Gimpo-Jeju Korea (Day 1 - June 2012)

It's my first time flying Asiana Airlines.. despite the 2:30am flight being slightly delayed.. we were still wide awake from the excitement of travelling together.. Frances and Lay Choo with their mums.. and me with my sister, Lu Sean. When we finally boarded the plane.. we discovered that the seats had no personal TV screen.. oh well ok.. that meant I would have to sleep instead of watching movies. We chose ASA 8-day tour package (although technically it's only 7 days).. which was conducted in Chinese by our guide, Jeff.. a Taiwanese who was born and bred in Korea. 

We boarded the bus with all our luggage and left Incheon Airport for the first destination on our itinerary.. The Korean Traditional Cultural Centre.. located on the outskirts of the city. After a yummy lunch of steamboat with various side-dishes of kimchi, seaweed, fish cake, anchovies and other pickled vegetables.. we had a turn at kimchi-making.

A handsome young gentleman (in Hanbok) explained the virtues of the 16 ingredients used to ferment kimchi.. which was why 'Koreans didn't succumb to the SARS virus that time'.. WAAAHHH!!! We had to place the kimchi paste on the base of the cabbage leaves and swipe it from 'proximal to distal' (the visuals conjured up the medical term quite automatically.. ha ha!).. and then use the last leaf to wrap around the bunch. The Korean ginseng milk was surprisingly delicious too!

Next, we went to pick strawberries at the organic farm.. they were really sweet and juicy.. and tasted quite unlike the usual sour-ish ones sold at the supermarkets in Singapore. Then we were given the opportunity to dress ourselves up in Hanbok (the traditional Korean costume).. SNAP! CLICK! FLASH!.. went all the cameras. I could have sworn the Hanbok was originally designed for XXL folks like me? It can certainly double-up as maternity wear to save costs as well.. hee hee! 

We took the domestic flight at 5:30pm to Jeju Island (about 50 min) and got off the plane via the mobile staircase instead of the jet bridge that we were accustomed to.. and were once again whisked off by the bus to a seafood dinner.. clams, squid, prawns, tofu and seaweed soup.. BURP! Despite the tour guide's word of caution.. The Hotel & Vegas Casino was comfortable and had all the amenities.. except for bath gel and shampoo. Interestingly enough, locals were prohibited from entering the casino and only foreigners were allowed to play.