Friday, May 29, 2009

The Full House Quest…




Just imagine how powerful Korean wave is. I didn’t have much interest in Korea until 2005 when I first had a taste of Hallyu. That time I was being exposed gradually to Korean pop culture with the birth of Save the last Dance, Stained Glass and Full House. I became deeply drawn to these Korean soaps that I eventually dragged myself (and my fiance) to its filming locations 4 years after.

It took us a whole load of sweat in the middle of spring season to reach the famous house. The place is in Si-do, an island located several kilometers from Incheon International Airport.

We left downtown Seoul around 10am on Tuesday. From Namyeong Station (which is a walk-distance from our Hotel), we took 3 connecting subways. First was to Singil station, then to Gimpo Airport station and lastly to Incheon International Airport station. From there we took a black cab to Sam Mok Port. It’s not that we wanted a luxurious ride but we didn’t have a choice. All regular taxis are bound only to Seoul proper. Also, the ajussi driver seemed to know Full House so we hopped in. We paid him a standard rate of W12000 for the entire journey. From Sam Mok, we saw several passengers waiting for the ferryboat, we thought all of them were going to the same destination, but unfortunately some were off to another Island and some to the Beach. Passengers and vehicles alike were taken onto the barge. It was rather scary to think that such as small ferry could hold tens of cars & trucks and remain afloat.

When we arrived in Si-do, we saw an office that looked like a terminal station so we asked the Ajumma sitting behind the counter if she could sell us tickets. (Really, my Korean became so poor I’d forgotten everything I learned from Uncle Sejong, kk^^). The Ajumma must have understood only the word Full House because she pointed us the bus parked outside while saying (in Korean): the bus is leaving, palli!

While in the bus, we enjoyed the sceneries. Most of them are eye-catching so we took dozens of pictures. In fact, one would feel the atmosphere of a province with its green fields, clear water and quite mood. After a 5-minute ride, the driver dropped us off and pointed us to another direction. He was to go further straight while our destination was to the right. We thought it was only a couple of paces away though I doubted for a while because many houses were evident in the vicinity. (Anyone who has seen the series would know it’s in a secluded area beside a beach).

So off we went…

We’re walking down the road when a Harabeoji spotted us and offered his rental bicycles for W5000 each. The sign indicated 1.3 km from where we stood, so without further hesitation we took the deal. It’s been decades since I last rode a 2-wheeler so the moment I pedaled, my wheels wiggled and made me laugh so hard I almost fell off the pond (lol^^).

It was already past 1pm when we reached the house… Tickets are sold at the gate for W5000.

The house looked a bit worn out from outside with some obvious stains and spots on the wall (It was constructed especially for the series). But the inside is still well maintained. I was too ecstatic to see the interior because it was so identical to the one on TV. Everything from the arrangement to the furniture down to the appliances was exactly the same! We checked both first and second floors as well as the garden and the beach. The house was converted almost into a museum with all those pictures, memorabilias and life-sized replicas of Rain and Hye Kyo on display.

We spent over an hour wandering around the house before we decided to leave. That same day we’re supposed to visit the 63 Observatory and Olympic Park but due to time constraint, we decided to postpone them for next day.

On our way back, we took the exact same course (via bike, bus, ferry etc.). However, since there was no available taxi from the port to Incheon Airport and we happened to see some locals waiting at the bus stop, we decided to go along (If you don’t know where to go, go with the flow….kk).

It took us another hour to reach nowhere. Unfortunately the bus was headed to Incheon proper and not to Incheon Airport where we’re supposed to take a cab back to Gimpo. In short, we’re lost! The moment we realized that we hopped off the bus and took the first taxi we spotted. It must have been our luck because (for the 2nd time) we’ve been charged a hefty amount (W30000) for such a short distance!

It’s already dark when we reached our hotel. The journey left no time for us to go beyond Yongsan. To end the tiring day, we just ate at a nearby restaurant and grabbed something from the grocery (including Soju) and some street foods. ;)

Commuting in Seoul


When we first set foot in Korea, the very first public transport that we used was taxi. I’ve been reading a lot of articles about how expensive it is to take the cab but since we didn’t know how to go about that moment, we took one nonetheless.

Similar to the Philippines where taxis normally haggle about the price (by not using the conventional meter), it is also a common practice within the airport zone. While we were still deciding on how to get to the hotel (by Airport Limousine / Bus, Arex or Taxi), about 3 ajussi drivers approached us. Each was charging not less than W60,000. Being new and innocent (kk^^) we opted to go the legal way. We walked towards the taxi queue and took one. It never occurred to us that it would cost more to use the meter, we ended up paying W85,000! From then on, we frantically vowed to use the subway.

Contrary to the subways in Manila which has 3 lines, Korail has 8 (including Arex) which travels around South Korea. They are convenient, quick and always on time. When we got our Visa from the embassy in Abu Dhabi, we’ve been provided with a tourist map which included the lines, connections and routing of all subways. I didn’t partake in map reading. My 깅깅 did all the analyzing on how to proceed from one point to another. All I did was follow and believe me, I was still confused^^

Depending on the destination, the fare ranges between W1100 to W3600, nearest to farthest point respectively.

But perhaps the most challenging part of our holiday was the trip to Sido-ri (an island outside Seoul) where we practically utilized all kinds of transport systems known in Korea! An article about that memorable journey will be posted… next.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Hi Seoul!


Prior to our landing at Incheon International Airport on Saturday, May 16, I could see the rain pouring down the city of Seoul. I expected the weather to be a little cold and chilly but it never occurred to me that it would rain, at least not on the day of our arrival.

We hailed a cab to take us to our Hotel in Yongsan-gu. I felt a twinge of disappointment as we drove along rainy and wet roads. Rainy day would mean a boring stay at the hotel. No tours and sightseeing…

After an hour arranging our stuff, we went to the restaurant downstairs. It was our first taste of real and exotic Korean cuisine (apart from the ones we normally have in Abu Dhabi)… spicy panbroiled pork and bibimbap. The entire meal cost us W13000 which is way cheaper compared to Hankook Restaurant in AUH.

Despite the rainshowers, we decided to go out and have a look of the place. We went further down the road towards Wonhyodaegyo but decided to go back after sometime since I was not carrying jacket and the 12c temperature was a little too cold to bear.

We decided to stay back to prevent ourselves from catching flu. Korea has some cases of H1N1 virus and this fact was enough to scare us. Sacrificing a day is better than sacrificing our health. I just prayed that the next day would be a better and sunny one.

At 8pm, we headed to I-Park Mall to buy a pair of jacket and pants just in case the weather gets worse. Fortunately, it was made usable only the morning of the next day, as the weather recovered and improved for the rest of the week.

Korean Couple Shirts


Watching Korean films and series introduced me to various Korean-couple stuffs i.e. Couple ring and couple mobile, but couple shirts??? This is something new…

I’ve first seen a Korean couple wearing matching shirts while touring Namsan Tower. They were really eye-catching as they were both wearing blue and pink striped shirts. I thought they were the only terno couple I’d see in my entire stay, but voila! I saw a dozen more in Lotte World!

So for one day in my life, I decided to be a paparazzi… lol^^


Thursday, May 7, 2009

No more newly imported books in the Philippines???


Thank you (to both bloggers Paolo and my cousin Joyce) for posting such an informative blog. I felt like writing my thoughts immediately after reading the article but decided to do it a little later since I still have work the next day and it’s getting late…

Anyway, I think the Bureau of Customs is running out of what we call “palabigasan?” The recession must have had an enormous impact in their “PROFITS” that they had to come up and immediately implement this “newly discovered” procedure… no matter how illogical it seems.

For me, it’s a clear example of “desperation” within the department and among the officials. It’s apparent that they CAN and WILL go the extra mile to reap something (something illegal) even if it means sacrificing the common good.

No wonder our country is becoming the laughingstock of the world. With officials like them governing the country, I can’t help but agree…

“Few countries can compete with the Philippines when it comes to corruption—it's always near the top of the list of most-corrupt nations and the G20 nations recently blacklisted it, along with only three other countries, for its banking practices. In polls, Filipinos tag customs as the most corrupt department. And for good reason.”
Tsk tsk tsk! Shame… shame… shame…

Friday, May 1, 2009

Getting Ready...


It’s been one whole month since we’ve got our visas to Korea. And now, aside from brushing up on my Hangeul and Korean vocabularies, I’m also getting ready packing my stuff for that “vacation of our lifetime”… I know, it’s an overstatement since our stay will last only a week, nevertheless, if you’re a big 한류 fan, even one day in that country will help you understand what I’m trying to say… kk

We (I’m saying “we” because my fiancé is with me in this journey) are counting less than 2 weeks before the big day. On May 15 (which coincides with my birthday), we’ll be aboard China Airlines flight CI-160 and will be staying in 레인보우호텔 after a 13-hour or so flight. Never mind if it’s not a five-star thingy, what matters is I’m gonna set foot on that beautiful country and explore it for 1 whole week. ^^

I have prepared our itinerary long back which covers some of the best and biggest K-Drama locations i.e. 풀하우스 in Sido-ri near Incheon Airport and 대장금 in Gyeonggi-Do. Needless to say, I have also included the shooting locations of 마이걸 which has the biggest influence in my Han obsession. It includes Incheon Airport itself, Olympic Park Seoul and 63 City Observatory. I have also squeezed in the famous Lotte World, Itaewon, Insadong and Myeongdong in our already crammed schedule. Of course, the realization of these would all depend on certain circumstances i.e. weather.

I will update my blog daily when I get to Seoul. Right now, I’ve got mixed feelings on thousand of things including H1N1 virus and Nuclear Weapons. I hope we’ll get to Korea and back before all else breaks loose.