Andong, Korea Oct 2013

Andong, Korea Oct 2013

This is part of the continuation of the Busan trip.
After Busan, we took a bus to Andong, about 2.5 hours away.
Scenery was nothing spectacular, mostly flatlands.

At the bus station and on the bus inside.
It had a nice 2-1 seating configuration, very comfy!
Seems like most long distance buses in Korea are like that.

Andong is famous in Korea for its traditional Korean buildings, culture and food.
So, I was very interested in going there.

GF had booked a traditional Korean Hanok stay in a rather isolated area.
Unfortunately, we didnt drive and so we took a cab ride for a rather expensive amount.
We could have taken the bus but it would have taken a long time.
We stayed at this place called "Nong-am "
http://www.nongam.com/

Andong is very spread out so when you book lodgings, be sure that you can easily get to it.

 

This particular Hanok was our room for the night.

It had a bedroom with an adjoining modern shower room and toilet.

The ceiling was really low especially the interior doorways so watch your heads!

Heating was via floor heating which was nice!

We unrolled the mattress and put them on the floor to sleep on for the night.

 Dinner at a nearby restaurant.
They also had Andong style mackerel which was quite different from normal grilled mackerels.
Andong style mackerels totally melt in your mouth, maybe it is due to the seasoning they use.
Strange though that Andong is famous for this fish as Andong is nowhere close to the ocean.
Best mackerel that I have had!

 Breakfast in the morning!
Quite a spread!
Definitely recommend the breakfast option if you stay here.
I think it only costs 10,000 won.

After leaving this wonderful and refreshing Hanok stay(my first time), we set off for a former Korean school so to speak. It used to be a place of higher learning back in the old days and now a popular tourist location.
We took a taxi to the bus station and then a local bus (which accepts Seoul's subway transport card) to the school.

Fortunately, we went early before the boatloads of tourists arrived.
There were a few buses worth of tourists who came just as we left the place!

Next up was Hahoe Hanok village.
We took a tourist bus from the school to the village.
This village is actually owned by one family and people still live there.
It is a really large village and very wide open.
The paths are paved though and makes it feel less authentic.

 Another famous Andong dish.
Andong braised chicken.
It is a huge dish though as you can see.
The mackerel was better.

We then took a long distance bus from Andong back to Seoul's Gangnam station.
There was a short stop at a rest stop along the way.
Quite different from the ones in the USA!
This rest stop was massive and had lots of restaurants and shops, almost like a mall.

 Gangnam station in Seoul after a 2.5 hour ride.

Thanks for reading!