Dumulmeori & Semiwon

Officially, this was my first solo trip out of Seoul. Granted it was only a day trip and it wasn’t very far haha. For some reason all my plans for solo travels always fail and I always end up traveling with others (although that isn’t a bad thing at all), so I was really excited for this one~

I first saw Dumulmeori on Karin’s instagram, who saw it from Sheryl’s instagram. Haha seriously Sheryl discovers all the cool places~ Dumulmeori is a place ‘where two rivers meet‘, literally that’s what it means.

So on a fine hot day, I set out to go to Dumulmeori! Grabbed an iced latte on the way and hopped on the train, ready to start the adventure. Reached the station and BAM it rained. I was so crestfallen, like is my first solo trip going to be ruined just like this?! I didn’t bring an umbrella and i know it’s inconvenient to travel while raining. But I just told myself to give it a chance and just wait, maybe the rain would stop? Fortunately it got lighter after a while and I chionged to an eatery to grab food first!

2014-07-09-14-33-31_photo

Hugeeeee bowl of Bibimbap!! 😀

The rain faded away but i decided to buy an umbrella anyway. one thing i noticed was that Korea doesn’t seem to have that many foldable umbrellas and the ones they sell are crappy and expensive :/ they sell lots of those transparent huge ones. I managed to find one that was nicer than most of the other crappy ones, but also more expensive, at $12. Sigh.

But it was fortunate i bought it though, cuz it rained after that haha.

After a nice meal I made my way towards Dumulmeori. It was a quiet path in and I passed by lots of private properties. I saw this coffee place on the way and stopped by to take a photo of the surroundings, before this yappy dog ran out and started barking at me. I thought he looked harmless tho so I stayeda round, but then he started to run out of the house so I put some distance between me and the place. I looked back to take a photo of him but the bugger started chasing me further down and admittedly i was quite scared LOL. Wouldn’t wanna get a nasty bite on my first solo trip.

But it was a bit wtf though because if it’s really a cafe they shouldn’t put a dog that would chase people out, or the owners should be alert to its barking right. Oh wells.

IMG_3207

the annoying little fellow who chased me away :c

IMG_3214

Walked on for like another 1km and saw this pretty sight:

IMG_3219

 

so peaceful! 🙂

Reached the resting area and also the common point between Dumulmeori and Semiwon, which is some sort of a garden.

IMG_3223

Bridge made out of boats~

I made my way to Dumulmeori first!

IMG_3231

IMG_3235

Lots of cyclists!

Dumulmeori itself was very pretty.

IMG_3253

IMG_3266

Particularly liked this photo!

IMG_3263

IMG_3268

It doesn’t look like that much on photo, but i think it was the kind of sights i like to see. If i had to choose a scenic location i like the most, i’d say lakes, rivers, cliffs, etc. I’m more for the water kind of sceneries, although beaches are kinda overrated to me. So that was particulraly why I liked Dumulmeori. It’s nice to just look at the sights and walk on my own leisurely pace. 🙂

There were plenty of restaurants and cafes around this area but i didn’t stop as i had no time.

I turned back and made my way back to the first checkpoint where I was deciding between Dumulmeori and Semiwon.

IMG_3274

Saw this old couple along the way. They were taking selfies and all aww

Headed to Semiwon that was located across the boat bridge. Paid 4000won as entrance fee but saw lots of people going in without buyin tickets? Meh.

This bridge was quite the sight. It was supported on a bunch of boats.

 

 

IMG_3275

I guess I’m going to warn first that I didn’t like Semiwon. It’s mostly personal preference, in my opinion at least, because I wasn’t a fan of flowers and gardens. But Karin who recommended me to go there loved it because she loves flowers. Haha. Depends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_3288

IMG_3294

pretty bridge

IMG_3325

IMG_3345

There were a lot of them photographers!

IMG_3340

IMG_3359

IMG_3366

Looks pretty from here, OTW out!

How to get to Dumulmeori & Semiwon (they’re in the same area):

Yangsu Station (Jungang Subway Line), Exit 1. When you exit the station, just keep on going straight. There’s a sign pointing to the correct direction. It’s a bit of a walk but keep on going and look out for signs. You will go through an ulu area and come out to a road area, where you can go either right (dumulmeori) or left (semiwon). It doesn’t matter which since they’re in the same area, just pick one of the roads and keep on heading straight through a long path and you will get to the checkpoint.

It took me about an hour or so traveling from Gwangheungchang to Yangsu.

 

Leave a comment