24 Mar 2014 - Beautiful 두물머리 Dumulmeori

두물머리 Dumulmeori is 0.9KM away.
Walk as directed.

Keep on walking straight after you turn left into this road.
Omgggg!! There were so many tiny flies flying around here.
I tried to shoo them away but more appeared!!

I think that bridge leads to 세미원 Semiwon.
Feel free to correct me if I am wrong ^^

Closed??

There is an Information Centre opposite the gate and I went up to ask the staff. The staff does not speak English. I said," "세미원 Semiwon??" She crossed her hands, gesturing a big "X". I assumed she meant that 세미원 Semiwon is closed for the day. I have forgotten that it is closed on Monday unless it is a holiday on Monday ㅠㅠ

Admission fees.......

And so I walked on.....straight to 두물머리 Dumulmeori ...
I fell in love with the place as I walked on.
It was really beautiful here.
Please come here with your date okie ^^

ㅠㅠ ㅠㅠ ㅠㅠ
You will be beautiful again in Summer!

미안 해요.
Pictures are almost similar but I can't help it  ㅋㅋㅋ

Many people wrote their wishes on these pebbles and left them in the river. 

Poor lotus flower ㅠㅠ

I left the place about an hour later.
Can't bear to leave and I hope to come back again one day.

I detoured a bit when making my way back to the subway station. You will see this on your left while walking towards the big traffic junction mentioned in my previous post. Nothing much here though.

Its time to make a move.
Byee Yangsu-ri. I will miss you.
*I miss you already*

Puzzled..I thought these 3 stations are in the same direction.
So which platform should I go??
I simply hoped onto the subway that arrived at 2.44pm!

Oh, they have a timetable! I reached here around 2.15pm, so the next available subway on a weekday will arrive at 2.44pm. Therefore I have to wait about 30mins...zzz...If only I have checked the timetable. The subway arrived at 2.46pm instead. Despite the long travelling time, I personally feel that the beautiful scenery was well worth the trip ^^

24 Mar 2014 - Getting to 두물머리 Dumulmeori and Zelkova trees

With some discomfort in my stomach, I set off for 양수리 Yangsu-ri. I have looked forward to this day trip for a long time, and will be very disappointed if I did not get to visit the place this time. Took the subway from Hapjeong Station to Yangsu Station. The journey should take about 75mins but I took longer than that cos the subway stopped at Deokso Station for at least 5 mins with some announcements in Korean. I did not pay attention to the announcement and probably won't understand even if I did. Was it Deokso Station or was it Dosim Station?? I think it was Deokso Station. Anyway, just take note. Something tells me its not right, and I thought to myself should I get off at Deokso Station?? I didn't get off and that was a mistake. The subway took the reverse journey back to Yangjeong Station. Hence, I got off at Yangjeong Station and went to the next platform for the subway to Yangsu Station. This was the second time I experienced a reverse subway ride during my solo trips in Korea. It will be good to have the same announcement in English and perhaps Mandarin, isn't it??

Saw this on the subway heading to Yangsu Station.

My plan was to cycle from Yangsu Station to Paldang Station becos online infor stated that the stretch from Yangsu Station to Paldang Station is the most beautiful.

It was almost noon when I reached Yangsu Station. 너무 더워 So hot but at the same time, I was thankful for the great weather and most thankful that I made it here! I saw two bike rental shops near Yangsu Station. This one is right in front of Yangsu station, exit 1.  

This road is in front of exit 1, beside the bike rental shop.
I started to hesitate about cycling becos it was sooo hot ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ
Ehhh...I didn't see anyone cycling here...feeling scared *Start making excuses*

두물머리 Dumulmeori refers to the place where 북한강 Bukhangang and 남한강 Namhangang meet. 

Yangsu Station is marked by the yellow circle. 

A big thanks to KTO(Korea) for providing me with this map ^^
정말 감사합니다!

So did I went cycling???
Errmmm...I decided to give up on my plan to cycle....

You will see these signages somewhere on your left when you exit from Yangsu Station, exit 1. 

Walk straight down as directed by the map above ie towards the direction of 세미원 Semiwon.

Walk straight until you reach this junction.
Cross the road and turn to your right as shown. 

Keep on walking straight after you turn right.

You will see this as you keep on walking.
It takes about 8 mins from Yangsu Station to reach here.

It felt so nice just by walking along this road ^^

Niceeeee ^^

You will see this signage after you passed the river..
Turn left as directed.
두물머리 Dumulmeori is 0.9KM away.
It took me around 11 mins from Yangsu Station to reach here.

24 Mar 2014 - 새우 죽 for breakfast

I felt much better today and went to the post office at Hajeong Station, before heading out to 양수리. Jiwon told me EMS does not provide pick-up service at her area so I have to make a trip to the post office ㅠㅠ  The Tourist Information Centre told me there are two post offices in Hongdae. One inside Hongik University and the other somewhere around Hongik Univ Station exit 6. It was about 10 mins walk from the apartment to this post office at Hapjeong. It is located along the main road, between Hapjeong Station exit 3 & 4.  

Next, I went to 본죽 Bonjuk for my breakfast.

This outlet is located along the main road, two mins walk from Hapjeong Station, exit 2.

Woww....now you can have cheese topping at only KRW1000!
 This is good news for me cos I love cheese!!
Errmmm....but for time being, I have to give this a miss since I have not fully recovered ㅠㅠ

새우 죽 Shrimp Porridge(KRW8000) to comfort my poor stomach...

Memorial hall in Spore for Sewol ferry victims

I went to the Korean Association at Tanjong Pagar to pay respect to the ferry victims just now after work. According to Asianewsnet.net, a memorial hall has been set up for the victims of the April 16 Sewol ferry disaster by the Korean Association in Singapore, for the public to pay their respects, offer prayers and donate money to the affected families. The memorial hall and donation box are open to all from 9am to 9pm on weekdays and from 10am to 5pm on weekends from now until May 9.

Map extracted from Korean Association in Singapore.
The association is located along the main road.  
Just a few shops away from Lotte Mart.

Tanjong Pagar, 71B, #03-01, Spore 088492

옴 마니 파드메 훔 옴 마니 반메 훔

23 Mar 2014 - Meeting 란 ^^

I went back to the apartment to rest before meeting 란. 란 is a friend whom I met under Banpo Bridge. I wrote about How I met 란 about 2 years ago.  I couldn't remember when I met her(Ooppsss!!) but 란 remembered ㅋㅋㅋ  미안. Time flies. It has been 2 years since I knew her. We usually communicate thro Kakao and hardly meet up but somehow she always know what's on my mind without me saying much. 란 always say I know what's on her mind too. Really?? She said she is very thankful to know me under the bridge that day. I think I should be the one who is very thankful to know such a wonderful friend. I hope everything goes well for her ^^  

Unfortunately, my stomach did not get any better. I feel the "washing machine" in my stomach whenever I eat or drink. However, I didn't want to disappoint her and really hope to meet her in this trip. 란 suggested BBQ 곱창, which is something that I have always wanted to try. I told her I have to give it a miss this time becos of my condition. I suggested 노을카페 Noeul cafe at Dongjak Station instead. I really miss the place a lot becos of a special person. 란 was keen to check out the cafe becos she has never been there before. Hmm....

We met up at Dongjak Station, exit 2 at 6.15pm.
란 told me she has called to make a reservation.
You need to order food when you make a reservation. 

That's a big salted egg yolk!!
So glad that 란 likes it here as well ^^  

That's 노을카페 Noeul cafe straight ahead.

I brought her to the outdoor terrace for a better view of the whole place.
It was so so beautiful....

They placed some chairs and tables here but it was too cold to stay here for long.

Our starter..

Actually, I couldn't eat as I could feel the "washing machine" in my stomach again.
We had to order food becos we made a reservation.
Hence, Spaghetti Bacon Carbonara for 란 and Spaghetti Vongole for me.
The food was pretty good although I did not finish it. 

란 called for a reservation and we were given seats facing the river.
However, we felt it was too cramped as we had to sit shoulder to shoulder with others.
I remembered 재 said, "Those seats are for couples." Oh well...
Anyway, 란 and I decided to go one level up and she chose this place!
Familiar???
Yeah!  The same place where 재 and I had sat!
재, 나는 당신이 너무 그리워요...

We ordered some drinks as well.
Hot tea for me. 

란 asked if its ok for me to take a walk across the bridge after our meal.
Walking is not a problem for me but I can feel my stomach churning.
I told her,"좋아" but slowly.

The night view was awesome.

I was really scared to go near the railings ㅎㅎㅎ
I told her I will walk on the right side, and she walked on the left ㅋㅋㅋ

So instead of taking the subway from Dongjak station, we walked to Ichon Station.
It took us around 35mins to reach Ichon Station.
Otherwise, it would probably take about 20mins.
Felt so apologetic towards 란 that we had to walk so slowly becos of me.
Actually, it did not feel like a 35 mins walk to me becos we had so much to talk about!! 
Despite my churning stomach, I was very happy to see 란 again ^^

On my way back, I bought medicine for diarrhoea from the pharmacy becos I did not bring enough medicine from SG. This bottle of medicine is to be taken together with the pills only for the first consumption. How does it taste like?? It tasted like Chinese medicine although it does not look like Chinese medicine at all! 
I went to the doctor after coming back to SG and came to know that I was not suffering from food poisoning but rather stomach flu. Omg...no wonder I could not eat much for a week after returning back to SG.