Olympic Park

Back in June I used my day off to visit Olympic Park. (This post has actually been lying in the draft for ages because I was too lazy to edit the pictures… but here it finally is!) I’ve read about the rose garden there and I really wanted to visit. However, since I went in the middle of June, there actually weren’t as many roses as I expected. Rather than just seeing the rose garden, I decided to take a walk around the whole park to make the trip worth something. There’s a sculpture park there, I’m actually not sure if it’s an official park but there were many artworks on display outdoors. There’s also two museums there, I was thinking about visiting the art museum but I decided not to. It was very peaceful there and not many people, mainly elderly taking a stroll. All in all, it was just a nice place to take a walk and get a breath of fresh air. If I lived close by (ie. a walkable distance) I would probably visit a lot, but honestly, it’s not a trip I would make again just to see it. But it would be a nice place to have a picnic or just an outdoor day with friends, families, etc.

Olympic Park is located right outside of Exit 3 of Line 5 Olympic Park Station. There’s an information center there where you can pick up a map or ask the workers for directions.

(Note: If my photos appear a bit too saturated or contrasted it’s because my laptop calibrates photos differently. I’ve tried everything to fix it so people can see the images how I see it, but it gets tiring to check back and forth from different monitors so I’m just posting this because it’s way overdue!)

Weekend Trip to Hong Kong Day 2

Egg tart, a must-have in Hong Kong! This is how foggy it was up at the Peak when I went.Another picture to prove just how foggy it was! I’m 100% sure that the view would have been beautiful if only the weather was cooperating so if you happen to be in HK on a good day, it would be worth the trip!

My second day in Hong Kong was spent seeing and doing everything I wanted to do. It was my only full day in the country before I headed back to Seoul the next morning. I started with Kowloon Walled City Park and made my way down. I looked up bakeries that have the best egg tarts and chose one (and the favorite of the blogger) that was close to where I was in Kowloon! It’s called Hoover Cake Shop and it wasn’t too hard to find! I’m not a huge fan of egg tarts, but I don’t hate them either. They’re just alright but these egg tarts were great. Only 7 HKD, it’s pretty cheap and a must-have in Hong Kong.

Afterwards, I headed to Mong Kok where all the markets are (Flower, bird, ladies, sports, and goldfish). I honestly was a little bit disappointed by the Yuen Po Bird Garden, I expected a lot more vendors and just rows and rows of people selling birds but it’s actually not like that at all. Still worth going to though and it’s interesting to see all the different kinds of birds. I was pretty surprised to see a parrot! I walked past the Flower market to the Ladies market. I wanted to go to the goldfish street but I’m a bit afraid of fish (anything underwater) so I decided to save that for next time when I’m with a friend. Also my feet were killing me from all the walking I did, word of advice, if you’re planning on doing a lot of walking, wear comfortable sneakers (flats, oxfords are cute but not worth it). If you look up where Kowloon Walled City is and where Mong Kok/Prince Edward Station is, that is how much I walked instead of taking a bus or the MTR. If you’re not that much of a walker, oxfords, flats and other cute shoes should be fine!

I also went to the Peak to take a look at the view. I read it was worth it so I took the little red tram which is 40 HKD for an adult roundtrip ticket. Unfortunately, it was really foggy when I went so I wasn’t able to see anything! But on the way down, the weather cleared up a little and I was able to get a glimpse of what I could have seen on a clear day, except at a lower elevation. I wrapped up my day by going eye shopping in Causeway Bay and Central. One of my favorite brands has stores in HK so I was determined to go! I actually didn’t end up buying anything but it was nice to explore the city more.

Overall, I enjoyed my solo trip and surprisingly was able to survive with just the 700 HKD I brought with me. However, I would not recommend this amount to just anyone, I tend to not eat while I travel and I like to walk everywhere rather than take public transportation if it’s ‘close enough’ so most others will probably need more than that. I did end up using only about ~500 HKD though for the weekend for anyone who wants an idea of how much it costs to travel to Hong Kong (This does not include the hotel + flight). Also, I got the Octopus card which I highly recommend! Its 150 HKD to first purchase which includes a 50 HKD deposit and the fare. I didn’t use the airport express but just bought the regular card. You can refund it later at any MTR station or at the airport and get the remaining amount back!

Haneul Park

Haneul Park is a park located at World Cup Stadium Station in Seoul. It’s a place I always wanted to go but never found the time to until now. There are actually several parks there but I wanted to visit this one. Maybe later I’ll go to the other ones. You can take a shuttle bus to the top of the hill where the park is or just walk up. I decided to walk up using the stairs . The park itself is separated into various areas and theres an ‘observatory deck’ there which is a unique looking sculpture. What really caught my eye though were the various houses on sticks. Those were really fun to photograph and just to look at.

To get to the park, get off at World Cup Stadium Station Exit 1 and walk to the other side of the Stadium and cross the main street. There are signs that show where you are and where the park is!

Address: 95, Haneulgongwon-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul