Travel with Karla

Travel with Karla is open for collaboration such as accommodation 

(hotel/guesthouse), cafe, restaurant, and product reviews.

You may email me at karla.obispo@gmail.com for business partnership.

Trip to Nami Island

Nami Island is my dream destination in Korea. It is the setting of the Endless Love - "Winter Sonata". It's a little bit far from my place in Seoul that's why I had to wait for a holiday to schedule my visit there.

There are two options on how to go to the Island: zip wire and ferry boat. I and my friends are adventurous so we chose the first option. It's the tallest and longest zip wire I've ever been. It costs 38,000 won including the ferry boat fare going out of the Island. We signed up immediately when we get there but there's a lot of tourists so we need to wait for about an hour before going up. An hour is enough to have lunch in the restaurants nearby. 

That's the view from the restaurant where we ate lunch. I think only one waitress knows how to speak English that's why she just asked us what we want to eat and gave us options. 

"Bibimbap" is my default meal whenever I can't decide what to eat. It's a mixture of different vegetables with rice. This meal costs 7,000 won.

I took this picture while inside the elevator going up. I wasn't able to take a video while in the zip wire. As much as I want to capture the moment, I also want to secure my phone and enjoy the ride without worrying about anything for 90 seconds. 

Oh and by the way, the zip wire has a weight limit of 45 kgs.

It's my first winter ever so I was really excited to see a snowman. I also saw a Filipina snowman! In the Island, you can see many snowman wearing traditional clothes of different countries.

I found the famous Cholo and Jodie statue! I  also walked through the tree lane. Yes, I'm a fan. LOL. If you wanna see better tree lanes, you should visit during Autumn Season.

I checked the weather forecasts before going to the Island. I made sure that it will be snowing so I can feel the "Winter Sonata." It was cold but I really enjoyed it. I even bought an ice cream! :)

Because it's Korean New Year, you can post your wishes here. 

They also have igloos/ ice mazes every winter.

I'll surely go back here with my special someone. 

How to go there: 

Take a train to Gapyeong Station

From Gapyeong Station, ride a tourist bus going to Nami Island.

Admission: 

Visa Fee and round trip fare:  8,000 won (foreigner)

Zip Wire: 38,000 won (includes entrance fee and ferry fare)

Trip to Mt. Batulao

This is not the usual travel blog. 

I don't think I can give you much advice about what to bring or what activities to do. I just write here to share my experience. I chose to make this blog personal. 

It's been a year since I climbed a mountain. I've been very busy with my career and of course with my master's degree. Whenever I have the opportunity for these kind of adventures, I eagerly grab them! :)

I cant remember the exact date of this hike but I know that it was my last day of second semester 2015. I was so tired of making my final papers for Philo Ed and my research paper for Psycho-Socio-Linguistics. I also had my final exam on Intro to Linguistics that day.

My brother texted me about his plan on hiking to Mt. Batulao. He's really problematic because my parents didn't allow him to go with his friends. As a "kind" sister (HAHAHA), I persuaded my parents to allow him provided that I'll go with Karlo.

I was in Manila that time. I think I arrived at Cavite around 7pm. I had dinner and hurriedly pack my things for the hike. I felt a rush because it's literally last minute for me!

I met my brother's friends and we ride a bus to Batangas. I think the fare from Robinson Dasma to Batulao is around 60php.

We decided to have a night hike. We paid 400 to a guide from the village near the mountain. I think it was around 11pm when we decided to sleep. I wasn't informed that nobody brought a tent! We just used some blankets and slept on the ground. I think we were halfway near the peak. 

We started hiking 5am to witness the sunrise at the peak of the mountain. It was all worth it.