7/20(금)-Jeongdongjin: Romantic Place on East Coast

[설탕가루(lara)]

 

<Jeongdongjin: Romantic Place on East Coast>

By Oleg Kiriyanov
Contributing writer

It would probably be difficult to find a South Korean who does not know the Jeongdongjin Railway Station situated on the seashore of the East Sea. Some people think that this is the most romantic and beautiful place in the whole country.

Well, that probably depends on the taste but it is not difficult to argue that Jeongdongjin is a really beautiful spot of the seashore: a big nice sand beach, beautiful rocks and mountains, and emerald seawater.

At the same time you can easily find lots of similar beautiful spots on that seashore but they are not as well-known as Jeongdongjin. It became famous after a few touching scenes of a popular (at the time) Korean drama ``Hourglass'' were filmed there. That is why the souvenir shops of that area are full of various modifications of hourglasses.

In the middle of the small but nice park situated near the Jeongdongjin beach, there is one very special hourglass, which became probably the main attraction and symbol of the area. Opened on the first day of 2000, that hourglass is more than eight meters in diameter.

It contains eight tons of sand and it takes exactly one year for the sand to move from the upper part of to the lower one. So the hourglass is being turned upside down at 0:00 on the first of January attracting thousands of people to the area to celebrate the beginning of a new year.

Another interesting place that makes Jeongdongjin different and special among other spots on the seashore is the railway station itself.

They say that this is the railway station that is most closely situated to the seashore in the South Korea. Indeed the sea is very close. There is even a special ``sunrise train'' departing from Seoul and arriving at Jeongdongjin just before the sunrise, letting the passengers see how the sun of a new day appears over the horizon. Isn't it romantic? That is probably the reason why the train is very popular among lovers.

There are also three rocks in the sea just in front of the station. Called ``three brothers' rocks,'' it has its own sad but beautiful legend about brothers who loved each other and finally turned into three rocks in the sea to stay together forever.

Jeongdongjin is also famous for its quite interesting ``Sun Cruise Hotel.'' The ``sad'' part of the ship-shaped hotel and its park is that 5,000 won is charged as an entrance fee, but the impression is worth the money paid.

The hotel is an exact copy of a big ocean liner and stands on the very edge of the mountain rising above the beach. So it looks like a big ship stays on a mountain with its rostrum hanging over the sea by about 100 meters. The ship-shaped hotel can be seen from far away, so with the huge hourglass it has become another symbol of Jeongdongjin.

If you come to the observation platform of the hotel you can enjoy a spectacular birds-eye view of the whole Jeongdongjin area. There is also a special stand on the very end of the rostrum for those who want to feel they are the heroes of the movie ``Titanic.'' It actually looks as if you are on a ship drifting on the waves.

The park around the hotel has a lot of interesting sculptures where tourists love taking pictures. For example, with a ``post stamp'' sculpture, you can put yourself as a picture on the stamp. Or the sculpture of two huge hands directed to the sea. So the favorite picture of those who come to see the sunrise is when the sun stays just between the palms _ like two palms holding the sun.

Taking funny pictures with sculptures in the park is so popular that the hotel administration encourages visitors to send them copies; the best of which are displayed at the observation desk of the hotel.

A bridge above a small pond in front of the hotel is another attraction popular among visitors. If you stay on the bridge you see six stone baskets in the pond. Each of the baskets has it own name: love, success, health, etc. So you throw a coin exactly into a basket on which it is believed that you will have what is written. This game is so popular that last year the hotel collected from the pond coins worth more than 21 million won. All the money is always spent on charitable purposes. So even if you miss one of the baskets, your money will help somebody anyway.

The park around the hotel even has its own museum and while the hotel looks like a modern ocean-going ship, the museum is a copy of a sail ship. So from the side you see two ships standing on the edge of the mountain.

The museum is named as ``The Museum of Sound'' or the Museum of Thomas Edison. It contains a surprisingly large collection of numerous things invented by the famous scientist _ from irons to electric lamps and gramophones.

The visit to the museum makes you wonder how one person could invent so many things that we use very widely now. But this is very well explained by the one saying made by Thomas Edison: ``I would like to live 300 years, I think I have ideas enough to keep me busy that long.'' The museum is undergoing renovation but will be open at the end of July 2007.

But even if you won't be lucky enough to visit the world of Edison's inventions, Jeongdongjin _ with its beautiful scenery, sandy beach, emerald sea, huge hourglass, interesting railway station, ship-shaped hotel on the cliff and a park full of sculptures _ is definitely worth a visit. Do not forget: maybe it is the most romantic place in the entire country _ at least some people really think so.

<A Thoroughly Classic Tour of Laos>
The courtyard of Wat Si Saket, the oldest temple in Vientiane, built in 1818.By Ed Peters
Contributing writer

The ``Enigma of Arrival’’ is a well-worn phrase, but one that has especial resonance when landing somewhere completely new, such as Vientiane. But after we had hurdled Immigration and Customs, there to meet my wife and me was the smiling, reassuring personage of Khamsouk Douanglakaysone who, thankfully, suggested we simply address him as Souk.

Souk, a guide working with Laos Classic Tours _ which we had found and booked through the user-friendly www.visit-mekong.com Web site _ was to be our reception, mentor, vade mecum and chum over the next couple of days in the Lao capital.

While the facts and figures that he could recite at the drop of a hat could all be found in a Lonely Planet or Rough Guide, he could also answer more searching questions, provide up-to-date shopping and dining recommendations, and even discourse knowledgeably about Russia, where he had trained as an engineer.

He was the face and heart of Vientiane and its history, and pretty much Google on legs with a grin to go with it.

After a comfortable and refreshing night at the Don Chan Palace, Vientiane’s most unmissable hotel, we sallied forth in company with Souk to Wat Si Saket. Built in 1818 by King Anouvong following the Bangkok style, it’s the oldest temple in the city, and the only one to have escaped the ravages of war. Souk gently led us around its confines, explaining the history of the scores of Buddha images, and the precise meaning of their various physiognomies.

It was then just a short step across the road to Ho Pha Keo, a former temple built in 1565 by King Setthathirat, and since converted into a museum containing some of the most stunning examples of Buddhist sculptures to be found anywhere in the country, as well as one of the jars from the legendary and mysterious Plain of Jars near Phonsavan.

From there, we boarded our limousine, which piloted us through the streets to the soaring chedi of Pha That Luang, the country’s most import!ant national monument, dating from around the A.D. 12th century.


Visitors to Pak Ou Caves need to climb steep stairs from the water’s edge.Its cloisters were festooned with paintings by local artists, but it was outside that my eye was caught by a silver ring displayed on a market stall. Souk supplemented my rudimentary Lao, and after a brisk and lively bargaining session, I walked away minus several thousand kip but with a glistening reminder of a morning spent touring one of Asia’s most gentle capitals.

We finished up at the Patu Xai, Vientiane’s answer to Paris’s Arc de Triomphe, supposedly built with concrete left over from the construction of the airport. We climbed its stairways, passing a myriad of souvenir stalls, to gaze out from the roof over the entire city, and out toward the airport where the next morning, we bid Souk a fond farewell and took off north for Luang Prabang.

In the former capital of the Lan Xang kingdom, Souk’s place was taken by Somsanith Rattana _ conveniently known as Nith _ who not only unrolled a stunning itinerary of temples and museums, but also promised to help with any other requests.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Luang Prabang is renowned for its graceful architecture and air of total calm, and it was in Nith’s company that we toured the stunningly beautiful five-century-old Wat Xieng Thong, as well as the National Museum, once the royal palace and now home to many religious treasures and other regalia.

We took the weight off our feet that evening with a reflexology session at the Villa Santi Resort and Spa, where we were staying, and the next morning headed north to the Pak Ou Caves, set above the confluence of the Mekong and Ou Rivers.

It was a steep climb up from the water’s edge, but each of the caves, lined with hundreds of Buddha images, has an almost magical, other-worldly aura, and we were left quietly amazed at this perfectly natural and utterly serene place of worship.

On the way back to Luang Prabang, after we had dropped by Ban Xang Hai village, which produces the local rice whisky, Nith asked if we had any special requests. We did indeed, we said _ we wanted to buy two slightly unusual items: a pair of mammoth cushions we had spotted at the Santi, and a letter box similar to the sky-blue ones we had seen affixed to many local houses.

Off we sped to the Post Office, but they were out of stock, and a search of Talaat Dala market and several shops ended in similar results in the way of cushions. We even trawled the night market which, while filled with a cornucopia of alluring bits and pieces, lacked both letter boxes and cushions.

Nith apologized for our lack of success with a gentle smile. But it didn’t matter, because as far as souvenirs went, we had so much in the way of happy memories. As the plane soared off to Bangkok the next day, we both agreed that our Classic Laos Tour had been just that _ classic.

Questions
1. Do you like traveling? if you do, what kind of traveling is the best for you? Package tour or free style tour? anything else?
2. Today's articles are introducing two gorgeous places 정동진 and 라오스. Which place do you like better? domestic sites or overseas tour?
3. Some manias enjoy traveling the outcast places. What do you think about this kind of traveling?
4. If you have a dream tour, what would it be? Tell us about it more specific...where? with who? when? how long? what would you do there?
5. Think about honeymoon it's just once in a life...if you have had a honeymoon, how was it? if you don't have it yet, what is your dream honeymoon?