Janelle's first trip - Korea & Jeju Island

This is about my girl's first travel adventure so it was almost 3 years ago. We were not too confident about bringing an infant on a overseas trip then and waited till she was 19 months before we decide to go for a vacation.

It was our first trip with a toddler hence we decided that joining a guided tour should be easier. Afterall, we would be in a foreign country and we do not speak korean so it would be better to leave everything to the tour leader and just enjoy the trip. My parents decided to join us which was a bonus as it meant more help!

Well, if you ask me about my itinerary for Korea then, I have to confess that I couldn't remember the entire itinerary or even most of it. But luckily, we have lots of photos that served as good memory on where we have been and what we have done then.

As my hubs and I had a pleasant experience with Dynasty Travel before, we decided to join the guided tour by the agency. It was an overnight flight and Janelle slept well through the flight. Lucky me!

But as it was the first time traveling with her and we did not expect that the climate to be freezing cold (approx. 15 degree). Erm, I'm scared of cold so 15 degree is freezing for me especially when the wind was strong when we arrived.

Our first stop was to go on board a seagull cruise to watch the seagulls. Yes!!! CRUISE! Which means it was colder. And this blur mummy did not prepare the jacket on hand for my poor girl. See, she was still in her pj when we reached the jetty.

The poor girl woke up freezing with a red and runny nose. We had to open our luggage and get her winter jacket to keep her warm. Talking about the winter jacket, we only bought it on the weekend before we departed. Thanks goodness we decided to buy it as we were not aware that it will be that cold. We assumed that normal jackets or pullover with layers of clothes should suffice for a climate with 10 over degree.

Thereafter, we boarded the coach and stopped by the road when we saw the breathtaking cherry blossoms trail. Isn't it lovely? Even Janelle was captivated by the beautiful sights and she was happy running about in a foreign land with a different climate. Oh! I'm missing the cherry blossoms already.

 

I remembered our first lunch was the Ginseng Chicken but I guess the ginseng was too strong for our liking. After our lunch, we headed to their domestic airport to board the plane to Jeju Island which is approximately an hour flight. Look at Janelle's happy face while waiting to board the flight. I guess toddlers adjust easily to different environment. Initially I was worried that she may get cranky due to different places and climate. So my worries was unfounded.

We went to view the Yongduam Rock which is an unusual lava formation in the shape of a
screaming dragon with its body soaked into the sea. And there were many eateries near there which we couldn't resist as we want to try the local food. The food was yummy!

See! That was my poor girl with her red nose as she caught a cold on the first day (with ill-prepared clothings before she had her winter jacket on).

We visited Glass Castle. As the name has explained it all, all the exhibits are made of glass. Yes, even the bear behind my parents is made of glass. Magnificent works ya! Oh! In case you are wondering why all of us were in jackets except my hubs. He forgotten to take it along with him when we left the hotel. Yup, so he had to endure the cold.

Initially the tour leader said we could ferry Janelle on the Go-Cart. But as we were about to drive off, the staff stopped us and said toddlers are not allowed. Hence I had to alight with her as she refused to be carried by the tour leader.

We also visited the Seongeup Folk Village which has been designated as a Folklore Preservation Zone and Seongsan Sunrise Peak, a volcanic crater offering a splendid view by the coast.

One of the photos taken with my mum. As we grow older, individual photos with our parents seems to get lesser. So I really treasure this picture :)

Pardon her "just woke up"look. At least her routine was not disrupted and she could still nap while traveling.

Oh! And the Teddy Bear Museum that I have always wanted to visit :)
Well, I thought my girl will love this place since there are teddy bears everywhere. But she got bored after a while and she was terrified of a gigantic bear displayed outdoor.

There! The gigantic bear that Janelle is terrified of

I remembered that the hotel breakfast that we had at Jeju Island was really nice. Even Janelle loved the bread and pastry. Thus, we had no problem with her when it came to food. In fact, she rejected the jar food that I brought for her as she prefer to eat the rice that the Korean served.

I really cannot remember the hotel that we stayed but they have such scenic view that we have to step out of the hotel to enjoy the scenery, breathed in the fresh air and take pictures. Even my girl love the surroundings.

Back in Korea, one of the exciting and tiring activities that we went for is the Ocean Rail Bike. You have to pedal to move the rail bike. Sounds tiring huh? And the reward is the breathtaking view as you pedal along the 5.4 kilometers. It is a one-way route which will take you approximately 40 minutes to reach your destination (though I think we definitely took longer than that). The specially-designed Railbike can seat two to four people and comes equipped with a small motor that kicks in during the uphill portions of the route.

I can still remember that my thighs and butt was aching so badly the next day after the rail bike. But it was a fun and unforgettable experience.

There is a rest point which you can take 15 minutes break, replenish water and take photos

 

The track that we have pedal on. It seems like never ending route then

Enjoy the sound of the wave and the the sea breeze along the way. And no! You cannot stop as and when you would like to for break or to take pictures. There is only one rest point.

 

When we reach High One resort, we saw snow! Well, it wasn't snowing then but we can see the snow. My hubs and I went to the Spa Water Park while my parents offered to look after my girl who was sleeping then. The next morning, we took the gondola ride up to the mountain (Oops! I cannot remember the name of the mountain but it was one of the filming scenes for Winter Sonata) and it was snowing.

See the snow behind us? We were so excited then

At the mountain top and it was snowing. In fact, this was the only picture my mum took before she ran into the shelter to seek warmth

My girl fascinated with the snow

Lucky we took a picture so we remembered that it was one of the filming scenes for Winter Sonata

It was a fulfilling trip as we did many things like strawberry picking and helping ourselves to the juicy sweet strawberries, DIY kimchi (obviously I cannot remember how to now), putting on Hanbok (Korean Traditional Costume) for photo taking, horse-riding and more. I can only remember as much as what I have in my photos. Pardon the mummy for the poor memory.

And she posed! For the first time! We did not ask her to do any poses. Just told her to look at us when we took her picture and she did the natural pose. Awww! That is so cute!

 

Well, we went to the theme park too. The itinerary did not cover Lotte World so we visited Everland. But we did not manage to cover the entire theme park too. I remembered that we were only given 4 hours to explore the park. Yes, only 4 hours for a theme park. How pathetic right?

Anyway, Janelle is still too small so no rides for her. The tour leader led us to the central of the park where there was a tulip festival. It was a very pretty area decorated with the tulips of different colours. Thereafter, we could only choose to explore one more area and we decided on Safari World as Janelle will be attracted to the animals.

Nice photo with the beautiful backdrop. I love Tulips!

Overall, we had a fun and memorable trip to Korea. I was very pleased at how well Janelle can adapt to a different environment without much fussing. Only lesson learnt was to be well-prepared with the required clothings when it comes to colder climate. We were lucky that she did not fall sick. She enjoyed herself during the trip. Oh! And she slept throughout without waking up in the middle of the night for milk. I reckon she must be so exhausted from all the fun.

Since then, we have become more confident with traveling with toddler and even with infant when Jayven joined us.

Did I mention about the skincare great buys while in Korea? To all ladies, if you are using Korean skincare products and are as crazy as me, remember to set a high budget for stocking up on your favourite brands :)