Annyeonghaseyo Korea : Day 1 - Woongjin Playdoci Snowdoci

1st Nov. 2013, Friday


Continuation from Annyeonghaseyo Korea : Prequel.

We gathered with other's group member at KLIA around 8.30pm, where we were given a short brief by the Apple Holiday's representative, Miss Ejat. As ussual if you're travelling in group, a sticker (apple logo) was given to us for easy identification and then we proceed with check in process.

We flew with Malaysian Airlines MH66 that departed form KLIA at 11.35pm. 6 and a 1/2 hrs of journey, I just slept in the flight and luckily I did that as once we touched down, never expected that we would be straight with the tour until end of the day...

KLIA NOV.2013

With partner in-crime, Nor

The tixs

In-flight menu. I can't remember either this was served for dinner or breakfast.. :P

Our destination

Alhamdullilah, we safely landed at Incheon International Airport around 7am the next day local time (Korea is 1 hour ahead of Malaysia)

Girl's Generation new member. Smpai2 trus ikat kontrak!

Landed...

Went through all the immigration processes smoothly and met up our tour agent, Mr Vincent at the arrival hall. So far I didn't feel any difference yet been in "another" country however once I went out from the airport to the tour bus, the chilling air hit my face as to welcome me and said "hey this is autumn breeze…. Annyeonghaseyo!!" Yeay the excitement then started!!

The airport lobby

Our tour group consisted of 11 persons (including my friend and me) which I found was just nice and comfortable for the tour.
Tour in small group give you more advantages in term of information as the guide can offer more personal attention to you. During visits to historical sites / museums, the guide will be able to give more extended explanation and have more time to answer questions. Small group also means less hassle as everyone has their own behaviour. To entertain everyone "requirement"…. definitely challenging for the tour guide.

Inside the bus, our tour guide Vincent welcomed us and briefed about tentative of that day. He also gave an introduction about Korea. It was fun to have him as a guide. He has his own way to make sure that we were paying attention to him by giving a pop quiz. And since I was sitting in front closer to him, it was me who always been teased and tested by him. Huh…!!!! But its really help to break the awkward among us and to fill in the time been stuck in the heavy traffic jam. Ya the traffic was really bad in Seoul, Korea!

From the airport we went to our first destination, Woongjin Playdoci Snowdoci at Bucheon. (X mandi… overnight wear. Ya I know, 1st step to be Korean :D)



i) Woongjin Playdoci Snowdoci


A bit about this place, it is the theme park where you can enjoy diverse leisure sports in all seasons. It is Korea’s first and the world’s 12th indoor ski resort. Woongjin Playdoci consists of 4 attractions :
* Waterdoci (Water Park & Spa)
* Snowdoci (Ski & Snow board)
* Golfdoci (Golf)
* Kidsdoci (Play & Learning)

Snowdoci allows you to enjoy skiing and boarding even in summer. Its world-level indoor slope will afford you the pleasure of winter sports. Golfdoci on the other hand is the golf exercise site with the longest distance and most driving ranges in Korea. It is popular for its diverse golf training programs and high-end facilities provided at a reasonable price. After using water sliding, various pools, water park with peculiar and exotic spa and fitness with specialized trainer, you can look around for shopping district.

You may refer info on the operation hours and entrance fees HERE.

Vincent was on the line to arrange the entrance fee to Snowdoci

We didn't do much activity here (still in jet lag) some more as the 1st timer with snow (even the fake one), don't you expected me to know how to ski? The Ski Dome’s consists of a main slope that is 270 meters long (40m wide), and a subsidiary slope that is 70 meters long (30m wide).

The subsidiary slope has a Multi Lift for bobsled tubing and sledding. There are also a variety of other slopes which can be enjoyed by all levels of skiers, from beginner to expert. Even for the beginner, it still looks challenging for me :D We ended up just took photo and also tried the tube sledding. It was fun, and since that was the only xtvt we could do, we did it 3 times!! ENJOY!!

The snow jacket was provided for those who didn't bring the jacket

The excitement with snow quickly faded once our face and hands started to numb. We went out from there where the rest of the members already gathered. They seemed to surrender earlier than us. Vincent took us to the ground floor for lunch at the Rexfield Dining restaurant. We had a mix dishes of rice, spaghetti, potato wedges, fish & chips and salads served in one plate.

Posing with the trick eyes painting at the ground floor. That time I already couldn't wait to visit Museum Art Work at Nami Island. The paintings would be more interesting there.

After lunch, Vincent then brought us to one empty room (which originally served as a yoga/aerobic room) with attached bathroom for us to perform solat jamak Zohor & Asar. Next after pray, we went out from the building back to our tour bus. It was raining that time and the weather was so cold however I could see a group of boys playing football. Thick skin aren't they??

Taken from the prayer room. Thick fog..

2nd destination was Lotte World at Seoul. To go to the city, it took more than 2 hours as the traffic was heavily congested! Luckily Vincent didn't give any pop quiz that time so I could sleep peacefully.


More story on the LOTTE WORLD in next post.

Annyeonghaseyo Korea - Prequel

I went for holiday to Korea on 2013 which via travel agent. It was my first time to step my foot outside South East Asia (yeah I know it's a bit late, but better late than never right?), so I thought to have a total tourist service for this trip.

Why by agent and not DIY/backpacking?
I have so many reasons for that. Of course the top one would be laziness. As I mentioned above, it was my 1st time. However if I wanted to go for backpacking, I don’t think it is too difficult to get the info online. Korea is among the top visited country by Malaysian especially since K-pop culture invaded introduced to our country. Lots of blog wrote a very details trip to Korea… from budget, transport, accommodation, itinerary, places to eat/visit and with tips. All I have to do is just a bit of research and mix match the itinerary. Furthermore, Korea is one develop country with efficient public transports. Safety will also not be an issue there. Then what was it that stop me from travel by my own?

Actually I never thought of travel to Korea that year. It was not in my wishlist after all. It just happened when my friend went to MATTA fair and she found a good deal for Korea trip from APPLE HOLIDAY TOUR at RM4,300. Ya I know, some of you might roll your eyes at the figure. RM4k cheap??? Untunglar org kaya.. Ok lets me explain. Based on my survey on the blogs, average budget for trip to Korea is about RM2-3k. Don't u think it's kind of worth it to add another RM1k and you will get convenient flight by MAS, 4 stars hotel's accommodation, on time halal meals 3 times a day, a guarantee tourist-spots visit, local tour-guide (in case you are interested to learn some history) and add on trip to JEJU Island! Most of backpackers didn't go there as you will need to get a domestic flight or ferry to the island. The budget will be more. With the reasons as above, I quickly agreed to take the package and paid RM500 booking fee. We chose to travel in autumn as it was my dream to experience the season. Excited as all were the 1st time for me.... 1st time been further out from SE Asia, 1st time experience difference weather... That's why I wanted to make it easy, special and hassle free. Just paid and enjoy the holiday. Everything already arranged for us.

Some may claim that the adventure will be less if we go for travel with agent, which I quite agreed. But it depends on individual preference of travel also. Some people love to have a laid back, comfort and eveready program of tour (being totally tourist), while some might get the satisfaction by blending with locals, using public transport, get lost etc...
It is inappropriate to judge which way give more fun, more excitement.... all I can say is both ways will give different experiences and hey, as long as your dream is full-filled, with your desired style and you happy with it..... nothing else matters right? #akuygbayarkoygpanas. Hehehehehe.....

Seems like I had give a long introduction (please don't get bored, I'm back to my habit… can't get rid of it sorry), so here I'm sharing with you experiences of my vacatian to Korea.

Since my trip was 2 years ago, I will try to recall all the events (thanks to the numerous photo I took :P) and even this trip was using a travel agent, I hope you may find it informative especially on giving the idea of the places to visit and itinerary for your reference.

Till then we continued to 1st Day : Korea trip on next post.

Salam...
-LOVELeen-