Zephyrous Travels: Korea Day 3 (05 May 09)

This is a day where we do all the touristy rituals.... by rituals I mean the stuffs that the tour guide usually brings tourists to do, like shopping for local products, making kimchi, dressing up in their traditional hanboks and stuff... absolutely boring for me and half the time I have no idea where we are.........

We started off the day with a trip to strawberry farm. We were driven to this strawberry farm where we are allowed to picked and eat strawberries on the spot. However we were given limits on how many we can bring back along with us, 5! We walked around the strawberry farm looking for the biggest and not so rotten piece of strawberry. As I don't eat strawberry, I was picking on behalf of my auntie, who loves strawberry. Not a very eventful thing though, I did not quite enjoy this bit..... it felt like a competition of who got the biggest and sweetest looking strawberry.

Strawberries!

Strawberry picking "Competition"

We were then driven to this Kimchi factory where we were explained the process and subsequently given a hands on in making kimchi. Makes me wonder where do these touristy kimchi go to after each batch of tourist come and get their hands dirty in destroying these vegetables. Our teacher patiently explain and went around ensure the group did the correct method in kimchi preparations. Well this is where they sell kimchis to tourists as well. After making those kimchis, came the promotion of their house brand kimchi. We figured since we will be buying anyway, might as well buy from here. After the ordeal of making and buying kimchis, we were led to another building within this kimchi factory, where we were given a chance to don the Hanboks and take some pictures in them.... damn makes me feels like a damn tourist.... reminded me how much I hate to join tour groups.

Our Kimchi making teacher

Explaining to us the ingredients to making Kimchis

My not so appetising Kimchi

In Hanbooks

We were then driven to another ginseng factory where we were given lessons on the different types of ginsengs and the values of these Korean ginsengs. The most valuable ones will be 5-year ginseng which is actually insured by Samsung! After the ginseng factory we were then driven to this place where they sell some herbal medicines.... I did not really enjoy this day as it is really very touristy...... hoping that they will bring us to some place nice really soon....

After the touristy ordeals, we spent the afternoon in a spa called Spa Greenland. This seem to be a popular place with the locals for a spa treatment as it was really crowded with locals. There is a rule here that we are not used to, every one who came here has to don on a cap, if not you will not be allowed into the pool. We rented some caps and started to spa hop, hopping from 1 spa to another with different waters in it. We also did what the tour guide had recommended the cold and hot "sauna" treatment. We were told to go into this hot room and then into this cold room and back into the hot room again. It seemed very popular with the locals and was believed to be good for the skin. We lazed the afternoon in this spa place running around like a kid in a playground.

Lunch Time!!

Very delicious hotpot

Spa Greenland

We were then driven into Seoul and checked into our hotel. Though the location of the hotel is great, but the hotel room is really miserable! It is very small and the toilet is small as well. It is so small that you are bound to knock onto the basin or the toilet bowl as you shower. We did some minor shopping around the hotel as it is very close to Dondaemun shopping malls. The shopping malls looks more like a consolidation of small shops within a building. There is however small stage or some sort in front of each shopping mall with the youths performing for the general public. Not too sure if there are some competition organised by each shopping malls or what, but I did enjoy the performances.