Travel-bug was biting and the itch to go for a short holiday triggered me to start planning for a short holiday to Japan for me and wife. I was checking out the Nakasendo Walk self guided tour, airfares to Japan, accommodation, Japan Rail Pass and places to go and was almost ready to book my flights, tour, etc., when the airfare for that specific day for my flight to Narita shot up by 30% overnight. The dates for our travel are not flexible due to some work commitment and it would be very sickening to pay 30% more for airfare just because we missed booking our flights by a day! So, we changed our plan and decided to go to Korea instead. So I will go, see and shoot Korea from November 8 to November 15 instead.
Autumn is a nice time to visit Korea and Japan as the fall foliage is a pretty sight. The best time to view the fall foliage depends on the weather for that year, and it was forecasted that the peak for fall foliage in Korea would be in the week of 26 October, starting from Seoul and Seoraksan area and then moving down South to Busan and Jeju. There were reports that the leaves may last till early November. So going to Korea on the week of November 8 would mean that we will miss seeing the best of the fall foliage and may also miss seeing any fall foliage altogether.
The best places to see the fall foliage are the national parks of Korea, especially Seoraksan (Mount Seorak) with numerous hiking trails. I did research on how to get to Mount Seorak and Sokchi via public transport and also what are the hiking trails and sights to see in and Sokcho and Mount Seorak.
For those who prefers to do Mount Seorak as a organised day trip from Seoul, there are many options and packages available here.
Besides the national parks, there are also many places within Seoul that are excellent for autumn leaves viewing, such as the areas in and around the palaces (Deoksugung, Changdeokgung, Gyeongbokgung, Samcheongdong), Garosu-gil and even the Skypark near the World Cup stadium.
Hence, my itinerary was planned such that we will visit the best places for fall foliage viewing in the first few days of arrival. Koreans love hiking and the weekends at Seoraksan would be crowded. Hence, we planned to avoid visiting Seoraksan on the weekends.
This was our trip plan:
Day 1 (8 November 2014)
Travel from home to Seoul International Airport.
After check-in at our hotel , spend the afternoon at Garosu-gil.
Make a visit to Jacob’s Ladder cafe, cafe owned by Yoon Eun Hye.
Evening shopping at Shinsegae store near our hotel.
Stay: Seoul Palace Hotel at Seoul
Trip report Part 1: Autumn at Garosu-gil
Trip report Part 2: Quest for Jacob’s Ladder.
Day 2 (9 November 2014)
Visit Changdeokgung and its Secret Garden.
Visit Bukchon Hanok Village, Samcheongdong, Gyeongbokgung and/or Deoksugung.
Stay: Seoul Palace Hotel at Seoul
Trip report Part 1 – Autumn leaves viewing at Changdeokgung
Trip report Part 2 – Autumn leaves viewing and lunch outside Changdeokgung
Trip report Part 3 – Changdeokgung’s Secret Garden
Trip report Part 4 - Bukchon Hanok Village, Samcheongdong
Day 3 (10 November 2014)
Travel by express bus to Sokcho.
Afternoon in Seoraksan to do the Cable Car and Gwongeumseong walking course.
Climb to the peak of a hill at Gwongeumseong.
Stay: Kensington Stars Hotel conveniently located just outside Seoraksan National Park. Beatles fans would be thrilled by the hotel’s Abbey Road Sky Lounge featuring some original Beatles memorabilia.
Trip report Part 1 – Travel by express bus from Seoul to Sokcho.
Trip report Part 2 - Seoraksan in November – Cable Car and Gwongeumseong walking course
Trip report Part 3 – Evening at Seoraksan
Trip report Part 4 - Seorak Kensington Stars Hotel and the Abbey Road Bistro
Day 4 (11 November 2014)
Whole day hiking at Seoraksan National Park – do the Biseondae Trail. Biseondae (비선대) is a nice 3 km walking trail that follows a river tucked within the steep and rocky slopes of the Seoraksan mountain range.
After passing the Biseondae Rock, there is a steep trail leading up to a cave (Geumganggul Cave – 금강굴) high up in the very steep cliffs. Not for those with fear of heights! But incredible views from up there!
Stay: Kensington Stars Hotel located just outside Seoraksan National Park.
Trip report Part 1 - Trail to Biseondae Rock Platform and Geumganggul Cave ( Part 1)
Trip report Part 2 - Trail to Biseondae Rock Platform and Geumganggul Cave ( Part 2 )
Trip report Part 3 - Seafood dinner at Sokcho’s Daepohang Port
Day 5 (12 November 2014)
Morning hike at Seoraksan National Park – do the Biryong Trail. This is a nice easy trail leading to a waterfall.
Spend the afternoon exploring Sokcho city. Visit Abai Village and ride the Gaetbae Boat.
Must try: Squid Sundaes at Sokcho and also the seafood (Crabs!).
Stay: Kensington Stars Hotel located just outside Seoraksan National Park.
Trip report Part 1 - Trail to Yukdam Waterfall and Biryong Waterfall
Trip report Part 2 - Free and easy in Sokcho, the seaside city
Trip report Part 3 - Gaetbae boat to Abai Village
Day 6 (13 November 2014)
Travel back to Seoul by express bus and check in to the Ibis Ambassador Hotel near Myeongdong.
Afternoon at Skypark to view the golden eulalia reeds at their best and also a good place to view the sunset over the city. ** we skipped this **
Dinner at Hongdae or Myeongdong area.
Stay: Ibis Ambassador Hotel in Seoul. This hotel is conveniently located within Myeongdong shopping district.
Trip report - From Sokcho to Seoul and afternoon in Myeongdong
Day 7 (14 November 2014)
Spend the morning Cafe hopping at Hongdae (including a visit to shooting location of Coffee Prince).
Spend the after shopping and eating local cuisine in Myeongdong in the afternoon.
Go to the annual Lantern Festival event at Cheonggyecheon at night to view the lanterns.
Stay: Ibis Ambassador Hotel in Seoul. This hotel is conveniently located within Myeongdong shopping district.
Trip report - Free and easy in Seoul ( Hongdae and Insadong)
Trip report – Seoul Lantern Festival 2014
Day 8 (15 November 2014)
Last minute shopping at Myeongdong before traveling home.
The week leading up to the trip was one where I was watching the weather forecast like a hawk. A stretch of rain or cold weather front could means no more fall foliage and aborting our plans to hike Mount Seorak.
We were blessed with relatively good weather on the day we arrived (Saturday) and continuing to Wednesday when we completed most of our planned hikes at Mount Seorak. Temperature was between 12 to 15 degrees C in the day and it was not windy. A cold front hits Korea on Thursday and Friday where the temperature actually went near freezing point in the day and sub-zero at night.
The actual trip turned out pretty close to the above and went very well, I must say. We skipped Skypark due to the weather on November 13. I figured it would not be fun to be in an open park with the wind and temperature near freezing point. Best thing to do in bad weather would be shopping. So we did some shopping at Myeongdong where the shops provided a warm refuge when needed. Cosmetics and beauty products are the best buys when in Korea. Clothes would be too, but the stores were selling mostly autumn and winter wear.
Besides shopping, we went in search of some of the recommended places to enjoy Korea food. Some are hits and misses as well.
More details of our trip can be found in the journal posts.
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