Haevichi Hotel&Resort, Jeju

This is my first time to set foot on the beautiful island of Jeju, S. Korea. Our conference, the 8th Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, was held in this big and sprawling hotel.

The hotel is a rectangular building with wide open space in the middle of the four wings with a glass roof. I will post about the interiors of the hotel and resort in my next blog.

The second group of structure are the medium-rise (7-storey) and long buildings with huge rooms per unit. Below are those resort buildings.

A view from the balcony of my room on the 5th floor, I am staying at Rm 1513. Nice, cool view. Tomorrow morning, bye-bye room, I will check out to join a half day tour of selected scenic places of Jeju.

Continuation of the view from my balcony. A wide open grassland with cemented walkway, with short posts for evening lights + music, cool. There is a semi-wild area in the middle of the grassland where some wild species of flowers and short grasses are growing around a pond with naturally flowing water.

The swimming pool with a fountain in the middle. I did not have the chance to dip into this pool as time is limited, attending various panel discussions. Plus the fact that it's cold outside, should be around 20-25 C.

The glass structure below is a hallway adjacent to the grand ballroom. When there are hundreds of guests, the divider is folded and the dining tables are extended up to the hallway.

The kiddie playground with kiddie pool. If my two young girls are with me here, they might get sick as they might insist to take a bath in the cold but inviting pool.

After the bermuda grass in the resort is the road, then the black rocks and the sea. I should visit that place tomorrow before I fly to Jeju airport.

A view of the plains and the big mountain from afar, at the 5th floor of the resort building on the opposite side of my room.

I enjoyed my stay here. Very relaxing. Thanks again, EFN Asia and FNF for bringing me here for the conference.

Gimpo Airport, S. Korea

This is the 4th time that I set foot on Seoul and South Korea. The first was in 1996 for a two-weeks seminar on Technology and Policy, I was working at the House of Representatives (PH) then. I remember I landed in Gimpo airport from Manila. When I went back to S. Korea in 2002, we landed at Incheon airport. My third trip to Korea was in October 2006.

From Manila, I landed at Incheon again last Tuesday. Last Wednesday, going to Jeju, we flew Korean Air at Gimpo. So this is my second time to see Gimpo. It looks small of course, compared to Incheon. But compared to Manila's Terminals 1 or 2 or 3, Gimpo is bigger than them.

I was surprised to see that despite the use of Incheon as the main airport, Gimpo remains busy with lots of airlines and passengers.

Based on the number of check-in counters, Korean Air (KE) is the biggest airline-user of Gimpo. When we boarded our KE flight to Jeju, we took a KE bus from the terminal to the plane, meaning all the departure/arrival gates and tubes were full.

These photos I got from the web. I did not see the train inside Gimpo area. We took a cab from Seoul city proper to Gimpo.

Flying back to Manila tomorrow afternoon, I will fly from Jeju direct to Incheon, then from Incheon to Manila.
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See also:
Incheon-Seoul Airport, S. Korea, January 12, 2012
Somerset Palace Seoul, May 28, 2013

Somerset Palace Seoul

There are about two Somerset hotels in Makati but I have never been to any of their rooms,  just visited their lobby. Today is my time to see a room, my room here in my one night stay in Seoul.

Somerset is in Jungno-Gu ("Gu" means district) in Seoul city proper. These photos I got from the web. Nice and modest lobby with young, efficient and friendly staff at the reception.

One problem is that my flight from Manila was at 1:15am today, delayed a bit and we flew around 1:45am. Seoul city proper is about one hour by car from Incheon international airport. Arrived at tbe hotel around 8am, but was able to check in only around 2pm. They seem to be fully booked with lots of guests.

The lobby, not so grand but spacious enough.

This is my room, a big one, nice. With a queen size bed plus an extra bed. If only my two girls and wife are here (but the plane fare + taxes are expensive, beyond our means).

The small dining table beside a big LG flat tv. The small kitchen has a nice, small electric stove, microwave oven, knives and utensils. The ref i s tall and huge. Beside the door is the laundry area, ironing table, etc.

The CR. Neat and clean, but the seat bowl is traditional type, no push buttons to clean the behind with warm or ordinary water, rotating water, that I saw in my hotel in Seoul in 2006, also at my hotel in Narita, Japan. Nonetheless it's neat and clean.

The view from my room, I'm on the 6th floor.

The garden between the hotel and that building I showed above, view from the 2nd floor, breakfast restaurant area.

Will check the There is no swimming pool. other facilities tomorrow. Meanwhile, preparing for a meeting + dinner tonight, in another place just walking distance from Somerset.

Elle Marie Oplas, Part 2

Posting this in my hotel room in Somerset Ascott Palace Seoul, S. Korea. Meetings will start tonight and the long conference will start tomorrow in Jeju island. Blogging some of the many photos of my elder daughter.

Below as of April 2012. Clockwise from top left: In a creek in the farm in Bugallon, Pangasinan; at The Orchard country club in Dasmarinas, Cavite; with  her former classmate Alfred in Toddlers Unltd in Makati, and when she lost her two front teeth as new teeth are coming out.

May 2012, after the Santacruzan parade in La Paz, Iloilo City.

August 2012, various photos and poses.

In a kinder presentation, St. Scholastica's College, Manila, August 2012.

With "Lola Music" who visited us from Iloilo, August 2012.

Various moods: smiling and crying :-) September 2012.

Also in September 2012.

Our elder daughter is simply getting bigger and smarter.
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See also:
Elle Marie Oplas, August 12, 2012
Elle Marie and Bien Mary Oplas, August 14, 2012
Elle Marie in Negros Occ., August 20, 2012

Bien Mary Oplas, Part 2

Tomorrow, I will fly to S. Korea for a conference and will be away for 5D/4N. Will miss my family, the two girls especially, posting their various photos. This is Part 2 of "Bien-bien", here are her earlier photos, Bien Mary Oplas, July 31, 2012.

At Sacred Heart Church near our place in Barangay San Antonio, Makati City.

When she accompanied her Ate Elle Marie at the ballet class at the CCP.

An aborted ballet class of Elle because of the flooding, so they went to a mall instead.

Upper photos at Bel Air Park, Makati. Lower photos at Manila Bay.

With Mama Ella and Papa Nonoy.

See also, Elle Marie and Bien Mary Oplas, August 14, 2012