Yes, yes, yes, people have been telling me time and time again.. Korea?!! Again?!! Let me explain myself.. This trip is gonna be different.

10 reasons why I am going to Korea again

1. Scoot flies directly to Seoul (via Taipei).After weeks of marketing, contests, campaigns, they finally launch the tickets on 25 March 2013 at $188 SGD one way, inclusive of taxes. THAT WAS A COMPLETE STEAL.
2. Long Weekend Holiday!!!Initially, I wasn’t exactly keen on a korea trip as I’ve been there twice in two years but oh wells, friend was going there for summer and the temptation of cheap tickets was very strong! The plan was to take only 3 days of leave and go for 10 days of holidays. However, as Scoot only flies on Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun.. I had to take the extra 2 days. It was alright.. I took 5 days of leave and I get 10 days of holiday!Total Damage for Air Tickets : $465.61 (15kg bag to/20kg baggage return)
   FYI, if I were to book tickets now for the same period I’m flying, it is $1154 via Scoot, $1524 via Singapore Air, $1434 via Korea Airlines.
3. Travel Buddy 
   As this is my third visit, the person I am travelling with has to be someone who has already been there before. Thus, we wouldn’t have to repeat the main tourist attractions again. Although I’ve been there twice, the places I’ve covered in my both trips was rather different and of course this third visit would be even more crazy and amazing! (Praying for good weather.)
4. Pension Stay & Exotic Accommodation
   I enjoy the concept of themed accommodation and seems like Korea seems to be pretty talented in it. From smurfilicious mushroom house to Aladdin to Snow White & the 7 dwarfs, Cruise Ship and even a San Torini replica pension! For this trip, I will be exploring a pension which appeared in a popular K-drama last year. Despite attempting to book 4 months in advance, we were unable to book it.. However, we found another pretty place near it. In the process of research, we discovered an entire island of fun & adventure at the west coast of Korea!
   
   
5. Sea Train @ East Coast
   I remember watching a documentary on TV (where pornsak is the host) which featured the railway of Korea and one of this was the special sea train whereby the seats are all arranged facing the sea. This sea train ended up on the list of places that I had to visit Korea again for. I even wrote a full blog post about it as part of the Asian on Air competition and won myself a trip to Korea!! Alas! Despite the great language barrier (I have minimal knowledge of Korean) and with the help of some friends, we managed to book tickets for the popular Sea Train which is sold out by now. Found an english arirang video which features this amazing train ride. This will be one of the key attraction that I will be looking forward to 😀
6. Sunrise @ East Sea
   I love sun rises and sun set by the sea because I like to see the gradient of the colours as three elements (the water air & light) meet. Found a night train leaving Cheongnyangyi at 11:15pm which is not a KTX train.. Thus, the journey is about 6 hours and it brings you down to the middle of Korea before going up the eastern coast. Another reason why I want to take the night train is because we can save on one night of accommodation too! It’s only 23,100W for first class and oh boy I hope it is worth it =)
   We will reach Jeongdongjin at 430am and I guess we have to kill time for another 3 hours before the sky lights up. Crossing fingers that I can find somewhere to nua while waiting for sunrise.
7. Random Adventure(s)
   The best part about not booking exact locations when I’m out of Seoul is to allow for flexibility in my trip. I don’t know what will happen then and whether  I will like any town more than the other.. So.. it will be a hotel/motel-hopping again. Maybe we might be homeless and end up in a jijimbang spa house =/I have ideas of going rail biking (again), climbing the cave, visiting the phallic park and/or even staying at the cruise-like resort. No one knows what exactly I will be doing when I’m there. This makes the trip fun and exciting *fingers crossed* if nothing goes wrong.
8. Fireworks & makkeoli
   I miss Makkeoli the moment I got back.. I like the rice wine taste of it and I miss buying cheap makkeoli and drink it while walking. and it’s time to quote what nichkhun says, “Women are like Makkeoli. Good to have but it gives you a headache after that.”Previously I didn’t dare to try the fireworks because we weren’t certain about anything. This time round, I’m gonna make sure it happens. I’m going to let off fireworks at the beach. I have like numerous days at the beach to try it.. I will make it happen!! I hope it would be something more fun than sparkles..
9. Filming Spots Spying
   After months and months of research, we found a couple of filming places that we would like to visit and hopefully becomes part of our itinerary. From MVs to Movies to dramas, I have compiled a long list of places in my google maps that I hope that I will have a chance to visit them.. Though, hopes are low as they are all over the place!!!
   The top of my list is the pension where the minho and suli drama visited during their summer break and also the wooden bridge that me and my friend found randomly while googling like crazy. Then there is this place with some unique railings that we found using google images. Lastly, there’s the house which appears in that winter the wind blow drama.. The list is never ending.. but my time is limited =(Anyway, I plan and hope to make a MV at the end of my trip.. but right now I have like 0 inspirations on the theme, the song and the content,. I’m all hoping that my plane ride alone can be an inspiration in my director-aspirations.
10. Concert Watching
    Over two weekends, we’ve bought tickets for two concerts. Though they aren’t my favourites, I’m always curious to know how awesome the atmosphere is inside. However, is suddenly came upon to me that there will be no translators there. I have to be sure that I have a fully charged iphone 5 to play candy crush during the lost in translation phase.

***** *****

The journey of a great adventure begins with one single step. This time round, I’m gonna fly alone. Who knows, what surprises will I have this time?

(I’ll be trying.. to do micro-blogging when i’m there. i know the previous time it failed terribly =/)

Look out for my updates!