We were late in waking up and by the time we stepped out, it was 9 am. I was worried we might not be in time for the itineraries we had planned.

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To Seoul Grand Park

Comparing yesterday’s experience to Hongdae, the new route felt shorter and more direct when we came back to RoinHome Guesthouse late at night. Thus, we made a right turn and took the route towards Mangwon station. The somewhat cool morning air made our short walk quite enjoyable.

Transferring trains, we finally reached Seoul Grand Park after many stops on the subway. I knew it was far when we did the planning but did not know it was soo…ooo far! I began to feel anxious as it was quite late and we would have little time to explore two parks.

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Street Food Snacks

First, we walked along the super long road towards the entrance.

I think I might have stumbled on the reason the entrance was so far…There were a row of street hawkers further down. The first one caught our eye as she was selling some cooked insects. Exotic food…

Then, Mom decided to stop and buy some fried dough from her. I was not happy about stopping since it was already late but Vin bought me Gimbap (Korean Sushi Roll – rice with pickles and kimchi) since he knew I did not eat much breakfast. The snacks were good (Dar love the fried dough) and we ended up walking and eating even before reaching the entrance!

There were three other stalls selling the same foodstuff and when we exited the Seoul Grand Park later in the day, my parents decided to support the last vendor and bought the same fried dough snacks from her.

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Tram Transport

We found out that we need to take a tram transport to reach the Theme Garden and Seoul Zoo.

Reaching the waiting area after a flight of steps, just after handing over our tickets, Vin noticed Ling did her big business! Oh no, both of us had to go down to the first level again where there  was a spacious baby room to change her (Luckily we had parent’s radar on and spotted it on our way up!). Meanwhile, my parents took care of Dar. We were glad for the nice room with washing sink and hot/cold water dispenser.

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Elephant Transport

Soon, we were back again and got into the front compartment of the Elephant tram, just behind the driver.

It was a breezy ride as we headed towards the Theme Garden, which was the second stop after the Seoul Theme Park (We didn’t visit that). The place was really quite far! In fact, we passed many people along the way who were walking. I admire the Koreans for being so fit!

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Theme Garden – Rose Festival

When I found this place while searching for places for kids, I was intrigued about the Rose Festival coinciding with our South Korea Trip! Thus, I really had to put this itinerary in despite it being so far away from the city center of Seoul. I love photography (In fact, almost all the pictures for our South Korea trip were taken by me) and the idea of people with flower fields seemed so lovely!

Alas…Entering the flower garden, my parents weren’t interested at all so they took a group picture and went off to explore the garden themselves.

Never mind, I took some nice pictures of Dar-Ling and turned to take shots of the flowers. After a few shots, I realised everybody were gone! I had not finish my Gimbap too and it was with the stroller they had taken! (I’m the only one interested in photo-taking.. *sad)

I was upset about this as my purpose was to take pictures of the children with the flowers (that’s why I chose this itinerary) but they were far away at the mini-zoo (quite a distance away) with my parents. Eventually, Vin brought her back with the stroller.

Soon, he helped us to take some pictures with the flower backdrop. Dar was also called back to take pictures with us against the nice backdrops around the garden.

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Seoul Grand Park Mini-Zoo

After this, we went over to the Mini-Zoo where we showed Ling the goats and some pigs. The pigs were so fat! They were just lazing on the ground and not moving, while visitors kept exclaiming at the looks of them. There were other animals but I had no time to check them out.

It was afternoon and I decided to not waste anymore time at the Garden and head over to the Seoul Zoo which was opposite…. Continue to Next Post…

[SUMMARY]

Tram Ride: Around 10 mins.

Total Time Spent in the Garden (from around 10.40 – 12.15pm): 1 hr 35 mins

Rating: 3.5/5.

Reason: If you love flowers, pictures and animals, it’s a good place to run around and take pictures against the themed backdrops. However, the summer heat minus some points, because it was terribly hot to try to take pictures around 10-12pm! My original plan was much earlier…We had to squint our eyes a lot as it was too bright.

PHOTO TIP: Try to dress in co-ordinated colour clothing to take family pictures. I always specially co-ordinate our outfits for all our itineraries. I also try to match colours to the places we visit. For this, I chose white/pink/reddish. You can see the effect in my pictures.

[INFO]

Official Website: Seoul Grand Park

Read next post : Seoul Grand Park Part 2 – Seoul Zoo

Read our Summary Itinerary Post for South Korea 2017 Trip : 7 Days in South Korea Seoul and Jeju Itinerary

Read Tips on Seoul: Exploring Seoul Tips and Experience