Some of them would look at me in fascination, "Wah, you also know Suwon!"
Well, I know where Suwon is, pointing it at the map would be easy. But I had only been to Suwon once for my 'biggest' culture class when I was still in Ewha. The things that I learned from the trip was only about Hwaseong Fortress the wall and that Suwon is famous for Galbi. Last Sunday, I decided to visit Suwon again with AskCulture.
My guide for the day was Yeaji. She prepared the itinerary and the trip would start from 2PM till 8PM. She lives in Suwon and our meeting point was at Suwon Station. I had a long subway ride just the week before to Incheon so I decided to take the train to cut the journey from almost two hours to 40 minutes. The ticket from Seoul Station to Suwon Station is only 2700 won.
I was quite excited but unfortunately, it was raining when I arrived and I did not bring my umbrella. -_-
My expectation went down as our trip would be all outdoor and we need the weather to cooperate. Sigh. Still, we decided to look around the Hwaseong in the rain.
The entrance ticket is actually super cheap, only 1500 won. But hey, why pay when you can get free admission? Yeaji shared a very cool tip that we can enter for free and get discount to several other attractions in Suwon by adding Suwon City on Kakaotalk. The promotion will last till this month only, I guess. Nice, as expected, you learn better when you go with the local.
Walking in the muddy and wet terrain, we started exploring the huge Hwaseong area. The first part was tying your wish to a hundreds-years-old-tree. It was pretty cool and simple, as you just write your wish on the provided paper and tie it to the rail. No fancy locks or challenging stuff. I like simple stuff haha.
There are many cool and weird exhibitions inside. The one that I remembered from my last trip was the display of the foods that they serve for certain ceremonies. It is too much!
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| Massive feast, "crap, this is too much" |
I think I could not contain my expression. There are fruits, fishes, meats and many other kinds of stuff. Like more than 30 dishes...
Traveling back to Joseon Dynasty, many of the decorations look pretty lavish for that time. They are not as colorful as what we normally see from the Javanese Royal Kingdom tho.
I have no idea how big this place is but it is huuuuge. The rain stopped not long after we start and it started to get creepy. There was barely any other visitors. Felt like we owned the place. A good day to stroll around, indeed.
The more you go inside, the quieter it became. At one random corner that looked like a tomb (seriously, there was no one and the area looked shabby), I found a very interesting exhibition.
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| peeping inside |
I was too curious about what's inside but sadly it was locked. Well, I did not give up and climbed to peek in instead. It was a hole-y place.
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| my old friend, traditional toilet |
I was talking about the traditional toilet! Muahaha. My YLS peeps would totally get my 'obsession' with toilet. I once dreamed of building some public toilets in the jungle of Central Java. I took the idea seriously but in the end, I built a house for an indigenous family itself. As my friends said, "At least the house has a toilet!"
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| back to the entrance area |
We continued to discover fascinating Korean things that I never saw before. Like there is this wooden box that you supposed to use it to store rice but it became famous because back then, a dad killed his child inside or a traditional rain clock. We finished around 4 pm. I don't know if we actually managed to look through every corner of the Hwaseong. It is a huge and interesting place.
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| one artsy corner |
Then we walked to the artsy handicraft road next to the Hwaseong. I never knew this road exists. The atmosphere feels like a modest version Samcheongdong, with the art but without the expensive cafes. We stopped by a shop which sells 'dalgona', Korean traditional sugar snack or Indonesian might be familiar with gulali. It is made from pure white sugar plus some baking soda. You heat the sugar, after it melts then you add baking soda and taadaa!
Eating them was not the fun part. Well, who thinks to be a step closer from diabetes is fun?
The real Korean way of enjoying dalgona is to cut the shape without cracking the whole thing. If you succeed, you can get one more for free. I took the heart shape challenge.
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| I am all serious for my heart |
Oh it wasn't easy. I didn't screw it that bad, only one crack but still... No free dalgona, which honestly I think it was a great thing. Even one was too much for 3 people haha.
The next activity is the one I anticipated a lot: eating chicken! So there is a chicken alley nearby. Many traditional chicken shops are doing business there. To any newbie out there: Koreans take their chicken obsession seriously. There are thousands of chicken shops in this country and it's pretty much a national snack.
What's unique from this chicken alley is that they normally sell traditional whole chicken (they chopped it, don't worry) or we call it 'tongdak' rather than the fancy boneless chicken. I always go for boneless but this time I had no option.
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| the Jinmi 'chicken factory' |
We went to the best chicken shop there called JinmiTongdak. It was a really huge restaurant, 3 floors, only selling 3 types of chicken: original fried, sauce, or half-half. But even at 4PM, we needed to queue. This place is damn popular and the scale is no kidding. 'Chicken factory', indeed.
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| massive |
We waited to be seated in the cold before we were told to go to the second floor. There are two areas on the second floor, the seating area and the 'lesehan' area. We went to the floor area. Interesting.
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| crazy visual |
It took us quite a long time before our half-half chicken came. Good first impression, it looked sexy and appetizing. I first tasted the original fried and... So much better than my expectation!
I really love this chicken and it was relatively cheap, 15000won. I also love how they provide sauce in every table. Just like how I could instantly fall in love with restaurants that provide fork, I am impressed with any Korean restaurant that serves sauce. My favorite.
The interesting part is that they also serve the chicken ass. Like real ass. See the dark small pieces on the left plate? Looked like mushroom and no, I don't want to try it. Changhyun said it is tasty tho but nah, thanks,
Content with our chicken, we took the city bus to the highlight of the day: riding helium balloon!
Hmm actually I am not really sure on how to call this thing properly in English but they do have an official name. The ride is called Flying Suwon :))))
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| Flying Suwon shot, great one cr: Changhyun |
My first impression was that this Flying Suwon is rather expensive and annoying. They do not operate when the weather is bad. The thing is how would I know... I came all the way from Seoul and to miss this ride would be a huge disappointment for me. Thankfully the rain stopped!!!
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| Flying Suwon! |
The size of this balloon is grand. It can fit up to 30 people.
We did not wait long for our turn. There were only a couple plus us, 3 people, and the operator. We climbed up slowly until we reached our peak point. Then the operator started to help us taking picture. Very helpful and kind!
The view was really pretty. I would rather highlight the sensation tho. Normally we would climb a tower or skyscraper to see a very cool night view but this time, we rode a balloon! I thought it was my first time doing an open observatory but Baiyoke Skydeck in Bangkok was also outdoor haha.
The duration of the ride was pretty long. I didn't really count but it was satisfying. I don't normally take selfies but I think I took a lot when we were up there. It was just too lovely. Worth it!
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| Why you need to visit at night |
Our trip did not end with the balloon ride. We took a walk around the wall. Changhyun said that it is a perfect date course. Well, let me find my lover soon and take him to Suwon later :))))
Anyway, I did not know that Suwon's Hwaseong is so stunning at night! The walk was even more memorable with Yeaji's camera and Yeaji+Changhyun's photography skill. I can talk a walk here at any day but I need someone to take great pictures of me, right! Hahaha
We walked around until the bus stop on the other side. Then we took the bus to Suwon Station and parted our ways there. I am super happy I got the chance to know Suwon better, this time without a whole load of history that I would never need to understand and Galbi that I can't eat. I sort of regret I discovered the chicken because I might go back to Suwon just for that heavenly tongdak. Now that I think about it, if Yeaji did not design the itinerary, why would I ever thought of going to Hwaseong at night anyway?
To those who feel like they already know Seoul for too well and looking for a short escape, visit Suwon Hwaseong with AskCulture! I recommend this course for curious souls who are sick of mainstream cultural tour. Selamat jalan-jalan!
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