Seoul Playful with X-Series.

Before we start and if you prefer to watch my holiday video instead which is shot with

iPhone 6S + OOWA lens + Osmo Mobile. Here is the You Tube link :

It’s a 10 days holiday trip. And it’s also our first to South Korea. After a 6 hours

flight from Singapore we landed in South Korea late. We check into an airport

hotel and stay for a night together with our six-year-old daughter; Summer. Ora

Hotel is ultra modern looking hotel. I love the standard room that have another

extra bed.  It’s an actual bed and not those fold up bed!

Day 2

After breakfast we waited for our english speaking local guide. His name is Sky.

After a couple of minutes we manage to squeeze all our luggages into his white

KIA sportage. Our first stop is a strawberry farm about 45 minutes drive from ORA

hotel. We were ushered into a huge tent structure. Once in, we are greeted with

the fresh aroma of rows and rows of strawberries.

 

Summer; was so happy to see so many strawberries. The fee is about

USD$12 for a KG of strawberries. Summer was given a pair scissor and a

box to start picking the strawberries. The strawberries are not grown on the

ground for this farm. They are grown on a row of long pots maybe a meter

above. Its a delight to pick your strawberries without hurting your back for

middle age man like me. You could also request to have your handpick

strawberries to be made into strawberries jam.

After spending about 45 minutes we left for Woongjin Snowdoci. Since its

way into Spring and there are no more snow in South Korea, this is the

best we could offer for our little daughter. Woongjin Snowdoci is problely

South Korea largest indoor ski slope theme park. I was told its 150 meters

long and the man-made snow are refilled 4 times a day to give the

guest; the best snow experience.

Coming from the tropics; none of us could ski. So we only spend our

time at the snow sledge area, don’t wanna break a bone on our second

day of our trip. From there we ended our day at Four Seasons Seoul.

Our home away from home for the next 6 nights. Woohoo!

Day 3

As summer dietary is so limited; or in layman term, she is a picky eater.

But my wife and I know breakfast at Four Seasons Marketplace Kitchen,

she should be well fed! Summer found many of her favorite food. What

a relived for us! At least for the next six breakfast. The only headache

is deciding what to have for breakfast. Another unique feature of

Marketplace Kitchen is the ruins that is peeking through the glass floor.

They were discovered during the hotel’s construction and a great place

to share with Summer some Korean history over breakfast.

Just before Sky came and catch us for the day, with my X100F I took a

5 minutes walk to Starbucks to get a cup of Mocha for my wife. Along

the way I walk into a small peaceful protest. This is something new to

me. There are 6 laborers on the roof of a building on hunger strike.

In front of the building is a huge inflatable pillow just in case one of

six protester might just take his life for the cause. The protester wanted

the abolish unnecessary layout, revision of the labour law and so on.

Do see the below photo for their cause.

Our itinerary for the day, Anseong Farmland. The journey took

us about an hour and a half. When we got there; there aren’t many

cars at the car park but at least 20 huge school buses. Which means

there are gonna be heaps of school children. Anseong Farmland transports

one into an European farmland feel with rolling hills of Tuscany.

There are many things for kids to do inside. Tractor rides, horse ride,

playground, carousel and also kidding train rides. Kiddo could feed goat,

pigs, horses and even sheep. I even saw two ostriches. Anseong Farmland

is actually the best farmland I ever brought my daughter to. I would highly

recommend to urban parent with young kids.

of Fujifilm Singapore, there is a Din Tai Fung restaurant at Myedong.

Summer favorite Chinese restaurant. Actually we were back there 3

days in a row for dinner. After dinner we did the tourist walk around

Myedong shopping belt. As I navigate my way back to Four Season

Hotel we walk into Cheonggyecheon stream. This 11 km long modern

stream runs through downtown Seoul. Created as part of an urban

renewal project. If we were to have dinner at Myedong, we will

definitely look forward to a lovely evening stroll at the stream

before heading back.

 

Summer is all dressed up! I love her look for today, thanks to her

personal stylist; her Mama!  Took this shot of her in our hotel room.

Our room is located on the 25th floor and have a lovely city view

with N Seoul Tower on Namsan.

 

I would think it worth a two-hour visit.

 

shipping containers. If you looking for cool stuff from local designer

and youth culture, this is a must stop destination. There is a lot of 

buzz in this place. Stylishly Chic. Common Ground not only offer

shopping but there are also many cafes on both on the roof tops

and ground level. As my wife brings my daughter for some

shopping inside; I spend some time shooting the youth. As I

approach them for the picture; they are all very spontaneous.

told it takes about thirty to forty minutes to reach the top of Mount

Namsan by foot. For weaklings like us; we took the easy way out;

the cable car. The ride took less than three minutes. As we walk

toward the base of N Tower, we were greeted with thousand of

locks. These love lock trees is where couples would lock their

padlock and throw the keys away to symbolize that their love is

locked forever. I wonder how many of these locks are locked

forever.

Tower offers an awesome 360 degree view of Seoul. There is also

a souvenir store and a cafe on the observation deck; where

having a cuppa is mandatory to fully enjoy the view.

After a hearty breakfast our first stop was Hongdae. Hongdae

is “university town” because of it proximity to Hongik University.

This town is known for its youth and underground culture.

Cozy galleries, fashion shops, street performances and cool cafes.

Speaking of cafes; the main reason why we are there is because

Summer wanted to visit a Raccoon Cafe. Its highly “raccoommended”

by a friend. When we finally arrived at the cafe and I could see

the 3 cute little raccoon on the ground of a enclose area together

parenthood! Having said that I would still recommend everyone

to go to this cafe. Its worth a visit. There is a lot of energy along

the street of Hongdae. We had a nice time and had a yummy

Korean BBQ for lunch. One could easily spend 2-3 hours there.

Yesterday along the way to the base of the cable car ride to N Tower

we saw Seoul Animation Center. As its not too far from Hongdae we

decided to visit before heading to Garoso-Gil for dinner. If your

Outside Seoul Animation Center one will be greeted with many cartoon

character statues like Pororo and Robocar Poli. Inside this three-story

complex building house many colourful murals of cartoon characters,

include a library, cinema and exhibition hall. Summer also spend

Cartoon Museum. we didn’t have the opportunity to visit as it closed

when we got there.

has to be Garuso-gil. I didn’t really have a lot of time there because it

took us a while to look for a Japanese cafe; so that my dear Summer

 

are many people but never too crowded. Its gives space to enjoy,

shop and people watch. Everyone looks like some celebs there.

Maybe I did walk pass a few that I don’t even know.

Day 6

Today is special. Its my wifey’s birthday. Its a holiday to celebrate her

seeing it upclose. A lovely 15 minutes walk get us to the grand entrance

of Gyeongbokgung Palace. If you love history and architecture this is

a must visit place.

 

Chinese Restaurant. This intimate restaurant has a modern chic and

traditional theme infuse into one.  As the staff knows it was wifey

birthday and they were kind enough to offer us a private dining room.

Yu Yuan is awarded one Michelin Star by the first edition of the

Michelin Guide Seoul 2017. Its mandatory to order a Peking Duck

was curious. Chef Sunho is also an avid photographer. From this

picture you could tell he liking the GFX.

stomach. So we decided to bring Summer to visit the Kids Club instead.

And boy, were we are glad we came here. At kids club; this is where parents

take a little break while the friendly Four Season staff conducts art and craft

session for Summer.

In the evening we walk to Myedong and had dinner at Ding Tai Fung. 

Yes; again! After dinner Summer and I went walking around looking for

a cafe to buy a cake to celebrate Mama birthday. But we were not

successful. We decided to go back to Four Season Hotel Instead. As

Mama headed back to the room; Summer and I went to Maru Bar and

hopefully we could get something there. It was rather late and they don’t

have any chocolate cake left. Why Chocolate cake? Its Summer’s fav,

not mama!!!!! The staff went down to the kitchen and brought up the

3 different kind of cakes that was currently available. As we are not sure;

so we took all 3 slices. Everything was pack perfectly to the tee.

Candle; knife and match sticks.

Nothing beats having a quiet little birthday celebration in the comfort of

Left the hotel at 630am to DDP, Dongdaemum Design Plaza. When I finally

heading back to Four Season to have brekky with my daughter and wife.

it. After breakfast we contacted the concierge for transport to MMCA, National

Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. As a hotel guest of Four Season

we get free complimentary transport to anywhere around a 2KM radius. When

I see the playlist inside the Mercedes S-class “girls day”. Its a sign that today

must be Summer and her Mama’s day!

 

her first dandelion and she was really excited. We had lunch in MMCA’s cafe,

and also did some shopping at the Museum shop. Next stop, Bukchon Hanok

Village; which is about 10-15 minutes walk from MMCA. Bukchon Hanok Village

is home to hundreds of traditional houses and some are dated back to the Joseon

Dynasty.

lap pool and how its  being design. There is also a sauna, jacuzzi, kids pool and a 

juice bar at the side. After dinner at Myedong we headed to Lottemart supermarket.

We decided to stock up some snack for our first Glamping trip tomorrow. And for

those who don’t know the term Glamping; its basically means Glamorous and

Camping.

 

Day 8

It was a wonderful 6 nights stay at Four Seasons Seoul. My wife sums it up when

she says : Only Four Seasons understands me! I got a feeling we are coming back

to this hotel by end of this year. After spending a couple of minutes putting all our

luggages in the SUV, we are off to our Nami Island.

There are some traffic jam along the way because its also the holiday season in

Korea. The distant on Google map say it’s about 70-80KM away but we took

almost 2 hours to reach. We had a quick lunch at a tourist restaurant before

heading to the pier where we take a 5 minutes ferry to Nami Island.

middle of the North Han River. I may be wrong on this. I reckon one could

walk leisurely around the whole island in less than two hours. There are 

many activities for the whole family. From water-sport facilities for

motorboats to water skiing. For little ones there is padding boat that

looks like a swan. On the island there are theme parks with

merry-go-round, shooting range and even kiddo train rides. When you

are hungry there are also a few cafes and even a Korean BBQ restaurant.

bikes for 4 pax. We took a the family bikes. I would recommend bikes to help

one enjoy the great beauty of Nami island. I also see  a couple of chalet like

accommodation on the island. I did take a quick peek and they do look pretty

nice inside. So what makes Nami Island special? If you are into Korean drama,

need  I say more? But if you as clueless as me and not into Korean drama, let

me sums up. Along the both side of Metasequoia Road are redwood trees

and this where many of the romantic scenes of Winter Sonata was film.

So I guess its mandatory to have a shot there.

Do spend half a day there. Just soak up the beauty of nature and you will

be refreshedand its certainly good for one’s soul.

for it for almost 3 days without any success. In the end I ask a korean friend;

Hyewon. She manage to find it for me in a couple of minutes!!! The moral of the story, 

anything in Korea; just ask a korean friend to help!  Its called “On The Rock.” http://ontherock.kr

As there are only 7 tents available. We wanted to stay 2 nights but they are fully 

booked. Thankfully we still could have a night stay. There are 2 type of tents options.

Our tents have a nice deck with table and bench and also 2 deck chairs. Inside

the tent there are air-con and also heater. There is a queen size bed and also a sofa

bed. A little kitchen area where you could cook your own instant noodles. The

bathroom is very tiny and it does takes some skills to maneuver around. 

 

After breakfast we headed to Eldewiss Theme park with our new found Korean

friends. Its nice little theme park with Swiss influence. One will take about 1 hour

to finish walking this place. I would it recommend it a miss if anyone is planning

to visit. After a quick lunch at the only cafe at the Eldewiss, we left for our last

stop. A 2 hour ride brings us back to Incheon.

Our last night accommodation is at Nest Hotel. I can’t fault this hotel for its

design and location. I did encounter something very unpleasant. My wife

called room service for 2 extra pillow in the late evening. We were shock

to know that extra pillow is chargeable! In the end; we were given the

two extra pillow for free. And was told that its a “service to us”. Other than

this unique encounter; first of its kind for us. I would still highly recommend

this airport hotel unless you are those that needed extra pillow for your

stay. I love the room’s sea view and also a lovely playground by the beach.

 

 

Last day in Korea. Link up with a Korean friend who is also an X-photographer

in morning. As there is new lens from Fujifilm and we decided to do a video

review of 2 Fujifilm lenses. Here is link of the video.

After the filming and with only 2 hours left Rami brought all of us to a local BBQ lunch. This is best way to end our lovely holiday in South Korea.