Monday, August 6, 2007
Wednesday 11 July 2007 - Seoul to Brisbane
Last day of our holiday. After another amazing buffet breakfast we took a taxi to the Yongsan Electronics Market which is made up of over 20 buildings housing 5,000 stores that sell appliances, sound equipment, computers and peripherals, office equipment, telephones, cameras, lighting equipment, electronic games and software, and videos and CDs. If its electronic and you can't find it here, you can get it built! To do well and get a true bargain you need to have done your homework and know exactly what you are after and make sure that it will be compatible at home. We looked at the huge variety of mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, etc, etc. The software all appeared to be in Korean which was not much good to us. Ended up purchasing a great set of earphones for Heather's mp3 player and, because it was raining, we also bought a low tech umbrella!
Back to the hotel to pack, check out and catch the bus to Incheon International Airport for the flight home.
Back to the hotel to pack, check out and catch the bus to Incheon International Airport for the flight home.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Tuesday 10 July 2007 - Seoul
The buffet breakfasts here at the Sofitel Ambassadore are terrific. You can get whatever you want, from cereals, fruit, eggs, bacon, sausage, breads and pastries to Kimchi, seaweed, rice and soup.
We went on tours today - Ian to the DMZ and Heather on a Royal Palace Tour.
Ian's DMZ Tour - He was picked up from the hotel at 7.40am and boarded a minibus to Imjingak Park, Freedom Bridge, ID Check Point, Unification village, The 3rd Tunnel (DMZ Theatre Exhibition Hall), Dora observatory, Dorasan Station, Imjingak Park, Ginseng Centre and then back to the hotel.
He was disappointed that he did not come across Slim Jim from the Imjin!
Heather's Palace Tour - She was picked up by her tour guide from the hotel at 8.40am and taken by minibus to Cheonggye Stream, past the Blue House (home of the President), Deoksugung Palace, Jogyesa Buddhist Temple, Amethyst Factory and then dropped of at Itaewon Shopping Centre. Spent a couple of hours and did a bit of shopping and people watching before getting a taxi back to the hotel.
Back at the hotel we showered and dressed for dinner. We spent a nice evening at Pub Restaurant "Gran-A" which featured a terrific Phillipino band. We even had a dance and Heather was asked to dance by a Korean guy! Good fun. Last night of our wonderful holiday.
We went on tours today - Ian to the DMZ and Heather on a Royal Palace Tour.
Ian's DMZ Tour - He was picked up from the hotel at 7.40am and boarded a minibus to Imjingak Park, Freedom Bridge, ID Check Point, Unification village, The 3rd Tunnel (DMZ Theatre Exhibition Hall), Dora observatory, Dorasan Station, Imjingak Park, Ginseng Centre and then back to the hotel.
He was disappointed that he did not come across Slim Jim from the Imjin!
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| Demilitari |
Heather's Palace Tour - She was picked up by her tour guide from the hotel at 8.40am and taken by minibus to Cheonggye Stream, past the Blue House (home of the President), Deoksugung Palace, Jogyesa Buddhist Temple, Amethyst Factory and then dropped of at Itaewon Shopping Centre. Spent a couple of hours and did a bit of shopping and people watching before getting a taxi back to the hotel.
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| Royal PalaceTour |
Back at the hotel we showered and dressed for dinner. We spent a nice evening at Pub Restaurant "Gran-A" which featured a terrific Phillipino band. We even had a dance and Heather was asked to dance by a Korean guy! Good fun. Last night of our wonderful holiday.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Monday 9 July 2007 - Seoul
After a great buffet breakfast at the hotel, we went out to explore. Walked down the hill and found a street full of motorbikes followed by a street full of bubblewrap and other packaging materials, and so it went on...one street after another full of different products. Got lost in the fabrics area followed by the buttons district and the laces district. Then we found Dongdaemun Market and wandered through its maze of stores. Akko got a bit pissed off at this stage! We then found Doota, a big department store - but it was Monday, a "Regular Closed Day"!! Got lost in the wholesale area and kept getting nearly run over by scooters and motorbikes loaded to the extreme. Crossed the road and found the shoe street. Akko did a big dummy spit at this and told me he would meet me at the end of the street. After finally purchasing a pair of socks we caught a cab back to the hotel.
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| Seoul |
Monday, July 9, 2007
Saturday 7 July and Sunday 8 July 2007 - New York to Seoul
Packed! This has become a bit of an art form - trying to even out the weight between all the bags and fit everything in! We had pre-booked a car to drive us to the airport so we had a chance to drive across the Queensboro Bridge and do a bit more sightseeing on the way to JFK International.
Long wait for the departure of our plane at 1355 on 7th and long flight - 13 hours - but Korean Air is a pleasure to fly with. Our only complaint was that we had numb bums by the time we arrived at Incheon International Airport at 1730 on 8 July.
After clearing immigration and customs, which took about an hour, we messed about finding the correct bus for the hours drive to our hotel, the Sofitel Ambassador. We were pretty beat and stayed in our room which has a fabulous view of the city. Ian found an Australian channel on the TV and was happy to hear a home grown accent and an update on Australian news. We had no Internet connection in the hotel in New York, so I checked our email and updated the blog before calling it quits and going to bed.
Long wait for the departure of our plane at 1355 on 7th and long flight - 13 hours - but Korean Air is a pleasure to fly with. Our only complaint was that we had numb bums by the time we arrived at Incheon International Airport at 1730 on 8 July.
After clearing immigration and customs, which took about an hour, we messed about finding the correct bus for the hours drive to our hotel, the Sofitel Ambassador. We were pretty beat and stayed in our room which has a fabulous view of the city. Ian found an Australian channel on the TV and was happy to hear a home grown accent and an update on Australian news. We had no Internet connection in the hotel in New York, so I checked our email and updated the blog before calling it quits and going to bed.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Friday 6 July 2007 - New York
Caught a bus down 2nd Avenue to City Hall and walked to Battery Point from where the ferries leave for Staten Island, Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty. The Park has lots to look at including sculptures, monuments, street performers and vendors. One of the most remarkable sculptures is that which had stood in the foyer of the World Trade Centre.
After taking in the sights and photographing several, we took the Staten Island Ferry to get a closer look at the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge. The Harbour is very busy and we had an added bonus as the new Queen Mary II was in port.
On our return we visited the New York Vietnam Veteran's memorial and then walked along Wall Street in the Financial District.
We needed lunch, even though it was about 3pm by this stage, so we found the Mudville 9 Pub which has a baseball and sports theme and which proved to be something like the bar in Cheers where everyone knew one another. By the time we had our lunch and a couple of beers we knew Vinnie, the owner; Wendy, the barmaid; Nash, a 6 foot 5 inch regular who is an electrician who commutes two hours each way from his home in Long Island to work on the tallest building being built in New York since the Empire State Building. We had also chatted to several other regulars. Great fun!
Took the subway back uptown to be closer to our hotel and walked around the area. Chatted to a lady who was walking her Sydney Silky. We have found New Yorkers to be very friendly, despite their reputation. Called in at the Blue Room before going back to the hotel for our last night in the US.
After taking in the sights and photographing several, we took the Staten Island Ferry to get a closer look at the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge. The Harbour is very busy and we had an added bonus as the new Queen Mary II was in port.
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| New York |
On our return we visited the New York Vietnam Veteran's memorial and then walked along Wall Street in the Financial District.
We needed lunch, even though it was about 3pm by this stage, so we found the Mudville 9 Pub which has a baseball and sports theme and which proved to be something like the bar in Cheers where everyone knew one another. By the time we had our lunch and a couple of beers we knew Vinnie, the owner; Wendy, the barmaid; Nash, a 6 foot 5 inch regular who is an electrician who commutes two hours each way from his home in Long Island to work on the tallest building being built in New York since the Empire State Building. We had also chatted to several other regulars. Great fun!
Took the subway back uptown to be closer to our hotel and walked around the area. Chatted to a lady who was walking her Sydney Silky. We have found New Yorkers to be very friendly, despite their reputation. Called in at the Blue Room before going back to the hotel for our last night in the US.
Thursday 5 July 2007 - New York
I headed off to find Central Park which is fabulous - an oasis in the centre of a concrete jungle. Even though it was early morning it was quite full of people walking their dogs, runners, people doing tai chi and sightseers. The street curbs were full of bagged garbage and the garbos were doing their rounds - amazing how much garbage is generated.
After showering and changing for the day we headed off to a diner for breakfast and then took a bus down 2nd Avenue and through Chinatown to Ground Zero. Directly across the road is Century 21 which is an outlet for designer clothing, houseware, jewellery, etc. Ian went to see the Firefighter's museum which is all he wants to say about that! I went walking. I finally arrived back at the hotel at about 7pm after exploring the Garment district, Greenwich village, Union Square, Times Square and then along 42nd Street.
We ordered room service and called it a day.
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| Central Park |
After showering and changing for the day we headed off to a diner for breakfast and then took a bus down 2nd Avenue and through Chinatown to Ground Zero. Directly across the road is Century 21 which is an outlet for designer clothing, houseware, jewellery, etc. Ian went to see the Firefighter's museum which is all he wants to say about that! I went walking. I finally arrived back at the hotel at about 7pm after exploring the Garment district, Greenwich village, Union Square, Times Square and then along 42nd Street.
We ordered room service and called it a day.
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