transforming Cream

-Travel sized Black Sugar Perfect First Serum Gold from SkinFood

-A sample sized Argan hair treatment oil from Confume (review to come soon, this stuff is amazing!!)

-My favourite Chia Seed Water toner and lotion from The Face Shop in  their cute travel sized containers. And lastly, the most useful skincare product, Green Tea facewipes from Étude House

Makeup:

-Mac StudioFit pressed powder

-Innisfree Pink Beam Mineral Pact highlighter which I use for a blush, highlighter and eye shadow

-Essence Stay All Day Concealer as you always end up getting at least one pimple while being away on holiday. This concealer is light and stays put all day.

-Lipgloss from TheFaceShop

-Tweezers

-Eyebrow comb and pencil from The Face Shop. I have only recently delved into eyebrow care and I can't believe just how much of a difference it makes to your face. The pencil can also be used as an eye liner.

-DCT lip balm (the ultimate lip care product!). it is so expensive back home in South Africa, but I have found it on Iherb for just over $2...it's nearly $9 back home!

-Oh! M' Eye Lash Curling  mascara I just picked up from Etude House. It's not waterproof as I just don't want to deal withe hassle of taking off waterproof mascara on holiday. Most people would advise you packing waterproof mascara especially when going on holiday to a topical island, but the mascara I have that is waterproof takes nearly 4 products to remove, and although my lashes look amazing all day, while taking it off I nearly always loose a few lashes. So I'm trying this one out, and just hoping for the best!

-a selection of hair accessories (hair ties, clips and most importantly, bobby pins)

First Aid Kit

Without fail, one of us ends up getting sick in same way while on holiday. We always pack a little bag  of medicine just in case. We usually use a clear zip lock bag which helps when trying to find it in your backpack, as well as making things easier for yourself when going through check in at the airport:

-Medlemon sachets for colds and flu

-Nurofen for pain and fever

-Disprin for headaches and fever

-Genpain, a generic form of myprodol for really bad headaches or body pain

-Strepsils for sore throats

-Buscopan for stomach cramps

-Valoid for neasuea

-a local pill for diarrhoea (I have been warned about Bali Belly, so best be prepared I think!)

-plasters, mosquito bite cream, mosquito repellant and ear buds

Is there anything else you would suggest travelers pack for their backpacking trip? Or anything you can see I have forgotten, please drop me a comment below! I have today to still rush out and make sure I'm all ready...

Hiking the Jagged Peaks Trail & Camping on Saryang Island

At the change of the season, Farmboy and I, along with a bunch of friends decided to head to Saryang Island to hike the Jagged Peaks trail. We didn't know much about the hike, but we did know that summer was approaching and soon we would be unable to walk a few metres without being out of breath from the humidity. So we decided to make hay while the sun was shining and packed our camping gear for the long weekend in April. 

Saryang-do ("do" means Island in Korean) is a small island just off the coast from Tongyeong. Farmboy and I were testing out Cherry (our beat up but-still-going-strong red car that we had recently bought) and drove from Buan to Tongyeong in about 4 hours. Saryang-do is the red dot on the map below:

From Tongyeong, you have to catch a small ferry to Saryang-do (be warned, there are 3 ferry terminals in Tongyeong) and the first ferry for the island was at 7am. We stayed at a jimjilbang (possibly the worst idea we could have had) but it was cheap and did mean we were relatively close to the ferry terminal. The quickest ferry leaves from Saryangdo Passenger Boat Terminal (사량도여객선터미널)  at Gauchi Harbour 가우치항, 15km north west of Tongyeong city centre so budget your time accordingly! We missed the first ferry but were able to make second one.

The ferry from Gauchi Harbour leaves at 7am, 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm and takes 45mins to an hour. Tickets were W5 500 per person and around W11 000 for our small car each way. 

Thanks to KoreanTrails.org here is some information on the bus route to get to Gauchi Harbour from Tongyeong city centre:

"Bus 607 runs from Lotte Mart in Tongyeong out to Gauchi Harbour.
Buses leave Lotte Mart at 6am, 8:05, 10:05, 12:05, 14:00, 16:00 and take 45-50mins. 
Bus 607 starts its route at Seoho Market 20mins earlier, with the exception of the 6am bus, which starts at Lotte" KoreanTrails.

The hike itself wasn't particularly challenging, but there were some very steep parts where we all had to scramble on our bums, or hang on for dear life while descending stair cases. You are making your way across actual jagged cliff peaks so even though the distance doens't seem that much (about 7km from east to west) it is pretty slow going for most of the way. It was a good 4 -5 hour hike but the views from the top were incredible. 

We were also very lucky with the weather, and had clear blue skies the entire way. 

The hike itself is designed to end at the ferry terminal, so you have a few options. Either catch a shuttle bus (which may or may not be running at the time) to the main start of the hike,  grab a taxi bus (we ended up doing this and it cost us W20 000 which we split between the 5 of us) or you can walk to the start which is a fairly long distance. You can also choose to do the hike backwards but I think the last thing you will want to be doing one you finish the hike will be walking along the main road to the terminal. 

The shuttle bus leaves the harbour 7 times a day running around the island. In the morning it runs clockwise at 6:50am, 7:45, 9:45 and 11:45. In the afternoon it goes counter-clockwise at 1:45, 3:45 and 5:35. The afternoon buses leave Donji at the far west of the island, bound for the harbour at 2:10, 4:10 and 6:10. 

We had packed camping gear and made our way to a quiet beach area. The Korean families were all jam-packed in the car park, as they tend do do (Korean style camping is VERY different from South African style camping). We managed to scramble up a small hill behind the main campsite onto a patch of land (it seemed to be private but the owner didn't bother us and we made sure to clean up everything after our stay) and had the most amazing views from the doors of our tents.

It was one of the best hikes I've done in Korea so far!

Gaeamsa Temple, Buan South Korea

One rainy Sunday afternoon, Farmboy and I took a drive out of town to visit one of the temples close by. I had heard that Gaeamsa temple was particularly beautiful during the Spring when the cherry blossoms are flowering. I have been told it is one of the quieter places to go to enjoy the pretty blossoms, without all the crowds that usually flock to places like Gwangyang and Jinhae.

It was a grey and gloomy day but Gaeamsa temple was still an interesting place to wonder around and take photographs. It's the middle of summer now so everything is beautiful and lush, with green colours all around. Inside the main temple, we were surprised to see the original architecture still in place, very old and worn down, but beautiful none the less. Most of the other temples we have visited have all been remodelled and look very new and have lost the authentic charm of their original structures. This temple still had that charm, and it was fascinating to see.

After strolling around we took a drive to Gochang (now that we have our little red car we are able to go wherever we like...it's been a game changer for us!) for lunch and found a delightful retro inspired coffee shop for a well deserved slice of cake.

"Gaeamsa Temple (개암사) is a small, quiet temple built in 634 AD during the Baekje Dynasty. Historical records tell about three-year restoration campaign undertaken by the people of Baekje after the fall of the dynasty. Daeungjeon, the temple's main sanctuary, has been designated as Treasure No. 292. The building itself expresses both refined beauty and majesty as it stands in harmony against Ulgeum Rock, seemingly taking the role as its steadfast protector" Visit Korea

Address:

248, Gaeam-ro, Sangseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do 
전라북도 부안군 상서면 개암로 248 (상서면)

Blute Flower Cafe, Seoul South Korea

** EDIT** The cafe has moved locations and can now be found a short walk from Sangsu Subway Stationer. These photographs are from when they were based in Hannam**

This delightful flower cafe is tucked away on a small side street in the very fancy Hannam area of Seoul. Just as Cat and Dog Cafes are popular here, flower shop owners have come up with the idea of a flower cafe to bring in more business as the flower trade has seen a decline in sales over the past few years. Cafe owners hope that customers will be enticed to bring back the tradition of giving flowers as gifts, and so have a variety of bouquets on display that you can buy along with your coffee or cake.

This particular cafe also offers flower arranging classes.

The food was incredible, freshly baked panini bread with sun-dried tomatoes and salami for myself, and a medley of freshly roasted vegetables for my friend Dominique. The menu was small, but sufficient, and the cakes on display looked so inviting. However, we had a cupcake cafe lined up for dessert and so stuck to their lunch menu. The prices were average, ranging from w8 000 - w12 000 a meal, with their drinks menu more expensive than other cafes I have been to. But the atmosphere is well worth the extra price of a drink.

Address: 

New address in Hongdae:

12 Wausan-ro 14 gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul 

Gochang Fortress

This time last year Farmboy and I went off to explore the Gochangeupseong Fortress (고창읍성) in Gochang (Jeonbuk Province). It was a mere 40 minute bus ride from our town of Buan and cost W4600 each one way. We even had blue sky (the first blue skies we had seen since arriving in Korea 2 weeks before) which added to the natural beauty of the fortress.

The fortress was built during the early Joseon Dynasty. It is sometimes called Moyangseong, possibly because the Gochang area was called Moryangburi during the Baekje period.

It is surrounded by Bandeungsan, a guardian mountain to the east, and has three gates to the east, west and north, two floodgates, and a covering tower.

A stroll along the fortress walls brings you to a beautiful bamboo forest. Standing in front of it you feel dwarfed by the sheer size of the natural shoots towering over you. It was eerily quiet around the bamboo forest, giving the area a mystical ambiance.

The entrance fee for the fortress is W1000.

For more info here is a link for more information.

From Gochang Bus Terminal, walk towards Gochang County Office for about 500m.
Cross the Gochanggyo Bridge. Gochangeupseong Fortress is 150m ahead.

Vietnam Travel Guide

Farmboy and I visited Vietnam in January this year (2014). We had a wonderful time, and it was one of our favourite holidays we have been on so far. You may be thinking of heading there soon (or sometime in the future) so to help you plan your trip, I have put together a rough budget, as well as some tips from our stay. Please keep in mind that my husband and I may travel very differently to you, and have different likes and preferences for things. I prefer the more luxurious path, while Farmboy would stay in a hammock for the entire trip if it was up to him. So we plan accordingly, and of course, try to stick to the budget.

For this trip we made the terrible mistake of missing our flights home, having to fork out another $1000 for the trip (not included in the budget set out below). Apart from this unfortunate accident, Vietnam was a relatively cheap holiday, the biggest expense was the taxi rides to and from airports as the airports in Vietnam are situated really far from the tourist areas. We budgeted in US$ and were able to pay for the majority of things with dollars, with my Korean credit card or by withdrawing at local banks into Vietnamese Dollars.

This was our first trip planning all our accommodation ahead of time (unlike the Philippines, Cambodia and Malaysia) and we learnt a lot from this experience. There are pros and cons to booking ahead of time (often the photographs online are very misleading, and sometimes you have such a good time in one place that you wish you could prolong your stay). I suggest booking your first and last nights before your trip, and then winging the middle days as you go.

We were away for 13 days, exploring Hanoi, Hoi Ann, Sapa and Halong Bay. 

Hanoi 3 nights (first 2 nights and last night)

Halong Bay 3 nights

Sapa 3 nights (2 of which were spent on the over night train)

Hoi Ann (3 nights)

Sapa (Northern Vietnam)

We went during the winter season (I hadn't actually checked the weather before booking our flights...silly me) and so this effected our planning quite a bit. Vietnam is very different in the summer time (especially the Northern parts) and can get rather cold. But the summer is a different story. Instead of rolling green hills and rice field terraces we had heard about in Sapa, we were met with dry, barren landscapes, which were beautiful in their own ways, just not what we were expecting.

We both enjoy making the most of our holidays, and so spend very little time in one place, opting to instead see as much as we can in the time that we have. This isn't for everyone, and the holidays tend to be more fast paced than lounging about and relaxing. This works for us. Most travel forums advised against only spending one actual night in Sapa, as the train journey is quite tiring but we found that 2 full days were just fine (the overnight rains arrives at 5am in Sapa and departs around 7pm leaving 2 full days of travel if you only book 1 night in the actual town).

As you can see from the pictures below, the over train was clean and comfortable. We paid $40 pp each way for the 4 bed room. We had room mates on both trips which wasn't ideal, but everyone kept to themselves and our belongings were very safe under the bed and in front of my top bunk above the door.

We booked a tour guide for $70 and really felt like we had been ripped off. Rather make your own way with a map. I think you would see much more if you trekked around by yourself. Our 4 hour trek took us into our tour guides' home (more so she could feed her baby than for us to see her authentic home) and then through the fields. It would have perhaps been better in summer if the rice paddies were luscious and green, but it was hot (even though it was winter) and rather boring, even though we were able to get some great photographs.

The town itself is fully geared for tourists, with the main roads looking like you've stepped into a Swiss resort. All the restaurants and massage parlours are geared towards tourists and are very pricey (a meal ranging from $12 - $20 and a good massage deal from $15 - $30). We found a little corner cafe away from the main road and ordered delicious bowls of Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) for a much more reasonable $3 a pop.

We did buy knock off North Face jackets for a steal at $22 each, and they look JUST like the real thing. You can get your hands on a whole range of North Face/Jack Wolfskin items, make sure to budget accordingly! They had everything from hiking boots to sports shoes, ski jackets to fleeces.

Halong Bay

We made yet another mistake by not heading right for an island off Halong Bay. The bay itself is very touristy with hundreds of different tour companies offering you 1 - 4 night boat trips. We weren't really interested in being cooped up on a boat for 3 days and so booked a hotel in Halong Bay City. This was a mistake as the taxi ride from the city to the port (where you catch the boats to the islands) was a $25 fare EACH way! We wanted to go climbing with Asia Outdoors who are situated on Cat Ba Island. The ferry schedule was very limiting so we actually ended up not staying in our fancy hotel for one night so we could have longer on Cat Ba. We booked a super cheap $10 room on Cat Ba Island, and looking back I would have not booked any nights at the Halong Bay DC Hotel (but the two nights we stayed there were in super comfy rooms which included breakfast and we are able to order room service and get our clothes laundered - which sounded like a great idea and one that we presumed would be cheap...it wasn't, $37 for our clothes was an absolute waste of money, but one can only learn).

On Cat Ba Island we went on a fantastic climbing trip the first day, and the second day we hired a scooter to explore Cat Ba National Park. The hike up the peak of Cat Ba National Park was one of the highlights of our trip. 

Hanoi

Our first full day was spent on an amazing cooking course in the Old Quarter of Hanoi.  We had a great time and learnt so much about Vietnamese food and culture from our wonderfully experienced chef. Doing a cooking course at the start of your holiday is the perfect way to get to know the local cuisine, so when you walk past street vendors you know whats what. Often street food is delicious and much cheaper than eating in restaurants. We did our course through Hanoi Cooking Centre which included an early morning market walk to buy all our ingredients.

Our last day in Hanoi was spent visiting the local markets around the Old Quarter and drinking Vietnamese coffee while stuffing our faces with as much Pho as our bodies could handle. Pho is very cheap, a bowl going for $2 - $4 a pop and is one of the most delicious meals I have ever had.

Hoi Ann

We booked cheap internal flights through JetStar Airlines from Hanoi Noi Bai Airport to Danang Airport, and they also offer a bus service (click here) that runs from the Old Quarter to the airport. It was very cheap to use this bus, and it saved us a lot of stress too once we found the bus terminal (thank goodness for the GPS function on our iPhones). From Danang Aiport it was a good 40 minute drive to Hoi Ann (this is what caught us out the most with our budget, all the taxi rides to and from the airports).

Hoi Ann was our favourite place in Vietnam, and perhaps, in the whole of South East Asia. It reminded us a lot of Siem Riep in Cambodia (lantern lit streets to stroll down at night, great food, fabulous cocktails....it's a wonderful, 'vibey' town filled with something for everyone). The beach was only 20 minute cycle away (most hotels have free bicycle rental) and we were able to swim even in the middle of their winter time. Hoi Ann is most famous for its tailors, so make sure to budget accordingly! We hadn't planned to have anything made, but once we saw the quality of the suits we ended up having two made for Farmboy. Be prepared to bargain. You can everything from swim suits to lace skirts, to silk shirts and suits, as well as every leather item imaginable. In particular the leather boots and luggage looked beautiful. It wasn't incedidly cheap, but the quality is amazing, and compared to back Korea or South Africa, the prices were reasonable. 

We spent 2 nights at Thanh Van 2 Hotel which was great, and then spent our last night at the incredible Hoi An Ancient House Village Resort. We like to spend our last night or two in luxury, especially if we have been staying in backpackers or really cheap hotels for the rest of the time. We felt like we were on honeymoon again, and the suite was a very reasonable $90 for the both of us including breakfast.

We also did an early morning tour to Masan Temple to see the ruins. There are quite a few tours you can do that leave from Hoi Ann, and your hotel will be able to help you with booking.

A few tips

• Download the Orbitz and Hotels.com apps on your phone. We booked most of our accommodation through the app and always got at least a 15% discount on each booking for using the app. We were also able to book at the last minute and never had a problem with our bookings. 
• Book accommodation that includes breakfast. You will save yourself money, and save yourself the stress of trying to find something to eat that doesn't taste too strange, especially early in the morning (or do what we do and pack small ziplock bags of oats, almonds and cranberries to have for emergency breakfasts on the run).
• When booking flights be sure of what is included in your flight booking, especially with Air Asia. We booked flights for Malaysia for really cheap, and then only after booking did we realise that we could only take carry on luggage (which was restricted to 7kg's a person, and they were super strict at the airport, weighing all our bags including my big camera bag).
• If you're short on time, look to see if you can find cheap local flights on sites like AirAsia (this has saved us so much time and we have been able to book flights for reasonable prices). Download the AirAisa app, it's super easy to use. For Vietnam we booked our internal flights on Jetstar for $160 for two people return from Hanoi to Hoi Ann.
• Take your smart phone with you. We didn't have data, although we were told that sim cards were readily available and pretty cheap. But we were able to jump on a lot of free wifi in all the hotels we stayed at and a lot of the cafes. The GPS function on our iPhones was an absolute life saver, as it functions in helping you navigate, even when not connected to wifi.
• Jot down your expenses, this helps you stay on track. We took only cash for our 2 week trip and writing what we spent where helped us to stay within the budget (well, apart from the missed flight and tailored clothes that had to go on the credit card).
• Visa Requirements: For South Africans we had to 'book' our visa on arrival online, pay by credit card and then print out the emailed copy to take with us to when we arrived in Vietnam. It was painless to organise. I used Visa Vietnam and the price was $26 for two people (not included in the budget below)
• Pack a sense of humour. You will get lost. You will fight with your husband/boy friend/friends. You will get sick at least once and you will have an amazing holiday all the same. 

The budget below is the expenses for both myself and my husband, including our flights from South Korea.

If you have any questions, please leave me a comment below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Happy travels!

Camping in Korea - Gangwon Province

We recently bought a little car here in Korea and it has been an absolute game changer. As we live out in the countryside, there is so much to explore, but very few ways of getting there. Having a car has also meant that we can just go off for the day to a new town, to parks, to mountains, lakes and rivers with a picnic, a hammock and of course our little gas stove for tea. We also found a tent and have dipped our toes into camping in Korea.

Camping here is very different to camping back home in South Africa. Koreans like to camp in parking lots, close together, no wait, scratch that, on top of each other. They don't mind not having a view and they certainly don't mind listening to whatever their neighbour has blasting out of their portable sound systems. That is completely not our scene, and so our recent camping trip up north to Gangwon province had us driving around for hours in search of peace and quiet (and a little shade). We finally settled on an old abandoned road (it was the smoothest surface we could find that had space for the tent and that was close to a stream) and it turned out to be the perfect spot. The road was closed off (little Cherry, being light weight and the size of a sandwich, was able to squeeze through the barriers - probably very illegal) and we found ourselves alone, with privacy and a flowing stream for my avid fisherman hubby.

Numerous cups of tea, plenty of relaxing and cooling off in the stream led to a wonderful camping trip. 

Our iphones and their navigation system were life savers, especially as we were only able to leave work at 6pm and only got to Gangwon province at 11pm. They showed us each camping site in the area (most of which were abandoned with no toilet facilities) as well as showing us small, farming roads which we were able to navigate around to find the ideal place to set up tent. We spent our first night just outside the town of Jecheon and then settled on the abandoned road somewhere along the river, north of Pyeongchang.

Driving here in Korea has been remarkably easy to adjust to. The roads are pretty well sign posted (although a lot of the time only in Korean) and the toll charges for our little Matiz are extremely low. 

The Wonderlust Tag

I saw this tag on Emma's blog (Emma is a fellow English Teacher & blogger based here in Korea and blogs over at Cupcake Traveler) and it inspired me to write a post using the Wonderlust tag too. If you do a post on your blog, please do drop me a link so I can read it, or link up on my Facebook page, I'd love to know more about you x

1. Your most treasured passport stamp?

I had to spend a bit of time thinking about this question. I think it would be a mixture of my first South Korean stamp which I got when moving to Korea the first time back in 2010, and then the stamp for Greece which we got when we went on honeymoon in 2012. 

2. Can you recite your passport # from memory if asked?

Ummm...no. I might be able to if I didn't have to also try and remember 2 sets of South African ID numbers, passport numbers and Korean ID numbers...now I have to rely on scanned coppies of all of the above in my emails.

3. Preferred method of travel; planes, trains or automobiles?

Planes, trains, bikes and feet! I don't really have a preference, I think time would be the only limiting factor for me. Trains are great when you don't have to be anywhere in a hurry (especially the overnight train we took in Vietnam). Also, we have spent a fair amount of time in buses too as they tend to work out better for our pockets (and of course when time is a again not too much of an issue). As I am quite little (5'5 to be exact) I can usually curl up easily anywhere, and so legroom on planes/buses isn't too much of a problem for me....I guess it also helps having someone who doesn't mind having me leaning on him ALL THE TIME.

4. Top 3 travel items?

Down travel pillow, kikoy (a cotton towel/sarong/blanket/) and my iPhone (for quick snaps and it's indispensable 'maps' & hotel booking app features).

5.  Hostel or hotel?

Both. If it were up to my husband, we would never stay in a hotel. But, I am, as he calls, rather 'precious' and he doesn't mean it in the princess kind of way, and I have a habit of breaking out in rather unsightly rashes and bites when staying in hostels. But, I love the experience, and right now our budget only caters for hostels, and we have had all sorts of adventures staying in them. I may be a city girl, but I am rather adaptable (and with the help of my own pillow) can sleep anywhere.

6. Are you a repeat visitor or do you explore new places?

We have yet to go to the same place twice, there are just far too many places to explore in this world, and not enough time to see anything more than once. Having said that, the one place we would go back to, again and again, would be Greece.

You can see photographs from some of our travels by clicking here>>> Vietnam, Malaysia, Greece, Cambodia, Hong Kong & the Phillipines)

7.  Do you read up on your destination (culture, history, safety) or do you wing it?

We pretty much wing our holidays. I don't think this is the best way to travel, but we enjoy feeling like we are the first people to experience something or see a particular place. It's not for everyone, but we enjoy our travels and so far so good!

I usually do a quick search for the top things to do in a particular place, and then rely on locals and their recommendations for attractions/restaurants and activities. As we don't get very long for our holidays, we find ourselves constantly on the move (which we enjoy as we like to jam pack as much as we can into a trip, knowing we will mostly not be returning).

8. Favourite travel website?

I spend quite a lot of time on Trip Advisor, and then highly recommend apps like Orbitz and Hotels.com for great deals on places to stay (they often have amazing discounts for using the app too!). I spend a lot of time on forums and personal travel blogs, but it can all get very daunting when first researching a country. I like to have a pen and paper out, as well as Google Maps open so that I can start to get a feel for the place first. Once I have a basic idea of where I want to go, I create an excel spreadsheet and get to planning the finer details. We don't often book accommodation in advance (this has worked both well, and worked terribly in the past!) but again, we like to wing our travels and not be too tied down, as often we will really like a place and want to stay much longer there, or really not like a place want to cut our stay shorter. Having a good skeleton planned in Excel helps a lot, and then allowing yourself breathing room when it comes to accommodation works for us. 

9. Where would you recommend a friend to visit? Name the city & why

Here is a small list:

Hoi Ann in Vietnam for their tailors, incredible night life and delicious food

Lazy Island, Koh Rong Saloem in Cambodia (just off Sihanoukville) for the wonderful, quiet & relaxed beach atmosphere and their incredible hosts. They have a small selection of beach bungalows and the island is small and peaceful, the perfect place to unwind.

Buan, South Korea our current home town. It's small, and very much in the countryside and gives you a real feel of genuine Korea. It's close to the beaches and not too far from the major cities. And we live here and can show you around :)

10. You’re leaving tomorrow, money is no option, where are you going? 

On a roadtrip in a vintage (but carefully checked by a mechanic) comfy RV motorhome to explore America. 

Yangjae Flower Market, Seoul (양재동꽃시장)

Yangjae Flower Market in Seoul is one of the largest in Korea. It is divided into several different zones, from whole sale to retail, it also has auction house and a whole floor of silk flowers, ribbons and other flower arranging items. The whole sale section of the market is open from 1am and closes at 1pm while the rest of the green houses and artificial sections are open until about 3pm. I headed there with a friend a few weeks ago, and even though I did't think I was mad about flowers, we spent a good number of hours wondering around, purchasing greenery and snapping photographs. It is well worth the trip, and I'm sure you won't leave empty handed. And succulents like these ones (click here) were only W1000 a pop...win!

Directions

Take the Sin Bundang Line to Yangjae Citizen's Forest Station (Exit 4). 
Continue walking for 200 meters to reach the market on the right.

Opening Hours

Wholesale Area : 1h00-13h00
Retail Area : 7h00-20:00
Potted Flower Area : 7h00-19h00

The Wholesale Area is closed on Sundays.

Some stores in the Retail Area and Potted Flower Area are closed on Sundays.

Island hopping in Korea

I'm not sure you can really call visiting one Island here island hopping, but I like the sound of it for the title of this blog post. On valentines day, Farmboy and I had the day off as our schools had just ended for the 'spring vacation'. It certainly is starting to feel a little like spring, even if the icy wind hasn't been notified yet.

Our little town is a 40 minute local bus ride from the sea, and to make the most of the nice weather we headed out to Wido island for a picnic lunch and a stroll. Wido island is very small, and it's best not to get caught up on the term 'island' as most of the islands here in Korea look nothing like the exotic patches of paradise in the rest of South East Asia. Even with that said, it was still a lovely day out and the underfloor heating on the ferry ensured a good healthy afternoon snooze both there and back again, lying on the floor, sandwiched between some loud snoring Koreans.

As with most of the public transport here, things tend to be delayed for odd reasons (perhaps not so odd if we are able to understand more of the messages barked out by bus drivers) we nearly missed the last ferry back to the mainland. This wouldn't have been much fun as there are not hotels or restaurants on the island. Luckily, a friendly policeman spotted us wandering around aimlessly looking for the bus that dropped us off earlier and he escorted us to the ferry. We do so love Korea and it's friendly people...

Vietnam through Photographs

Farmboy and I escaped the cold of South Korea for the sun, sea and sand of Vietnam over Christmas time last year. Or that's what we thought we were doing when we booked our flights the months previous, but only a few weeks before leaving we were told it had been snowing up North in Sapa, right where we were headed.

In spite of the chilly weather we experienced in the North, the central regions were wonderfully warm and we even managed to get two swims in! Our pale forms were a bit of a sight, but with our smiles we blended right in with the other tourists. We are known for searching out the quieter parts of cities and countries, but we were unable to escape the crowds in Sapa and Hoi An. We didn't mind though, it's all part and parcel of traveling these days.

I will be posting more in depth information on our 12 day trip to Vietnam (Hanoi, Sapa, Halong Bay & Hoi An) but for now I leave you with some photographs from an epic trip to an incredible country. It was one of our most favourite trips so far (even being on par with our honeymoon to the Greek Islands) and we will most certainly be going back to HoiAn.

The food was amazing and incredible cheap, the public transport, or rather the transport that was most readily available (metered taxis) were a complete rip off and despite being one of the most budget friendly countries in South East Asia, it became our most expensive trip due to missing our flight home. Thankfully we teach English in Korea, and can just about afford to make that mistake once, and only once. Besides, we got to spend 12 hours at the airport with no money, 1 coke, 1 bowl of Pho noodles and the movie Frozen on Farmboys ipad with 13% battery life...what more could you want for your last day of holiday together.

Enjoy

x

Turkey {a recap}

For our honeymoon in 2012, Farmboy and I headed Greece to spend our first few days as a married couple. It was a wonderful holiday. We had a 6 hour layover in Turkey, and being the we-must-make-the-most-of-every-second-we-are-in-another-country kind of people that we are, instead of making a beeline for the only cafe open at 5am, we headed out the doors of the airport to explore Turkey.

Thank goodness South Africans don't need a visa as we had done no research on Turkey and this was our first time leaving the airport during a layover. In other words,  we really had no idea if we would be allowed back in time to make our connecting flight to Athens. But, being adventurers at heart, we made it back in one piece and had an incredible few early morning hours exploring Istanbul.

What was saw in those few hours was really beautiful and we wished we had had a few days to really explore the country. As much beauty as there was, there were rather too many eyes looking me up and down and making me feel uncomfortable, even at 6 in the morning. I didn't know this before, but Turkey is an Islamic country, and so even though I was dressed rather conservatively, my head was exposed thereby drawing rather a lot of unwanted attention. If you, like me, don't feel comfortable with so much deliberate staring, then pack a light scarf to wrap around your head. I didn't take any offense to the looks, it is a cultural element of the country, we deal with cultural differences a lot in South Korea too, and you learn pretty quickly that people aren't being judgmental or rude, as humans we show interest in the unknown and the different. We become like little children who can't help themselves but stare and try our best to work out why people are doing something different to what we do.

I hope you enjoy the photographs. If you have any recommendations on places to go in Turkey, please drop me a comment below. Farmboy and I really want to head back there in the future.

Cambodia Through Photographs

When Farmboy and I were living in South Korea back in 2010, we headed over to Cambodia for the first of our holidays.

Here are a few photographs from our travels through an incredible country full history. They were mostly taken by Farmboy, I learned everything I know about photography from him.

We spent time in Siem Riep so we could see the Angkor Wat temples and ruins, took an over night bus to the coastal town of Sihnoukville and from there, a boat took us to paradise (aka Lazy Beach).

You can read a full in-depth post on the how's and the what's over here on our old travel blog. 

We were a little younger in these photographs, and we have learnt since learnt a little more about traveling and what to pack (most importantly a first aid kit for the bumps and scratches and tummy aches you will inevitably endure). 

If you have any questions about our trip, please feel free to pop me an email here.

x

Autumn in South Korea {Naejang Mountain, Jeungeup, Korea}

Here are some photographs from our trip to one of the most famous mountains to see the Autumn leaves here in Korea; Naejang Mountain. We were told that the weekend we had decided to go was THE weekend to see the leaves, and although you can't really tell from the photographs (I am a bit of an artist at concealing unwanted elements!) the WHOLE of Korea seemed to be with us to see the colourful show of nature.

It was spectacular, we simply have nothing like this back home in South Africa, and I literally had to be dragged away from each and every tree (you can only have so many photographs of leaves I was told).

{Cat Cafe} in Seoul, South Korea

A little while ago, Farmboy and I visited a dog cafe in Seoul (it's not what you're thinking...click here to see more) and this time we popped by a cat cafe to give these little ones some love and attention. The idea behind these animal cafes is that people, who are unable to keep pets in their homes (usually due to lack of space here in Korea) are able to spend time with animals in a 'controlled' environment.

The place is kept very clean, with you having to remove your shoes and wash your hands thoroughly before entering. Cats are generally very hygienic anyway, and their 'bathroom' area is a secluded, walled off area in the corner so no worries about that side of things. You simply pay an entrance fee which includes a drink of your choice, and then enter the kitty den and cuddle to your hearts content. These little guys were all pretty sleepy, but when the chicken liver treats were brought out we suddenly became very interesting to everyone. A delightful way to spend an afternoon in Seoul.

There are lots of cat cafes in and around Seoul, this one in particular was in the Myeongdong district. It's pretty hard to explain how to find it, but if you wonder around the busy streets you're bound to come across a banner filled with images of cute cats.

They are usually on the third/fourth/fifth floor of buildings, so keep an eye out on the upper levels of buildings.

{South Korea} the Food

Lots of friends and readers have been asking us about the food here in Korea. There are a lot of noodles, a lot of rice and a lot of meat (in-between some rather strange veggies). So here are some snaps of food here, in between one or two home cooked meals and a yummy cheese burger.