The cobbled stone pavement of the Royal Mile was filled with street performers and viewers, as the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Event (annual military performance every August) was celebrated by the city that time. We were a bit exhausted and hungry after visiting some places, so we took a break and decided to eat at Oink. It is a small eatery located at one of the famous streets in Old Town called Victoria Street. They are known for their hog roast rolls which is kinda unique for my taste. Continue reading “Our Two-Day Itinerary in Edinburgh (Part 4) | Exploring the Rest of Royal Mile”→
The city of Edinburgh has two well known areas, they call it the Old Town and the New Town. Most of the tourist attractions can be found at the Old Town which is also considered the historical and medieval part of the city. The New Town on the other hand was the result of an expansion made during the 18th century since the Old Town was beginning to be overcrowded. It was named as such since it was “new” during that period, but not at present time. Classical Georgian style buildings dominate this part of the city, which apart from being a residential area, it also houses some restaurants and shops. Continue reading “Our Two-Day Itinerary in Edinburgh (Part 3) | Exploring the Rest of Royal Mile”→
After our visit to the castle, we went ahead and walked to a place that offers Scotch Whiskey Experience. It is literally located outside the gates of Edinburgh Castle. Once again, we bought our ticket on that day only. We were lucky because they still have few slots left for the last tour that day which was around 5:20pm. They offer various tours, but we opted for the basic or they call it silver tour, which will let you see and try the following:
The tour will start by riding a whiskey barrel. It will travel you through the history and the process of producing Scotch whiskey. This ride is complete with narration, sounds and lighting effects.
After the ride, we went into a room that displays the stages of grain in the production of scotch whiskey. You can touch and smell the grains on display.
Then we were escorted by our tour guide to another room. He played a short video showing the different places where Scotch whiskeys are made, and how they are different from each other. They gave us a card, that you need to touch or rub in order to smell the aromas of each type of whiskey. From there, you can choose which kind you wanted to taste by placing your glass on the colored circle. Since we were on a silver tour, we only get to taste one, and I chose Speyside because it smells sweet. As for the others with a Gold tour, they can taste all the flavors.
Once all glasses of the guests were filled up, we proceeded to another room, to view the World’s Largest collection of Scotch Whiskey. This was the time that we tasted the whiskey. Despite the sweet smell of Speyside, it is still so whiskey, meaning bitter and strong. They surprised us by giving to us as a gift the glasses that we used during the tasting session. The tour ended there. They have a restaurant and shop where you can dine, buy whiskeys of course and other items as souvenir.
Credits to the Scotch Whiskey Experience website. This is their nearly 4,000 bottles of Scotch Whiskey.
I learned some stuff and had a great time during this experience, even though I’m not really into heavy liquors. But I would not recommend it, unless you are a fan of liquors, a drinker or just wanted to try different types of it. If you want to visit this because you want to learn how whiskeys are produced, then I would advise you to just go to distilleries around Scotland, where they will properly show you in actual how it is made.
Then we’re off to our next activity which was a visit to the Edinburgh Dungeon. The place was a few minutes walk from the Scotch Whiskey Experience. There are also other Dungeons like this in London and in other cities, but we chose to do it here because according to some reviews, the one in Edinburgh offers the best experience.
The trip inside the Edinburgh Dungeon takes 80 minutes. You will be in a group and there are full cast of actors that will guide and lead you from one show to another. Each show have different themes based on the real history and legends of Scotland, and each sets are decorated with state of the art designs and special effects. All the performers were really good and convincing. Aside from the shows, there were also 2 exciting rides that you will get to experience once inside. I don’t want to be a spoiler, but if you decided to do this tour, you must be ready and attentive in every show. It was a fun, scary and awesome activity. I would recommend this one if you have at least 2 days to spend in the city, but if not, you may skip it and opt for other must see attractions in Edinburgh. By the way, it’s not allowed to take photos inside, but they do take pictures upon your entrance and exit which you will have to buy of course.
Before we head back to our accommodation, we had a quick dinner at Mc Donald’s because we were very tired and don’t want to search for other places to eat. We also stopped by a Tesco store to buy some food for breakfast the following day.
That concluded our first day in Edinburgh. It was a tiring but fun filled day.
What you Need to Know:
The Scotch Whiskey Experience have limited slots per tour, so it is advisable to buy your tickets online, though you can also buy it on the day, provided they still have available.
There are various Scotch Whiskey tour experiences to choose from. The cheapest is the Silver tour, amounting to 15 Pounds. Click here to know more about the others.
The narration in the Whiskey Barrel Ride is available in other languages such as Chinese, German, Italian, French and others.
It is advisable to book your Edinburgh Dungeon tickets in advance online, as it is cheaper compared buying on the day. Plus you can choose the timing that best suits your schedule. They also have limited slots per tour.
Opening times for these 2 attractions depends on the season. So be sure to check their websites.
There are various ticket combos for the Edinburgh Dungeon. But the cheapest is 13 pounds. You may check their website on this link.
If your hotel does not offer breakfast, you can buy a combo meal at Tesco, which already have one big sandwich, small bag of chips and drinks for only 3 pounds.
We always walk or use the bus when going around Edinburgh. For the bus, you can buy a whole day ticket from the driver. Just keep in mind to give exact amount, as they don’t give change.
Edinburgh was the second city we visited during our UK trip last August 2016. It is the capital city of Scotland and we were fortunate enough to spend 2 full days at this beautiful and historic place. A popular annual event (every August) called the Edinburgh Military Tattoo was also celebrated when we were there. The reason why there were performances and events happening all over the city. Continue reading “Our Two-Day Itinerary in Edinburgh | Part 1: Exploring Edinburgh Castle”→
I always keep on saying that Titanic has been one of my favorite movies. Well it is true, that is why I really got so excited when we went to the Titanic Museum last year during our visit to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Not sure if I’m just dumb, but I only learned that Titanic was built in this city when I was researching on the activities to do there. Anyway, here are some of the pictures of what we have seen and explored inside. Continue reading “What to Expect on your Titanic Belfast Experience?”→
Last December 24, 2016, we went to the newly opened mall here in Qatar, which is called the Mall of Qatar. It is located in Al Rayyan, which is near the City of Doha. We used google maps to reach the place, but we still ended up getting rerouted because most of the roads leading there are still under construction. There are signs to follow though, but your eyes should be quick in spotting those. Continue reading “Checking Out Mall of Qatar”→
Ever wonder how North Korea looks like? Are you curious to know how people go on with their daily lives there? How about visiting the border that separates the North from the South Korea?
During our vacation to Seoul last month, we availed a tour service from Panmunjom Travel Center, which basically gave me a partial answer to the questions above. There were various tours to choose from that includes DMZ or Panmunjom / JSA. We initially chose the one with JSA, however there was an ongoing military training that time, thus we were left with the Special DMZ tour.
By the way, DMZ or Demilitarized Zone is a de facto border barrier that divides the Korean Peninsula into North and South, while JSA or Joint Security Area is the only portion of DMZ where North and South Korean forces stand face to face. It is often called as the Truce Village in both media and military accounts (credits to wikipedia).
On the day of our visit, we went straight to the meeting place which was at Koreana Hotel. The tour that we chose started around 9:am, and it took us close to one hour before we reached our first stop.
Odusan Unification Observatory. Our first destination. This site is outside the DMZ, but included in the tour since it gives visitors some insights about the life in North Korea. Unfortunately, it was foggy during our visit, so I was not able to take great pictures of the place.
Upon our arrival, our tour guide first discussed to us the sites around before entering the observatory.
Entrance to the Observatory.An altar that was built as a place of prayer for Koreans who abandoned their homes in the North during the war for refuge in the South and wish to return to their homes. (Got this from the text on the side of the altar)Statue of Cho Man-Sik -He was a National Activist in Korea’s independent movement. (credits to Wikipedia)
Then, we watched a short film which mainly informs us about the village in North Korea that we will about to see once we peeked through the binoculars. This village is a propaganda in order to show people how “lovely” life is in there.
Didn’t got a great shot of the place because of the fog. Across the river is already North Korea.Peeking through the binoculars. I was able to see the propaganda village, and it really looks abandoned.
We went on a short tour inside where various exhibitions are shown depicting the hopes of many for a unified Korea.
These small frames contain the messages of North Korean defectors to the family that they left behind in North Korea, hoping that they will be reunited someday. “Unification Train” – a train bound to Paris that will someday connect Seoul and Pyongyang
Afterwards, another video was shown to us in order to understand further the life of the people in North Korea. This was also the time when we met a North Korean defector (people who fled the North). She did a short slide show presentation and told us how she was able to escape from her country. The Q & A was done afterwards. It was devastating to know that the government controls the lives of the people there, they don’t get to experience the freedom and democracy that we enjoy.
This is a traditional Korean game where you need to shoot the arrow on a wooden bucket. I was not able to shoot any. During our tour, whoever wins the game will receive a DVD of the short film that we watched.
Imjingak Park. The second stop for the tour, and we were given 15 minutes to roam around this place.
This is an observation deck and a museum. There are binoculars available to see North Korea on the other side.Colorful ribbons tied by the locals or visitors bearing their messages and hopes for Korea’s unification.This train was used during the war. It once connected North and South Korea.Freedom Bridge – used by the North Koreans to flee to the South during the war.Korean style pond garden.
After visiting the Imjingak Park, we headed to a Korean restaurant where we had our Bulgogi Lunch (included in the tour price). We were given around 45 minutes to finish, and then we continued with the tour. Before going to our next destination, we switched to a different bus. This is the time that a military official board the bus and checked our passports one by one.
Bulgogi Lunch
Dorasan Station. This is a railway station which once connected North and South Korea. It was recently restored with 2 trips everyday from Seoul to Dorasan, but no trips going to the North at the moment.
Dora Observatory. Located at the top of Mount Dora, this is also a place where you can see North Korea through binoculars.
You need to insert 500 won to use these binoculars for 2 or 5 minutes.
The Third Tunnel. One of the four tunnels found under the DMZ built by the North Koreans, which they believed will be used for invasion. It is considered the most dangerous among the four since it is the closest to Seoul. There were traces of coal on the walls of the tunnel because it was initially disguised as a coal mine.
Cameras and Smartphones are not allowed once inside the tunnel. There are lockers available to store your stuff. People with walking difficulties and those with claustrophobia are not advisable to enter as you need to trek a long steep incline and the place is confined.
Found this outside the Third Tunnel. Koreans pushing together for unity.Since we were not able to go to JSA, I just took a picture of this JSA model on one of the museums we visited.
Then we went for a short stop to a souvenir store, that also sells some authentic North Korean products. I guess it was already 6:00 pm when we arrived in Seoul.
We had a great time during the tour, but as expected, it was fast paced. I found out later on that there were some great places that we missed due to lack of time. Anyway, I still learned a lot. I also commend our tour guide, Gina, as she provided great information about the two countries. She also kept the communication open through out the tour, so we can ask questions anytime. This tour is recommended to those tourists who want to be enlightened and educated on what is really happening to this part of the world.
Like most Koreans, I am also praying and hoping that someday peace will reign and Korea will be united as one.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
You need to join a tour to visit DMZ and JSA premises. I would advise getting the combined DMZ and JSA tour as it will give you a more complete experience.
You can go on your own only to Odusan Unification Observatory and Imjingak Park. I believe there are buses and trains available to reach the place. Visit this website for more information for Odusan and this website for Imjingak Park.
Advance booking for the tour is required as it easily gets fully booked and the slots for each day are usually limited. I suggest booking at least one month before your tour or earlier than that if you can.
Your passport should be with you at all times during your visit. A military official will check it upon your entry and exit from the premises.
Always listen to your tour guide and be always mindful of the restrictions during your visit. I felt safe when I was there, but keep in mind that these two countries are still at war, so anything can happen anytime.
There’s a dress code to follow (see below). They said that North Koreans often take pictures of tourists who visit the DMZ, and they show it to their residents. We need to give them a good impression of what is life outside North Korea based on our neat and presentable appearance.
There are a lot of Travel Centers that offer DMZ and JSA tours, available in different languages. But it is only with Panmunjom Travel Center that you get to meet and ask questions to a North Korean Defector.
Our tour costs 77,000 won (Php 3,465) per person, the one with JSA was around 88,000 won (Php 3,960). The prices depend on the tour that you will choose.
For more information on Panmunjom Travel Center, you may click on this link.
Maria Ingrid 