About Ivy & Her RanTs

27th Dec 2009
We had buffet breakfast near the ski resort that morning. Then we were off to Everland. It was a long way there. Sam, Cecil and MIL were asleep so Casey and I scribbled on the window as we had nothing to do LOL This is one of them:

It was a really, really cold day especially when we reached Everland. Probably about -15°C. I wanted to go on rides but the weather was really unfriendly. Moreover, We were only given 4 hours there. Rudy and May took us to the food court for lunch. Food there are hardly less than Rp 80K/person. I had Fried Rice and chicken curry.

By the time we were finished with our lunch, 2 hours had passed. Sucks, right? It was getting colder and colder and since we didn’t see the possibility of us going on any of the rides, Sam decided to head back to the front and let the kids shopped. We took the Human Sky back as walking back alone would take more than 20 mins I was told. This is the Human Sky. Such a weird name.

And while sitting on top of Human Sky, I experienced snow for the very first time. Yes, it was  actually snowing. It would have been more romantic if I wasn’t sitting next to my MIL hehehe…. And it wasn’t that cold anymore after it snowed.

It’s the first time I went to a theme park and bought nothing (apart from Dufan of course). They don’t have really cute stuffs like the ones in Disneyland. Took a couple of pics and bought a few maskers from Etude House.

It didn’t stop snowing even after we boarded the bus. Cars we passed were all covered in snow:

It was a long journey back to the city. We were supposed to go to Myong-Dong market shopping but the traffic was really bad as it had snowed since morning in Seoul, May said. Every car was moving slowly. I doubt we could shop anyway as the shops were situated along the whole street. It would either take a real fool or a crazy shopaholic to shop in that weather. And even though I am sometimes an impulsive buyer, I’m not a true shopaholic. I have my limits…..like when I run out of money LOL

It would have been merely a less than 2-hours drive from Everland to Myong-Dong in a normal traffic but that evening, it took us 4 hours just to reach the city. I saw some cars were left on the street by their owners as they had no success in starting the engines. Even our bus stopped in the middle of the street for more than 15 mins coz it refused to move. By the time we reached the restaurant, everyone was famished. We had Chinese that night and it was a great meal. Not really sure was it because we were too hungry or was it really that good. I didn’t take any pics coz we were sitting in a round table and sharing the table with other families.

Reached hotel and slept right away after a quick shower.

26/12/2009
I can’t quite recall was the trip to Mt Soerak that took 3 hours or the trip to Yongpyong Ski Resort. Whichever it is, I don’t really care. That morning after breakfast, we were on our way to the ski resort. We took a ride in gondola (which is also known as cable car….don’t know why they called the one in Gwongeumseong Fortress cable car but the one in the ski resort gondola. Just googled and turned out it’s just the same) up to Dragon Peak. If you guys ever watched Winter Sonata, then you would recognize the place right away. Yes, it’s the same ski resort too. Weather was freaking cold up on there on the very top and it was so windy that I could hardly take out my digicam. We bought hotdogs and coffee from the cafe (real hotdogs with buns this time). After about half an hour, we took another ride down to Dragon Plaza.

Oh food in Dragon Peak was extremely expensive. At least for me. Look at this menu:

See the salad bar? It’s about Rp 120K in Indonesian money. YES!!! For salad only. That’s absurd.

We were famished by then and thank God, Rudy and May took us to eat Bulgogi for lunch this time. It was the best bulgogi I ever tasted and I didn’t say that just because I was hungry.

After lunch, we were dropped at a ski rental and we were allowed to rent the ski suits and the skis only. Other equipments like gloves or goggles were at our own expenses. I don’t know how much it was to rent the goggles but as for the gloves you had to buy  them and the starting price for a pair was from Rp 50K. That’s the cheapest and the most hideous. You get a bit more colorful one at double the price and as for the ones the kids bought, the gloves cost Rp 200K/pair. Sam, MIL n the kids bought the gloves. I decided not to since I wasn’t planning on skiing as I wanted to be able to take pics of them. You can’t possibly ski and take photos as the same time, can you?

When everyone had chosen their ski suits, the bus took us back to Yongpyong Ski Resort to ski. I wasn’t expecting the skis to be that heavy and I thought kids didn’t need my help in carrying theirs so I decided to leave my gloves in the bus as they were a nuisance while taking photos. Turned out I had to help Casey carry hers. And to add to that, I wasn’t wearing any socks under my suede boots as I gave mine to Cecil since she forgot to take hers out from the luggage that morning. So you could imagine what it was like carrying the skis bare handed in the cold and having your suede boots covered in snow which seeped right into the boots the moment it melted. It was horrible and I felt like all my fingers and toes were frozen stiff. I had to brace myself for quite a bit while waiting for Sam n kids to finish skiing. Half an hour felt like forever.

We finished earlier than most of the other people in our group so we had to wait for them. Bought Takoyaki at one of the snacks counter. Around Rp 40K for 6 pieces but it’s so worth it. They were heavenly.

When all had gathered, it was past 6pm. Rudy and May took us to a nearby restaurant for dinner. We had fish this time. The fish was fried and covered with some sort of sauce which taste kinda weird in my opinion. It’s neither bad nor good. Honestly, I wasn’t really sure how I felt after eating that.

Then we went back to Yongpyong Resort Hotel. This hotel was the best of all the ones we stayed throughout our stay in Korea. At least Casey and I think so. It’s more like an apartment with 2 bedrooms in it. The view was breathtaking. You could see the ski slopes from outside our apartment and also from the balcony just outside the living room. It was already night and with my photography skills, I didn’t quite capture the beauty of that place.

The apartment has a kitchen and a living room. We had to sleep in tatami style though which meant that there was no spring bed or whatsoever. They just provided thin sheets which were spread out on the floor as a substitute. What I love about the apartment was that it was not only heated all over but the floor where we slept was heated too. So we were actually kept warm throughout the night. So if you are going to a ski resort in Korea, I highly recommend Yongpyong Resort Hotel.