Korea - Seoul PART 2

We had the pleasure to stay at the Grand Intercontinental Hotel near COEX where the G20 Summit was to be held. The hotel service and room is superb and is near to the subway which made it easy for us to catch a subway to go downtown, not to mention that there is also a huge underground shopping mall at COEX itself. (where wifey did most of her last minute shopping).




I've visited Seoul before and this round I was determined to discover Korea outside Seoul. So, I booked myself for a day trip to one of their most famous mountain - Mount Seoraksan. The cost is about USD170 and it will take 3 hours drive to get there and back.

I was lucky that there were already 2 other Singaporeans who have booked the same tour and hence I merely joined them (they required a minimum 2 pax for each tour). The tour operator picked me up from my hotel at 6:45 am the next morning and we were on our way.

It was a cold 6 degress morning. I was a little worried when the van that we were travelling stopped a couple of times by the road side when the tour guide told us that they were having some mechanical issues with the van. I was just hoping that we could get back to Seoul in one piece, especially when we are supposed to be going up and down the mountain roads!

On the way to Seoraksan, we stopped by a traditional fresh fish market at Daepohang (apparently one of the fast disappearing scene with rapid commercialisation). It was simply breathtaking looking at their way of life and the sheer numbers of fresh sea food available!

After a quick tour at the fish market, we went on our way to the summit of Mount Seoraksan ....