Germany!

Munich 25 January 2013

Arrived at Flughafen Munich, activate our Eurail Pass at Db Bahn counter. Then we started our journey in Germany.

The hostel? Just 3 to 5 minutes travel by metro rail. The place named Goethenplatz. Usually outskirt accommodations are quite cheaper. The hostel we stayed named Smart Stay, which I recommend you to stay because of two things the price and the services they provided. They have a nice, tidy kitchen with a comfortable bed and room. The showers are looked new and maintain very well. From five, I give them four.

Price per night € 10

Because of the exhausted of flight traveling, we just get shower, eat and sleep for the next day.

Munich 26 January 2013

First thing first get up and perform solah. After that breakfast at early 6 am. Because of the winter season the shops and others open late we just mingle around the Goethenplatz until 9 am. From there, we pick the farthest point to visit which is Allianz Arena home ground of Bayern Munchen Football Club. The stadium is highly fantastic in their design. Although the weather quite cold, our passion in football doesn't stop it. There you can have stadium tour and shopping at the megastore.

Next, we are heading to Olimpiapark which was one of the Olympic Park in 1972. The park are visited by many people, mainly local citizen to play snow and toboggan. The park is one of the major story in Olympic history when the games were hugely overshadowed by what known as ”Munich Massacre”. Moreover, our country boycott that Olympic Games and did’not sent our team especially football team which was the only chance, we got in decades.

BMW museum and welt is situated near the park. There you can enjoy riding your dream car but only sitting on the seat. In the welt, there is a tour for people who want to know how BMW built their most luxurious car.(I did not enter it)

Now we are heading to city centre, first to Marienplatz. The parliament building. It looks classical classy and antique. The buildings are still used by the government. Munich also known as the central city of Christian religion which you could see many  of the classic buildings are church.

From Marienplatz, there is a market nearby, Viktualinmarket. In summer, the daytime is longer, and it better. We just get there to buy some apple chips and dinner in Nordsee; the seafood restaurant.

We went into few churches to see what interesting in there. Fortunately, we came in as the ceremony of twilight was starting. The organs were playing while songs were sung really gave me goose bump. Why not enter to gain experience, right? We walked towards the end of the street which is Karltorr the city gates on the past Munchen history. On the other side of the city, there is a theater stage; Great Chancellor Hall and on that night they held a show (I do not know the title).

There tour does not finish until we gone shopping. In Germany generally, the electronics appliances are quite cheap. The souvenir, a little bit expensive. We just wandering around the Kaufinger street and done window shopping. 

After that, we have a cup of coffee at the nearest coffee shop until there is no people at the streets at early 8 pm. How early the shops closed. Well you have to face winter. Shops open late close early. 9 am – 8 pm. The bars and pub are open until the early in the morning.  We head back to the Munchen Haubanthof at 9.30 pm. It is actually early but we play safe in case the train schedule change. We wait for half an hour until the night city train arrive and we board it.

At 8 am nearly arrive to Berlin Haupbanhof  an aunt greet on of my friends and told it will be cold outside there in berlin in much more colder in this kind of whether. She said like that when saw him wore a t-shirt and thin jacket while sleeping on the train. She also said that if that day she help us, maybe someday others will help her child. The kind Russian aunt left the terminal after saying goodbye to us.

Berlin 27 January 2013

Everyone blur after we were arrived and we decided to freshen up and take breakfast. First thing first, we came back to the main plan in berlin. We choosen the farthest place to go first  which is Olympia Stadion Berlin. It was an amazing experience when you go there. The size, the structure, the history all of them were so significant to the world history. It was one of the camp for the nazis back in 1940s.

After that, we went to the west berlin which is the Charlouttenberg Palace. They said it was the summer palace for the king but nowadays it just a museum for tourist to visit. Yeah of course its a big palace.

Then, the most important place in berlin. Berlin Wall, East Side Gallery. There are many stories about the wall. Its divided east and west side of germany. The wall has only one gate that connect them which is called Checkpoint Charlie. Now it only left the sample of the situation how they travel through it.

In winter, the daytime is very short. We went to Alexanderplatz. It was the busiest square in germany back in 19th century. There are some monument and Fernsehtrum:Tv tower.

We go on to Bradenburger Tor: Berlin’s City Wall. It is build in the symbol of reunified Berlin city. In past years. The wall is used to defend Berlin from enemy and the main entrance into the city. 

Walk 5 minutes to the west we reach Reichstag, Parliamentary Building. On our back to metro station we stop by on Holocaust Memorial. Take a few minutes and moving on to the Berlin Hauptbanhof. And its the of our journey in Germany.

Jeju - Island of Nature

In a nutshell

Jeju – Island of Nature

Assalamualaikum hello people=)

Seoul is the capital city of South Korea and this is where K-Pop fans would die for to meet their favourite bands or actress or singers or so. The so-called ‘hallyu’. Anyway, I’m not a big fan of them though I watch some of the dramas =p

Luckily, on September 2013, I got to visit Jeju Island and Seoul after years of dreaming of becoming like Han Ji Eun in ‘Full House’ or meeting Gu Jun Pyo of ‘Boys over Flower’. LOL. Okay, cross that part puh-leaseee. It’s just me and my sista since everybody else was busy. We tried to have a budget trip and so we had it finally. That’s the advantage of planning your own tour without using any agents. 

We boarded an Airasia flight in the morning of 1^st Sept flying to Busan. Why Busan? Because it was cheaper to land in Busan instead of Incheon as we’re heading to Jeju next. So, we took the flight by Jeju Air to Jeju Island. Well, actually there are few other airlines that you could choose from and one of them is T’way airline but it doesn’t operate in English. So, I think Jeju Air would be good enough BUT it’s very damn hard and difficult to book a flight with Jeju Air because you’ll need a special browser or so. Quite troublesome like you need window VISTA and IE8 only plus you need to register first. As an alternative, you can just drop an email to Jeju Air and ask them to book a ticket for you, which means you’ve to reveal your card number bla3 to them and I doubt the safety.

Oh, by the way, when we arrived in Busan kitorang menggelabah kot time tu because we had less than 45 minutes before departure and we hadn’t check in yet not to mention we couldn’t even find the counter for domestic departure. Luckily an officer helped us.

Us: Hello, do you know where is the domestic departure?

Officer: Oh, it’s at the other building.

We were like ?#!!?@#! Takkanlah nak kene naik train kot. Dalam hati dah pasrah kalau terlepas flight.

Us: Oh my! How do we get there? By train?

Officer : No no no! It’s just 5 mins walk from here.

Maka bermulalah amazing race kami di South Korea, dgn hand luggage yang diseret sana sini. HAHA. well, actually, it does not even reach 5 mins

So, nak dijadikan cerita, we all sempat board on time and finally arrived at Jeju Airport. Ade tourist information at the arrival so no worries. Tanya je orang tu everything.

We stayed at Goodstay Nulsong Parktel Hotel, area around Nohyung-dong. Bus 500 from airport to Halla Hospital bus stop. I searched this hotel from Agoda and so far it has good review from customers around the world and I never had regrets about it. Free WiFi in the room including TV, computer, hot water, clean bathroom and the best part was we took Ondol room which is kind of Korean style, yang tidur atas lantai without beds. Konon2 nak experience like pure Korean. HEHE. The owner can speak Indonesia too.

What a long journey we had on the first day. And finally boleh rest! Oh yes, we had dinner at this one seafood restaurant nearby the hotel. The food was quite good. We ate Sundubu Jiggae, a hot and spicy stew containing tofu, seafood and veges. Served with rice and side dishes. You know how many side dishes they have for each meal. They believe it’ll give you a balanced diet. Portion die cukup untuk 2 orang. So we just bought one pot of stew and ask the ahjumma for another bowl of rice.

We drop by dekat convenience store GS25 sebelah restaurant tu je, to buy T-money card. This is like ‘Touch n go’ card for transportation ie: bus or railway or metro and it can be used in Seoul also other few provinces. For those yang penah jalan2 kat London, this card is exactly macam Oyster card which you can topup anytime.

2^nd Sept

The hotel is very near to a bus stop. So, this morning we started our journey to Jungmun Tourist Resort Complex by Jungmun Express Way bus. It took around 1hr 45 mins. Before that, let me tell you Jeju Island is divided into Jeju-si and Seongwipo-si (please bear with all these Korean names) and the attractions are divided into eastern and western parts. So, most people will spend one full day in the east and another day to the west. Just because we had mistakenly planned our trip to Jeju for only a day and half, we tried to squeeze our utmost choice of  attractions in one full day including the western and eastern part.

Jungmun Tourist Complex is located in Seongwipo-si and you can stop at Jungmun Tourist Resort Complex bus stop.  It’s kind of a big resort that you can enjoy many attractions such as Teddy Bear museum, Chocolate Factory, Ripley’s museum and lots more. Too much to mention. 

There’s a small tourist information booth near the bus stop if you’re unclear about anything or to get the maps. One thing about Korea is the tourist information centre is most probably everywhere and they are all very helpful =) First, we headed off to Cheonjeyeon Waterfalls. There are 3 waterfalls spot overall but we just had a look at this one. Up and down the stairs we climbed. The most perfect view is of course from the observatory deck.

We went across the bridge (I couldn’t recall the name of the bridge but it’s just the opposite way of the waterfall and you can see the signboard clearly) before we went out of the waterfalls through another exit. From there we wandered around passing through Ripleys museum, Teddy Bear museum, Starbucks and at last we stop at Chocolate Factory. Okay, here’s the deal, you pay 3000 Won (around RM10 at that time) for the entrance fee and you’ll be given a discount voucher cost 3000 Won to buy anything in the museum. Therefore lastly, we bought boxes of chocolate and got 3000 Won off the regular price. Doesn’t that mean we actually got into the museum for free? Hehe. Unless you don’t buy anything la, it’s a waste.

So from the museum we took a taxi to Jusangjeolli Cliff because it might take 40 mins walking. So, we might as well take a taxi sebab taxi muraahhh sangaatt dekat South Korea ni and this fact is very well known. You have to pay around 1000-2000 Won for entrance fee. I’ll just let the pictures describe the view.

At the entrance, there were ahjummas selling tangerines. God! Mouth-watering tangerines! Just like in My Girl drama.HAHA. Tangerines are Jeju’s specialty I guess.

Me: igeo olmayaeyo?

Ahjumma : wo cheon ( showing high-5 means 5000W, already put in the tangerines in plastic bag. I didn’t say I wanna buy it, did i?)

Me: (dengan muka mengharap, tunjuk 3 jari) Sam cheon, chebal?

Ahjumma: Annio2. Aigoo~ aigoo~ (and dia cakap amende ntah lagi which I didn’t understand).

At last we got tangerines for 3000W from ahjumma beside her.KAHKAH.

Next heading to Seopjikoji, filming area of All In drama (I’ve never watched before tough). We took a bus to Seongwipo Bus Terminal and ride on Eastern Line bus, stop at Gosung Sungsan Nonhyup Entrance. Around 2 hours jugaklah. If you’re not really sure where to stop, you just tell the bus driver where do you wanna go and he will inform you when the bus arrive at the right bus stop. From the bus stop, you need to take a taxi to Seopjikoji because it’s located macam kat pedalaman sikit. The taxi cost us around 5000 Won.

Disebabkan dekat Jeju lagi susah nak jumpe masjid or anything, we just performed our prayer dekat ceruk2 yang didapati dekat Seopjikoji ni. We walked (and climbed stairs a little) sampai kat house warna putih. Inside there are everything about the drama All In. Posters of Lee Byung-hun and Song Hye Kyo ( I google this one ok) are everywhere. And the scenery is just as beautiful as it is, sebab Seopjikoji ni dekat tepi laut. Therefore before naik tadi, adalah ahjumma-ahjumma yang menjual makanan laut like sotong fresh yang dibakar atas arang but it cost 7000 Won utk seekor sotong sederhana. Ni takde rempah or sos apa2 tau! So, if you think you can telan that thing, go on sajaaa.

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 It was almost 5 o’clock in the evening when we reached at the bottom of Seopjikoji. We grabbed a taxi to Seongsan Ilchulbong. You can take a bus but it’s just around 5 mins and taking a taxi really wouldn’t cost you much and it’s waaayy more easier. Entrance fee for Seongsan Ilchulbong around 1000-2000 Won jugak. See? Entrance fee diorang ni murah sangatt so you don’t have to worry if you off budget. 

Anyway, this place is under UNESCO World Heritage. Actually banyak tempat kat Jeju ni memang under UNESCO and mostly pasal nature. People usually climb up to the top to see the sunrise. So, if you get to plan your trip well, you can have a night at hotel nearby Seongsan so you can see the sunrise first thing in the next morning. One round trip to the top might take you around 1 hour or more. But every single step is worth because view from the top is very amazing! We didn’t have the chance nak tgk sunrise yet I’m sure kalau ade sunrise mesti lagi lawa. On the way nak sampai top tu, you can also see area from higher level. Masa tu angin bertiup hush hush hush!! Rasa diolak-tolak angina kencang!

We reached at the bottom at 6.30pm and have a drink kejap before heading back. Actually we planned to go to Sarabong ‘Sabongnakjo’ untuk tengok sunset but you know, sunset pon pukul 7 lebih, memang tak sempatlah nak sampai sana. Sarabong pulak is located on the way nak balik Jeju-si. If you can imagine or you look at the map, we actually go circle the Jeju Island, from Jeju-si to west then east than balik to Jeju-si again.

Since tak jadi nak pergi Sarabong, we walked to nearest bus stop and naik bus to Jeju Intercity Bus Terminal. From there, we took another bus to our hotel. And sebab dah penat sangat we had our dinner at yesterday’s seafood restaurant.

End of day 2.

3^rd Sept

Woke up today and realize we’re going to leave Jeju very soon T.T Our flight is at 12.15pm.

Anyway, last destination before boarding the plane to Seoul, Yongduam Rock. It’s located near to the airport and therefore we brought along our luggage and simpan dekat airport (luggage storage at the airport cost us 10000 Won for one small and one medium luggage for 2 hours, harga ikut size bag and how many hours). When we asked the information counter, they said the most convenient way to get to Yongduam Rock is by taxi, cost 5000W one way.

Yongduam rock ni is just rock dekat cliff yang bentuk macam dragon head and of course ada history di sebalik dragon head tu.

So, our journey in Jeju had really came to an end and I swear I will come here again someday because I still have a lot to treasure in Jeju. Don’t let the language barrier to stop you from coming here because the information centres are always helpful and easy to find.

P/s: Jeju susah nak dapat makanan halal, and so far I read only 2 restaurant je yang serve halal food. So, for your survival, please bring some instant maggi or Brahim or soups. Brahim tu you can eat with rice because most convenience stores sell ready-cook rice (well, it’s my first time seeing this also). Kalau tengok chocolates die tak faham tulis ape, just bring some snacks and chocolate bars from your country. Safer that way.

For iPhone users, you can download from Apps store, something called ‘Jeju Tour’ or you can just search Jeju Island Tour.

To know more about Jeju bus, feel free to visit this website : http://bus.jeju.go.kr/internet_eng/