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Sunday, August 14, 2011

Pilipinas, Tara Na Video

Pilipinas, Tara Na!

After "Pilipinas kay Ganda" earned too many criticisms, I am pleased to know that the Department of Tourism has revived the old song, Tara Na, Byahe Tayo - I personally liked that song for being very catchy.  Hopefully they'll revive the WOW Philippines program as well.


Old version:  Tara Na, Biyahe Tayo


Here's the lyrics of Pilipinas, Tara Na! v.1:  (two more versions coming up)

Friday, August 12, 2011

Autumn in South Korea: Nami Island

Are you a koreanovela addict?  I was for a time and  Meteor Garden started it all.  Although Meteor Garden was a Chinese tv series set in Taiwan and is based on a Japanese Manga series called "Hana Yori Dango" (Boys Over Flowers).  I could barely remember who introduced that to me, I watched it as a "refresher course" for my mandarin language studies before I left for Beijing to study (language).  While in Beijing, weeknights was movie nights with my roommate in the comforts of our room at the dorm.  It's an excuse to learning mandarin, since it was not available in any other language but in Korean with Chinese subtitle.  It was a choice between watching 24 Hours or Korean telenovela, oddly I preferred the latter. The "Endless Love" series was the most popular then, Autumn in my Heart and Winter Sonata. The latter starred Bei Yong Jung and Choi Ji Woo and the fever continued when I came home with Hotelier and Beautiful Days.  Beautiful Days was the last I saw, you have no idea how many buckets of tears I poured with these koreanovelas --their stories were almost always tragic.  I had to stop because it was too straining to stay up all night crying and staring at those subtitles. :)  But I left a legacy, my roommates back home got addicted too, upto this day.

Since then, South Korea was on our list of must see places.  Plans didn't push through a couple of times, not until a few weeks ago when there was a sudden rush to make it happen.  As I always say, if there's a will, there's a way.  We booked a package tour with Rakso Travel,  in a week's time, we landed in South Korean soil. :)

Unfortunately, our package tour did not include a visit to Nami Island.  For me, a visit to Korea won't be complete without a visit to Nami Island, where Winter Sonata was filmed and autumn season should be the best time to go.  So we had to forego one day of our package tour and explored Nami Island on our own.

A week before the trip, I have a travel buddy who was in Seoul and advised that I need to book a tour ahead.  Autumn is peak season for Nami Island, getting there the earliest possible time is a must.

I booked a train from Cheongnyangni Station to Gapyeong Station on http://www.korail.com/; we were left with no better option than to book the 6 am train; that's the only available trip for the morning.  (Read this post on how to get to Nami Island.)  Getting there early was great, we had the place to ourselves for an hour or so; later the rest of tourists and locals started coming in, thousands of them.

Nami Island used to be a deserted island, the owner started planting trees (lots of them) and fortune came when Winter Sonata was filmed here.  Winter Sonata probably is one of Korea's best tv series.  Now, the island is adorned with anything and everything related to that tv series.  It has also become the local's weekend getaway.  They picnic, bike, row, eat, play... it is especially pretty (and romantic) during autumn when leaves turns red and yellow and fall off the ground.









soju bottles turned art piece

bank of Naminara Republic


kalbi was just great!  don't miss this Sum Hyang-gi (Fragrance Restaurant) across the Unicef Hall.  There's no english sign or menu; you just hope that one of the staff can speak.

You can walk around the whole of Nami Island in two to three hours;  but it is best enjoyed doing activities or simply doing nothing.  For more information, visit http://www.namisum.com/

Curious about the story?  Here's the storyline of winter sonata, i had to read it again to relive the memory: http://bestuff.com/stuff/winter-sonata


How to Get to Nami Island - Namisum/Naminara Republic

When going to South Korea, I'd say, a trip to Nami Island is a must. More so if you are a koreanovela fan and cried a bucket of tears watching Winter Sonata.  If you are not on a package tour, there are several ways to get there on your own.


HOW TO GET TO NAMI ISLAND:

By Naminara Republic Shuttle Bus:

The most convenient way to get to Naminara Republic (Nami Island) is by taking their own shuttle bus.  Prior reservation is advised especially during peak season (autumn) and weekends.  Simply find your way to Insa-dong, near Topgoi (Pagoda) Park, before 9:30am.  Details as follows:

  By Train:

Since we wanted to get to Nami Island before the crowd, we opted to take the early morning train at 6am.  We boarded the ferry with the workers of Naminara Republic (before the tourists arrived).  After an hour, the crowd started to come in, thousands of them.


Book train tickets online on http://www.korail.com/ from Cheongnyangni Station to Gapyeong Station; pay online with credit card and print confirmed reservations.  Redeem the voucher at the train station.
Get yourself to Cheongnyangni Station, just beside Lotte Department Store by taxi or by subway on Cheongyangni Subway line 1 (go up and out of the subway).  Request your guide/hotel receptionist to write it down in Korean alphabet to make sure you give the right stop to the taxi driver. Upon arrival, take the escalator up to the train station (going down will take you to the subway station).

 Redeem your voucher at the counter (top left) for train tickets located at the far end, next to the wall.  You won't miss this, the station lobby isn't too big.

 Proceed to Gyeongchun Line, go down the stairs, turn left then take the escalator down to the train tracks.

 Take bay number 5 which moves towards Seongbuk (next station).  Cheongyangni is the first station.

 Enjoy the view during the one hour and half ride to Gapyeong Station.
 Get off at Gapyeong Station. Refer to the table below for the number of stops the train will make.

 Outside Gapyeong Station, take a taxi to Nami Island, simply tell the driver Namisum.  Flag down starts at 2300 won, if I'm not mistaken, we paid about 3,000-5000 won.  The station is about 5 mintues to Nami Island jump off point. 
 This tower for bungee jumping is the landmark of Nami Island Parking Lot.  Get off there.
 Proceed to the ticket counter and pay for the entrance fee of 8,000 won inclusive of roundtrip ferry ride.
 Proceed to the wharf and board the ferry.
ferry to Nami Island

this was the line to the ferry when we were about to leave Nami Island; during peak season, allocate two hours before your return train schedule.  There could be traffic jam at the parking lot and it may be difficult to find a vacant taxi. We had to rush and walk a block away to find a taxi.  We almost missed our train. whew!
    Gyeongchun Line (Moogonghwa train to Nam Chuncheon, at Cheongryang-ri Station)

    Cheongryan ri
    Seongbuk
    Toygyewon
    Gumgok
    Pyongnea hopyong
    Maseok
    Daeseong-ri
    Chungpyeong
    Gapyeong
    06:10
    06:22
    06:35
    06:45
    06:52
    07:00
    07:10
    07:19
    07:34
    07:00
    07:13
    07:25
    07:34

    07:48
    07:58
    08:07
    08:23
    07:50
    08:02
    08:15
    08:24
    08:31
    08:39
    08:49
    08:58
    09:14
    08:40
    08:52

    09:14


    09:38
    09:47
    10:03
    09:30
    09:42
    09:56
    10:05


    10:28
    10:37
    10:53
    10:20
    10:33




    11:18
    11:27
    11:43
    11:10
    11:22
    11:35

    11:51

    12:09
    12:18
    12:34
    12:00
    12:12

    12:34

    12:48
    12:59
    13:08
    13:23
    12:50
    13:02


    13:30

    13:48
    13:57
    14:14
    14:30
    14:42
    14:55
    15:04

    15:18
    15:28
    15:37
    15:52
    15:20
    15:32


    16:00
    16:08
    16:18
    16:27
    16:43
    16:10
    16:22




    17:08
    17:17
    17:33
    17:00
    17:12

    17:33
    17:40
    17:48
    17:58
    18:07
    18:23
    17:50
    18:02
    18:15

    18:30

    18:48
    18:57
    19:13
    18:40
    18:52
    19:05
    19:15
    19:22
    19:30
    19:40
    19:49
    20:04
    19:30
    19:42
    19:55
    20:04
    20:11
    20:19
    20:29
    20:38
    20:54

    As of January 2009
     By public bus



    1.  Buses going to Nami Island depart from:
    East Seoul Terminal(www.ti21.co.kr) 02-446-8000 (1h 20m)
    Sangbong Terminal (tm.jamycar.co.kr) 02-323-5885 (1h 20m)
    Chuncheon Bus Terminal(www.chterminal.co.kr) 033-241-0285 (25m)
    2.  Get off at Gapyeong Bus Terminal 031-582-2308
    3.  Take taxi to Nami Parking Lot (wharf)

    Wednesday, August 3, 2011

    Northern Vietnam: Indochina Sails Luxury Cruise at Halong Bay Through Handspan

    Halong Bay is a UNESCO world heritage site at Quang Ninh Province.

    Initially, one of my travel buddy wasn't up to the idea of staying overnight because of unfortunate recent events of tourists drowning due to a sinking junk and suggested to do a day trip instead. A day trip to Halong Bay is possible but might be too taxing since it takes more than 2 hours (per way) to get there from Hanoi.  As for me, a trip to Vietnam isn't complete without an overnight stay in a junk in Halong Bay so I had to convince my peer and spent hours to google for options, read reviews, and checked the age of the junk!

    Tripadvisor's top picks are the Red Dragon Junk and Paloma Cruise while travel blogger Ironwulf suggests the Aloha Junk through Handspan Travel Adventure.  Handspan is a reputable travel agency in Hanoi and they offer bookings in several types of junk. It is recommended to take packaged or guided tours if you are going to visit Halong Bay. Doing it on your own would be more costly and you would run a risk of encountering some frauds.

    For $167 per person, we arranged with Handspan to be booked with luxury cruise Indochina Sails for 2D/1N.


    Included in the package:
    • Accommodation on Indochina Sails Junk
    • Welcome drinks
    • Meals as specified in the program:  lunch buffet, plated dinner, morning tea, brunch; (beverage excluded)
    • Travel in an appropriate air-conditioned vehicle with an experienced driver to/from Handspan Office in Hanoi  (they do not offer hotel pick-up)
    • The services of an experienced English-speaking guide (or French upon request)
    • Entrance fees
    • VAT and other taxes

    OUR ITINERARY: