Korea Trip Day 5 [ 한국여행 - 다섯째날 ]

Decide to make a day trip to Ganghwado [ 강화도 ] today. The moment we stepped out from our accommodation, a pleasant surprise was waiting for us. It was snowing.

Trying to take a picture with snow effect

After taking enough pictures of snow, we set off and make our way to Ganghwado [ 강화도 ].

Ganghwado [ 강화도 ] is the fifth largest island of Korea and is located in the West sea. Because there were many people living in Ganghwado [ 강화도 ] in the prehistoric times, many ancient stuff can be seen and found on the island.  

How to get to Ganghwado [ 강화도 ] :

Take the subway to Sinchon Station [ 신촌 역 ], Line 2 [ 2 호선 ], Exit 1 [ 1번 출구 ].

Walk straight for about 5 minutes towards the GS25 convenience store. 

Take Bus 3000 to Ganghwa Intercity Bus Terminal. 

( Bus schedule: 05:40-23:20, 15-20min intervals) 

Note : 

The announcement of the bus stations are in Korean but you just have to take to the final stop. 

The journey will take about 1.5hour

We finally reached our destination after a long and bumpy ride.

The bus terminal

Waiting area of buses 

The moment we alighted from the bus, we can feel the strong wind blowing and we quickly entered the building located next to the terminal. Inside the building, there were stalls selling shoes, clothes, army stuffs etc. 

We exited the building and hoping to find a place to have our lunch. Walking along the main street, we don't seem to see any place that sell food. The wind was really strong and it seemed that the wind is trying to blow us away. Trying to fight against the wind and also finding a eatery at the same time was a torture.

We finally found a cafe and quickly entered the cafe to avoid the strong wind. 

Counter of the cafe

Interior of the cafe

Chocolate mint latte and cheese sandwich

We sat in the cafe, trying to figure out the way to go. The cashier in the cafe was so nice to help us researched on the way to get to our destination. We were told that although Ganghwado [ 강화도 ] is a small island but it is still quite impossible to walk to each destination as it would take a really long time.

We went off to explore Ganghwado [ 강화도 ]. The island is an interesting island as you can see lots of shops that are old but yet they had many choices for each individual shops. 

We continued walking but found it really too cold and the wind was so strong that things such as cardboard and plastic were flying around.

Even a metal pole couldn't take the wrong wind

As I walked around the island, I noticed that most of the building in Ganghwado [ 강화도 ] were old and short building. There were also a lot of constructions going on in the island, but yet there were also a lot of grounds that were undeveloped yet. 

After about a two hours walk, we really couldn't take it anymore that we decided to escape back to Seoul. The wind was blowing right into my face and this is the first time that I'm experiencing pain in my ears due to the cold chilly weather. 

We quickly made our way back to the building that is located next to the bus terminal. We dropped by an eatery and I had Seolleongtang [ 설렁탕 ] for lunch and to warm myself up. 

Seolleongtang [ 설렁탕 ], or also known as ox bone soup. Seolleongtang [ 설렁탕 ] is usually make from cow's bone, brisket and other cuts, thus the soup is rich in proteins and calcium. Seolleongtang [ 설렁탕 ] is inexpensive and is very popular with Koreans.

Local eatery 

Seolleongtang [ 설렁탕 ]

We took the bus 3000 and went on another bumpy 1.5hour ride. On the way back from Ganghwado [ 강화도 ], there were beautiful scenery along the road.

Although we only managed to survive 2hours at Ganghwado [ 강화도 ], but I would love to return to the island again one day to explore the historical stuff on the island. But I guess any other season beside winter would be better choice. 

After returning to Seoul, we went to Dongdaemun [ 동대문 ] and visited Yong at Irene's mum shop. Thanks to Yong, I experienced food delivery in Korean. Yong ordered Korean Chinese style food [ 중화요리 ] which is the the famous Korean Jajangmyeong [ 자장면 ] and Tangsuyuk [ 탕수육 ] ( Sweet and sour pork/chicken ). 

Jajangmyeong [ 자장면 ] was chewy and and not too salty. There were a lot of ingredients with the noodles such as different types of mushrooms and lots of onions. 

Tangsuyuk [ 탕수육 ] was crispy and not too soft although the meat was cut into big pieces. Dried chilli were used to add on some spice to the dish. The sauce was sweet and spicy at the same time, giving you the pleasant of 2 kinds of different tastes in a dish. 

Went back to our accommodation after dinner as it was really too cold to continue exploration. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow.