Gangwon-do escapade: Uiyaji Wind Village (의야지 바람마을)

Picking up where I left off in the previous post... our second destination in Gangwon-do is

Uiyaji Wind Village (의야지 바람마을)!

The Korean introduction to the village often says that it is the village where you can first meet the sun, wind, stars and the moonshine, and also where the purest of snow first falls. While it was not snowing when we were there, I can attest to the wind part- boy was it windy. And we were not even near the windmills. 

Uiyaji is not merely known for its windmill- but also for all the natural goodness that can be made from the locally produced dairy, fruits and meat. Below is a mini map of the village and examples of various experential activities that you can sign up for while there! 

I did three activities that were not advertised on the map: CHEESE MAKING, PIZZA MAKING and ICE CREAM MAKING~

First up is cheese making! I am a huge huge cheese fan (grilled cheese, cheese cake, cheese platter, cheese flavoured chips... the list goes on) but I have never ever experienced how it can be made. The Uiyaji version of the cheese was ricotta cheese.

Windmills in the distant...

The huge barn in which we made our cheese!

While cheese has had a long history in the world, it is not traditionally a part of Korean diet. However, modernisation and globalisation has brought more exposure to foreign cuisine, and cheese is one which has cemented its place... cheese chicken ribs, cheese tteokboki, cheese ramen, cheese kimbap, you name it, they have cheese on it:)

Since Uiyaji has its own dairy farm, branching out into cheese making was a natural progression. I never thought that my first ever cheese making experience would be in Asia~ Nevertheless, it was a very enriching and educational experience!

Our instructor telling about the history of cheese, going back all the way to Mesopotamia. 

So you start off with 2 litres of milk~ bring it to a slow boil on medium heat!

Then while waiting, arrange the edible flowers on the bottom of the cheese mould that is lined with a white cloth.

As it comes to a slow boil, you can see a thin yellow layer (whey) forming on the top.

Add three spoons of a certain power (can't remember its name) that will add the curd forming. There after, add some apple vinegar (or lemon juice if you don't have vinegar). Stir a few times and then stop to let the curds form completely. 

Turn off the heat and then as quickly as you can, spoon out all of the curd into the mould (whey included). Then fold the cloth into the mould before using the pressor to get all the whey out. 

all spooned in~

With the help of a brick and the entire group to get any leftover water/whey out!

Once done, the cloth can be unwrapped to reveal the freshly pressed ricotta cheese. Tadaaaaaaa~

Not perfect but very very delectable! We were given some strawberry jam and corn chips to go with it (very interesting combination that surprising works^.^), as well as some wine and juice (for those who don't drink). 

And this is how you enjoy it: with some homemade jam and in-between two pieces of corn chip!

As can be seen from the interior of the barn, the farm receives many foreign tourists who come here for the cheese making experience. The lady speaks English, Chinese (thanks to the booming number of Chinese tourists) and Korean so no worries about not being able to get a complete experience.

After cheese making, we proceeded to the other tinier barn for our pizza and ice cream making! We thought we could not eat any more but we were wrong! Our instructor got us so riled up and involved in the process of making the pizza and ice cream, we were ready to eat again!

We started with the pizza since it needed time in the oven to bake...

Putting the words Uiyaji in honour of the village!

Then we sent the pizza into the oven and got started on the ice cream. We were all super shocked when our instructor told us we will be DOING IT BY HAND. And I was even more surprised by how good did tasted.

Using premium milk from the dairy farm in the village- so creamy!!!!

The ice in the bottom bowl is sprinkled in salt to raise its melting point to make it cold enough for the ice cream to form (works like a freezer!). We picked a flavour and then added three tablespoons of it to the milk!

Then we used a hand whisk and whisked AS HARD AS WE CAN, taking turns supporting the bowl and whisking. 

Halfway there! Ice cream is forming on the bottom...

And we kept going... until... (I got pink in the face from all the whisking >.<)

We got ice cream! It is not the super frozen kind, but kind of creamy and semi-slushie like. Freshly made goodnessssssss <3

And our pizza arrived! *signalling time for a group shot!*

And we spent the next thirty minutes sampling everyone else's ice cream (since there were three flavours to choose from) and just recovering from the whisking. I also used the chance to take a picture with our instructor, a very lively lady who laughed a lot and who made us come together as teams while we made our ice cream~

And finally, one quick round in the gift shop before I left! Definitely making plans to return in spring to catch the sheep grazing in the fields, or perhaps next winter to go some snow sledging:)

No I did not end up buying the sheep- exercised a little bit of self control:)

With that, we concluded our trip to Gangwon-do and hopped on the bus for a 3 hour drive back to Seoul! 

For more information about Uiyaji Wind Village, you can visit:

http://www.windvil.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=intro&wr_id=1 (Korean only)

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=1562654&nearBy=accom& (English)

Buses leave from the Dong Seoul Bus Terminal every hour towards Hoenggye (횡계), the closest terminal to Uiyaji. From Hoenggye, you can catch a 10 minute taxi ride to Uiyaji for under 5000 KRW! If you plan to stay overnight, there are pensions and minbaks in Hoenggye, and reservations are recommended especially if you plan to travel during the peak season (winter). 

Gangwon-do escapade- Jeonggangwon (정강원)!

My third trip as rural tourism ambassador this fall/winter semester took me to 

Gangwon-do (강원도),  

the province that is on the east of Gyeonggi-do and which sits on the border of the 38th parallel! This has always been one of my favourite province in Korea because it houses the very first mountain I climbed in Korea- Seoraksan (설악산). This time however, we visited two very different places in the province that shows a different side of the province and all that it has to offer. 

(Disclaimer: this will be a picture heavy post- and will make you want to start planning your own trip here!)

So we left Seoul early in the morning at 8:30am and took a leisurely (ie. a lot of sleeping) three hour drive to Gangwon-do. It is usually only a two hour drive, but the weekend traffic leading out of Seoul is, as usual, a force to be reckoned with.

Our first stop is Jeonggangwon (정강원)- the Institute of Traditional Korean Cuisine. Those of you who are familiar with the 2008 Korean drama Sikhye (식객) about Korean cooking, the view that greets you at Jeonggangwon will be a familiar one!

The hanja sign on the main entrance...

Rows after rows of vats with traditional goodness fermenting inside them~

This is the little road that you will walk down from the main entrance into the main area with all the vats, as well as the dining hall and the hanbok experiential center!

So the first on our travel to-do list was... *drum rolls* the HANBOK (한복) EXPERIENCE!

While this is not my first time wearing the Korean traditional wear (I have previously done it in Seoul as well as while in Jeonju at the hanok village), this was a markedly different experience because...

1. There were 20 of us doing it together- so much more poses that we can try out~
2. The grounds of Jeonggangwon were very peaceful, and were a complete replica of what a traditional Korean country side would be like, so the experience was different from the city buzz in Seoul and the touristy vibe in Jeonju!
3. Do we really need a third reason to try on a hanbok? ^.^

Trying on the hanbok only costs 8,000 KRW and the best thing is that there is no time limit- you just have to return it by 7pm on the same day. In contrast, I paid about 15,000 KRW per person per hanbok for a 4 hour rental (plus a huge deposit!) in Seoul at Oneway Hanbok in September this year! 

Also, it is very convenient to be able to simply step out into a super photogenic place right after putting on your hanbok instead of having to take the subway (and risk dirtying it etc) and waste time getting to a palace etc. 

Doesn't this look like they are from the previous century?

And so here we go.. I decided to go with a hot pink and blue hanbok this time (I wore a pastel coloured one in September when my mum came to visit)...

Close-up!

They have a ROOM FULL OF HANBOK where you can literally mix and match colours to your heart's desire. The staff will help to dress you + give you some advice (since not all hanboks are the same size) and help you find the one that fits you the best! There were more than a dozen of us girls and we all somehow managed to end up with very different colour combinations... 

Proof!

My advice, if you are planning on trying it on is- dress in layers- keep your inner heat tech layer on underneath the hanbok and it will be more than enough to keep you warm! Try not to wear turtleneck inner wear because it will show, and also wear pants/jeans/leggings for full mobility while moving around in your hanbok. Walk carefully (ie. demurely) so you don't trip on the front of your hanbok - I was victim of many near misses in the short 1.5 hour span that we had the hanbok on.  It is good to have proper shoes instead of heels... it helps with jump shots:)

See how beautiful the traditional buildings are behind me!

With the toad- demonstrating why having pants underneath the hanbok is useful... Pose is not recommended because it destroys the elegance of the hanbok.

No filter needed!

Shots like this are also fun to try in there are a lot of you~ (just remember to make sure to adjust how your camera focuses:))

Girl time <3

All of us!

But even if it is just 2 or 3 of you, you can still get creative!

My two male models~

All the prancing around and talking and laughing is energy sapping... so it was time for lunch!

But not before I try on the men's version! Tried (but failed) to look manly~

We all got changed out and headed to the dining area where we were treated to a show of making a communal bibimbap! Bibimbap (비빔밥) is a classic Korean dish, and its name literally means mixed rice. It mostly comes with a variety of vegetables beautifully lined up in the bowl, with egg (either a sunny side up, a raw yolk or shredded fried egg). Meat is optional (hence making this a good meal option for vegetarians!).

All the vegetables...

With a healthy amount of seaweed (kim) and gochujang!

There was enough bibimbap in this GIANT wooden bowl to serve all 20 something of us and with extra servings to spare! I got involved in the mixing (hence no picture>.<) with a larger than life wooden spoon and boy was it difficult! The trick to it is mixing it from the bottom, meaning you really need to scrape the bottom and give it a good toss. Not hard when it is your own bowl... but extremely difficult for a giant bowl because too much strength means the ingredients go flying OUT of the bowl...

We eventually succeeded... and got served in smaller replicas of that giant wooden bowl. I also enjoyed the pancake side dish very very much, because it was made from white kimchi (hence it was sour but not spicy) and the flour was made using locally grown buckwheat instead of wheat (hence the colour).

Feeling like a picture with the bibimbap because I was having a good hair day hehehe^.^

Jeonggangwon is not only a place for you to visit, but also a great place for you to stay at! They offer hanok stays from a starting price of 200,000 KRW a night (for a room for 2), and it comes with breakfast AND dinner (with most of the dishes being locally grown and marinated).

If you are looking for a relaxing getaway, a 3D2N trip to Gangwon-do would be a perfect choice since it is accessible via public transport from inter city bus terminals in Seoul! Buses leave every hour starting at 6 in the morning till 8pm at night. 

For more information about room rates, food experiences at Jeonggangwon and how to get there, you can visit:

http://www.jeonggangwon.com/index.do (English/Korean/Chinese/Japanese)

Seoul: Bugaksan (북악산) hike!

Last Sunday, we took advantage of the one sunny day in-between the consecutive days of rain to go hiking in Seoul! If you think that Seoul is all concrete, then you are much much mistaken! It is actually enveloped by mountains (I kid you not). While it admittedly does not have the highest of peaks, it does have what I affectionately term 'mini mountains' within city limits, which means that they are super accessible by public transport and cheap to make a day trip of since you do not have to take a long distance bus out of the city nor do you have to spend on accommodation near the mountain. 

And this was the mountain I chose after some research:

Bugaksan (북악산)

It is located behind Gyungbukgung (경복궁) and is only 342m high! It is also home to a very scenic pathway, also known as the 'MOST ROMANTIC DRIVING ROUTE', as well as a very impressive pavilion. If you don't plan to self drive in Korea, you can also hire a taxi take you up on that scenic drive while you take in the view with your partner in the backseat:)

But on that Sunday morning, it was the five of us ladies on a 7km round trip hike (To the pavilion and back)! Public buses unfortunately do not drive you up Bugaksan- the closest would be on the foot of the mountain, and then you can take a hike up!

There are quite a few routes up Bugaksan, depending on where you want to end up, and for us, we simply followed the sign that says Bugak Palgakjeong (the name of the pavilion). We were also lucky because there was a huge group of people participating in a GPS competition that Sunday, and they were all on a mission to find Palgakjeong (I eavesdropped) so we tagged along

This is the sign you will want to look out for!

The view along the way: that mountain you see in the distance is Bukhansan, which I also climbed during Chuseok!

Us five ^.^

The hike was relatively easy, with no steep slope or stairs. Half the route was a dirt path, but well trodden, and the other half was on a wooden boardwalk. We all wore normal running shoes and that served is just fine!

The air was fresh, the sky a vibrant blue, and we were all really happy to be taking a break from the city (though technically we were still in the city). We also got some amazing shots of the autumn foliage, which was half the reason why we chose that Sunday- it was now or never since the rain this week was going to cause all the trees to shed most their leaves!

At the start: already seeing hints of red! 

Crossing the road to enter the forest trail.

Going up the steps- AUTUMN STARING US IN OUR FACE!

We were all really excited because it was the first time some of us are experiencing autumn (thank you Southeast Asia for denying us that chance to grow up with a change of seasons), and it was some of your first time going hiking (this is an activity I picked up after coming to Korea because mountains here are so accessible and very much climbable for a relatively (un)fit novice like me!

THEN BAM! 

So pretty it hurts to look...

Now it isn't that hard to understand why autumn is my favourite season right?

BIG SMILE ON MY FACE!

We stopped for pictures along the way, but soon it was evident that the foliage was EVERYWHERE so we kept our cameras and simply enjoyed the view that came with the hike! It took us about 1.5 hours (average pace, stopping for water + pictures) to get to Palgakjeong, and when we did, we whipped out our cameras. AGAIN.

The pavilion had a little garden surrounding it!

Not the best shot since the sun was overhead (it was almost 10:50am!)

A close-up :)

And of course- one picture of us with the pavilion!

We walked around the garden, used the washroom, and spent thirty minutes on top of that observatory deck:) It goes around the pavilion, and you get to see all the various mountains enveloping Seoul! There are also huge binoculars that you can use to get a close up for a mere 500won~

Some of my interesting observations:

A convenience store trying to blend in!

A little ancient pavilion as part of the garden! Wonder why the ahjusshis were eating next to it instead of in it...

For if you feel the urge to write home:)

We had a great time just talking about our experience thus far in Seoul and in graduate school. It was really fun to hear because we all came from different countries and had different backgrounds prior to choosing to do a graduate degree in IR.

A clear indication of the country we are in!

Can you spy the Namsan tower in the distance, along with the rest of Seoul?

One last snap before heading down!

I would most definitely recommend this hike at Bugaksan to those who just want some fresh air and something different to do on a weekend! Serious climbers will probably find this trail quite unrewarding and undemanding in terms of physical exertion. Definitely a good climb for families with children in elementary school or with teenagers!

Also, on our way down...

Isn't she the cutest!!!!!!? We met a pug and her owner gave us the permission to simply play with her. Turns out she is super well trained! Gives her paw to you when you hold out your hand near her feet ^.^