I don't know how people sort their photos for their travel posts! Talent sya! It's so hard to pre-select, delete, select again, and then edit the "final pictures", only to realize that it's still 100+ photos that you'd like to share!
Our trip to Nami Island + Petite France + Garden of Morning Calm is one of those days worth thousand+ photos. Will people still go through this post? Haha! So I decided to split the day's post to two para hindi naman nakakapagod.
One thing this just proves though, this itinerary will make you an instant photographer for all the beautiful sceneries, corners, and "OOTD areas" you will encounter! Piece of advice: Charge your cameras, make sure you empty your memory card, and snap away!
I was looking forward to our "Nami Day" because of all the good things I've heard about this place even before the trip. It's sad that I don't have Koreanovela roots like Tracy to associate with the dreamy background, but all is well! I am excited to relax and enjoy the nature side of Korea.
Piece of advice #2: Leave early for "Nami Day". It's better to be there in the morning para hindi pa masyado matao, and also para maaccomplish nyo all nearby places in one day. Medyo malayo sya from where we were staying, so tapusin na lahat!
To get to Nami Island, you can ride the train heading to Gyeongchun line, and head towards Chengpeyeong or Gapyeong station. From MyeongDong, it took us around 1.5hours of travel via train with all the transfers. Avail the T-Card to avoid hassles!
It was rush hour and a weekday when we traveled to Nami. Everybody's off to work, brisk walking!
Side-by-side with Tracy on our last train ride to Gapyeong station. Si Paul nasa likod, nag kakape, hehehe.
At Gapyeong Station, there are different options. There's a timed Gapyeong City Tour Bus for only 6000 Won which you can use unlimited times for one day. You can buy your ticket from the driver.
But since the bus passes by only once every hour, and to save time, we rode the taxi going to the Nami Ferry. Rate is around 4000 Won only, and will take about 5-10 minutes.
The gloomy port area, please don't rain!
Again, there are two options to reach Nami Island. For the brave, there's the ZIP LINE (38,000 Won, includes entry).
But for the antok pa (haha) and tipid, we rode the FERRY (8,000 won, inclusive of entry).
The ferry is HUGE! And please pansinin si Tracy, hehehe ang cute!
It was a fast 5-10 minute boat ride, Tracy didn't even realized we were already moving!
Namiseom, or more popularly called as the Nami Island, is a half mood shaped isle named after General Nami - who led the victory against rebels back in 1400s. Nami Island is known for its natural landscape, I learned that electric wires and telephone poles were built underground!
Paul reading about Nami's history:
Aside from these, Nami is a place for strolling, biking, training, camping, swimming, and other sports. They also have lodging facilities for guests who want to stay longer in this picture-perfect island. Everywhere I look is nature, but more impressive is that everywhere I look, there is art.
Emote-emote! Lol.
First order of business: Lunch! Tired and hungry, we entered the first restaurant that we saw:
Country Restaurant serves authentic Korean cuisines at fair price. I love the feel of the place, and super nagutom ako sa byahe. Paul and I ordered a lot!
A LOT. Hahaha!
We then decided to rent bikes so we can go around the island. FYI, I never learned how to bike, nakakainis! But I was up for the challenge! I'd love a pastel bike with a cute basket please! Hehe.
Single bike rental costs 3000 Won for 30 minutes, 5000 Won for an hour, and 1000 Won additional charges for the succeeding hours. They also have the cheesy couple bike but nobody in the group even suggested it (all three of us are single, haha!), and...
YAS! A family bike! :D This costs 10,000 Won for a 30-minute ride. I like that I can just place my heavy bag in the front seats (meant for kids). But take note, mas mahirap sya, ang bigat and liit ng legroom!
Now time to explore the island!
While riding along, we passed by Nami Island's accommodations:
A picnic area:
And this beautiful riverside, worthy of a group photo c/o camera timer:
Looking back, I am super happy to be in Korea with this two. I've been a lone wolf for far too long, I knew I can travel solo. But it's different when you have someone to laugh with after all the bloopers and blunders that go with traveling. I'll say this because it still holds true to me: Malas sa love life, but swerte sa kaibigan.
Soft-served ice cream break after biking:
We deserved this!
We sat next to this cute Art Shop selling not craft materials but Nami souvenirs.
Nami's snowman mascot wearing Filipino costume:
Nami possesses different charms for its different seasons - as seen on these cute umbrellas. Spring is okay, not much cherry blossom sightings. But I'd love to see the island during fall and winter.
Encountered these framed photos of scenes from Winter Sonata. I vowed to watch this someday.
We stayed for around 3-4 hours in this island, before deciding to hop to our next destination. Left our mark in this geometric wood wall, with a promise to be back. It pays na palagi akong may Sharpee sa bag! Hahaha!
#seoultappers! Hahaha, okay inside joke!
We boarded the ferry back to the port, where we looked for the Gapyeong City Tour Bus. Petite France was our next stop, which is part of the bus route. Saw people waiting near 7Eleven (just asked around), and bought the 6000 Won ticket for the day's unlimited ride. When the bus started to move, I felt excited to finally meet "the young boy that fell from a tiny asteroid"...
To be continued..
Read more of my Korea posts HERE.