Incredible India Part 1

This was my very recent trip, flew to India and visited Delhi, Agra and Kashmir. This 5 days trip, we spent most of the days at Kashmir whilst the rest are at Delhi and Agra. It was not a very lucky trip, i can say, but of course there was still elements of learning that i could gain through

India 31/1/2019 - 5/2/2019

Day 1

Arrived at KLIA at 7.30am, after checked in, i proceeded my steps to Golden Lounge Regional which is situated at International boarding just next to the euro train station. Well, actually i searched for this Lounge for almost half an hour. The map shown in web is different from the actual location. Maybe web yet to be updated. I have only 30 mins left before boarding, hence i just shown my voucher and took simple breakfast i.e Harsh Brown, Baked Bean, Bread, Scrambled Egg and Ice Lemon Tea (Is these called as simple?? 🤔🤔).

Golden Lounge Regional, International Departure 

Simple breakfast as mentioned above 😁

Boarding at 8.30am, the flight took 5hrs to reach Delhi. We reached Delhi at local time 1pm. Delhi time is 2.5hrs behind Malaysian time. 

Inflight meals by MAS

Delhi from the air. Not so nice photo since i took out my phone late

Our driver, from Lucky Flower already awaited us at the airport. They brought us for lunch at Qutab Restaurant, just nearby Qutub Minar. Before reached the restaurant, of course almost hour on the road for traffic jam! Its normal to face traffic jam in KL but the locals driving manner here was totally out! 

We planned to visit Qutub Minar after the lunch but, yeah, just after having our lunch, we have been told by the driver that the attraction has been closed due to system down (so unable to issue the tickets). As simple as that! 🙄. Well, its a just beginning... 

I recommeded for you to eat here. Can considered as clean

Briyani Ayam. One serving can be shared by two peoples. 

Delhi Haat ~ Clothing, accessories and decorations sold here

Our driver divert our way to this shop, since we told him that we want to buy sarees, kurtis and anarkalees. Since this was the only shop/bazaar that we went, of course i could not compare the quality, price and designs. I think if you walk around Chandni Chowk or stalls along the road you can get cheaper price. We spent more than hour here. I bought a piece of anarkalee with short sleeves. So, i have requested the tailor to extent the sleeves to become a long sleeves and they agreed to sew it with no charges. Apart, i also bought a saree. Its 6 meters long so i can have 3 pieces of cloth and skirts 😁. Dont forget to bargain. Even not much discount given, but i managed to get free pashmina from the purchase...😏

Thousands of selections ~ pashminas, sarees, anarkalees, kurtis and many more.  

Too early to shop. Its around 4.30pm and we left Delhi Haat for Red Fort. Again, need to went through this bad traffic. The best thing here was, when we were on the road, lots of sellers came and knocked your windows offering you to buy various kind of foods, toys, and whatever they were selling. They striving for life, of course. 

People selling peeled coconut 🤔🤔

Arrival to the Red Fort...the driver dropped us at the road side just few meters from the Fort. Herm... I could see a lot of yellow barriers (written as Delhi Police) in front of Fort's entrance. Just wonder what was happening. After asked around, yes, as expected, the Fort was closed. Reason being, there was a cultural performance happening at the field next to the Fort. As simple as that. Since we could not enter into the Fort, even no chances to snap photo at the entrance, we just walked around and snapped photo outside the wall. At least something than nothing. So frustrated since there is no alert or information from the driver or Lucky Flower on this closure. 😒 Maybe they also dont know, i guessed.

    

The yellow barriers

                         The cultural performer marched to the field. Not sure from which ethnic   

And the same goes to this one 

This was the best shoot that we could get. The wall fence only. Sigh. Maybe this is one the reasons i should repeat India 😁

While  waiting for the driver to fetch us, we observed around the Fort. Here was what we found out:

 Golden Mosque, situated at outside the southwestern corner of Delhi Gate of the Red Fort

 

The trishaw, Delhi version

 Chai, the milk tea which popular in India. One cup for only Rs20 only. Tastes good and not give harm to my stomach. They sold it at the roadside 😅

So, after got few findings nearby the Fort, the driver fetched us. We told them that we wish to go to Jama Masjid to take pictures and perform prayers there. Yes, he brought us there but there were very bad traffic nearby the mosque. You could see how bad it was by looking at the picture below. Everybody refused to move and to give and take, ended up, it caused very long queue and bad traffic. They just dont bother other people behind them waiting so long in the traffic. What a stubborn people 🙄! Our driver gave up after almost half hour there we were still not moving, hence he decided to make a u turn and proceeded the journey to India Gate as the day getting dark. We just followed his plan with a broken heart. 😢

Stucked and nobody would like to give and take to move 

 End up, this was the best photo that we could snap from the moving car 😭

We reached India Gate later on. The driver dropped us at the road side and we walked down for 5mins to the Gate. India Gate is located within Delhi Town, few kilometres away from Jama Masjid. India Gate is a memorial to 70,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who died in the period 1914–21 in the First World War, in France, Flanders, Mesopotamia, Persia, East Africa, Gallipoli and elsewhere in the Near and the Far East, and the Third Anglo-Afghan War (Wikipedia).  The height is about 138 feet or 42 metres.

There were huge crowds of foreigners and locals hanging around there, buying and selling, taking pictures and its like celebrating a fiesta. Since its getting dark, we just take few photos, got into the car and went to the hotel to check in, afterwhich we had our dinner and rests. 

Our flight to Srinagar was at 7am the next morning, so we need to have enough rest to ensure we wake up very early in the morning. 

                       India Gate at night 

People selling various kind of foods nearby the Gate 

To be continued... 

Seoul (Final Part)

Day 4

My forth day journey was about city tour. We went to few places which was not visited during last trip.

After took simple breakfast at the guest house, we went to Namdaemun Market to shop for brooches. Korean brooches is high of quality in terms of its durability, designs and the shines of its stones. To reach Namdaemun Market, from wherever you are, you may stopped at  Hoehyeon Station and get out from Exit 5. Not only brooch, you may find anything you want here especially for souveniers.

Namdaemun Market

After having our brunch nearby, we walked from the market to the Gwanghwamun Square. Nearby, situated Gyeongbukgong Palace and the King Sejong Story Exhibition Wall. The walk from the market to the Square took around 20 mins. Not bad to burn out your calories after two days sat in the bus for hours journey, why not today, we have simple walking exercise? The weather damn cold, around 1 degree but we still make our move haha..No problem!

The admission to the exhibition wall is free. What actually they exhibit? This place displays Sejong's intervention in Hangeul and contributions to the artistics, scientifics, militaries and politicals of Korea. Outside the exhibition wall, there is a Statue of King Sejong, the 4th King of the Joseon Dynasty (1397 - 1450, reigning from 1418 to 1450). The King responsible for some of the most brilliant achievements in the history of Korea among others are Maternity Leave for Bondwomen, Opinion Survey of Farmland Tax System, Ban on Lawsuits Againts Public Administrators, Respect for Elderly and Financial Aid to Poor Bachelors. 

Not many people inside hence, we just enjoyed our time, reading and taking pictures and whats most interesting when you came here, is, you may try to write your name in Hangeul for free. Just write your English name and they will write it in Hangeul for you to copy it down using calligraphy pen and paper provided.

Entrance to the Exhibition Wall

Statue of King Sejon

Writing my name in Hangeul

This is sun clock, one of the Sejong's creation

Sejong's Military Equipment. It has 100 arrows 

Armilary Sphere - Model of objects in the sky

After an hour inside, we got out from the wall, but, yeah, unexpectedly, there were a huge crowd at the square. We have been told by the volunteers around that, we are not allowed to walk around the square since there were few demonstrations took place at the same time. Peoples marched, queued and hold flags demonstrating what they were fighting for. It's normal in Seoul and they were free to demonstrate whenever they felt unsatisfied, threats or disagreements to any surrounding issues or situations. It was prohibited to snap demonstration photo but i managed to snap some. And the hot issue being demonstrated was about exploiting women in social media and filming industry. Since i am not Korean Drama fan, so no further comment. The demonstration was safe however and not causing any riots and injuries. 

The posters 

This is how the demonstration happened and took place

Not to interfere anything, we just walked passing by the Square, crossed the road to Gyeongbukgong Palace. 

Next to the Palace is National Palace Museum. While waiting for the change guard ceremony to be held at 2pm, we went in to the museum. 

National Palace Museum

This museum displayed old manuscripts,  imperial artifacts, and information about Joseon Royal and Korean Imperial Court. I personally respect and like how they preserve the culture of their late Imperial even the Dynasty lasts hundreds years ago. This is how the generations after would learn and know about the histories. From what i observed, every ceremonies, rulings and lifestyles has been properly described and written in the graphical manuscripts so that, we know actually how they were done and looks like during the reign. 

After an hour in the museum, we went out for the ceremony that took place at palace's compound (just next door). Crowds of people already gathered waiting for the change guard ceremony to start of. 

After the ceremony lasts half hour later, we tour the Palace, which was the main royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty. It was built in 1395, and was the largest of the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty. Gyeongbokgung served as the home of Kings of the Joseon Dynasty, the Kings' households, as well as the government of Joseon.

The entrance fee is 3,000 KWon, but if you rent Hanbok (for 10,000 KWon), than you may enter for free 😁.

The Palace 

The Change Guard Ceremony

Among the buildings of the Palace

Next, we went to Bukchon Hanok Village which located around 30 minutes walk from Anguk Station. Hanok means traditional houses which were dated back to the Joseon Dynasty. The admission is free, but bear in mind, since this is local residential area, you are not allowed to make noises here. Please pay respects of their privacy life. You can walk around and snap pictures here, no harm as long as you keep your mouth shut up 😏.

And after walking thousands of steps today' my leg asked me to rest. We went for the sotong pedas dinner at Dongdaemun before went back to hostel to rest. 

Final Day

Today is my final day in Seoul. After packed my stuffs, we checked out from the guest house heading to Seoul Station. I  have stored my luggage here since my flight back to KL was at 11pm, so we still have plenty time to hang around the city. 

I took the smallest locker since my luggage was only 20'. It's cost 2,000KWon per day. Cheap i think.

We moved our steps to Dongdaemun Design Plaza. This modern and unique building was designed by the world renowned architect, Zaha Hadid. The building was the world’s largest atypical architecture and comprised of five halls: Art Hall, Museum, Design Lab, Design Market, and Dongdaemun History and Culture Park. As we walked around, i can see few pianos also here, but in not so good condition (still can be played). 

Outside the building ~ Hello Strange Sculpture, the winner of Sculpture Contest

The design ~ the most popular spot for photos

LED roses garden. This is permanent exhibition. The roses will lights up automatically once the sun sets. Located next to Yigansumun Exhibition Hall 

We, after that, heading to Ewha Woman University. To reach here, you may take subway to Ewha University Station.

Nearby the University was Alchon Restaurant. Me and Tim stopped by here to have our lunch before the university.

We ordered the same meals, Alchon as it is labelled as Halal on their ordering machine. So, without any doubtful, we orderred and paid. After finished eating, as usual, i have uploaded the meals picture to my IG Story. But after hours, few of my followers DM me, and told me that the sauce used for the meals is non-halal. Contains pork. Oh My, its already in my stomach and its impossible to spit it back. So, i just accepted as it is but reminded other people not to go there unless you want to ask personally the restaurant owner. We didn't ask since we are far away from the restaurant when we got the non-halal alerts.

Looks Yummy hahaha

Alchon, the controversy restaurants. The Halal labelled has been placed at the door and order machine. So confusing if you are the first timer here. 

Life goes on. We headed to Ewha University after the meals. It is a private woman university in Seoul which was founded in 1886 by Mary F. Scranton under Emperor Gojong. We only visited the Campus Complex which consisted library, cafeteria, mini banks, students registration counter, lecturer's room, seminar room etc. We spent around 1 hour here for photos. 

Ewha Woman University 

If you visited the university, you can stopped by at Subway Sinchon Station. There are small bulding of Sinchon Tourist Information Centre located in front of the station,whereby you can perform your prayer here. A small room with sajadah has been provided but you need to have your ablution at the washroom at the station (upstairs). 

You can perform your prayer here

One thing about Seoul, if you lost or need directions within the city, there are Police Tourist which will patrol around the city especially in tourist attractions area. You can see the tag on their cloth which language they speaks (English, Korean, etc). 

Korean Police Tourist 

As I am not really a city person, so I felt a bit bored to hang around the city. Final destination before we ended up lepak at Starbucks for hours before went to Airport is...Korean Tourism Office at Myeondong. I have been brought here just for the purpose of wearing the Hanbok. I used to wear it but the picture took last time not very nice. A few selections of designs and colours you may choose from. Located at 5th Floor. After snapping some photos, we went to Myeondong Starbucks for drinks.

At 7pm, we left to Airport via Express, ready to check in and get boarding to fly back to KL...

Me in Hanbok

Not forget here, if you wish to go to Seoul & Jeju, you may contact my friend, Breathandbeing (IG) or +60196442402 (Tim) 

Seoul Part 3

Day 3

Another long journey today!

Rode a bus from Myeongdong Subway Station for 3 hours heading to the Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province. Another choice is to ride KTR from Seoul to Jinbu Station for 1.5hrs.

The bus dropped us in front of Tower Plaza around 11.30am. We need to meet up with Klook representative at 1pm to collect our Gondola tickets, hence still plenty of time for us to hanging around the place.

We walked around the plaza. Yes, i can see the frozen river nearby. The snow is everywhere on the road side. It is cool and breezy day.

The frozen river. I felt like jumping into the river

After walked around and snapped some photos, we went inside Tower Plaza for lunch. There are Turkish Restaurants (Efes Restaurant) inside the plaza selling Turkish foods. The price and tastes not so bad. At least you can have something for the day.

You can see this signboard from outside of the building

This is what i had. Forgot the name but it was something to do with lamb 😅

There are variety of shops in the plaza ranging from groceries, sportswear and restaurants. They have indoor games also at the basement level. The crowd was not that huge here.

Row of shops and restaurants 

Halal restaurant ~ Efes Kebab

Indoor games at the basement level

After having our meals, we went outside the plaza to wait for Klook representative. We got our tickets after 10 minutes of waiting.

The river outside the plaza

Then, we proceeded to the ski resorts, Yongpyong Ski Resort at the next door for photos. This time, no skiing haha...I still suffered back pain after fell down during skiing yesterday.

I just walked around the resorts watching people skiing

The skii rate for Yongpyong. A bit expensive

And the slope. Wider and steeper than yesterday 🤣🤣

Skii rental

Mountain Bike Trail also here

This resort is the largest ski and snowboard resort in Korea. It is also became the venue for Alpine Skiing Event at 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. But, comparing the ski rate to Elysian, this resort is a bit expensive! However, it is still your choice where you want to skiing. This resort completes with major facilities such as Restaurants, Ball Rooms, Meeting Rooms and Leisure Sports Facilities.

Can you see the slope? Too steep enough as compared to Elysian (so that's why it became an Olympic event!)

In summer, this resort became a route for mountain bike activities. As you can see in the picture above. There are a quite number of biking trails with a distance ranging from 64m to 980m. I am not a biker hence correct me if I am wrong hehe.

Not many Malaysian came here, maybe its a bit pricy and of course its distance of 195km from Seoul will influence the visitors to come here.

We not taking to much time at the resort, we proceeded to the Gondola Station for Gondola ride to peak of Mount Balwangsan.

Gondola tickets counter

The ride

Me in Gondola 😁

The Gondola price is 18,000Kwon returned. The 3.2km Gondola ride took about 20minits to reach the peak (which also known as Dragon peak).

Resorts view from Gondola

Mount Balwangsan with a height of 1458m located just next to the resort and became one of the shooting location for the drama 'Winter Sonata' in year 2002 (I was only 20 this time. So young!).

You can see this poster once you reach the peak

This mountain also is the 12th highest mountain in South Korea. It is also a place where the history of Korean winter sports started whereby the first modern ski resort in Korea, Yongpyong was built in year 1975.
Once reached the top, the weather damn cold and we just walk around the snowy mountain. We attempted to hike into the summit but due no sticks and non suitable shoes, we just hike halfway, just 50m before reaching the summit. Sigh! The view? Just look at the picture. Nothing much to explain!

I love this! 

The stunning view from Dragons Peak

Just 50m from the summit

And the view, again. Breathtaking 

After spending around 2 hours on the top, we went down the mountain. Its getting dark and we need to go back to Seoul by bus at 5.30pm. We perform our prayer in the fitting room inside the plaza.

The fitting room next to the toilet

Again, 3 hours on the bus, reached Seoul around 9pm. We had our dinner at Honam Restaurant, Nandaemun. Nice dinner of course.

Braised Mackarel with aged Kimchi

After the dinner, we went back to the guest house to rest.

Tomorrow is another journey but will be less hectic than these two days.


To be continued....final part