CutiCuti: South Korea Day 3 - Cheonggyecheon Stream

Assalamualaikum. 안녕!

Previous:

Day 1

Day 2

Nami Island
Petite France

It will take me forever to continue updating about this trip IF I kept procrastinating. Lucky I managed to forced the super lazy moi to get to the lappy, squeezed the brain & started scribbling. 

Fuh, I miss South Korea tremendously! Looking back at all the pictures makes the feeling even worst. I want to fly to that country like now. Can I just celebrate Eid there? Aigoo Bie, bersabar sila. Another 4 months pun. Reaction terlebih over tau kau ni.

Fine, lets just skip the drama queen thingy.

That evening, after dinner we went out to see Seoul at night. It has always been in my plan to see the grand palace; Gyeongbok Palace view at night. With the lights on. We missed the time when this palace is open to public until late evening. 

Gyeongbuk Palace is open to public from 630p to 10p in May every year; marking the Family Month. Unfortunately, this only occur for two days. Obviously, we were late for more than a month. Sampai Seoul pun on the 22² June! 

View of Gwanghwamun Square at night. Area ni memang bercahaya terang as it is located at one of the main district in Seoul. Royal administrative buildings or the Street of Six Ministries is among the historical significant along this square. Bangunan kiri kanan pun memang bangunan administration. 

I got to know about this place after watching the 2009 Kdrama series; Iris. From what I read in wiki; as part of the Government's plans to promote the city...this square was closed to public for nearly twelve hours. Semata untuk bagi laluan to Iris' filming. Ndak dapat imagine major traffic jammed masa tu as five lanes were closed. Sudahlah tengah bandar, laluan penting & kawasan pentadbiran lagi. 

And ehem! Few scenes in one of my favourite Kdrama; Queen In Hyun's Man were filmed here as well. Memang malam tu, aku verangan macam dalam drama. Ndak dapat jumpa artis; sudah jejak shooting location pun jadilah!

Ni memang familiar habis...sebab Running Man buat shooting sini more than once. RM lagi kan.

Skyscrapers in Seoul are mostly found here. Sakit leher jugalah balik² mendongak untuk baca nama building. Perlu tau; kalau aku. 

Pavilion in the middle of the city. Ni kira macam pondok wakaf lah kalau di Malaysia. Eh?

Jalan straight along the Gwanghwamun Square route leads us to Cheonggye Plaza. Akan jumpa landmark for the plaze; this siput sedut ni on ur left side. Benda ni punya unik & berlampu terang benderang, memang impossible lah orang overlooked. 

Siput Sedut tu bagi aku landmark untuk permulaan Cheonggyecheon Stream. Last year pegi sini, aku ndak tau langsung pasal stream ni. Padah kalau travel semata langsung ndak da homework or research done prior coming. Hence I made it a mission to come here when I visit South Korea again. This time datang dengan ilmu gitu. 

Stream ni adalah one of the city's effort to urban renewal. Ever since its opening in 2005, it has become one of the popular recreational area among the locals & also tourists. Memang salute sama disiplin orang South Korea ni. Bukti kukuh, ndak guna government pongpang buat development kalau rakyat sendiri ndak usaha untuk maintain. Kerjasama is the main point here. Both parties kena main peranan. Bukan sibuk si A blame si B...in the end, semua gigit jari. 

Note that ring encircled with green lights; where a couple is standing in front of it. Kununnya, if baling coin ke arah that ring & the coin jatuh right in the middle, bolehlah request something. To whom aku ndak tau. I don't think it has something to do with any religious beliefs. From my point of view, this kind of thing is more to something people do out of trend. 

Hanya sempat sampai till the second bridge. *nangis darah* Angan² untuk tawaf sampai Dongdaemun went down to the drain. Pendapat bersama perlu diambil kira kalau jalan ramai² ni. Walau dapat mandat untuk draft itinerary, views dari ahli rombongan lain mestilah mau tau juga. Kalau aku solo or ahli rombongan semua bersatu mau tawaf, maka bolehlah proceed misi. 

Hmmm betul lah cakap bloggers yang biasa travel in group...bukan senang mau dapat travel buddy yang sekepala ni. Silap langkah, kalau ikut angin moody each member memang boleh trigger perang dunia di tempat orang. Fortunately nothing close to war happened masa kami di sana. Toleransi adalah perlu, gitu. Eh?

Stepping stones to connect each sides of the stream. Yours Truly practice jadi mermaid sesat. Gemokmaid ada!

I read in many blogs, the water is crystal clear here. Siang baru nampak clear aku rasa. Ms G managed to captured my gimbaran. Sedang dalam proses transition tapi major failed. Kembali ke bentuk manusia akhirnya.

Ni bukan man-made stream ok. The water naturally flows from east to west of Downtown Seoul, meeting at Jungnangcheon; which then connects to Han River & later empties into Yellow Sea. (source wiki).

Jongno Tower spotted. Bangunan tu sangatlah famous di mata aku, asal nampak jak mesti aku ndak lupa untuk mentioned "That's Jongno Tower". Selalu nampak waktu siang, this was my first time seeing it illuminated with lights. Once again another angan² untuk lepak coffee shop yang berhambur along the street above the stream...went straight into the drain. Sudah penat sekalian teman berjalan dari pagi. Aku boleh jak stay & continue wandering...masalah problem ahli lain ndak tau jalan pulang. Ngeks.

God's willing, next time akan continue misi² yang terbengkalai. Ni definitely NOT my last trip to South Korea. Insha Allah, insha Allah. 

We ended the evening walk along the stream with photo geteks. Although I am a bit frustrated sebab only managed to covered two bridges, I enjoyed the walk still. At least menyempat compare to my last visit. Nanti mau buat lawatan di waktu siang. 

And we missed the laser light show a.k.a Digital Canvas as well! The show is held at the Gwanggyo Bridge; at the upper end of the stream. We took the pictures above near the show area. It is said that unlike other light show, Digital Canvas conveys various messages in its show. Hostel I booked for the Dec trip located just a block away from the stream...kalau terlepas lagi ndak tau lah kan.

Map of bridges, routes & exits along the stream is provided to facilitate visitors. Kalau rasa sesat, sila lah rajin baca map. 

Sangat membantu specially for first timers like us. Mau cepat sampai hostel, kena tau the nearest exit to the subway station.

For more information about this stream, refer here. Ni alkisah kemalasan untuk mengolah. Sekian.

eryantierdabdulkarim

CutiCuti: South Korea Day 3 - Petite France

Assalamualaikum. 안녕!

Previous:

Day 1

Day 2

Nami Island

Woot! Alhamdulillah alhamdulillah. Masih diberi peluang untuk bernafas di bumi-Mu Ya Rabb. A year wiser, insha Allah. To quote one of the besties; it is a 17^th year of birthday celebration that comes together with a 14 years of life experiences. Tolak tambah umur gitu.

May 'you' be showered with Allah's bless & always strive to be a good muslimah. Selamat naik umur Miss Err! And ouh, semoga murah rezeki. Dapat continue penjelajahan meneroka keindahan ciptaan Nya. Amin, amin!

Now lets continue with my Summer Holiday with the Ladies series. Kalau procrastinate lagi, harus tahun depan baru siap semua ni. Aku kan sudah ada post-it note di dahi...Penangguh Tegar. L to the Ser sangat. 

Dari Nami Wharf, kami berjalan sedikit ke arah bus stop where we boarded the Gapyong tour bus. Ndak jauh mana pun. It was where the taxi dropped us earlier that morning. 

Gambar sebelah kanan tu adalah tempat untuk bungee jumping. Motif sebenar aku snapped sebab Running Man. Ngeks! One of its episode was filmed up there. Tapi pakcik tu semua bukan berbungee pun...diorang main badminton atas tu. Kau mampu? Fine, enough selingan. Asal boleh RM menyelit.

Tunggu bus di sini. Bukan dari tempat aku snap gambar, but depan pintu 7-Eleven tu. The lady at the I-center near the wharf told us to wait at the 7-Eleven. Pastu aku degil kepala batu mau buat route sendiri. Gatal crossed the road & waited at the bus stop opposite the store. Cuci mata tengok orang berani mati buat bunge jumping nun di seberang. 

Nampak jak tour bus, kondifen gila mau naik. Luckily the bus driver informed us that the bus to Petite France stops at the other side. Kalau ndak, ada yang buat putaran journey dari awal. Start dari Gapyeong Terminal (bus) semula. 

Schedule tour bus ni aku sudah awal² save dalam phone. Memang initially plan to take the 1515 bus to Petite France. We left Nami Island awal so ada masa rest² sekejap while tunggu bas.

I don't remember the bus stopped at those two stops before arriving at our destination. Atau yang aku sangka tidur ayam tu sebenarnya power nap. In less than 20 minutes journey tu aku boleh tidur ndak sedar diri. Hampas.

Ni tour bus yang berjasa bawa kami ke destinasi seterusnya. 

Bus fare is KRW 5,000. Boleh hop on hop off at every stops along the route provided u keep the ticket. Berbaloi². Dari Gapyeong Station (train) boleh juga naik tour bus ni to Nami Wharf. The bus stop is right in front of the station. Tapi sebab kami sampai awal hence we took the taxi instead. Taxi stand pun located next to the bus stop. 

Alhamdulillah sampai. French cultural village. Ndak sangka berjaya jejak kaki. Masa search info pasal this place, takut juga aku sesat ka apa. Confuse aku sama explanation orang pasal schedule bus etc. Tapi kasi yakin jak, kalau memanjang ikut takut or risau memang ndak sampailah kan. Once di tempat orang, automatik on survival switch aku. Ajaib!

Entrance fee for adult is KRW 8,000. Tempat ni actually antara paling last aku insert dalam itinerary. Kiranya last minute decision made by Yours Truly. Kunun mau try test sense of direction aku. Nasib sampai dengan selamat, kalau ndak? Fuh! 

The first building on our right once we entered the village. Sila ambil map di ticket office tu else akan terkaparlah ndak tau arah; ndak tau nama building yang dijejak. We decided to go to the European Puppet House to begin our journey. 

Little Prince & his fox welcome us. The concept of this village celebrated the French novel; Le Petit Prince hence it is also called the Little Prince theme park. 

 Dolls & puppets everywhere. Nama pun Puppets House kan Bie!

Didn't spend much time in here...the puppets looked rather scary to me. 

When I was a kid I rarely played with dolls. There were times when I was pretty connected with them but I remembered vividly, that moments didn't last long as I enjoyed playing outdoor. Panjat pokok, kejar kerbau, play masak² using real fire; real leaves & cans as pots. 

Hence seeing all these puppets/dolls didn't excite me much. Too horrendous a view to me; really.

Last time jejak Eiffel Tower, aku selca sendiri. No decent pics of me & the tower. Aku pun macam malu mau minta orang tolong ambil gambar. Sampai Petite France, ada poster Eiffel besar di wall...haruslah ambil peluang posing gini. Walaupun hanya poster...jadilah!

Fountain Square. I wonder how the fountain looks like during the winter. Mesti mix feelings; putih salju yang suci ganding sama fountain ala replika romantika. Macam great idea to repeat my visit with the cousins later. Ouh December...

Opposite the fountain is the Orgel House. A 200-year old music box is one of the music instruments displayed here. All of the instruments here are still functional. The lady in the pic was demonstrating the technique to play the orgel. According to her, orgel is invented through combining the fundamental idea of piano & violin. It is often played to cheer people up.

Managed to record her playing happy music for us. Ndak habis aku record sebab mau save battery-life punya pasal. Next time power bank tinggal lagi ah Bie. 

I wonder if this is the said 200-year old music box. Too many music boxes in the house I forgot to ask the lady. 

The Saint-Exupery Memorial Hall is a dedication token to Saint-Exupery the author of the celebrated French novel; Le Petit Prince. His biography & novel-works are displayed in this building.

Walking further up heading to the wildflower walkway...we suddenly saw this sign. Ms H asked me if there's any shooting currently going on at that time. The bijak bestari me replied "Maybe KBS banyak buat dramas or reality shows sini. Kalau ada shooting, mesti penuh sudah tempat ni sama fans". 

And so we climbed the stairs...not knowing we will stumbled upon this! Props here & there. Production crews. Cameras. And I even heard the PD-niim shouted "Han-bon deo. Ready, action!" Fuh, rasa short of breath harus! Ndak sana lemah longlai lutut. 

Hatta cuma drama kanak²...happy kami tiada sempadan. Habis meter! Ahh comel gila!

Then out of a sudden, aku bersuara "Aduh not famous actors bah ni. Those guys only pelakon extra. They're shooting tv show for children." Kunun frust, padahal drama queen lebih! Ms G preferred to look it at the positive side. "Wei who knows one day those guys became famous. Kau juga tu nanti sibuk kestau orang saya pernah jumpa, saya pernah jumpa". Gitu konsep lupa diri zaman sekarang. Eh?

Dalam frust sebab tu cuma shooting tv show budak², tripping ala-VIP atas karpet merah adalah perlu. 

 The Little Prince Street.

Walking along this street; showered with the view of my all time favorite flower is simply destressing. 

Little Prince enjoying the sunflower as well.

She doesn't usually enjoy being in front of the camera...but I found this in my camera. Suruh tolong pegang kamera & she took the opportunity to selca. How can I just ignore this pic, yes. Bukan selalu bestie yang sorang ni ber-selca.

Uri chingu. It's been 18 years since we knew each other. I pray for this friendship will last forever. Kawan dunia akhirat, insha Allah. 

The Observatory. Menara ni paling diingat; apart from the Amphitheater. Running Man plays big role in my travelling. Hunting for its shooting locations has become as of obsession for me. Ouh wait, in their episode here the flowers haven't been planted yet. 

This is the very tower where Miss Ace-Mong found one out of the eight Little Prince outfits they supposed to look for. Without getting caught by the guests; Nickhun & Taecyeon of 2PM. 

And Nickhun ousted Kwang Soo here as well. Fuh, fakta sangat sebab baru lepas melayan Running Man episod yang diorang shoot di sini. Demi kerana! Kenapalah ndak buat shooting time aku datang; else it would have been another memorable day for me! 

Cats' cage in front of the tower. I missed the children at home upon seeing this. Such adorable creatures.

Going up the tower. Ambil feel kunun. Walaupun ndak da misi untuk search any outfit, perlu juga naik. 

Arts on the wall; found this aplenty in this village.

Saranghaeyo.

Next is to enter that yellow building. The filming location for Beethoven Virus. I haven't watch this movie yet but since I was already there, masuk jak lah.

Just for the tujuan "Been there, done that".

Ndak nampak depan mata, signs will do. At least for the fans. 

Inside the French House exhibition center. Ouh now I know how the house looks like back in the medieval ages. Sakit jiwa if I have these deco at home. Penat oii lap habuk jak kerja.

Even Cupid dirantai in this house. Sian Dewa Chenta ni. Ngeks.

Another tower to declare loves. This time guna bells pula. 

The Amphitheater or jail for the outsteds in RM. Ndak habis lagi dengan RM, sabar jak lah ya. 

Ni pula the famous filming area of Secret Garden. Teruja sebab aku tengok drama ni. Hyun Bin handsome!

Asal boleh. Sudah diorang kasi sedia photoop gini maka perlu digunapakai sebaiknya.

Masa cari surau di Blok H, kami ndak jumpa penunjuk arah. So aku pegi ticket office untuk tanya direction. Ingatkan ndak kena layan, rupanya ndak perasan masa aku jalan naik ada ahjumma followed from behind. Turned out aku yang ndak dengar Unnie di kaunter tu suruh tunggu Ahjumma tu sekejap. Direction to prayer room / surau ada aku selit di bahagian paling bawah entri ni. 

Kaki sudah penat exploring the whole village. Since we still have time before the bus arrives, we decided to lepak at the outdoor cafe near the French House. 

Patbingsu; Korean version of ice shavings or ABC as what we called it in Malaysia. Snack paling terbaik untuk dinikmati di kala summer. We are in Korea so why not we do it the Korean way. Enjoying the waffle topped with vanilla cream & chocolate syrup...accompanied by a bowl of patbingsu; perfect way to cool down on a hot summer's day. Bukan panas mana pun tapi saja tripping Korean di situ. I've been singing the word patbingsu even before we arrived South Korea. Apa salah melepas kempunan.

Bus arrives at 1740p; sharp! Just as scheduled. And that electronic info board is install at a bus stop; in a village. Talk about upgraded system. Ni kalau ada di kampung² di KK ni memang ndak lama bertahan. I'll give it less than a day to go kaput. Talked about rakyat yang resist development. 

Changpyeong Station is just two stops away from the French village. This is where we boarded the train back to Seoul. ITX train all the way to Cheongnyangni (Jungang Line). 

Sampai Cheongnyanni Station, in order to get back to our hostel in Myeongdong we need to go out from the building. Sebab subway train station is not connected to this station. 

This is the entrance to the subway station. Berdepan jak dengan building tadi tu. Dari tangga tu pun sudah boleh nampak sign subway tu. No need to worry. Kami haritu blur kejap. Aku mamai baru bangun tidur terus hilang info pasal dua station yang berbeza ni. Padahal sudah banyak kali baca tips orang pasal Cheongnyangni. Truly inappropriate an attitude lah kau Bie. Boleh bah terblur, terlupa. 

Koreans & their gadgets = inseparable. Less noise jugalah dalam subway sebab masing² amal konsep mind ur own business. Ni kami on our way back to the hostel. Mau refresh dulu sebab malam ada plan lain pula. 

As stated earlier. Here is the direction to the prayer room in Petite France.

If u didn't get to perform ur jama' at Nami Island, u can do so in Petite France. Provided route kau memang dari Nami to Petite of course. 

U will see those buildings once u entered the village. That BLUE tall building is where the prayer area is located. The washroom is located at the white building behind that pink studio. Kena naik tangga sikitlah lepas berwudhu' untuk ke 'surau'.

This door leads to a staircase. The prayer area / room is in the 2^nd floor.

It's an open room, without door of course. But no worries because nobody comes up to this floor. Lukisan tu temporary jak di sana. Sebab bangunan ni memang ada buat display paintings di ground floor. Left side after the door.

Prihatin ndak prihatin, they even sticked the Qibla / Kiblat direction on the ceiling! As for sejadah, ndak payah risau. They provide carpet for that purpose. Not that carpet on the floor, ok. Carpet untuk dijadikan sejadah tu dilipat kemas & placed somewhere at the corner. Ahjumma yang directed us to this room siap pesan to fold & put the carpet where it was. Betul² aku terharu. Ingatkan prayer room yang hanya room, ini siap sama arah kiblat & carpet bagai. Daebak! 

How can I not fall in love with u people, already!

eryantierdabdulkarim