Backdate: Korea Seoul Jun 2019 Day 9

25/6/19 Tues: We woke up super early at 6.30am, had cup noodle and left by 7.30am for the subway to Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station (1250 KRW) exit 10 where we waited for our tour bus to Nami Island, which would depart by 8.10am. I bought the Nami + Rail Bike + The Garden of Morning Calm tour package by KTourStory online (S$148 for 2 pax). Jones was our guide for the whole tour, and he shared some insightful information about the different destinations while on the bus. It took us 1.5 hours to reach the ferry terminal. Ferry tickets that costed 10K KRW each was inclusive in the package, and so off we hop on board for the 5-mins' ride over to Naminara Republic haha!

We saw General Nami's tomb, which was not far from the ferry terminal, and black cute rabbits around. I liked Nami Island for the tall trees and greenery all around, so you do get some shade no matter how hot it was.

How could we miss The Song Museum neh!? Time to look at some musical instruments from around the world inside!

Took photos on a railway track outside, and with the many "Snowmans" around~ Passed by the First Kiss Glass Sequoia Bridge too.

And we went inside the "Naminara Republic Central Bank" to buy Nami currency as momento haha~ one could spend the currency there too. 

Lovely nature all around! Went into May Café for strawberry smoothie and blueberry muffin (9000 KRW). They tasted good!

Sat for a while by the Elysian waterfall, and we headed over to Yeongajiga for some "shake-shake" lunch boxes! It was one of the cheaper food options there too. 7000 KRW for one simple lunch box with kimchi, ham and fried egg.

It was noon by the time we walked the northern part of the island, and yes it was very hot at places with no shades. We saw the Cheonsatap Garden (Four Pillars to Heaven) and heard some screams from above as people zip-lined over to the island. *Would love to stay here if there's a chance in future and see what Nami Island is like at night.*

3 hours on the island passed, and we had to head back to the main island to take our tour bus to the Gangchon Rail Park. *Bought ourselves couple tees (30K KRW) and a Snowman soft toy (19,800 KRW) because I couldn't resist it hehe.*

Half an hour and we were there. There was one library under construction at that area. We queued and waited for the rides to start at 2pm I think? A pity we couldn't choose two-seater cars, so we shared our car with a Singaporean Malay father and son. His wife and daughters took the first car in front of us.

We pedalled for 40 minutes and passed greens, rivers, train crossings and tunnels. It was thoughtful of them to design some fanciful light displays in the tunnels too.

Interesting experience. After arriving at a stop, we waited around for the "Romance Train" to pick us all up to continue the next part of the journey and bring us back to a carpark area where Jones would meet us. *The canned shik-hye we had was not as good as the home-brewed one of course.*

Jones led us to a carpark where the tour bus was parked at, about 10 minutes' away from the alighting point of Romance Train. We were then driven to The Garden of Morning Calm! I am not usually a "flowers person", but this place seemed too beautiful to miss. Being there in Summer June, it was the time of Hydrangea exhibition, and I liked hydrangeas!

We chose our own route and wandered in the beautiful blooms. I'm sure it has also lots to offer in all other seasons as well. Definitely recommend my friends to visit if they go to Seoul.

We walked past J's Cottage Garden above, Dropping Tree Garden, Eden Garden, Walk along the Poem, Pond Garden, Sunken Garden, Pagoda Valley, Korean Garden, Road To Heaven, Heaven Garden and Moonlight Garden.

It was scenic, but some steps and slopes along the way too. Did not have the time to finish walking throughout The Garden of Morning Calm. *The Millennium Juniper千年香below is estimated to be about 1000 years old now!* 

Thought of buying some plants from their plant shop, but don't know how it will work out pass customs, so I gave up the idea in the end. The tour bus brought us back to Dongdaemun History Culture Park Station at 7.40pm, and we went over to Woo Lae Oak for some cold noodles for dinner. *Stress-free zones in the train stations is a good idea.*

We ordered one cold noodle with kimchi and rice (14K KRW) and one cold noodles in beef broth (14K KRW). My bad as I didn't know they came with beef there. It was bland for me... not satisfying and definitely not what I thought I went for at the famous restaurant. 
We went to the AmPm Plaza after walking for a bit and saw nothing much on the streets. It's scary how this 10-storey buildings are almost all selling clothes in bulks. We can't even take photos according to the owners oh well... Anyway, they were expensive and most of the Korean style in trend were not to my liking.

I craved for more savoury and protein after a disappointing dinner, so Potato bought a packet of soy-sauced chicken cubes (8000 KRW) for us!