Hallyuwood Day: Nami Do
Besides, 24/7 Starcraft, we saw an English-language channel showcasing Korean technology that recycles cooking oil (I think it was Arirang), and one channel is showing latenight Holy Saturday mass. We are in Korea during the Easter weekend. You will easily notice, people tend to wear black and white. Men in black suits. The women in black also, and white veil. In contrast, here in the Philippines, people usually wear something casual.
Next morning. The breakfast foods at La Vie D’or is layed out initially a bit confusing for me. Perhaps from our vantage point it’s layed vertically, and not presenting the foods available easily in our view. It’s still divided in sections, a Korean section, salads and typical western fare. Unlike the previous hotels and resorts, La Vie D’or seems to cater more to business people. Lots of people in suits. Tourguide Irene made sure to reserve the tables for us. Before 7:30 am, the lines easily start to become long. Food rating, decent if not great but better than Best Western.
Outside the hotel is particularly cold. Irene is a bit woried as the weather forecast says it could rain. We all hoped it won’t (it didn’t). Irene always make sure we are entertained even in the tourbus. The bus has a videoke player. She asks if anyone would like to sing. Wilson, one of the senior members of our group suggest she sing first. As icebreaker, she does and sings the theme song to the movie My Sassy Girl, "I Believe." Then we all take turns including James and I. From Elvis Presley to Five for Fighiting to even classic Chinese songs. This goes for two hours. As ending song, since that day was Easter Sunday, I sang one of the songs I sing at church, Memorial Acclamation. We arrive to the pier that will take us to Nami Island.
We take a small ferry boat which is about 10-15 minutes to Nami Island. It’s a very cold morning, but you can see some people wearing and doing activities not normally associated with springtime. James saw someone waterskiing. We see female students wearing short skirts. A few people are not wearing jackets. The temperature at the time… bbbrrr!!!
The island is man-made. Lots of activities to do. The roads are lined with young sequoias. There are artworks scattered. One of the first things you will see once on the island is General Nami’s tomb for whom the island is named. There is a plaque describing him in four languages.
A UNICEF hall is located near the dock. There is this bicycle rail construct. You must pay to pedal your way in this rail. 
There is a tent selling teas and cosmetics. We drank the free samples. Yummy. Nami Island is famous as one of the scenic backdrops of the Korean drama, Winter Sonata. There is a statue of the two leads in the middle of the island. Plenty of couples have the same idea of standing beside the statue in the same pose. There’s lots of Winter Sonata posters and pics around the statue. Interestingly, there are ostriches mostly sitting around. They are not caged, though Irene carefully warns not to get too close. Since Nami is a small half-moon shaped island, it doesn’t take long to go from one end to the other. There’s so many things to describe in Nami. It is more of a cultural park. There’s UNICEF, the usual souvenir shops, dollar exchange, rides, restaurants that include a Halal committee!
We are on the island till about 12pm, so we have to go to lunch. By this time the temperature is warmer. Back on the wharf or dock, there are also souvenir and trinket shops nearby. Even CDs of Winter Sonata. We ride the bus. Irene it turns out bought some postcards featuring Winter Sonata. She gives this as gift to everyone. We then proceed to lunch where we will be having what our guide describes as Korean chicken barbecue. She didn’t give the Korean name for this, but I think I could just about name this dish. But that will be a story for my next log.
