Exploring Daejeon City in A Day

Hi friends, this time I want to share about one of my favorite cities in South Korea, Daejeon. 

You know, when I was living in Sejong , the city is still new (because it's really a brand new city built especially for government complex), that's why many things are still on progress and many buildings were still under construction. 

Of course there are cafes and shopping mall in our beloved city Sejong hehe, but at that time the city is still kind of empty. As for me, it's good, because i especially love the calm atmosphere. But sometimes when I really need such a festive atmosphere, I tend to come to more populated city with more entertainment things hehe. But Seoul is quite far from my city (of course i like to visit Seoul too but it can be done only on weekend or when there was no class), so Daejeon is definitely the best option.  

From Sejong to Daejeon, it only takes around 30 minutes or maybe more (depend on which area you want to visit). There are actually many places you can visit in Daejeon, but in this blog, I will only list the places where I and my friends have been around. 

1. Daejeon Skyroad

The best place in Daejeon for me, almost similar like Myeongdong in Seoul. Me and my friends often went here just for eating, shopping, or maybe relaxing after had our exams lol ^^

There are many places for shopping, many restaurants, skincare stores (you can list it from nature republic, innisfree, and other skincare stores available here). Street food here is also one of the best. 

There is alo Daejeon underground shopping center which is located under/below daejeon skyroad. You can buy many clothes at cheap price there :)

2. UNIQLO Daejeon

Well, uniqlo is one of my favorite brands. It's not expensive yet the clothes are having good quality and super comfortable to wear. I love to go to uniqlo even if I didn't buy (or just window shopping lol).

There is also quite big stor of UNIQLO and it's still in the same area with Daejeon Skyroad, so it's actually super easy to be reached. 

3. Sung Sim Dang Bakery

The best bakery in Daejeon (and maybe in Korea). Not only people in Daejeon come to buy bread here, but people from other regions also often come here just for buying the bread. And you have to know the store of Sung Sim dang is always packed with people. Even when I invited a friend of mine who live in seoul to daejeon, she said that she will definitely go back to Daejon only for Sung Sim Dang bakery. 

There are actually several Sung Sim Dang bakeries in Korea, but I like to come to the bakery which is located around Daejeon Skyroad. 

4. Mokcheokgyo Bridge 

Mokcheokgyo bridge is the bridge I always walk on in Daejeon and is one of the daejeon landmarks. Next to the bridge, you can see the park area and if you continue to walk straight you can reach Daejeon Skyroad.

5. Daejeon Jungang Market

Just a regular market, where you can buy your necessities, foods, vegetables, fruits, meats, street foods, and etc. The street foods here are super cheap and many options available (from  tteokbokki, odeng, hotteok, pajeon, and etc.)

6. KAIST

Speaking about Daejeon, you can't forget this famous university from Daejeon, yes KAIST. This university is one of great universities in Korea, especially for students who want to be enrolled in engineering faculty. There are also many Indonesian students studying here. And I also came here for the Indonesian student community's event held here. And one of the best autumn view here in my opinion. 

7. Yuseong Hot Spring Public Foot Bath

You want to be health and relax, so this is one of the places you can visit. Yuseong Hot Spring is opened for public and it's free. The location is outdoor and you can only did the foot bath here. If you want to have sauna and hot spring for your body, you can go to the jjimjilbang (public bath house) around Daejeon. 

8. Daejeon world stadium 

I only came here once, and it's not for watching football matches, but for watching Kpop concert hehehe. Maybe I will tell about the story of my Daejeon Kpop concert  in another blog post. 

9. National science museum

Came here in my summer break with my roommate because my roommate likes to come to museum. In my opinion, museums here in South Korea is the best. They are well maintained and the museum is also made as attractive as possible so we can having fun while study. The National Science Museum in Daejeon is one of my favorite museums in Korea, and it's really a big museum.  There's a lot of things here (especially for science). The most favorite thing is when I visited the cinema-kind-of-thing to experience watching galaxy, planets, and etc. 

So that's all few places here in Daejeon that I recommend for you guys to visit. 

If I go back to South Korea, I will definitely come again to Daejeon. Wish my dreams come true *finger cross*

Lost in Chuncheon

Long time no see.....

As spring comes around, I want to post about one of my spring memories. 

This is, actually, I don't know whether this is a good or bad memory lol, but when you did something with your good friends, it's definitely a good memory, isn't it? :)

So, I and my friends actually planned to visit Nami Island. We were so excited at that time because it's actually the first time of us going to Nami Island. When we got off from the train, first we visited one of Chuncheon Dakgalbi restaurants and we visit the one that provided halal dakgalbi. It was delicious but sadly I forgot the name of the restaurant :(

After performing Dzuhur prayer there (great that prayer room is also provided by the restaurant), we were ready to continue our trip to Nami Island. But, but, but, the problem is started now LOL. We didn't aware that we went on such a long holiday in Korea, so the traffic was everywhere. There was no taxi that wanted to take us to Nami Island because the roads were full and jammed. 

At the end we didn't get any taxi, but luckily there is a tour group that offered us to go with them using their bus. We really grateful, even though we still didn't know where they would take us :') Long short story, we got off in chuncheon city (I believe). I also didn't know exactly where it was :(

From there, we didn't know how to go to Nami Island because no one of us knew the direction. And it's already afternoon so it's quite impossible to reach Nami Island. And we were tired as well. Sooooooooooo, we decided to not go to Nami Island. Later, we decided to search the google about the tourist attraction there and we found one near our location, that was Soyanggang Skywalk. Then, we went there right away. 

Soyanggang Skywalk is built above the Uiamho Lake. It is the walkway consists of a transparent glass floor and kind of looking like a bridge in my opinion (but it's not a bridge).  When you walk on the skywalk, you must use the special shoes cover provided so that the skywalk didn't get dirty. 

Last time before going back home, we spend our time by having banana milk tea lol.

It was all about lost in chuncheon, but because I did with it good friends and we had fun together, it turned out to be one of best memories in spring :)

Let’s Go to Wando Island - Autumn Getaway Out of Seoul

I always wanted to spend holiday out of seoul, far from city life, and at that time I got a chance to visit wando in autumn.

Wando is one of islands which is located on the south of Korea. I went there by bus and actually it’s very cool that we didn’t need to get on the ferry ship to arrive on the island. This because there is a bridge that connects wando island to the mainland of Korea called “Wando Daegyo”.

I went there with the group of travel which consists of mostly foreigners. And you know how much i spent for this amazing journey?? Only 20.000 won and it already covers our hotel, our trip, and our food as well. And fyi, i spent 2 days one night in wando. It’s amazing, isn’t it?

I heard that I only need to pay for the small amount because the trip itself was also sponsored by the local government. How lucky I am ^^ super lucky because not only had amazing trip but I also didn’t need to spend much money from my pocket hehe. I was really grateful for the chance.

Photo with group tour 

In this blog, I will  tell you several places I went to and what to do when you visit wando^^:

Wando Harbour

Just a regular harbour, with many fishing boats on its edge. I also coincidentally met with Indonesian person who works as a fisherman there. We visit this place first actually because there is Autumn Festival held near Wando Harbour. As you probably know, each region in Korea likes to held the festival, especially when certain season comes. At that time, local people celebrate autumn by having festival. As you can see from the photos, me, my friends, and other local people really enjoy the festival held there.

Wando Tower Observatory 

This 76m-tall tower offers views of Wando Island and sea next to Island. You can also see sunrise and sunset from this tower.

Hotel in Wando for your best staycation: Wando Oneness Resort

I, my friends, and our tour group stayed in  a hotel called "Wando Oneness Resort"  In my personal opinion, this resort is superb. Not only has good service, but also offers you with a beautiful view near the resort. Not to mention, the facilities provided including the outdoor pool. 

Hiking in Wando (Seokmun Park)

 I really enjoy hiking here and there is a really good photo spot on the bridge that is on the hiking trail.

Cycling in Wando

To be honest, I also forget the name of this cycling area.  I really hope I remember the name of this area so you can also visit and experience cycling here :( Because you should know that cycling in Wando is the most fun experience I've ever had in Wando. Not only having fun cycling with my friends, but I also get to see beautiful views, and many photo spots around, especially when you come in autumn, because the autumn flower fields are super pretty.

Gaudo Island and Suspension Bridge

From Gaudo Island, we walked to uninhabited island via a suspension bridge. The view along the coast line is super super nice. But watch out the wind is strong lol >_<, especially when you cross the bridge.

Korean Minhwa Museum

As always, in Korea, visiting museum is really common. That's why, in each region of Korea, you always can visit some interesting museums in order to add your knowledge about Korean culture, history, technology, and etc.  This time, i visit Korean Minhwa Museum, which is a museum for Korean folk art. 

The conclusion is this is really a perfect place for you who want to enjoy the rural life experience. For me, who usually just going around Seoul and  experience city life style, this is really exciting and new experience. So I hope you had a chance to visit and enjoy Wando. See you there :)