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Spring has sprung.

Admittedly, since I grew up in a tropical country, I am more a beach lover person. I love basking in the sun. I love listening to the ocean waves kissing the shore. I'm a killer for adorable sunrises and sunsets. More particularly, I love being on my swimsuit all-day long without having to worry about putting make up on.

I was actually once asked by a colleague in Singapore on why do I keep looking for a beach since the Philippines have already lots of it. He said I should be going somewhere that PH doesn't have. I answered him, if you have been in PH then you'd know why. Our beaches are amazing and maybe a lifetime is not enough to explore all of it.

However, when I experienced Seoul, Korea's Spring weather, I instantly adored it. When I was in Hongkong, winter was starting and the weather stayed cold all day. But when we were in Korea during Spring time, it was cold in the mornings and evenings then it gets warm during the day. The lowest temperature was as low as 4-degree celcius and only as high as 19 degree celcius. Very nice, right? I could have brought this kind of weather back to Manila and Singapore if only I could. (Pardon my ignorance as it was my first time to experience spring.) 

And of course, what made spring more special are the Cherry Blossoms. Read my post here about our Cherry Blossom Festival experience.

"Hi. Do you speak English?"

That is always our first spill whenever we're out of the streets asking random people for help. And although most of them cannot speak English very well, they tried to help us as much as they can. There were times that it was like we were playing Charades just so they can understand us. Lol

On our third day, we wanted to eat a legit Korean BBQ and the bell boy at the hotel was really very kind to recommend us one. He even wrote down the restaurant's English and Korean name on a piece of paper for us. Then, when we were looking for it and was already lost, some of the Ahjumma and Ahjussi pointed us in the right directions even though they don't understand English very well. One of the Ahjummas even walked with us going to the restaurant. 

The language barrier was indeed overwhelming and the struggle was definitely real. But at the end of the day, despite all these cultural differences, it was still a wonderful and fulfilling experience. 

Patriotism

They say Koreans are one of the most nationalistic races in the world. On our 5-day stay in South Korea, I have proven that to be true. They have their own brand and way of living. They do not tend to give in to the trend.

Shopping Heaven

Pretty much like Singapore, South Korea is indeed a shopping heaven. Shops and malls are everywhere in the city. Some malls are even open up until 2:00 in the morning. That would have been better if in SG. Lol

Their prices are quite reasonable as they sell quality goods. And yes, it's true, beauty products are EVERYWHERE. Almost every corner of the street has a beauty shop.

~

Five days is not enough to have a grasp of South Korea, there are so much to explore (and of course, shop). I'm already looking forward to going back there and maybe during a different season.

Single-digit weather gaming in Nami Island




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Since Cindy and I took a gazillion of videos during our South Korea trip, it took me weeks to finally finish this travel video blog. Haha! And that's not it all, our Korea Cherry Blossom Festival vlog is still in progress - so watch out for that. :)





Meanwhile, let me share this first ever travel video that I made about our Days 1 to 3 in South Korea. Enjoy! :)
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Should you know me personally, then you would know how big fan I am of The Little Prince. So imagine my excitement when I learnt about this theme park in the province of Gyeonggi, Korea that exhibits our tiny adorable friend. It is called Le Petite France - a French cultural village located in Korean countryside.
From Nami Island, we took the shuttle bus tour going to Le Petite France. Check my post here for more details on how to go to Le Petite France. The entrance costs 8000Won - roughly around 10SGD or 300PHP. Very cheap, right?
Entrance to Le Petite France
Hello The Little Prince
Experienced a breath of Europe with these Mediterranean style structures.
Antiques Flea Market "Antika" - displays and sells various kinds of antiques.
An antique display at one of the Traditional French Houses in Le Petite France
The French house which is over 200 years old was brought and reassembled in Korea.

Beautiful porcelain display inside the traditional French house.

Did you know that Le Petite France was one of the filming locations of the well-known Korean drama "My Love from Another Star"? :)


Le Petite France's amphitheater where special performances are held. Lucky for us, there was a hand puppet show when we were there!
Saint Exupery Memorial Hall
The Saint Exupery Memorial Hall was established by executing a license agreement with the only Saint Exupery Foundation in Korea. Inside the hall are some Exupery's memorabilias, various kinds of his works and Petite Prince's characters.
All the drawings from the book. Instantly fell in love to this wall.
Giant Baobabs

 

 

A shelf of The Little Prince's book in many languages
There was a shelf containing The Little Prince's books written in different languages. I was actually looking for one written in Filipino but there's none. Now, it's in my wish list to have a copy of The Little Prince in Filipino.

Scattered around the village are depictions of each characters in the book.


Behind us is the Théâtre de l'Étoile - a space where everyone at all ages, male or female, can enjoy some performances and special puppet "Marionette".
#InarteSaKore

View from Pond de Fabre - a bridge connecting Butterfly Park and an observatory.
May I just add how every spot in Le Petite France is perfect as an OOTD background? Lol


An outdoor cafe that sells Korean food.


I would have appreciated Le Petite France more if there were English translations on their exhibits. Nevertheless, my Little Prince heart was more than satisfied roaming around the theme park.
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Truth be told, I wasn't very much fascinated with cherry blossoms before our Korea trip. Actually, I only learnt that it is called Sakura two weeks prior the trip. To me, those were just pink flowers growing from a tree.

I already saw cherry blossoms in Singapore's Gardens by the Bay Flower Dome so it wasn't my first time to saw them in Korea. But the 'feels' were much more very different when I encounter them out in the open. (Flower Dome is an enclosed air conditioned conservatory.)

And then we went to Korea. When I saw the Sakura tree more intimately in Seoul, I was stunned and amazed by its splendour. I was wrong. It isn't just an ordinary pink flower, it is not just a simple tree.
Before the trip, we did our research on where to see the cherry blossoms best. Although we were a bit hesitant because of the 4-hour bus ride away from the city, we resolved going to Jinhae District in Masan City as they holds the largest Cherry Blossom Festival in Korea.

How to go to Jinhae District

Unfortunately, there is no online booking or online reservation for the bus tickets. We even asked our hotel receptionist to help us call the bus station. She was advise that since we are foreigners, we have to but tickets ourselves at the station.

We wanted the earliest  possible trip (7:30 AM) so we took the luxury bus which costed us 30,500Won (40SGD/1220Php). The normal ticket price is 20,500Won (25SGD/820Php). The bus left at exactly 7:30AM and we arrive in Masan City at 11:30AM. We immediately bought our return ticket to Seoul which costed us another 30,500Won.

From the bus terminal, we took another bus going to Jinhae District. Luckily, we met this couple who showed us the right directions going to the festival.

We certainly made the right decision going to Jinhae as we were welcomed by an endless canopy of Sakura trees blossoming in the entire city. We were all in awe of how beautiful the city was. Cherry blossom petals were scattered along the streets. So enjoy our photos here! :)










Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival was indeed the perfect place to experience the elusive beauty of Sakura trees. Every spot was so picturesque. It was all so worthy of the long bus ride to and fro the city. Hopefully, I can come back there with the Cherry Blossom in full bloom.
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