One day I was on Facebook and I saw a post about a place called "Semiwon". It looked like a beautiful place so I decided to check it out.
There were 3 sets of directions on the tourism website so I just chose the first one. I had no clue that it was so far away! The first direction said to take the metro to Cheongnyangni Station and take bus 167. I made to Cheongyangni station in 54 minutes from Goyang City. Then I found bus 167. When I got on the bus I kept looking at the bus map. I was trying to figure out if I was going in the right direction. I saw my stop up at the top of the route, but it took me a while to find what stop we were on. (The map was only in Korean. The voice that tells the current stop and next stop was only in Korean. I can read Hanguel, but its hard to find the stop by just listening)That bus started at Cheongyangni station and my stop was the next to last stop. So I started searching on my smartphone. At one point I found out I had 60 stops left and that I would be on the bus for about an hour and 30 minutes. I saw that I could get there faster by taking the subway so I got off the bus at a subway stop. There were only a few stops to reach my destination, but I had to wait about 15 minutes or so to get on the subway. Some lines outside of the Seoul metro area don't leave as often.
Once I reached Yangsu station it was about a 10-15 minute walk. There was a long line for tickets, but the line went pretty fast. There were a lot of families there. I didn't notice any other foreigners.
It was a nice sunny day, but very hot! I think it was about 87 degrees, but it was so humid.
Semiwon is a beautiful place. There are tons of Lotus flowers. I hadn't seen any in person before so I didn't know they were so big. The Lotus flowers just started blooming around the end of July so I got to see a lot that had bloomed and some that hadn't bloomed yet. I got some great shots. I also made a video with my ipad mini.
After I got finished I didn't know which way to get out! I just started walking and reached a corner in a pretty busy area. I just stood there for a while trying to find a taxi. I saw 2 taxis go by so I stuck out my hand and they just kept going. Then this one taxi was across the street calling out to me. Then I had to find a way to cross the street. There was a lot of traffic. There was a crosswalk, but no crosswalk signal. You just have to run when you find the chance! (The taxi stand was across the street, but I didn't know!) I got him to take me to the station. I didn't know I was so close. He took 2 turns and we were there. It wasn't even enough distance to make the meter go up from the initial fare.
Then I used the subway app to find out how long it would take to get home. I had a long ride! It would take me about 2 hours to get home. I had to transfer twice. I was so tired from walking around all day! There were a lot of people on the subway so I had to stand for most of my journey.
Its a long journey, but it was worth it!
Photos: https://plus.google.com/photos/106518880659515557565/albums/6032618591018631825
Admission: 4000 won
Hours: (March-October) 09:00~18:00
(November-February) 09:00~17:00
Admission is allowed until 30 minutes before closing.
Lotus Flowers start blooming in late June, mature in July and stay till around Mid-August. I recommend going while the Lotus flowers are in bloom. I went the first weekend in July. Its so beautiful.
Closed: Mondays
Directions: Cheongnyangni Station (Seoul Subway Line 1 or Jungang Line), Exit 4.
Take Bus 167 and get off at Yangsu-ri Bus Stop. (The bus ride will be close to 2 hours!)
Gangbyeon Station (Seoul Subway Line 2), Exit 4.
Take Bus 2000-1 and get off at Yangseo Culture & Sports Park.
Yangsu Station (Seoul Subway Jungang Line), Exit 1.
Walk for about 15min to arrive at Semiwon.
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