Tracy's Trip #6: Geongbokgung Palace (Seoul)

Geongbokgung Palace

When your're travelling to South Korea, there are some must see places to visit including the Geongbokgung Palace. In this palace, you can learn the rich history, lifestyle and cultural beliefs of Korean people during that time and how that history has shaped Korea today.

Gwanghwamon Gate: main entrance

Some brief history of the palace. This palace was built in 1395 during the Joseon Dynasty and was considered the main palace as it was situated in the heart of the capital city, Seoul. It had many residents including kings, their families and the government of that era until the Imjin war; better known as the Hideyoshi invasions of 1592-98 were the Japanese came and burnt down the palace. It was left abandoned for two centuries until the prince's regent called for a reconstruction in 1867.

Standing in front of the gates

As soon as we entered the gates, we had the opportunity to wear the traditional costumes of the different statuses of men during that era.

Wearing their traditional costume

We also witnessed a ceremony that took place during the ancient times. We learnt that the royal guards of the Joseon Dynasty performed the task of guarding the entrance to the palace where the king who ruled the country resided. The ceremony has taken place since 1469 with the present reenactment ceremony beginning in 1996.

Traditional changing of the guard ceremony

Guards to guard the gate

Walking in the grounds of Geongbukgung palace, we came across the national museum of South Korea named The National Folk Museum of Korea. This museum contained many things including historical artifacts and replicas that were used in the daily life of Korean people as well as representations of the Korean way of life.  

Incense burner 

Stamp

Apparatus to make canvas 

Ssangnyuk game (Double six)

Traditional wedding ceremony

Click on the link below to learn more about the palace:

http://www.royalpalace.go.kr/html/eng/main/main.jsp

Sandy's Trip #5: Sydney CBD

Hello to all our travel squatters :)

Today, I will be showing you all how great it is in Sydney CBD! Basically getting to Sydney CBD is easy, now that there are so many forms of transportation -Train, Car, Light rail, by bike or even, walking there. My decision to go into the CBD was basically because, they were holding the Taiwanese Festival. Check out what's on in Sydney, and plan a day out!

What's on in Sydney

Spring was upon us, so why not commit to learning more about our diversity and, the different cultures around Sydney. The Sydney Taiwanese Festival, is a cultural event which showcased their cultural foods, music, dance, games and even, stores focused on investments. There were many food stalls and, personally the food was delicious. 

When you're hungry and see food

Chinese pork with shallot and garlic chives. 

BBQ Pork with coriander and nuts in a bun.

A stand for individuals to create their own Taiwanese attacher. 

Tracy's Trip #4: N Seoul Tower

N Seoul Tower

N Seoul Tower is one of the most iconic symbols of Seoul. This place has now become a popular date spot for tourists, families and couples. It is a romantic pilgrimage for those who wish to declare their eternal love, much like the Pont de l’Archevêché in Paris.

Bottom of the tower

Typically the name or initials of their loved ones are inscribed onto the padlock with the keys thrown away to symbolise unbreakable love. Other things that I witnessed include messages written on various items such as phone cases and flip flops as well as photos encased in plastic.  

Love lock bridge

But unlike the government in Paris and other cities where love locks are cut down, N Seoul Tower encourages people to leave locks in specially designated areas.

Designated area at the bottom of the tower

They even went as far as providing metal trees and hearts for this purpose. Now there are thousands of love locks scattered around the base of the tower spreading messages of love. The tower’s operators also provided a “key bin” for the keys, so those won’t be thrown from the tower causing environmental harm.

Hyun Sik's Trip #3: 5 Restaurants that you should visit in Sydney

Even if you had an ‘almost fantastic’ visit to a certain place, you cannot say that it was perfect when you were not satisfied with the food that you had!

Here are Travel Squad’s top 5 restaurants in Sydney area so you can make your visit to Sydney more memorable.

1. Bar Reggio

This Italian based restaurant is located at Darlinghurst, just few minutes away from Hyde Park. It is a relatively small restaurant however the history of it is over 20 years.

To say about good things first, every choice from the menu will be satisfying to the most of the customers. They are affordable, great in both quantity and quality. Also the staffs are nice and friendly. It will cost about $50 for two people dining.

The only issue here is almost every time we visit, the number of customers is exceeding the maximum number of people that the restaurant can handle. In other words, you will have to wait every time you visit without a booking.

Bar Reggio is famous for their traditional Italian style pizza. We strongly recommend you to sacrifice few bucks to get a large pizza over small ones because the size difference is just huge.

2. Grounds of Alexandria

Similar to Bar Reggio, a problem of the place will be the waiting time. According to personal experience, the average waiting time is close to 30 minutes during weekdays, and an hour in weekends. 

However, this place provides very different experience to Bar Reggio. If Bar Reggio is like a comfortable place to have some loud chat with your mates, The grounds of Alexandria has antique, gourmet and traditional atmosphere coming from their lovely interior layout and a variety of activities (The Grounds Market every weekends, cuddling with farm animals, Garden, Coffee Academy etc).

Average cost for two people is about $75. It is definitely costly compared to what you actually eat, but for the majority, it won’t feel like ‘rip off’ thinking about the activities, atmosphere that you can experience.

3. Sepia

Unlike the other two, Sepia is one of the Sydney’s prestigious restaurants with reputation of its extremely high quality food. It was awarded ‘The World’s Top 50 Restaurants’ in 2015. When we talk about this place, we have to mention about the famous star chef ‘Martin Benn’ who is awarded ‘Chef of the Year’ in 2015. From his experience of French and Japanese cuisine throughout his career, we can experience the unusual harmony of the two distinct cuisines in a single meal.

 As you might have expected, you will have to spend lots of money to experience those finest quality food. Usually 5 course menu costs $160 per person and 9 course tasting menu costs $190 per person. With some drinks menu, you will have to pay about $500 for two people dining. However you will easily find out that the price is reasonable when you have tasted the creative, unique, but still faultless and superb quality dishes.

4. Mappen Noodle Bar

This Japanese retro style restaurant will easily catch your eyes with distinct interior layout. This place is popular among workers in Sydney CBD since the price of every menu will never hurt you. There are few Japanese noodle options such as Udon, Soba and Ramen with a variety of choices of sauce/soup. Our recommendation is to have any Bukkake noodles because it is quite rare and obviously very delicious.

After you choose your noodle, it is time to pick some self served Japanese Tempura or Gyoza along side of the noodle section. Noodles, few Tempuras and a drink will definitely cost lower than $20 per person. If you want grab a quick but nice lunch, this place should be one of the best options in Sydney.

5. Embers Mezze Bar 

Australia is famous for its multicultural society. Therefore, it is a great privilege to experience many different cuisines in Sydney. We recommend you to take all the benefits of this great opportunity in Sydney. The last restaurant ‘Embers Mezze Bar’ provides middle-eastern, especially Lebanese style food. When you first see the menu, the unfamiliar names on the menu for the people who have never experienced middle-eastern cuisine may be confusing. However the restaurant provides great quality Lebanese food with modern twist so it will suit most people’s taste.

If Sepia was high-end quality restaurant and Mappen Noodle Bar was low-cost everyone’s favorite, Embers Mezze Bar is just ordinary mid-range restaurant which will suit to most people for every purpose. It will cost about $60 per two people dining. 

Sandy Trip #2: Gold Coast

Gold Coast

Surfers Paradise

Hi guys!

Welcome back to another travelling post, this time we are focusing on the Gold Coast. 

SkyPoint Observation Deck view, during the day.

SkyPoint Observation Deck view, at night.

SkyPoint Observation Deck

One of the most inevitable travel experiences that should be completed is defiantly, visiting the 'SkyPoint Observation Deck'. You will have the ability to return to SkyPoint with its pass, being valid for up to 7 days. Be sure to experience both the astonishing day and night views. To check out the pricing for this breathtaking adventure, click here.

Dream World - Animals 

Dream World was so fun. There was also so many people who attended. 

Lastly, a squatting pose to sign off bye :)

Kat's Trip #1: Blue Mountains

Blue Mountains
Empress falls

Empress falls is a mystical and refreshing sight. Walking down towards the waterfall and gradually hearing the sound of the waterfall getting laugher is a embracing sight to see. We witnesses a stream that was created over millions of years cutting deep was a narrow canyon through the upper layers of Blue Mountains.

Empress falls is a popular place for abseiling. Falling a 30m-drop into a pool lagoon, also finding local swimmers and visitors. The waters are so deep and freezing cold that we witness swimmers embracing themselves for the freezing waters. This is also a perfect place to take photos and take in the surroundings of the native trees and animals.

There are so many obstacles the walk delivers. Hiking though mysterious and dark parts of the rainforest to rocky steps, steel and wooden staircases and steep slops. Challenging hikers but also bring breathtaking scenic views and experiences to sit and take a break to embrace the sunlight.

Where will our next adventure take us, stay tuned for out next blog.

Also visit us on twitter 

Sandy: Introduction

Welcome to Travelsquatters! We are an exciting bunch of Isys100 Students, ready to take you on an adventure through our travel posts. Our concept is 'travelling' and 'squatting', so expect alot of excitement and squatting actions throughout our posts. :) More information about our website.

"The website we have created is a travel blog that is used to fundamentally express each member's experiences, adventures and interests confronted in our lifestyle. We have decided to create a travel blog mainly due to the fact that we are all very adventurous, and crave to share our experiences with all our viewers. To make our travel posts a bit more exciting, we have decided to incorporate ‘squatting’ into our posts to illustrate our uniqueness, which symbolises us as bloggers having fun and further accentuate the concept of travelling whilst squatting.  The posts generated are targeted towards viewers who has an interest in travelling, food or simply, having a good time."

Sandy Su

Hi guys! Im sandy nice to meet all our Travelsquatter friends :) Im an Australian-born Chinese student and blogger. I am a very social person and very outgoing. I love to eat food, explore different places and, learn about other different cultures. At the moment, I am in love with playing League of Legend haha - it's so fun. I want to connect with people from all around the world and, spread my thoughts to those who are interested. Follow me on my personal blog :) 

Katherine Niravong

I'm adventurous and willing to try new things. The best thing about traveling is the company. Have good company = good travel experience. Hobbies are to visit new places and food stores, hiking and canoeing. The best thing about traveling, is that you can never know where it can take you and the adventures it can bring. 

Tim Linsell

I'm generally a pretty quiet person but I'm always willing to try new things. I'm an avid gamer and, a movie lover but I've been all over the world with my family. Which has fueled a passion for travelling and learning. The memories I have created from some of my journeys can rank from some of my absolute favourites. 

Tracy Lee

I'm a quiet and shy person at first, until you get to know me. I love doing adventurous activities and, am a thrill seeker. I have travelled to various places overseas and plan to do more in the future, with my next stop being South East Asia. Some of my hobbies includes watching movies/ TV shows, reading and of course, travelling.

Hyun Sik Woo

Hi My name is Hyun Sik. I am a very optimistic person who enjoys composing music and playing a variety of musical instruments such as drums pianos etc. I am a geeky person who uses collects various devices such as mobile phones and computers. I have been travelling to various places around the world and, I am eager to share some good places to visit and, tips for travelling in this blog.