We took the shuttle bus from Jamsil at 9:40 am. The bus is easy to book, I think you just ring a number on the Nami Island website, transfer the money and they send you an email receipt, which you give to the bus driver and he gives you your bus and ferry tickets. Our bus driver was worried because we didn't have return tickets, but we explained that we weren't coming back on the shuttle. The bus journey was really quick. I'm sure it only took about an hour. Once we arrived at the ferry terminal, we headed straight to the coffee shop to get our caffeine fixes and have a good natter. We finally managed to drag ourselves away from the cafe, and we got on the ferry to head across to the island. ... read more

8th Mar: We were picked up along the side of the highway around midnight. After a quick stop in Cheonan, we travelled through the night to get to Tongyeong. I can't say the ride down was comfortable or enjoyable. Why do people recline their seats so far back that they are in your lap, grr! I wish chairs were made unable to recline. We arrived at the ferry terminal at some point during the night, and we were woken up around 6:30, as it was time to get up and get all our stuff together before getting the ferry. The ferry left at 7 am and it took about forty minutes to get to Saryang-do, the island on which we would be staying. One thing I love about Korean ferries is the lack of seats. After ... read more

Another visit to the Garden of Morning Calm. I really enjoyed it last year, and some of friends hadn't been so I headed back this year with them. We did it differently to last year, instead of taking one of the regular buses from the bus terminal we (well, Yeri) booked us a package deal. It was 19,000 won and included the return coach trip from Apgujeong (fancy part of Seoul) and admission to the garden. The bus journey took about an hour and half and went pretty smoothly due to not much traffic. This was certainly quicker than last year, when we took the bus to Cheongpyeong and then a taxi to the gardens. I spotted the lush dalkgalbi restaurant we went to last year. Sad, we wouldn't get to go there on this trip. ... read more

It was an early start this morning as I had a lot planned. I was up by half seven, showered and dressed, I headed downstairs to see if the hostel did breakfast. I was in luck, they did. I ordered one of the sets. It was canny nice, coffee, toast, jam, and a ham omelette. I must of been hungry, I even ate the jam! There seems to be a restaurant area, but it was filled with people sleeping, so I sat more in the main reception area, which has a few tables and chairs. I went outside to check how cold it is. The hostel is always nice and warm, so when you go down to the reception area in a few layers, you end up sweating. I finalised my plans for the day at ... read more

Well Incheon airport was deserted this morning compared to when we left to fly to Japan back in September for our Chuseok holiday. I had left the house early as I was using public transport instead of the airport bus, as it is a lot cheaper, but takes a bit longer. I was amazed when I rocked up to the airport around 9:30 and it was empty. It only took me twenty minutes to check-in, change my currency, go through security and passport control. Winning! Also because I was flying Asiana I was leaving from the main part of the terminal and didn't have to take the annoying shuttle train. Since I had a tonne of time and I was starving, I headed to Starbucks for some breakfast. I got an ice coffee, yes, despite it ... read more