Lighting Festival at Garden of Morning Calm :: Day 04 :: South Korea Winter Escape Trip 6-15 January 2017

Our next destination is Garden of Morning Calm. From Gulbongsan Station, we ride subway to Cheongpyeong Station.

From Cheongpyeong Station, we ride Gapyeong Tour bus, with pay for KRW 6.000/pax (you can ride for whole day, just show the ticket to the driver). Out from Subway, just cross the road. And wait for the bus in the bus stop.

Garden of Morning Calm only 1 stop from Cheongpyeong Station. The bus is so crowded. You might need to stand. Becareful, the road to go there full of turn, you have to hold thight. It's better you let the elders or children to sit.

This time table is available at information center in subway. Ask for the brochure for Gapyeong Tour Bus.

Remember the time, because you need to go back before last bus time.

*You can go here after go to Nami Island and Petite France too. I have been there before, so I don't have plan to go there this time.

The bus stop right in front of Garden of Morning Calm. It's not night yet, so we still can see the whole garden before the light up.

The entrance fee is KRW 9.000. But we have discount coupon from Gapyeong Guide Book, so we only pay KRW 7.000.

The night is falling. The sky is dark already, so the lighting is more beautiful. Don't forget to wear enough clothes to keep you warm. It's getting cold at night. Don't forget to bring earmuff, gloves, and scarfs.

 

After walk around, we decided to go back at 19:00 because afraid to skip the bus. Gapyeong Tour Bus back from the garden 1 hour late, special in winter. 

Near the entrance, there's a small shop, they sell heoddeok, eodeng, and some other street food. It's enough to keep your body warm from inside. (eodeng & heoddok: KRW 4.000). They also sell hot packs. I try to buy 1, but it kind of not stick in your body, you can hold it and your hand will be warm. (Hot Packs: KRW 1.500)

Then, we go to bus stop. Luckyly, there's a bus will depart soon, but it's full of people. We stand near the door haha... Besides the driver. Really full of people, you have to be carefull and hold well. 

Back to Seoul, we decided to rest early. 

Part 1: Suwon to Seoul
Part 2: 10 Guesthouse
Part 3: Lotteria Sangbong Station
Part 4: Jade Garden

=======================================================

Expense for 9th January 2017
- T-Money: KRW 10.000

- Lunch at Lotteria: KRW 4.950
- Jade Garden: KRW 8.500
- Hot Chocolate: KRW 4.500
- Garden of Morning Calm: KRW 7.000
- Heoddok & Eodeng: KRW 4.000
- Hot Packs: KRW 1.500


Sub Total: KRW 40.450 (= IDR 505.625)

=======================================================

Flight Ticketing+Accomodation+Visa: IDR 5.390.349,5

6th January 2017: IDR 8.329,5

7th January 2017: IDR 544.633
8th January 2017: IDR 356.250
9th January 2017: IDR 505.625

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Total: IDR 6.805.187 (include transport + eat #food, snack, drink#)

Petite France 쁘띠프랑스 > Cheongyeong ~ South Korea > Day 07 (3) - 2014 October 14 (Busan, Gyeongju, Seoul, Daegwallyeong, Nami Island, Mt Seorak, Kuala Lumpur)

From Nami Island, we rode shuttle bus to Petite France.

Address:
1063, Hoban-ro, Cheongpyeong-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do
경기도 가평군 청평면 호반로 1063

view near Petite France

After travelling 10 km along the lakeside road from Cheongpyeong Dam, in the direction of Namiseom Island, you will come across a cluster of white, exotic buildings on the left-hand hillside. From its outward appearance, it would appear to be a village that belongs on the Mediterranean coast or in a pastoral area of the Piedmont Alps. This is Petite France, a French cultural village set in the Korean countryside! Petite France serves as both a French cultural village and a youth training facility (Goseong Youth Training Center), and consists of 16 French-style buildings where visitors can lodge and experience French food, clothing, and household culture.

The concept of Petite France encapsulates ‘flowers, stars, and the Little Prince.’ The village contains a memorial hall dedicated to Saint-Exupery, the author of the celebrated French novel, Le Petit Prince (1943) and as such it is called the Little Prince theme park. It also has a gallery displaying sculptures and paintings of le coq gaulois (the Gallic rooster), the national symbol of France; Orgel House where a 200-year-old music box plays a sweet melody; a shop that sells herbal and aromatic products; a souvenir shop; and many other locales where you can experience French culture. The village can accommodate up to 200 visitors with 34 guest rooms that hold four to ten people each.
Enjoy the marionette experience and hear percussion instruments from around the world, and also enjoy soap bubble experience.

Credit: Petite France Visit Korea

Admission Fee: 8.000 won for adults

Activity Information:
1. Saint-Exupery Memorial Hall: Displays the life of Saint-Exupery, who was a noted author in France, and the writing process of The Little Prince novel.
2. Orgel House: View the orgels (musicbox) collected from all over European countries and enjoy the sound.
3. France Traditional House Exhibition Hall: Experience the 19 century’s French culture inside France Traditional House.
4. Antique Exhibit Hall: Enjoy and purchase antique items, puppets and porcelain from Europe, including France.
5. Marionette Dance Performance: Shows the dance show of marionette of the Czech Republic.
6. Puppet play: A European play for children, comprised of a Guignol and marionette, French and Czech traditional puppets respectively.
7. Appreciating an orgel: Offer an explanation regarding the history of orgels.
8. Plaster art exhibition: Visitors can create plaster arts, painted by themselves with shapes such as the Little Prince or the Eiffel Tower.

I thought that the place is large, but it's only a small. Not until 1 hour, you have already walk around it. Except if you visit every house. But not all the house is open. And there's a guesthouse in there, if you want to stay here. If you love France Classics things, then you will love this place.

After walk around, we back to the subway by shuttle bus. This time, we go to Cheongpyeong Station because it's the nearest from Petite France. We didn't get a seat, so we standing, and it's a wrong choice. There's so many turn on the way, and it's hard to keep steady inside the bus. One of my friend got sick.

Gapyeong City > South Korea > Day 07 (1) - 2014 October 14 (Busan, Gyeongju, Seoul, Daegwallyeong, Nami Island, Mt Seorak, Kuala Lumpur)

Today, our destination is Namiseom / Nami Island. Located near Gapyeong City, Gyeonggi-do. We rode Kyungchun Line subway from Seoul to Gapyeong.

From Achasan Subway to Gunja Subway, transfer to line 7, then go to Sangbong Subway transfer to Kyungchun Line to Gapyeong.

It took almost 2 hours, so don't forget to calculate your time. It's better if you start earlier.

Along the journey, we can see mountain with their beautiful autumn.

Arrive at Gapyeong, we have to wait for bus shuttle. It only cost 5000 won for 1 day trip. You can hop-off whenever you want to go to some interesting place in there.

Our fisst destination is Nami Island. While waiting for the bust, we take photos around the station. There's a small garden in front of the station.

Actually, we can ride public bus. But we don't know the route. We can also ride taxi. But, the shuttle bus cost 5000 won for 1 day. If you still want to go to petite france and other place, I suggest you rode the shuttle bus. But if you only go to Namiseom, you can ride taxi.

Here if you want to wait for public bus or taxi.

A lot of people go to Nami Island. You have to queue to ride the bus. First come first ride. The shuttle bus stop is in front of Tourism Information Centre right in front of the station. Make sure you queue in the front, because you can get a seat inside the bus. It's hard to stand while ride bus, especially the road to Nami Island full of turn. You can either bus-sick or feel awful looking how the bus driver drove the bus.

It took 15 minutes.