Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, last part

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, last part

Finally, I've come to the end of my series on South Korea, which I visited in June 2010, this year. I will be flying off to London soon, and will be definitely posting up wonderful pictures of London and the London School of Economics, where I will be at, soon enough! I will also be touring England once again, so you can expect pictures of my varied travels :)

However, back to the topic at hand - the final travel pictures of South Korea! Some of you might be wondering why I haven't written about or shown pictures of Dongdaemun and Namdaemun (or something like that), the Dong Da Men and the Nan Da Men, which are gates, and which are also very famous for demarcating areas of shopping in South Korea. Well, the thing is that this is my travel site, and I love theme parks more than I do shopping; however, I have added in Dongdaemun right here in the pictures in this post. Without further ado:

Below you can see the very famous and high class Shinsegae, nearby Myeong-dong (which you can read about in my earlier post). This is a departmental store for the rich or the up and coming parvenus.

Apparently, many women go to South Korea for cosmetics and stuff like that - people literally cry out BB CREAM!! FACE SHOP!! FACIAL MASKS!!! when they are here. I kid you not!! So, here, I've included odbo, which sells facial masks and BB cream and all the rest of those interesting cosmetics that South Korean women crave. I can assure you that Mavis loved those facial products as well :)

And finally, as promised to my faithful readers: below, you can see the famous shopping complex/ shopping mall at Dongdaemun. I did not visit Namdaemun this time when I toured Korea, so my sincerest apologies to those who were hoping for more!

You have been right here touring South Korea with all its interesting places and shopping malls with me, here on Tour And See the World! travel blog. Thanks for reading and cheers!

Tour and see the world - special thanks to Mavis

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, part 8

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, part 8 - Myeong-dong shopping district!

Hello and welcome back to Tour and See the World! 

In today's post, I visit the Myeong-dong shopping district, which is a shopping area and commerical/business zone in Seoul, South Korea. It is very popular and apparently the tour guide brings hundreds of thousands of tourists to this spot every year. Many people who visit South Korea indeed do so for the amazing opportunities to shop, eat and get all sorts of other trinklets. I would say that if you like shopping or window shopping, this is the place to be! Without further ado, I hope you like the pictures of Myeong-dong that I show below:

The last post of miscellaneous pictures of Korea will come right up, so stay tuned here! Thanks for reading and browsing, and cheers.

Tour and See the World! - South Korea

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, part 7

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, part 7

I think this little section is very worth it for teddy bear lovers and fans for cute, cuddly things... I visited and toured the Teddy Bear Museum in Jeju Island, Korea! Here are the pictures I took while at the amazing Teddy Bear Museum, which boasts of all sorts of teddy bears ranging from historical figures to traditional Korean figures, and many many more types of curios and interesting things that you can see and enjoy!

Below, for instance, you can see the original care bear series on the shelves in the museum ... before they got modernised into what we are familiar with today!

Below you can see an interesting mix - Disney bears, simulating Disneyland, with Mickey Mouse bear and many other familiar yet quaint icons and characters! There are many such exhibits for you to look at and identify.

This is the entrance to the famous Teddy Bear Museum! I would say that this is a very nice, tame and cultural experience, so it is definitely worth a tour and a short visit, for beginners, and a long visit if you are a teddy bear expert and love such cute and cuddly creatures! I loved this place very much and certainly it was for me one of the highlights of Jeju Island (for instance, I didn't appreciate the All In House that much simply because I watch few Korean dramas.)

Thanks for viewing these travel pictures and cheers. More to come on Korea in my tour blog; do stay with me as I tour and see the world!

Tour and see the world!! - South Korea, Teddy Bear Museum, and much more stuff

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, part 6 - More Scenes from Jeju Island and The All In House

Tour and See the World! - The All In House, Jeju Island, Korea!

Hello and welcome back to my travel blog! In this post on Jeju Island, we visit the All In House at Jeju Island, Korea! I know that not all my readers are fans of Korean dramas but this was indeed one of the attractions that I visited while on tour in South Korea, so here goes - The famous All In House in Korea that hosted and housed some gambling show or something like that. I myself am more a casual viewer of Korean shows. The fans or professionals of Korean dramas would definitely appreciate this place better than I have, so for that I sincerely apologise. The wonderful pictures follow below here:

This is how Jeju Island looks like... another wonderfully natural scene of the coastline at Jeju Island. By the way, after touring the All In House, we tourists later went for some high powered water ride in the sea soon thereafter! I can tell you that the scene right here is indeed beautiful - but the water is incredibly cold and very, very salty...

The All In House! This is the main tourist attraction here.

This is the famous church, which seems to be a cross between a Protestant Church and a Catholic one.... but oh well, it's the movies! (There is no Jesus on the cross, yet there is a Mother Mary at the back of the Church. Then again, it's the movies and this was built specially for the show.) The All In House is at the back of this place, so let's call this the All In Church :) It's part of the set.

More to come on South Korea here on my travel site, so please stay here with me. Thanks for reading and viewing, and cheers!

Tour and See the World - All IN!! - South Korea, Jeju

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, part 5 - Scenes from Jeju Island!

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, part 5 - Scenes from Jeju Island!

I also visited Jeju Island, which lies to the south of South Korea - a very interesting and lovely island! I heard from the tour guide that there are more women in Jeju island than men because in the past, the people were mainly fishermen or fishing folk, and the vast majority of Jeju islanders who were male were involved in fishing. Whenever there were huge waves or, for want of a better euphemism, water accidents, then there would be more widows and unmarried women. Interesting nugget; probably apocryphal, I'd say.

I hope you love the wonderful scenes from Jeju Island below - don't worry, I will post the famous and very popular All In House, from Jeju Island, in the next post here on my travel blog!

I understand that the whole island is volcanic, and as such boasts many small hills and small mounds or mounts. This is one of them, and Mavis and I climbed up the little hill/mound/mount. It was tough! So we gave up and went for grape ice cream instead. Come on, we're on holiday - exercise is optional :)

This is the famous mysterious road in Jeju Island - the road seems to be slanting upwards and indeed to all eyes and passersby, the road is indeed going upwards. Yet the bus seems to be effortlessly moving up the slope, although the engine is turned off. Can this be proof that the laws of gravity are merely suggestions or guidelines? The five tonne vehicle is moving up the slope without the power of the engine, contravening gravity! This is worth an actual visit because it is such a cute, and curious, tourist attraction. A must see!

Jeju Island being an island and traditional and all - you should visit the traditional Jeju Island village. There you can be regaled with the tales about how women do all the work - because there are just so few men! I would say it's an incredibly unique island attraction, but I wouldn't visit it a second time.

The wonderful seaside with its natural beauty - while not as exciting as the travel pictures I have from Australia, which boast of coasts and the Indian Ocean, this is a scene of Jeju Island's rocky and apparently volcanic seaside. For Singaporeans it's quite interesting to see, feel and live nature; we don't have much of these natural rocks, mountains and volcanic bits.

Soon to come, anyways - your fave All In House at Jeju Island! Please do stay tuned to my travel site; thank you very much. Thanks for reading and cheers!

Tour and see the world! - South Korea, Jeju

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, part 4 - The Korean War Museum (War Memorial of Korea)

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, part 4 - The Korean War Museum (War Memorial of Korea)

Welcome back to my travel blog! I showed pictures of Lotte World and Everland, exciting and wonderful theme parks from South Korea, in my earlier posts. Now, for something slightly more serious and sombre - the Korean War Museum, officially called the War Memorial of Korea, located in Seoul.

Mavis and I visited this museum as part of the tour package, which offered various tourist attractions in the bargain - and this is one major attraction for history lovers or for students or people who are interested in the history of the Korean peninsula, or military history. We arrived at the museum in the morning and it was raining heavily, adding a sense of gloom and - may I say it - doom to the atmosphere of the drab building with its colossal parade square. Many Korean children and students were there for their national education as well.

Overall, I rate this attraction quite highly, as I am a history buff, but it's certainly not for people who cannot stomach it or who don't like history, I guess! (Don't worry, after this post on my travel site, I get right on with showing you usual tour pictures such as scenery, fun activities, and farmland pictures of agricultural Korea!) Without further ado, here are the photos:

Thanks for reading and cheers - do stay tuned here on my travel site to tour more dimensions in a very interesting and unique country, which South Korea definitely is!

Tour and See the World! - South Korea, Asia

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, part 3 - indoor theme park Lotte World!

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, part 3 - indoor theme park Lotte World!

Welcome to Seoul's coolest indoor theme park, Lotte World! (Which I always jokingly call Lotti World instead of the LOH TAY world that it's supposed to be called.) Located in Seoul, South Korea, Lotte World is one of the most exciting indoor theme parks in the world, with many activities ranging from ice skating to sitting on wonderful fake hot air balloons, to even a kind of wild-wild-wet water ride in the theme park as well! Yes, believe it or not, this theme park is indoors! It boasts an ice skating rink!

There are also some shopping opportunities and everywhere in Lotte World, including its neighbouring Lotte World Hotel, you can see their mascots or characters - Lotty and Lorry, the two anthropomorphic, racoon-like bear mascots. Lotty and Lorry have a whole range of merchandise for sale as well. I was lucky because of the Korean War resurgence scare, which made the exchange rate in the Singapore dollar's favour, so I bought many souvenirs for Mavis and myself. Kids and adults both like this theme park, although Lotte World is more suitable for children and young couples.

The wonderful pictures from Seoul's Lotte World follow below - do enjoy:

I have been to Lotte World twice, and it has never stopped amazing me from the first time I toured it. Staying in the theme park's hotel was also very interesting and a new experience, especially since I was there during the World Cup period. (South Korea lost to Argentina though, so that was quite sad.) However all said, I simply love it here! 

Thanks for reading and cheers.

Tour and See the World!

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, part 2

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, Everland Theme Park, part 2

Welcome back. I won't be posting about my trip in the order that I went, meaning in chronological order, but I will be instead posting about themes. And my first theme in my South Korea trip is Everland, also known as Yongyin Everland Theme Park. (Hey, this homegrown South Korean place is so good to visit that some people compare it with Disneyland!)

Everland is so beautiful and interesting that actually a single travel blog post isn't going to do much justice to it. I visited Everland in 2005, and revisiting it in 2010 was simply marvellous. I would say that Everland is a myriad mixture of a theme park, a zoo, a flower garden full of flowers and arrangements, and also a shopping complex. It's all that rolled into one park, and I strongly recommend that you visit it when you visit Korea! :)

There are many areas and zones in Everland that you can visit and play in, depending on your interests and hobbies. I would say that spending one day there is sufficient if there aren't many people and it isn't crowded. However, if Everland is crowded, most likely you'd have to visit it a second time to see that you've not exhausted all its possibilities! Without further ado, please enjoy the wonderful pictures that Mavis and I took from Everland, South Korea! Thanks for reading and cheers.

Tour and see the world! South Korea trip - and in this post, Everland Theme Park :)

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, part 1

Tour and See the World! My South Korea Trip, part 1

Welcome to my South Korea trip! In the next few blog posts, I will be writing about and posting pictures of South Korea, but mainly the places that I have visited and the theme parks that I like. Admittedly, there are many people who visit South Korea for reasons different from mine - they go because they like Korean movie or TV stars; they go because they want to see the sights and sounds of a country with hills and trees; or they go, like me, because they want to go to play at Lotte World and Everland, and try the hot springs and dip into the pools at the Decksan Spa!

So stay tuned here on this travel site of mine where I will post about all these interesting sights and sounds and more! I visited Jeju island and other parts of South Korea, mainly Seoul. Apart from Lotte World and Everland, as well as the Decksan Spa Castle, I also visited the War Museum in Seoul, the famous mysterious road in Jeju island (I think!) where cars mysteriously move up slopes, the famous Teddy Bear museum, the Green Tea museum and shop, as well as some other small time but interesting places I visited with Mavis. Thanks for reading and I hope you love my travel pictures!

Tour and see the world - South Korea!

Tour and See the World! Perth, Western Australia, part 12 Final

Tour and See the World! Perth, Western Australia, part 12 Final

Perth doesn't just consist of landed real estate, the Swan River, the City Centre and Miss Maud of course... it also has a lot of other attractions that you might want to visit! I visited the Colonial Gaol (jail, as we call it in English :) ) which basically is a museum in Perth that details the harsh yet interesting lives of the early settlers in Australia. I also visited the Margaret River Chocolate Company, which is a must visit for Singaporeans, because when I was there, there were literally hundreds of Singaporeans eating chocolates and ice cream there. If you're feeling "kiasu", you can always get the free samples to eat rather than paying for your chocolates. (Don't say I didn't tell you.) Also, the vineyards, the vineyards! There are many, many vineyards in Perth - I visited and toured two of them, but I can only remember one of the names. That one of them was Sandalford Wines, Perth, which you can see in the picture below. So to sum up, you'll get to see: a jail museum (small one), the famous Margaret River Chocolate Company, and Sandalford Vineyard (near Perth, the Margaret River and the Swan River).

This brings me to the end of my series on Tour and See the World about Perth, and Western Australia! I would like to thank my uncle for bringing us around Western Australia, and for playing one of the best hosts I have ever met. I loved especially the sights, scenes and sounds of Australia, particularly the nature sites and the nature reserves. I love Australia and I am pretty sure you will love it too. Thanks for reading and cheers!

Tour and See the World! End of series on Perth, Western Australia

Tour and See the World! Perth, Western Australia, part 11

Tour and See the World! Perth, Western Australia, part 11

OK, I am back after a short break from blogging and writing on various topics! Let's jump right back into it. In this post, I show you pictures of real estate in Perth, Western Australia... and a scene from the City Centre as well as Miss Maud, which apparently is a very famous hotel chain. Miss Maud is a Swedish Hotel (I think the full name is something like Miss Maud Swedish Hotel) and can be found throughout Perth, selling all sorts of pastries, cakes, food and of course providing some kind of hotel stay as it is mainly about accomodation, after all. I would say that it appears to be a major "in" thing in Perth. A kind of must-do! Without further ado: wonderful landed properties by the Swan River, in the wonderful neighbourhood where my lucky uncle stays, the Perth City Centre, and the Miss Maud hotel in the heart of Perth... right here!

In case you think that was the last post on Perth and that you're going to miss out on many good pictures of vast vineyards and huge wide open spaces - don't worry! Another post on Perth, Western Australia, is going to come right up here on my travel site. There were many places I toured and visited while staying with my uncle. Please stay tuned for more interesting places I have visited!

Tour and see the world! Thanks for reading and cheers!

Tour and See the World! St Mary's Cathedral, Perth, Western Australia part 10

Tour and See the World! St Mary's Cathedral, Perth, Western Australia part 10

OK we have finally reached Perth proper here on Tour and See the World! I first show you pictures of St Mary's Cathedral here in East Perth, Western Australia, followed by the picture of a Dutch explorer (I think! I should go and check it up one day) overlooking the beautiful Swan River in Perth. By the way, St Mary's Cathedral is, according to my uncle, a Roman Catholic Church that seats the archbishop. I hope you do enjoy visiting; I certainly enjoyed looking at the half modern, half not-so-modern construction of the Church!

The Swan River is Perth's most symbolic and resident river, and it's definitely something you'd want to have a nice long look at! I even took a cruise down the Swan River; I would recommend a cruise or even just a Transperth boat ride. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for Perth's City Centre and real estate options!

Tour and See the World!

Tour and See the World! Observation City and the City of Stirling, Western Australia part 9

Tour and See the World! Observation City and the City of Stirling, Western Australia part 9

In this post, we visit Observation City and the City of Stirling in Western Australia! There are quite a few names for the famous big hotel here, as my uncle told me, some call it Observation City, while others call it Rendezvous Hotel. Then I went to see the official site and discovered that it's apparently called Rendezvous Observation City Hotel, Perth. This hotel overlooks the soft white and very very beautiful Scarborough Beach, and of course overlooks the beautiful Indian Ocean. It's a pity, however, that when I visited the beach, some vandals had marred the sign "City of Stirling" though. Nonetheless, the clear blue skies, beautiful beach, and the vastness of the Indian Ocean more than make up for that!

There are also many Rendezvous Hotels around the world, and not just in Perth, Western Australia. They are also in other parts of Australia, in New Zealand, in Malaysia and Singapore and even in China! However, I think that the main unique feature of this particular Rendezvous Hotel is that it overlooks the beautiful Scarborough Beach, whilst remaining the tallest structure in the neighbourhood (as all the other buildings there are low rise). There are more places in Perth, Western Australia to come in future posts - so please do stay here with me as I tour and visit places in Australia!

Tour and See the World!!

Tour and See the World! Joondalup, Western Australia part 8

Tour and See the World! Joondalup, Western Australia part 8

In this post, we tour and visit Joondalup, Western Australia! Sadly, I didn't take many pictures of Joondalup (oh well!) and so we're going to make do with these: first and foremost, the beautiful view of the beach at Joondalup; second, the bicycle and running track along the coast at Joondalup; and finally the Lakeside Shopping City at Joondalup, where my uncle, father, brother and I had our breakfast and lunch and went shopping! As some general information about the city would be quite relevant here, I got information from the Joondalup City website: Joondalup is a small city about 99km sq in size, cosmopolitan and international in nature and atmosphere, especially at and around the city centre, and it is 25 mins north of Perth along the Mitchell Freeway. In other words, it's northward and near Perth. Hope you enjoy the beautiful pictures of this very picturesque place, which should be worth a short visit if you're at Perth!

In the next post here on my travel site, I write about Observation City and the City of Stirling! I do hope you've enjoyed visiting and touring Mandurah, Fremantle, Sorrento Quay and other interesting places I've visited in Australia. Don't worry - there are more pictures to come. Do stay tuned for more beautiful places that I have visited in Australia; the main travel and tour attraction, Perth, is coming right up soon. Thanks for reading and cheers!

Tour and See the World!!

Tour and See the World! Sorrento Quay, Western Australia, part 7

Tour and See the World! Sorrento Quay, Western Australia, part 7

In this post, here on my travel site, I show you the beautiful Sorrento Quay with its serviced apartments for rent and the wonderful yachts and boats in their bays, floating gently upon the peaceful water! There are also many novelty and simple shops at Sorrento Quay. Sorrento Quay is about 20 minutes north of Perth, Western Australia and boasts a beautiful view of the ocean. I also went to have a look at the Sorrento Quay website and found that it is located on Western Australia's Sunset Coast and that it's actually completely named the Sorrento Quay Boardwalk! Be careful not to fall into the water while walking alongside the quay, though! And also be careful of the flying birds when you're walking... wear a cap, if you know what I mean :) Below, you will see: the beautiful boats and yachts in their berths, the apartments for rent (or also probably for buying as well), and last but not least the mall/ shopping areas of Sorrento Quay. I think this place is definitely worth a short visit, and definitely worth a long visit if you're considering buying a yacht!

Isn't Australia beautiful?? :) More to come on Perth and Western Australia in future posts here on my travel site! Observation City, St Mary's Cathedral, Joondalup and other parts of Perth coming right up, as soon as I've time to post. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more; cheers!

Tour and See the World!

Tour and See the World! Claremont Heritage Trails, Western Australia part 6

Tour and See the World! Claremont Heritage Trails, Western Australia part 6

In earlier posts, I wrote about Kings Park, Cottesloe Coast, Subiaco, Fremantle and Mandurah in Western Australia, here on Tour and See the World! In this post, I visit Perth's Claremont Heritage Trails. Actually, I think it should be said that Australia has a lot of beautiful parks and wonderful trails to walk along as well as scenic rivers and wonderful ocean coasts, so this one might actually seem pedestrian amongst the many wonders in Australia. But oh well, I visited it so here goes: you can see the many boats and yachts in the river (I believe it's the Swan River), and the park is big enough to explore and certainly cosy enough for picnics on a good day with fine weather! :)

There will be more scenes of yachts and sailing boats, especially since I also visited Sorrento Quay, which has many yachts for sail (that's a pun, I meant many yachts for sale :) ). Sorrento Quay will come up soon in this travel site, boasting of its boats and wonderful serviced apartments overlooking the yachts in their bays. More to come on Perth and Western Australia here on my travel site, so do stay here with me as I show you the beautiful pictures from my Australian tour. Thanks for reading and cheers!

Tour and See the World!