Unfortunately we missed the shuttle to Nami, despite having to run around the area trying to find it =( Luckily we knew of another way to get there, which was by public transport. Coming from Jamsil, we took the MTR to Mangu station, then changed lines to get to Gapyeong. This took 2 hours, including the long walk up and down the stairs in between each station.
Kyungchun Line (mint colour) is located on the upper right corner of the MTR map. Mangu is boxed in red. Make sure the train is going towards Kyungchun, or any of the stations along that line to reach Gapyeong (circled in blue)
[source from google images]
At Gapyeong we took a taxi to the Nami warf, which cost 3100W for a 10 minute drive. We got dropped off at the carpark and walked towards the ticket office. On our left was the zip-line tower, another fast and fun alternative to get onto the island (38000W).
Through the lovely gates was the line to wait for the ferry ride.
The ferry comes quite frequently, about 10-20min between 9am-6pm. Otherwise it's every 30min after 7.30am and between 6-9.45pm. The ferry allows passengers to either sit inside or enjoy the scenery on the upper deck and around the ferry.
Ferry port as the ferry leaves
In the distance was Nami Island!
Along the way we saw 1 or 2 people using the zipline. It looks great fun but probably not during a cold winter morning...
Icecaps were already beginning to form.
Once we stepped onto the land of Nami, I immediately whipped up my camera and my finger started going crazy on the shutter button near the wharf. I haven't even gone a few steps into the island and there were already many things to see!
This isn't the famous Ginko Tree lane that's pretty much photographed in all Nami-related articles, but it was still a nice path to walk through. This was called the Central Korea Pine Tree Lane, and it was also used in the show. The scenery was amazing. I reckon it's great to come with family, friends, partners, or even a nice stroll by yourself.
And of course, FOOD time! There were so many restaurants, cafes and shops to explore. By lunchtime I was starving (despite my friends being not as hungry as I was), so I un-shamelessly went to a cafe and ordered myself this large piece of honey cinnamon toast all for myself. And IT WAS HEAVEN. Well maybe because I was starving, but really, with the cream on the side the taste was heavenly. I demand all of you who visit Nami, or South Korea, to try the honey toast!
The coffee place we went to had some interesting flavors like mint and oreo coffee for about 4000W, but unfortunately we didn't really taste the flavor. Still it was good to have a hot cuppa to warm ourselves up.
As you see, many food and tourist stores are found around the island, and their styles fit in with the entire scenery.
This weird statue with a mother feeding her 2 sons (the other is on her back and suckling from her other over-sized breast slung around her left shoulder). This was found further down the other side of the island near Metasequioa Lane (the map of Nami island can be found online).
And of course the famous Winter Sonata Statue, resembling the 2 leads standing amongst the trees on Metasequioa Lane.
The Ginko Tree lane is where you'll see the large tall trees that appear different in each season. If we were to visit when it was colder and snowing, the trees would've been covered with white snow.
Dodamsambong Garden
During other seasons you can hire a bike and ride around the island at the Bike Center. Obviously due to the ice no one was doing that. But there were many ice sculptures to see, and the igloos were a favorite for tourists.
Coast on the opposite side of the island
There were even cottages for people to rent and stay, each named after an animal. The fare for a cottage with a double bed is 110 000W per night (unless discounted to 88000W). Nearby there was also a hotel called Jeonggwanru where the fare ranges from 99000W-150000W (regular price), and condo-style bungalows from 160000-380000W (regular price). For more information go to www.namisum.com
A freaky looking Olaf near the hotel
And a random cow with a barcode on its side already given up on life
Also found a fluffy cute rabbit eating a cabbage along the way back to the wharf. There was a crowd of people, especially children, surrounding it and taking photos like me haha. It seems to be used to the attention.
The whole day went by quite quickly, and there was still places to explore! Alas we wanted to return to Seoul before it got dark, so we hopped onto the ferry and said goodbye to beautiful Nami Island...
Once we arrived back to Gapyeong, finding the shuttle bus in the carpark was tricky. My advice is to check the time and look around for a bus that's running and people are getting on. And then ask and show the driver your print-out ticket.
The trip back to Jamsil took 1 hour - so definitely better than public transport, especially when you're tired from walking. At Jamsil we were dropped off in front of Lotte Mall so we spent the rest of the evening exploring the famous franchise mall and chose a Korean hotpot restaurant on the top floor for our dinner. This place is run by mostly aunties and they were very delighted to help us order, which required some hand gestures, pointing and guess-work.
Our huge pot of...stuff. From memory it had rice cakes, beef, thick noodles, mushrooms, fish cake, beanshoots and other veggies. You just can't be hungry after a Korean meal, the portions are huge and the side dishes are never-ending! This costs 16000W per person.
And once it starts bubbling and cooking, it becomes this!
Finally for dessert, we went down stairs to the other food court to find a dessert place. Here at 'The Pan' we ordered 2 waffles with green tea and vanilla Haagen-Dazs ice-cream scoops. Compared to other waffles I found them more softer in consistency rather than the crisp ones from back home. They were however a great meal to end the night.
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