1 March 2015

Winter Trip with Family - Sancheoneo Ice Festival, Hwacheon

Assalamualaikum. 안녕.

Previous post (here).

Huwaaa! Time flies so fast. It's already our 5th day in South Korea!! Rasa macam baru jak sampai. Gitulah ayat orang yang mau cuti berpanjangan & ndak payah risau pasal kerja. Macam duit akan jatuh dari langit, kan. Sedih.

Anyway, as usual every morning ever since we arrived Seoul, memang yang lain akan tanya aku sejuk or tidak haritu. Kiranya tambahan role aku trip haritu adalah sebagai 'peramal cuaca'. Apart from being the guide, tukang masak, tukang kira budget & list goes on. And aku akan dengan sukacita inform diorang pasal weather forecast of the day. 

Because we will be going somewhere up north; I predicted that it's going to be colder than Seoul. Hwacheon is the first to get the winter's breeze, and also the first county to froze in South Korea. So logik lah kan kalau dalam mindset aku area tu akan sejuk gila gaban.

Last year I went to Pyeongchang Trout Festival in Jinbu, it snowed heavily on our way to the event venue. And blizzard lagi masa di sana. Pasal tu aku dengan yakin suruh diorang pakai extra layers. Aku siap pakai 2 helai sweaters & down jacket. Tu belum campur long john. Stoking pun aku pulun pakai sampai 2 helai. And so did the rest of my family. Mengikut jak guide ndak bertauliah diorang ni.

Kami gerak awal pagi tu sebab ndak mau sampai lambat. Hwacheon is approximately 4 hours away from Seoul. Kalau bertolak lambat, haruslah akan sampai lewat. Haruslah ndak cukup masa untuk explore sepuas hati. Ndak mau lah setakat touch & go jak di sana nanti kan.

22 January 2015
Hwacheon, Gangwon

We took the subway to Gangbyeon Station. Crossed the street to Dong Seoul Bus Station. Sebab sudah tau destinasi, I straightaway headed to the counter & bought the intercity bus ticket to Hwacheon (화천). The bus frequency from Seoul to Hwacheon is every 30-40 minutes. Earliest bus departs at 705am & last bus departs at 735pm. 
# Our bus tickets. We got the 0835hr bus. Adek & Girl both entitled for discounts sebab masih students. As for us adults, we paid 13,900 Won (one way). 
And drama started after an hour on the road. Sebab winter so Ahjussi driver switched on the heater. Angah, Adek, Bunda & Ezza yang perasan kulit badak complained panas! panas! non stop. And masa tu aku tengok semua sudah berlong john cuma. Jadi lagi dramatis haru bila diorang ndak dapat tidur sebab budak2 yang duduk belakang bas bising gila. Ntah apa jak lah cerita diorang, memang tiada kenal full stop. Rimas sebab panas + ngantuk tapi ndak dapat tidur = grumpy them!

Another 2 hours before we arrive, Adek sudah keluh kesah & repeatedly tanya aku. Jauh lagi kah. Sudah sampai kah? At first aku gagah lagi melayan tapi bila every 5 minutes dia buka soalan yang sama, aku pun apalagi! Buat2 lah tidur. Semua jadi annoying sebab rimas keadaan panas dalam bas. But surprisingly, Aunty who sat in front of me langsung tiada bunyi. Selalunya dia lah yang paling anti-panas. I guess kali ni dia super steady sebab asyik layan view awesome along the road. Or maybe sebab seat kami tepi tingkap so ndak lah rasa bahang sangat. Tingkap pun berkabus. Ala sejuk dingin gitu. 
# Different view from what I saw last autumn. Subhanallah.
And after nearly 4 hours on board the bus, akhirnya kami sampai Hwacheon Intercity Bus Terminal. Alhamdulillah. Turun dari bas, semua cari kerusi. Aik macam ndak kepuasan duduk dalam bas nampak. Pastu aku pun 'set bearing'. First thing first, kena beli tiket bas balik pi Seoul.

Suddenly ada Oppa ni tegur aku & bagitau cara mau balik Seoul. Taulah muka aku tengah serabut proses info dalam otak. Actually memang tau pun dari Hwacheon either boleh naik direct intercity bus (macam yang kami naik dari Seoul tu) or turun di Chuncheon Train Station. Considering pagi tu kami naik bas, so balik nanti aku mau bawa diorang naik train pula. At least heater dalam train ndak macam dalam bas; gitu dalam fikiran aku. Jadinya dapatlah elak geng kulit badak dari rimas & panas.
# Hwacheon street
Kalau malam ni lagi lawa, those fishes will be lighted. Terus jadi lampu jalan. 
# Street sign
Walkertapaki jak dari bus terminal to the festival site. 
# Landmark for the festival venue
# One of the two ziplining
Sepatutnya Ezza & aku naik benda ni all the way to the main venue. Yang lain will meet us there. Tapi masa aku pi kaunter untuk beli tiket tu, Ahjussi bagitau close for 'lunch' (bagi signal makan). Pasrah!
# Hwacheon River which was frozen for acres!
Yang ni memang spot untuk trout fishing.
It was weekday so orang ndak berapa ramai. Kalau pi weekends, confirm trout fishing area tu penuh. Masa kami di sini, cuma 3 jak yang buka. 
# Big tents provided for visitors.
Ada khemah yang jual tiket, fishing equipment, foods & also macam khemah di atas. 
Ada gerai juga. Mostly jual ikan bakar. And winter snacks i.e hotteok. Tapi sebab dia jual sekali ngan tteokbokki & satay bulgogi aku terpaksa lupakan hasrat untuk beli hotteok. Telan liur jak dulu, nanti cari di Seol. 
# Buah berangan!
Last year pulun makan benda alah ni juga, so kali ni pun gitu juga. Isi perut selain buns & bread yang kami beli dari bakery on the way pi fishing site ni.
# Ice sculptures.
# Eolgomiseong Cave where the Ice Tunnel is located.
# Ice tunnel
Banyak aktiviti lain boleh buat sini apart from trout fishing. Such as snowmobile rides, ice sledding & sleighing, ice race car driving, ziplining, skating & mini ice hockey.
# Frozen river
# Eolgomiseong slide (blue slide on the right)
We didn't ride the slide because the cousins were more intrigued to ride the Bob-sleigh bicycle.
Unlike the winter festival in Pyeongchang, where I just have to buy the ticket once. Pastu sangkut tiket di jaket to be seen by the staffs. Senang. But at Hwacheon, I have to pay admission entry for each activity. Nasib baik lah counter ticket dekat. Else, memang confirm aku jadi spectator jak. 
# The bob-sleigh bike.
Cuma ada tayar di belakang.
# Paid 10,000 Won for 1 bike (2-seater). Girl got hers for free. Huntunglah jadi budak sekolah ndak cukup tinggi.
# Creative sleigh competition
Some of the sleighs invented by the participants. Too bad there are just for display, maybe di hari pertandingan baru boleh try test.
We played the bike for 30 minutes. Totally good exercise for the lazy me! Lama ndak cycling ni, rasa macam mau tercabut jak paha aku. Sudahlah jalan licin. Pastu gerakan tangan yang pegang handle kena sync dengan gerakan ur partner juga. Aku memang banyak kali kena marah sama si Ezza sebab aku cakap turn right, but I turned the handle to the left side. Kalau sugar rush memang macam tu, jadi bingai melantun2. Pasrah jaklah wahai kajen!
# Musang eyeing on the sheep.
Well macam biasa, kalau sudah cycling...haruslah energy depletion. So masa untuk recharge tenaga. Aunty & Angah memang lepak dalam tent jak, diorang malas main game bagai. Jadi pemerhati katanya.
# Lunchbox we brought from home.
Sebab memang sudah aku kestau susah mau cari makanan di Hwacheon. Vegetarian restaurant pun tiada.
# My favourite section!
Bayar di kaunter, pilih ur choice of drink. Then isi hot water. Self service but pretty convenient. 
Lepas recharge diri, kami explore lagi area yang lain. Tapi ndak larat jalan pi area yang tangkap trout by hand. It was further up the frozen river. 

Games lain pun kami ndak main. Adek wanted to join the ice hockey but masa tu game belum start. Dia pun malas mau tunggu. Aku pula ingatkan lepas makan mau pi main ziplining tu. Tapi sekali tengok queue yang panjang, terus terbantut impian. Walhal bukan panjang mana pun queue tu. Apalah kejadian semua pun malas, ndak mau tunggu lebih masa sikit. Last year aku semangkit gila semua games aku main regardless the queue.

Ended up kami just pusing2 before making our way out from the festival venue.
# The ice sledding counter.
# Ice sledding.
Didn't try this sebab baru lepas makan, so haruslah sendi semua kureng berkerjasama untuk dilipat.
Upon arriving memang nampak ramai askar. Ingatkan their day off because there is a military base in Hwacheon due to its location. Its northern border is parallel to the DMZ. Simply saying, it's actually located less than 20 kilometers away from North Korea. Puas lah juga cuci mata tengok askar handsome! Slurp!
# Variety act at the festival.
Seriously suara Ahjumma ni best gila. Part dia tarik bahagian chorus, memang pergh! Suara maintain, langsung ndak pecah. Siap menari ok!
# Walking out from the festival. 
Sebenarnya sangat berharap akan ada snowfall masa ni. Ndak lah berharap snow lebat macam last year but at least dapatlah rasa macamana kalau seleji di Northern area ni. Barulah feeling pi winter festival kan. Weather memang a bit gloomy ever since we arrived tapi tulah awan pula banyak. Walhal area Hwacheon ni memang ada seleji turun almost everyday. Memang tiada rezeki untuk ber-seleji haritu. 
# Wall art; aku suka!
# Selalu respect orang yang kreatif & pandai melukis.
Dari festival site, kami walkertapaki lagi pi another venue yang ada dalam map Hwacheon Festival. Sebab temperature pun suam2 kuku; bak kata diorang! Jadinya jalan kaki berapa kilometer sekalipun tiada yang komplen penat.
# Festival map. Found aplenty here.
If ada yang tanya mana lagi best between Hwacheon & Pyeongchang. I will happily answer I like the latter better! I don't know about others, but ni based on my personal experience. Ice sledging dia ndak mencabar, snowmobile cars tutup. Maybe sebab kami pi weekday, orang ndak ramai. So feeling ber-festival dengan crowd berhimpitan adalah tiada. Sobs tiba2 penyakit salahkan crowd lah kan.

So ke mana hala tuju lepas dari Ice Festival? Tu nanti aku update next entry. Panjang betul sudah entry ni aku rasa. Annyeong!

eryantierdabdulkarim

15 comments:

DJ said...

aku teringin nakpi frozen river..tp ntah ler, imaginasi aku tinggi sgt...aku tbyg2 nanti dia crack, pastu aku jatuh dalam air kat bawah tu...pastu lemas dalam kebekuan....sobs!

amboi abam askar sado tak?hahaha kalo ada askar lee dong wook aku nak ah...hahahaha

Bibie Karim said...

DJ: Xde makna dia akan crack wei. Beratus orang duk main bermacam2 games atas tu. Ko xkan lemas dalam kebekuan punya hahaha. Bingai betul imagination tau.

Ada yang sado tapi xde boleh lawan Wook oppa. Ko tengok Roommate 2. Diorang gi daki gunung masa winter. Handsome tahap infiniti weiiii.

Miss Nazla said...

Ni kali kedua aku baca entry ni. Haha. Siang td terbantut niat nak tinggalkan komen. Dah 5th day dah? Alaaa mcm dah nak habis je entry blk kampung. Isk isk

mrs said...

aku tak pernah tau pasal tempat nie mmg festival tu time winter aje ke atau time spring pun ada aku malas nak gugel jadi aku tanya ko jer lah

nak nyelit komen DJ..amboi tetiba ajekan wook oppa kemain lagi ko eeeh

diary1971 said...

Assalamualaikum miss bee,

Sorry terpaksa tanya sebab tunggu2, u belum cerita re your accomodation. I am traveling in april with 5 other gfrens. boleh share info re accom u yg terbaru ni?tqvm in advance

regards,
shida

zila@akulovetravel said...

Ramai tul org suka mamat korea...nape lah saya tersuka mamat tamil tahap infiniti..isk isk isk

Bibie Karim said...

Nazla: Ko pun jangkit drama aku kan.

MS: Aku nengok kat KTO jelah. Kalau spring rasanya belah2 Busan nun baru meriah. Kat area ni aku xsure. Wei Wook Oppa harus ah senantiasa hensem.

Diary1971: Waalaikumussalam. Ouh ok nanti malam if sempat aku buat entry tu. Hihi lately memang perasan sibuk tu yang lembabs je update.

Zila: Wah tahap infiniti ye. Saya memang suka orang mata sepet, since zaman sekolah lagi. Sebelum zaman Kpop haha. Xpe Zila, jejak Tamil pun ada special diorang. Taste masing2 kan.

Azra said...

ko tak pi mancing ikan ke bie? aku tingin sangat nak cube .. tapi timing asyik tak kene ngan travel time aku

Bibie Karim said...

Azra: X. Aku nak try gak tapi mahal tu yang malas hahaha. Walhal risau nanti xdapat ikan. Mindset betul. Nanti ko balik hujung tahun, gi lah try wei. Aku tengok best je orang siap bertiarap bagai.

kakitravelkhairuddin.blogspot.com said...

wah.....tengah membaca celoteh anda yang sungguh menarik..pakar rujuk korea..

diary1971 said...

bibie,

I baru je semalam booked myeongdong guesthouse, family room for 6, via airbnb juga. after declining "Selamat Datang ke Seoul"by David,next to Ibis insadong. and before reading ur latest entry. tapi memang tis villa x listed pun masa i buat search. dah fully booked maybe.anyways, kebetulan dapat cakap ni, tqvm for your sedeqah jariah, dalam bentuk disperse ilmu untuk travellers macam kami.mudahan Allah swt continue to bless you with the gift of gab,with good health and fortune ,and lots of barakah! kalau teringat,kirim salam juga pd ur mum and her sisters,jeles,peha betis depa sangat nipis huhu....alhamdulillah

Bibie Karim said...

Abang MKL: Thanks sudi singgah baca. Hihi xde makna pakar rujuk. Saya pun ceduk dari banyak tempat hahaha.

Bibie Karim said...

Syida: Sorry janji nak post the other night tapi balik dari keja terus rasa penat giler. Famous gak this house among yang selalu guna airbnb xsilap. Semua pun lengkap tu yang orang xfikir panjang untuk book. Nanti share lah experience duk Myeongdong GH tu eh. Btw, when is ur trip? Jeles dah ni! Hope u'll enjoy Korea as much as I do. First time or repeat visit. Nampak x kepochi semua nak tau.

Subhanallah! Thanks so much for ur du'as. Terharu. I just share apa yang I dah pernah experienced. Memang niat nak tolong orang at the same time. My way to repay apa orang dah contribute to me. Sebab selalu ceduk info dari bloggers lain juga. I pray the same to u. Hihi will send ur regards to them. Memang nipis kan, tu yang diorang selalu panggil paha I...lengan gajah. Sobs.

diary1971 said...

Bibie, eh, tak payah apologise la. Memang masa i search, ok vill house x listed. So mesti dh fully booked tu. Asalnya nak duk gom guesthouse ddaemun tapi tak dpt all 6 in a room. Thn nak try Rumah david kat insadong, tapi bila tgk google map earth , walau permukaan datar&tiada kewujudan tangga ala batucaves, tetap rasa macam 'jauh' juga nak me- tapakakiku ke subway&stream. So yes. Of cz will update u nnti if myeongdong gh is recomendable or not.

InsyaAllah ni my 3rd trip. 1st pi dgn tour winter13. 2nd was last year autumn nov14. Sempatlah i buzz JM tanya betul ke nami crowded masa tu cz someone 'warned' me abt it.so JM yg baru je lepas pi nami menyakinkan i itu berita pelesu and so my mum. Sis and my kiz ended up having the most fun fulfilling outing kat nami-som! Besar pahala JM!

So ni nak kejar spring pulak insyaAllah. Tapi Tak pi down south. Walau seminggu, most of my travelmates korea-virgin. So we r sticking to seoul&nami je. And since i pun ala perasan balik kg kan, ulang benda sama pun x kisah. Suker ajer.

Please keep on writing. So many of us have benefited from it. Take care and kot2le kita bump into each other kat sana april nanti? U never know �� aameen (kita nak pi 12-18)

Bibie Karim said...

Syida: Ha kalau accom yang jauh dari subway or main road tu memang akan mengundang malas. Nak lagi lepas seharian penat berjalan kan.

Wah 3rd trip eh. Kan Korea memang macam ada hantu. Padahal baru balik, rasa rindu tu tetiba muncul lagi. Nami crowded kalau ada festival. Haritu I gi Nami ngan JM lah juga. Kitorang Jalan kaki balik from wharf to subway station. Bertabah dera kaki.

Xpelah jalan2 Seoul. More places to explore sebenarnya, I pun still rasa xpuas. Macam ada je yang x jejak lagi.

Insha Allah will keep on writing. Thanks for reading! April nanti gi somewhere, tapi bukan balik kampong. So far tahun ni memang dah xde trip balik. Tapi who knows kalau tetiba dapat grab tix murah lak nanti kan.