Travel Archives | Page 5 of 24

Fall in Korea Day 6: Sundown at Bukchon Hanok Village

December 17, 2015

We arrived at Bukchon Hanok Village just when the sun was about to set. Normally, I would freak out because this meant lesser time for strolling and seeing everything. But it bathed everything in yellow light. Hooray for the magic hour! How can you not love it?

We couldn’t have picked a better place to visit. It was our last destination before we retire for the day and spend our last hours in Seoul exploring Hongdae–our home away from home for the past six days.

Bukchon Hanok Village is a residential community with traditional Korean houses called Hanok. The government has helped the residents restore and maintain the houses, which is an integral part of Korean culture. Real people live in the houses, and it’s the tourists’ responsibility to be respectful when strolling the streets. Though there’s no strict guidelines, visitors are advised to keep the noise down as much as possible. I’ve visited the community two years prior, and it has pretty much stayed the same.

We headed straight to the tourist information center to get a map. It’s a pretty large, and you can easily get lost navigating the streets and alleys. But we really just ended up wherever our feet would take us. While we were rushing to beat the sunset, we also leisurely moved around to savor everything. [Read more…]

Mt. Tagapo Day Hike: Ferry Rides, Bamboo Caves, Windy Trails

November 26, 2015

After weeks of planning and rescheduling, our Mt. Tagapo day hike finally pushed through. Though it was just Ate Marco, Ate Ninay and I, I’m still glad and thankful for our short climb up the mountain located at the center of Laguna de Bay.

Mt. Tagapo, also called Mt. Susong Dalaga, is definitely one of my most memorable day hikes, partly because it was the smallest group that I joined! Years ago, I wouldn’t have went if I knew majority of my friends weren’t going. But my desire for the great outdoors and beautiful sights are now greater than my introversion. For that I am thankful. Besides, I really missed Ate Marco and Ate Ninay, so a day with them will always be well spent. [Read more…]

Fall in Korea Day 6: Warm Autumn Sunshine at Gyeongbokgung Palace

November 9, 2015

Of all the palaces in South Korea, I wonder if there’s one that can be more magical, more golden than Gyeongbokgung Palace.

It was as lovely in spring as it was in autumn, and I couldn’t be happier to see it both times. Even though it’s probably one of the most congested tourist spots in Seoul, it’s definitely worth a visit. Because it’s so large, we saw numerous areas in the palace were still empty and quiet. No matter how huge it is, there’s a place for everyone to sit down and relax.

We decided to forego Changdokgung and Cheonggyecheon and focus only on Gyeongbokgung. We had limited time, and we realized that visiting all the palaces and temple in Korea would take more than a week. Thankfully, our chosen palace showed all the glory of the season, and we could only wish that the afternoon would last longer. We skipped lunch for this! [Read more…]

Fall in Korea Day 6: Cheonggyecheon and Gwanghwamun Square

November 6, 2015

For our last full day in Seoul, we made sure to exhaust every minute and breathe in all the sights, sounds and scent of the city. The entire day was still filled excitement and glee, but there was the looming thought that next day, we’d be boarding a plane back to Manila. I said it before and I’ll say it again, I will never get tired of Seoul.

I’ve been to the Cheonggyecheon Stream before, but this time, larger-than-life lanterns were displayed along the length of the stream. It was for the Lantern Festival last year! We were supposed to go there the previous night, but we arrived back in Seoul from Nami Island quite late. After re-arranging our itinerary, we realized that we still had enough time to squeeze it on our morning schedule. In fact, it was our first stop for our last day. [Read more…]

Lazy Saturday at the National Museum of the Philippines

October 18, 2015

In celebration of Museums and Galleries Month, admission to the National Museum of the Philippines is free for the whole October! Ayessa and I took this chance to visit the museum, even though we’re not exactly artsy-fartsy person.

We were surprised upon arriving as there was a long line at the entrance. I visited the museum back in college, and I remember it looking a bit rundown and barely having visitors. It’s great to see the place buzzing with visitors, young and old. Besides a group of students having their school excursion, there were a lot a of families with young kids, couples, and groups of friends.

It’s uplifting to know that more Filipinos are paying interest to the country’s culture and history. The museum looks pretty new, too. It’s great how they’re investing on preserving our country’s national treasures, and the National Museum is definitely well-maintained. [Read more…]