#MaphieTravels Korea: Day Two

Finally continuing this travel set after months! I got inspired lately to blog about this since I’ll be travelling again soon — GOAL: to finish this before my next trip!

We scheduled our visit to Nami Island on our second day. (Tip: Check the weather forecast first! You wouldn’t want to visit it under the rain!) Nami Island has been a top dream destination of mine that I failed to visit during my first time in Korea. Being my favorite place out of this whole trip, I took quite a while deciding what to share because every corner was just beautiful (Warning: photo-heavy post ahead!) You definitely have to see it for yourself #oneday.

We had to start the day extra early since Nami Island is relatively far, around two hours away from our place. Unfortunately, this trip was where we encountered a really bad transportation experience. We first took a train heading to Gapyeong Station. The ride was pretty okay and long (you could probably even take a nap while in transit). Upon reaching the station, you have a choice to take a bus or taxi going to the port, where you would take a ferry to Nami. Taxi is around 4,000 for two persons, while the bus was 1,300 per person. Since the taxi line was long and the bus was slightly cheaper, we decided to take the bus. Worst mistake. To make the long story short, we rode the wrong bus that went towards the opposite direction of our destination, only found out after 20 minutes, and got triple charged by the bus driver. Thank god for the stranger in the bus who accompanied us and went down at stop (where she was not supposed to yet), hailed us a cab and gave the driver instructions! There was no time to think/recover from the bad experience we just had. We were just thankful that we were safe and we made it to the port! We lined up and got our tickets right away. The price then was W8,000 (Tip: bring your passports to get a tourist discount!).

We only waited a few minutes for the ferry to arrive. The ride was quick, only about ten minutes. You get to go outside, take photos and enjoy the view. I guess in spite of our recent bad experience, we were thankful that the weather cooperated! It was such a sunny and windy day!

When we finally got to the island, I was so overwhelmed! The place is huuuuge — we didn’t know where to start! (Tip: get a free map at the entrance to guide you!). You could easily spend the whole day here if you really want to see the whole island. Proud to say, I think we saw 90% of the island (thanks to Mart who pushed me to keep walking, lol).

 I was so happy to finally see this popular and breathtaking spot at Nami! I couldn’t help but snap a thousand photos (thank youuu Mart! <3). I’ll let the photos do the talking now, enjoy!

Tired boy at our last spot! We spent about four hours on the island and finished late in the afternoon. We were hungry and tired by then so when we got back at the port, we ate and chilled at Snow Cafe. The interiors were really cute and whimsical but I didn’t bother taking more photos anymore because we were just so exhausted.

The start of our Patingsu OBSESSION. This was so good that I would go back for it! Best Patbingsu I had in Korea, EVER!!! After this refreshing treat, we were ready to do more exploring! We headed to Myendeong for some shopping and more food! Looking back, I really don’t know where we got all our energy… lol.

Mart and I both had specific street food in mind that we wanted to revisit again. This one was Mart’s choice. Solid!! Although, it was a struggle to eat with all the people.

The 32cm soft-serve ice cream stall! I already tried this before. I wasn’t in the mood for ice cream then but this is definitely something you should look out for and try out! I think there is only one stall!

I FINALLY found it! I’ve been on a hunt for this Korean sweet pancake and after searching for it (almost gave up) among all the food stalls in Myendeong, I finally got to satisfy my craving! Only one stall was selling it though, perhaps because it wasn’t in season (previously tried it during Fall) and is eaten usually during cold weather.

I am one happy girl!

Got shakes again!

We continued shopping and didn’t notice that it was pretty late already! Most of the restaurants were closed. This was one of the restaurants that was still alive and had lots of people so we decided to have dinner here.

We ordered Chicken Galbi, which was already good for 2-3 persons. This is the first time I’ve tried this type of Korean dish and I died – it was so spicy but delicious! I couldn’t stop eating it even if my mouth was flaming! Definitely worth the price and one of the best meals we had in Korea.

Such a good meal to cap off such a long but happy day! Hope you still made it to the end of this post, haha!

What’s your favorite part of the post? Would love to hear from you! <3 Stay tuned for the next #MaphieTravels Korea entry!

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Korea Day 1 Part I – Arrival + Hongdae

Korea Day 1 Part II – Ehwa