Author

Kate Wu

Browsing

Over the past few years, I have tried all coffee chain stores and seen the evolution of coffee shops in Korea. Starbucks has remained a safe choice for me for the standard of service, quality and variety of coffee choices. It finally reached a tipping point when I feel the difference and will try more independent coffee shops. And there are so many coffee shops in Korea now, more accessible than convenient stores. Moreover, many coffee shops offer unique ambience. Bukchon, iterally “north village” is a traditional residential area with many hundreds of years old traditional houses called “Hanok”. Many tourists would come to the area for a walk after visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung. In recent years, more and more of the traditional houses are turned coffee shops, tea houses, restaurants and guest houses, offering a unique cultural experience for both locals and tourists.

At 236 meters, N Seoul Tower is the highest point of Seoul where you can get a good view of the city. The night view of the city is spectacular! “N” stands for “new” look when the Seoul Tower went through a 15 billion won remodelling project. Now, there are a few restaurants, namely N Grill, N Burger, N Terrace, N Sweet Bar in the tower, offering a panoramic view and a wide variety of food and drinks from a simple burger to fine dining by a Michelin star chef. The observatory is another paid access. However, since I can see the panoramic view of Seoul city from the public area, I didn’t go up the N Tower. I think that the interesting experience is the elevator ride near Myeongdong subway stations that leads to the entrance of the cable car station where you can take a cable car up to the top of Namsan Mountain. You may also walk up to the cable car stations. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

Naejangsan is one of the most popular places for outing and hiking during autumn in Korea. I think that the easy 2.3 km long flat walking path filled with maple trees is the main reason. It is a really nice walk in the shades of maple trees and there is a small stream on the side. At the end of the 2.3 km road/path is the beginning of some new routes: cable car up to the view point on top at an additional cost (not included in your entrance ticket), walk further to the Naejang Temple, and there are several hiking trails you can go further up the mountain. Depending on your time, most tourists won’t go on further hike because many of them come to Naejangsan from Seoul on a day trip. It takes about 3 hours one way. And the sun goes down after 5pm. The first time I visited a few years ago was the best. It was less crowded. You could sit and take pictures everywhere and walk to the wooden pavilion in the Naejan Temple. Now, the road…

Built for the opening of the 1986 Asian Games and 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, the Olympic Park covers an area of 1.5 million square meter with six indoor and outdoor sporting venues. Today, the park continues to be a popular place for various events and sporting activities. Other than the sports facilities, the park is indeed a very big park. I think it takes a whole day to walk through it. The park is beautiful. The landscape is well-designed with lots of trees, grass areas covering 33,000 square meters, artificial lakes connecting the natural stream, rose garden, wildflower deck, and various jogging/walking trails. The park has a mission to become a eco-friendly one. Smoking is prohibited in the park. And you will see birds and small animals such as squirrels and rabbits around. It is a beautiful place to visit in fall. It is very colorful with various kinds of trees and reeds along the lakes. And the park is conveniently located in download with direct access through subway, not far away from the Lotte World.

Locating in the very south peninsular of Korea, the Suncheon Bay Ecological Park a unique with a natural S-shaped meander where you can see from the top of the hill. It became an official conservation wetland area in 2003 and was the first Korea coastal wetland to be registered with RAMSAR Convention in 2006. It is home to over 150 species of migratory birds, a variety of sand-crabs and shell fish. Among the migratory birds, the most precious kind is the national treasure of Korea – Hooded Crane. I actually saw some staffs counting birds at the observatory deck last time I visit. Mid October to early November is probably the best time to visit because you can walk through a vast field of golden waves of reeds. Plan to go in the afternoon and see the sunset at the top of the hill. The sunset view is spectacular. If you plan to go from Seoul, there are buses and train (KTX) but it takes hours. A day trip is pretty tiring. So it is best to pick a place to stay in the…

The Garden of Morning Calm is a really beautiful garden with nice landscape and a wide variety of trees and flowers. It is the oldest private garden in Korea. The Garden of Morning Calm is conceptualized by a university professor who had a vision to create a world-famous garden and the inspiration of the name is based on a great Indian poet describing Korea as “the land of the morning calm” during Joseon Dynasty. It is located in the middle of the mountain about 1.5 hours north east of Seoul (Gapyeong County of Gyeong Gi-Do), and not too far away from the popular Namiseon Island. There is a tour bus that runs in a loop that stops at the Garden of Morning Calm, Le Petite France and Namiseon Island, which are the three key tourist destinations at the moment. I have been to this garden four times and still enjoy it because garden has continued to build, planting more flower beds, adding buildings, and this year a new suspension bridge. If you like flowers, trees, and enjoy outing, this is a great place to be: fresh air, colorful flowers, and beautiful…

Kmage Loft is a unique bnb. It is home to a Taiwanese photographer. Kmage is the name of his photo studio in Taipei. Locating in the middle of farm fields, Kmage Loft is an independent house with wide open view. The closest neighbor is across a small river. It is a tranquil environment with fresh air and very green. The house was not built by the owner Mr. Kuo Cheng Chang. However, he has spent a lot of money and effort to transform it into a great home to live, including changing the direction of the main door to avoid strong wind, adding windows to lit up the house. He also designed all the interiors and even made some furnitures himself. Impressive! Mr. Kuo bought the house for a better living environment with more green open space. So he designed it the way he wanted to live in . The reason why he rent out the house is because he travels overseas for work all the time. He wants his house to be a living home, not a vacant block. That’s…

Traditional Japanese hot springs (Onsen) are common bath were people soaked in a large hot tub together, naked. This Japanese tradition has brought to Taiwan for more than 50 years. Many people, particularly the older generation, are used to the Japanese style of public hot spring. In their hearts, Taiwanese are shy to go naked in front of other people. If possible, they prefer private bath (I think that’s most people). That’s why Hot! Spring Onion only offers private rooms of different sizes and designs for friends and families. Each hot spring room are well decorated and equipped with a shower, a large enough hot tub to share, and a dressing room. Larger rooms will have a TV and rest area. The designer rooms have interesting paintings on the walls to make it colourful and interesting. Enjoy a good hot bath with you loved ones is now available in Yilan! And it’s new.

If you are driving from Taipei to Yilan along the coast line, Wai Ao is one of the stopping points for lunch or coffee break. You won’t miss this bright yellow structure with a big open door looking at the Turtle Island. This is the Wai Ao service area. There are parking space, a restaurant (No. 9 Cafe), and of course washrooms. For drivers, this is a nice area for a break. In the summer, this black sand beach is a popular place for surfing and body boarding. Many people come here on a day-trip by taking a bus from Taipei. Depending on where you are in Taipei, the bus going through the tunnel between Taipei and Yilan only takes one hour.

Spring Onion is one of the famous agricultural products in Three Stars Township in Yilan County of Taiwan. What’s so special about the spring onion from Yilan? Of course the local said that the ones grown in Three Stars Township taste better and a lot more expensive than other spring unions. All attributable to the unpolluted environment, fresh water from the upper stream, rich soil and suitable weather.  How serious are the locals with spring onion? Well, there are competitions every year to name the champion, first and second runner-ups of making the pancakes. While most recipes use spring union as garnish or toppings, people here use it as the main ingredient to make pancakes. In this trip, I have tasted spring onion pancakes from three different shops and I prefer this one. This farm offers DIY workshops for groups and individuals to make it. Depending on your time and mood, you may start from going down to the field to pick your own spring onions, wash them, to making flour dough to wrapping the finished spring onion cakes. It is…

error: Content is protected !!