m y m i n i a t u r e p a g e

PETITE FRANCE (DAY 3)

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

11 April 2012 was announced as a public holiday. Best kan? Cuti in the middle of the week. Banyak betul plan nak buat hari ni. Tapi semua tak menjadi. Tidur je dari pagi tadi sampai la ni dah almost 3pm. Tidur bangun tidur bangun je kerja nya. My stomach hurts so much. Sob sob. Kan best kalau esok baru sakit, boleh dapat extra holiday!

And, there goes my plan to cook something today. Lama dah tak masuk dapur. I have been so busy with my work. Bukan “LLB”, looks like busy, ok! Haha. Entahlah, too many things to do.

Jomla sambung sikit pasal my Korea trip haritu. Hmm, there is a “Little France” in Korea. A French cultural village set in the Korean countryside. So beautiful. Countryside memang sangat cantik. Berbeza sangat dengan apa yang selalu kita tengok . For me countryside is simply stunning, very different and so refreshing.

There was good live music at one of the restaurants in Petite France, a Korean band made up of guitar and keyboard, played such number of songs like “Fly Me To The Moon” and took us years back to the good old days. Romantic swing kan lagu ni. We are not that old by the way. Haha.

Fly me to the moon
Let me swing among those stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars

8 FEBRUARY 2012

Petite France is also frequently used as a filming site for Korean dramas contoh macam Beethoven Virus (of which I have yet to watch), Personal Taste and Secret Garden. Rasanya memang trip kali ni, we all pergi most of the shooting locations. Kiranya macam menginjak pada tanah yang sama, bernafas pada udara yang sama…hahaha :p. Tapi yes, bila lalu dekat tempat-tempat yang agak familiar, terus rasa macam, oh Hyun Bin lalu sini. Haha. Siapa Hyun Bin?

Secret Garden has won the best drama in 2010. I personally love Secret Garden not because of Hyun Bin hehe tapi sebab jalan cerita tu sendiri yang unik dan comel sungguh penceritaan seorang lelaki yang sungguh pelik karakternya. Tengokla sweater biru bling-bling tu, ada bran ke lelaki nak pakai? Haha.

Ok dah melalut jauh pasal Korean drama pulak dah. So dinasihatkan untuk pergi seawal pagi ke Petite France sebab masa perjalanan lebih kurang 1 ½ jam. Kalau nak save masa, you can cover 2 places in one trip. Petite France and Nami Island memang dah dekat. So try to adjust masa untuk pergi Petite France pagi till noon and lepastu straight to Nami Island till evening.

PETITE FRANCE

Take subway to Sangbong station
Transfer to Gyeongchun Line (경춘선)
Take the train to Cheongpyeong Station (청평역) +/- 40 minutes [COST 1,600KRW]
From here take a taxi, +/- 25 - 30 minutes [COST 16,5000KRW per taxi]
Operating hours : 0900 – 1800
Admission fee : 8,000KRW

Ada city shuttle bus passes several stops including Petite France, Nami Island and the nearest subway station and bus terminal, you can hop on and off at every stop you want by using single ticket which costs 5,000KRW. Boleh beli tiket tu dalam bus tapi we all malas nak tunggu bas. So, kami ambil cab dekat Cheongpyeong Station and the journey with all those blind curves and zigzag roads. Tapi the view was so breathtaking.

Then, you will come across a cluster of white, exotic buildings on the left-hand hill side. Petite France consists of 16 French-style buildings. Yang ni kena tunggu bila I sampai Paris nanti to double confirm betul ke tidak macam gini style French buildings. Boleh la kalau nak feeling-feeling seperti berada di Paree and experience French food, clothing and household culture. Petit dalam bahasa Perancis maksudnya small and pretty or kecil dan cantik? Hehe.

Rombongan Cik Kiah ke Petite France. 8 orang semuanya. Sejuk tau time ni. Strong winds. Semua orang bergaya dengan boots masing-masing. Hehe. Taknak kalah semuanya! Yang tepi skali sebelah kanan tu special sikit fashion dia. Ambil selimut from AirAsia balut kaki. Hahahaha. Style kan. Hehehe.

The village is located on the hilltop overlooking the beautiful mountain scenery and the clear surroundings of the lake. Time we all pergi ni mmg putih semuanya, covered with snow and it was so pretty. All white. Salji macam baru lepas turun malam sebelumnya. Buildings kat sini pun the heights were adjusted using natural hills and every house in the village was arranged to overlook the lake. Internal decoration of construction materials, rooftop, windows and floor are all French.

The village is built based on the story of “The Little Prince” by the French aviator and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
So ada jugak memorial hall of Exupéry, his biography, photos and banyak lagilah, displays pictures of his life. Dekat 2nd floor ada film showing area.

The wall paintings. So fairytale like. Loved it.

There were exhibitions in some of the houses. So tengah duk ralit tengok all the anak patung kat dalam tu tiba-tiba bila toleh kiri kanan, eh takde orang dah. Mana semua orang pergi? Haa time ni mula la berpeluh. Takut hilang. Haha. I was all alone by myself je. Sob sob. Menggelabah keluar from rumah tu and start cari semua orang. Tapi tak jumpa. Sedih. Time ni nak menangis dah ni. Sebab tak boleh contact any of my friends. Dalam 10 to 15 minutes jugak lah I pusing Petite France tu sampai 2, 3 kali tawaf tapi tak jumpa jugak. They might probably in of those houses tapi I tak tahu mana satu. Dalam satu rumah tu kadang-kadang ada 2 tingkat, 3 tingkat, tak tercari. Hmm, I hate being alone seriously sebab rasa lost sangat. Lepastu nasibla jumpa my friends kat luar tengah duk sibuk tangkap gambar and depa tanya pergi mana. Haha. Heyyyyy tobat lain kali kena alert sangat. Dalam ramai-ramai tu, boleh jugak tersesat sorang-sorang.

This is one of the nicest places. This plaza with its fountain and everything was perfect for having a cup of coffee and feeling like being in Europe for a while (coming soooooon, the real one hehe ;p). Tapi since kami semua ketiadaan sangat duit untuk bersukaria seperti orang kaya, makanya kami minum air gedegang sahaja hahaha. Murah ye air gedegang dalam lebih kurang 1,000KRW. Kalau minum kopi lepak-lepak sejuk-sejuk tu tak sure lah pulak berapa harganya. Maybe around 5,000KRW?

My friends kata menara ni ada dalam “Running Man”, one of the Korean TV show. I have never watched Running Man before so memang tak tahu apa-apa. So kurang sentimental value kat situ. Haha depa semua macam suka lah kot sebab merasa buat apa yang Running Man tu buat. Hehe.

Ni antara guest house yang ada dekat dalam Petite France. Comel kan rumah dia. Pastel colour. Sweet je. I like the one in purple tu. Siap nak pi posing dah sebab mula-mula ingatkan rumah biasa takde orang duduk, sekali ambik kau keluar tuan rumah. Hahaha. Sorry lah oppa (abang), I tak tahu you duduk situ. Hehe ;p

Ada jugak benda alah ni kat sini. Banyak sangat tempat kat Korea sana yang you all boleh abadikan cinta kononnya. Haha. Camne? Senang je. Beli padlock pastu kunci kat situ and tulis la apa-apa yang patut. Contoh; Sayang, don’t leave me, I loveee youuu. Gitu. Feeling sangat sorang-sorang. Well none of us yang tinggalkan anything kat sini hahaha. Tapi ada kat tempat satu lagi tu (later nanti I bagitahu kat mana), ada je yang tinggalkan nota cinta. I know who you are. Hehe semua yang buat tu sebab suka-suka je. Bukan apa-apa sangat pun. Keke. Tapi I tak buat ok. Hehe. Tak best, nanti kalau break up, nak pi carik pulak cabut mangga tu. Satu kerja lain pulak dah. Hahaha. Tapi, there is no reason for me to do that pun sebab nya, cinta hati saya enggak ada. Tak macam Fasha Sandha masa dia menang award baru -baru ni, terima kasih pada cinta hati saya. Hahaha hayoh. Ok melalut!

Ini katanya piano dalam cerita Beethoven Virus. You can try to play as I did…. NOT. Haha kalau reti boleh je main apa-apa lagu kan, kalau tak reti, duk diam-diam sudah.

They played Fly Me To The Moon. Sedap. Brings back old memories.

Dalam restaurant yang sama jugak, ada signature korean clebrities. Tu I nampak sign Lee Min Ho, Son Ye Jin and banyak lagi lah lupa siapa.

Hmm, we all tak masuk semua pun rumah-rumah dalam Petite France. Tak cukup masa. Dalam pukul 12 macamtu, dah minta tolong orang kat counter call kan taxi. Hehe. Again, malas nak tunggu bus entah pukul berapa dia nak sampai.

Ok nanti sambung lagi. Now nak buat kerja office pulak.

Labels: Korea, Korea 2012, Travel

10:27 PM | 26 comments

Webmistress

Noor Rafidah Jacob
Fida Jacob
Kuala Lumpur, MY
Chartered accountant
Tax Manager, BIMB
Kaplan Financial UK
IIUM Alumni
fidajacob@gmail.com

Hi everyone! My weaknesses are pretty things and kindness. Knowledge is of high importance. I believe that everyone has the potential to become the best they can be and that beauty comes within. This is a spot where I'll share with you some of my adventures + my inner thoughts! Oh and don't forget to follow me on instagram! : @fidajacob