Week 7 - South Korea - Audrey Vanderstraeten

HI THERE my favorite readers!

I’m back with a (in my opinion) very enjoyable blogpost. I wish that you could have all been there as well!

So on our last evening in South Korea, we decided to visit this place called ‘Garden of Morning Calm’:  아침고요수목원 . It was easily to reach and not far from Seoul. I don’t know about you but when I first heard that name I was thinking that it would be the perfect spot to visit in the morning when you’re still a bit sleepy but apparently it is very impressing at night as well. And so we agreed, we were at the right place at the right time of the year: the annual light festival. The whole garden was covered in lights, it felt like we were surrounded by stars which covered all the trees, leaves, flowers,… And there were not only trees but also angels and animals (not real animals of course). I’m so glad that we decided to come here despite the cold and windy weather. Someday however I’ll come again to this garden in the morning to see it in daylight.

The arboretum (A place where an extensive variety of woody plants are cultivated for scientific, educational, and ornamental purposes) is composed of 10 theme-based gardens. About 1,000 different kinds of flowers and plants each season. The first garden you see when you enter the arboretum is the Korea Garden, this area feels like the backyard of someone’s house. The next garden is the Wild Flower Garden, which has a collection of various Korea wild flowers, and then the Bunjae Garden, which has potted plants grown into works of art. The most popular tourist attraction is the Hagyeong Garden which has an observation tower from which you can see the entire arboretum (very impressive). The Morning Square at the center of the arboretum is an open grass field with a great view all around. The evergreen tree which appeared in the movie “Pyeonji” is here, and the place has a very spacious atmosphere.

mist.

The flowers are in bloom from March to November, so the garden is usually full during this period.  In addition to the beautiful foliage of the garden, there are a variety of festivals each season and displays held monthly.

The arboretum is beautiful all throughout the year, but it’s most impressive when you stroll around the gardens in the morning

Write to you soon!

XO-XO

Audrey

Audrey Vanderstraeten

Sources:

http://www.pleasetakemeto.com/korea/the-garden-of-morning-calm/information

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travelblogs/530/146166/Garden+of+Morning+Calm+–+at+nite?destId=357441

http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264212

http://www.answers.com/topic/arboretum

Week 7 - South Korea - Audrey Vanderstraeten

Hi lovely readers!

One of my travel companions (Manderley) already wrote about our arival in South Korea and our first day where we visited already a couple of impressing Islands. Today we went shopping because you might or might not know that Seoul is known for being one of world’s top ten financial and commercial centers.

Seoul is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. It has a population of over 10 million inhabitants and was voted the top travel destination by Chinese, Japanese and Thai tourists in 2011.

Ok so we decided to go shopping. All good and well but where? You should know that Seoul has A LOT of markets! We started with the largest market in South Korea: the Dongdaemun Market. We only spend a good 2 hours on that market because we wanted to see some other ones as well. Next stop was the Myeongdong, a shopping and entertainment area downtown Seoul. It offers mid- to high-end stores, fashion boutiques and international brand outlets. After that we payed a visit to the Namdaemun Market, the oldest running market in Seoul. We also went to Sinchon which is rather for younger people and university students. To end we went to Insadong, this is the cultural art market of Seoul where traditional and modern Korean artworks are sold. 

There are alot of other markets but we didn’t had time to visit them all. There’s the Hwanghak-dong Flea market and the Janganpyeong Antique market. They both sell antique products. Itaewon caters mainly to foreign tourists and American soldiers based in the city. Samcheong-dong, a place with some shops for local designers where numerous smal art galeries are located. Gangnam district: one of the most affluent areas in Seoul and it is noted for the fashionable and upscale areas. Noryangjin fisheries wholesale market and some others that are wholesale markets. And finaly the last market but not the least: the Yongsan electronics market which is the largest electronics market in Asia.

Further you can visit over 100 museums in Seoul. Too bad we didn’t had time for these. Maybe tomorrow since we don’t have plans yet!

함께 만드는 서울, 함께 누리는 서울 : Seoul We Create Together, Seoul We Enjoy.

Goodnight y’all.

XO-XO 

Audrey

Audrey Vanderstraeten
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seoul
http://english.seoul.go.kr/

Week 7 - South Korea - Manderley Gits

안녕하십니까my dearest readers ! (in case your Korean isn’t in an optimal condition, you can pronounce it as “annyeonghashimnikka”) 

After a pretty hectic week in North Korea, it felt like kind of a relief to arrive in South Korea. This country is far more open to its tourists than its neighbor, and to be honest, we couldn’t be happier that the visa issues were over. It seems that getting out of North Korea was as difficult as getting in in the first place. And since it isn’t possible to travel directly from North-Korea to South-Korea (thank you, war issues) we had to take a plane back to China, followed by a boat trip to Incheon, South-Korea.

 

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the existence of two different Korea’s, North and South Korea (aka the Republic of Korea) have been living in war since 1953. South Korea developed well, unlike North Korea, who remained communistic and closed off of the rest of the world. Today, South Korea is one of the world’s largest economies. If you still don’t have a clue about the country, you might know it from Samsung and taekwondo.

But, to continue, it immediately became clear that this country is far more developed than North Korea. By looking outside of the window during our trip to the hotel, we could soon notice that South Korea is more modern, more economical available and people don’t give you a death stare when you try to take picture of something.

Before heading off to South Korea’s capital Seoul, we decided to stay in Incheon for a day and enjoy the small islands and the fresh fish, which is a culinary specialty.

First of all we visited Yeongjong Island, where you can see some of the remains of South Korea’s former naval forces. They’re also building the new International airport on the island, so we decided to visit some other islands. Our only destination became Ulwangli beach on Yongyu Island and, I must say, the feeling of sand between your toes and a sea breeze in your hair, is one of the most amazing, relaxing feelings you can have after a busy trip like ours. We sat there and enjoyed the spring sunshine during the afternoon, went for a swim (although the water was still pretty cold according to me) and eventually watched the sunset, as we were eating freshly baked fish from a fish market nearby. As we gazed into the night, it was hard not to fall in love with the millions of stars we could see.

 

Eventually we went back to our hotel for a good night sleep, mentally preparing ourselves for the busy days ahead, and of course, keeping up with you guys ;-). Next up: Seoul City! And yes, there will be shopping!

Lots of peace, love, and Korean sunshine!

Manderley

http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/inchon/214

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15289563

http://www.korea.net/

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/index.kto

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea

Week 6 - Annelien Pattyn - North Korea

Hello again!

As Jeroen already has mentioned, North Korea is the most isolated country of the whole wide world. So, to be honest, I’m longing to leave this weird place…
Normally, we aren’t able to surf on the internet, but Jeroen took an illegal device with him, so be happy to hear from me J.

Today, I don’t feel like doing anything… This country doesn’t interest me at all. Yesterday, we visited a lot of cultural things (read Jeroen’s blog) and in my opinion, it was so boring…
Maybe it is because we’re not feeling free in this country. Jeroen already said that we always need to be guided by a travel agency, else it’s not even possible to visit things and secondly if we visit public places, we may not take photos. Sorry for repeating things Jeroen already has said, but in my opinion, it’s really ridiculous, isn’t it???

Sorry for being discouraged…  I have to stay positive. Actually, it’s normal that some countries are more worthwhile than others, right? ;-)

To cheer me up, my mates proposed to go looking  if there are any shopping possibilities here and yes, we found…  We  went to Keason Grand Shopping Mall, centralize located in Kaesong city. It’s the best place to buy souvenirs of North Korea like traditional wear, food, craft works and antiques. Oh, it makes me remind that I haven’t bought yet souvenirs for you (mom & dad). The price is fixed  here in Chinese RMB or US dollar. Maybe, I’ll try my luck to bargain tomorrow! ;-)

By the way, the picture that you can see is not taken by us… (because it’s forbidden as I already have said). I just found it on the internet to show you what it looks like… I have no idea who has token the picture but whatever…

After some “shopping” (actually, nobody’s bought something, but you know what I mean), we decided to go to the local villages in Keason. We realized that we had a day without any spy around, so we try our luck to go around… In the village, the houses are made wood. They have very old design but oldies are goodies, isn’t it?:-) We were told that usually few families share a small piece of farm land for cultivation. The farm land that we visited was almost empty. Perhaps in another few weeks, the leaves of potato or sweet corn will comes out?

So, this was our day… Our next stop is South Korea. Hopefully, it will be more fascinating than this here, haha!

Miss you already, guys!
x Annelien

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/North_Korea/Kaesong_si/Kaesong-1254301/Things_To_Do-Kaesong-TG-C-1.html

Week 5 - Mongolia - Audrey Vanderstraeten

Hi readers!

I would say good morning after that last blogpost but that would be a little bit weird since a lot has happened since than.

We woke up in our ger and I must say that it was a really nice experience. You should definitely try it one time! One thing is certain, you would never be cold since it is heated by a stove standing in the center of the ger.

After a good night of sleep and a calm morning we packed our stuff to continue our wonderful journey with a Russian Minibus. We saw incredible views with sand dunes, canyons, gorges, colorful landscape with incredible shaped sandstone mountains on the way, a sky like a painting… It was the paradise for those who enjoy nature.

When we took a break we came close to an eagle, it was sitting on our arms! Such an unforgettable experience!

Than we continued our trip to Uliastay. I should mention that we had a fantastic driver who brought us everywhere. In Mongolia a road is not a road, it's eight hours driving a day from bumpy to extreme!

We found out that Uliastay was the hometown of our driver and he invited us to meet his friends. OMG where did we get ourselves in to?! We met his friends, ate 4 to 5 times a day sheep or goat, combined with some wodka. A one of a kind experience! We also saw a special way of slaughtering an animal without loosing a drop of blood.

It was awesome to see how people live over there, however I wouldn’t be able to live that way. 

It's impossible to write down everything that we experienced, there are so many. Mongolia is a friendly free and beautiful country, ideal for camping and seeing a lot of pray birds, especially eagles. The country is huge and the landscape endless. It was just unforgettable, not to mention the food, we will never forget how many sheep’s and goats we ate. They were nice but I’ll be glad when I can order something in a restaurant on our next stop.

We had such a great time but now it’s time to go. 

North Korea, BE PREPARED because we are coming!!

-XXX-

Audrey Vanderstraeten

Sources:

http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-656118.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolia

http://www.bluepeak.net/mongolia/ger.html

Week 5 - Mongolia - Emily Van Torre

Сайн байна уу! (Hello!)

Waw, I have to say that the ballet yesterday was A M A Z I N G! I think I’ve never seen such a wonderful performance in my entire life. It was like I was in a movie or something, it all felt just so real. OK, I was hooked. But enough of that. We had to move on.

Today, we went to visit the stunning Khövsgöl Nuur, also known as the Blue Pearl of Mongolia. Khövsgöl Nuur is the largest lake in Mongolia. It’s about 136 kilometers! The water of this lake is so pure that you can easily drink it.
This must be one of the most beautiful places on earth. The lake made me so calm and so quiet, it was unbelievable.
This must be one of the most beautiful places on earth. The lake made me so calm and so quiet, it was unbelievable.

To make it even more spectacular, we went horseback riding around the lake.
The horses over here are rather small but hey, don’t underestimate them, they’re very fast and strong!

We spent two hours and a half horseback riding and the view was tremendous.
After that, our guide offered us some pancakes which were delicious with the yak milk tea. I’ve never had yak milk tea before but I’ve got to tell you, this milk tastes just as regular cow milk, delicious!

Then we moved on towards the Naran Tuul Market. This market is also called the Black Market and is one of the biggest in Asia.
First we had to pay an entrance fee of Tug50. 1 Mongolian togrog or tugrik is about €0.00059, just to give you an idea.
Besides, the Mongolian market is still growing and, obviously, the main economic activities in Mongolia are agricultural.
Luckily, the political influences on the economy are positive because the government wants to improve the economy. A way of doing this is by introducing a livestock insurance for herders because the mortality rate is absurd: 50%!

Enough about politics and economy. The reason why we went to the Market is to buy a ger – a traditional Mongolian tent – and other stuff for the camping trip that was waiting for us that night. We were about to spend the night in a ger camp on the shores of the Kherlen River.
We spent our money on a lovely del, a traditional Mongolian suit. We also bought wood, horse tail and dried leathers to build our ger.

It was almost dark when we arrived at the Kherlen River. We immediately started building our ger. Pffft, what a tough job! Luckily for us, Mongolian people are very friendly and willing to help so it went easier and faster than planned.
After an exhausting but fulfilling day, we slowly drifted away towards Dreamland…

Goodnight folks!
xoxo Emily

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hovsgol.jpg

http://internationalbusiness.wikia.com/wiki/Political_Influences_on_the_Mongolian_Economy

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mongolia/ulaanbaatar/shopping/market/naran-tuul-market

http://www.canada-mongolia-connection.com/Mongolia-Ger.html

Week 5 - Mongolia - Emily Van Torre

Dear bloggers,

After we explored the lovely Kazachstan, our group moved on to the next stop: Mongolia.
We arrived at the Chinggis Khaan International Airport after a three hour plane ride. The international airport is 18 kilometres away from the capital Ulan Bator (or: UB). That’s where we were heading to next.

Of course, we were starving from the trip, so we first had a great local meal.
We ate Khuushuur, dumplings filled with meat and deep fried in mutton fat. OK, it doesn’t sound so appetizing but believe me, it really was!

Now that we had enough strength to move on again, we officially started our journey through Mongolia.

The first sight was the Choijin Lama Temple, the famous Buddhist monastery in UB. Nowadays, the monastery has turned into a museum.
The temples were amazing. They were very inviting with bright colors (mostly red) and huge walls. We were all very impressed. The statue which I liked the most was the statue of Choijin Lama himself, in the main temple.
Choijin Lama was the brother of the ‘Great Khaan’, the emperor of Mongolia in the 19^th century.

Maybe you’ve noticed already that our group loves to visit museums. Mongolia has a lot of them to offer us but, unfortunately, we don’t have enough time to visit all of them. We had to move on to our next sight: Sukhbaatar Square.

The square has many impressing buildings in its property like the Government’s Palace, the Golomt Bank and Sukhbaatar’s Mausoleum.  I really enjoyed spending some time at the square.

The day passed by so fast again! That’s what happens when you are having a good time of course. We had to hurry to make it in time at the Ulaanbaatar Opera House.

The building was magnificent. It’s white and bright pink and it just screams for attention!

We were about to see Swan Lake, one of my favorite ballets written by the famous Tchaikovsky.

I can’t wait to tell you guys how the performance was! To be honest, I’m very curious myself…

Be sure that you don’t miss the next blog!!!

 

Greetings from the fascinating Ulan Bator!
xoxo Emily

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulan_Bator

http://www.happyzebra.com/distance-calculator/Mongolia-and-Kazakhstan.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choijin_Lama_Monastery

http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/museums/choijin/choijin.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogd_Khan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%BCkhbaatar_Square

http://www.roamingryan.com/tag/khuushuur/

week 4 - Bekaert Els - Kazachstan

Hi Bloggers,

Here I am again with more news about Kazachstan! Today is our fourth day in this beautiful but yet not well known country.  We just have had the most wonderful day in Astana, the capital of Kazachstan. Like Anne already said in her first blog on Kazachstan; Astana hasn’t always been the capital. For centuries, and until 1995, Almaty was the capital. There may be different explanations for this change: maybe the reasons were symbolic, or strategic? The discussion is still open. But enough about such matters, let’s talk about our fascinating day.

When we arrived in the vicinity of Astana we noticed enormous “fields of gold”- fields with cereals growing on it. These fields were originally just grass steppe. But at the time of Chroetsjov they became cultivated land through the famous ‘Virgin Lands Program’.  Once arrived at the center of Astana, we were perplexed how modern and developed the city really is. First we made  a wonderful sightseeing trip taking in the city’s innovative architecture, which is the leading attraction of Astana. For example the ‘Bayterek-monument’ has really impressed me. It’s a gigantic white tower that speaks to the imagination. The structure of the tower looks like a tree with inside a huge golden ball. The entire tower gives the impression of being a huge crown. This mystic tower includes a rather nice legend about a magic bird. The bird, called by the name of ‘Samruk’, isn’t a regular bird but a bird of happiness. Nesting on the branches of a popular tree, it laid an egg that contained “the secrets of human desires and happiness”. We climbed this fascinating tower and it was astonishing views of the city.  But it was time to continue our tour…

 

The next stop worth writing about, is the KazMunaiGaz, the headquarters of the state-owned gas and oil company. It’s a really beautiful building with two high towers connected by an arch. If you stand in front of the giant arch, you’ll see another amazing architectural beauty: the Khan Shatyr.  It’s an entertainment center. And so I can go on, but because I have little time left today to write since we have to catch a plane tonight, and there’s still so much to see here!  We’re going to grab a bite to eat and walk a little through the old city center, before leaving for our next country… Mongolia. I’m really looking forward to exploring this country.

I’ll write again soon.

Take care & lots of love.

Els

Sources : 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astana

http://www.kazachstanreizen.nl/gebieden/astana_centraal_kazachstan

http://prosites-kazakhembus.homestead.com/astana.html

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Kazakhstan/Things_To_Do-Astana-TG-C-.htmlhttp://www.lonelyplanet.com/kazakhstan/northern-kazakhstan/astana/things-to-do