Here's a little about the island:
"Namiseom Island was formed as a result of the construction of the Cheongpyeong Dam. It is a half moon shaped (462,809㎡) isle, and on it is the grave of General Nami, who led a great victory against the rebels in the 13th year of the 7th king of the Joseon Dynasty, King Sejo (reign 1455 ~ 1468). Namiseom Island is 63 km away from Seoul in the direction of Chuncheon, and is famous for its beautiful tree lined roads. The island is 30 minutes away from Chuncheon and an hour away from suburbs of Seoul. Since it is not far from Seoul, many couples and families come to visit.
A special feature of Namiseom Island is that there are no telephone poles. This is because all electric wires were built underground to keep the natural feeling of the landscape. The complex is 553,560 square yards with chestnut trees and poplar trees around the isle. In the middle of the isle, there is a grass field about 316,320 square yards. It is composed of education and training facilities, camping sites, swimming pools and water-sports facilities for motorboats and water skiing. There is also a theme park with merry-go-rounds, a shooting range, roller skating rink, and there are lodging facilities such as resort villas and bungalows."
Also - IT IS ITS OWN COUNTRY! That's right, it's owned by a man who loves trash, so he makes art and decorations using bicycle parts, recycled bottles, and etc. There was also a movie filmed here, Winter Sonata.
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| Passing through Immigration |
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| The brown coins are the currency |
Ticketman: I have idea for you.
Me: Ok, what's your idea?
Ticketman: You zipline 10 minutes from now.
Me: You mean we wait 10 minutes, and then our turn?
Ticketman: Yes. We had cancel.
Me: OK! Sign us up!
And that's how we went from a 4 hour wait to a 10 minute wait (we thanked Buddha for this one).
So, after our 10 minute wait, we headed up the elevator to the top of the zipline. Beside the zipline was a bungee jump, and I got scared looking at it. As we got higher and higher, I worried that I would be too scared to zipline, after the debacle of a time I had trying to bungee.
At the top, we got our instructions, and then waited out turn. The guys strapped us in, I got butterflies, and then the doors opened and we were off. "AHHHHHHHHH....ohhhh, this is soooo coooool" was what came out of my mouth. Needless to say, it was WAY better than bungee jumping. Here are some pix from the 'line...
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| Practicing |
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| See ya later, Korea! |
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| I'm on my way, Nami Island! |
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| Landing Time |
Once we landed, the first thing on our mind was FOOD! So we hopped into a chicken place, and had a bbq chicken/soup/rice meal. Then it was time to explore the island. Here are some pictures of the recycled trash I mentioned above, along with general pictures from the island.
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| Looking out over the water, between the "Soju Walls" |
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| Scariest statue ever...a woman breastfeeding her son. |
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| Recycling old shoes to use as planters. |
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| I love this pond...and the "fish" seem easy to care for. |
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| "Rockfish" |
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| Wishing Gourds on trees all over the island |
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| The newest actors in Winter Sonata...I think we can pull it off! |
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| The "streets" were lined with trees, with no telephone or electricity lines anywhere! |
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| Bottom of glass Soju bottles cut off and hung like a chandelier. |
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| Soju Bottles, Makgeolli Bottles, and a Bike Wheel. |
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| Walls of melted Soju bottles |
We decide ok, let's make sure we don't need a ticket to the ferry, and then get in line. So Jessica asks the Namiseom Cop (crowd control) about a ticket and here's what transpires:
Jessica: "We ziplined onto the island, do we need a ticket to get on the ferry"
Cop: No ticket
Jessica: So. we don't need a ticket?
Cop: No.
Jessica: We just get in this.....liiinnee???
Cop: (looks around) 2 of you?
Me: Yes, just the 2 of us.
Cop: Come here
Me: Jess (as she had started walking away), let's go!
Cop: (leads us to the front of the herd - it wasn't really a LINE per say) Here.
Me: Ok, thanks!
Yup, we got to the front of the "line". No 3 hour wait for us. (Thanks again Buddha!)
We hopped on the next ferry, and within a few minutes we were walking back to the subway station.
Oh Buddha, you were really looking out for us. Thanks! Oh, wait...you're not done yet? Ok. Well, it's YOUR birthday...do as you wish!
So Jessica and I grab the train, and as we get on, we realize that it's not a subway train, but a REAL "tickets with assigned seats" train. Since we were already on, we plopped down on the floor in the "bike room" with some other Koreans. We had about 10 stops to go, so we were just happy to sit down this time. Then the train started going, past stop 1, past stop 2, and so on. Wow, we are going to make it home earlier than we thought!
Then it happened...the ticket man came through. He called out for tickets (or so I assume, as it was in Korean) and everyone in our room pulled out paper tickets. He glanced at them, said "OK" and Jessica and I shot each other nervous looks since we didn't have tickets. Then he left. Hmm, he'll probably come back to check ours. Yup, here he comes....right through the room. He doesn't stop for us. SWEET! So, we stay on the train till the next stop...which was the end of the line for the train, and the closest transfer to Jessica's house. PERFECT!
Buddha was looking out for us all day. No lines for us, and making our travel easier. It probably helped that we were the only foreigners around that day, but hey - sometimes it's good to be a foreigner :)
Ghamsamnidah,
Apes
PS: Here's my zipling video!
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