With the whole Trump-Kim summit ongoing in Singapore right now, I got reminded of my trip to Seoul, South Korea where I visited the DMZ and got a little glimpse of North Korea from the borders! The trip was made possible with FuntasticKorea (now rebranded to Indiway). You can purchase tour tickets from there and it’s a super quick and easy process.

Looking at how things are now with Kim Jong-Un, I'm thinking the DMZ is soon going to be a thing of the past in the next 10-20 years? If you want to take a glimpse of it, you should take a tour there soon!

We also went to the 3rd infiltration Tunnel - a tunnel made by the North to infiltrate the South. We took a round trip all the way down to the tunnel, right to the border of North before going back up. 

North Korea right there.

My favourite got to be the Dora Observatory where you can look through binoculars and get a glimpse of their Propaganda Village and it's also the place where they blast K-Pop music towards the North. The Propaganda Village is known as the Peace Village where the North claims that there are over 200 families living there but there were reports from the media saying that the village's buildings are simply empty shells with lights turning on and off at fixed timings.

The Dorasan Station. Such a hopeful place. The station is completely functional with checkpoints and security all set up, for that one day when reunification happens, this would be the station to connect the South to the North.

We passed by the Unification Village called Tongil Chon before heading back to Seoul. The village serves the same purpose as the Propaganda Village in the North. Apparently, back in the days when propaganda was effective, it was a show of wealth and to show which country is doing better by putting forth a better village.

After 3 days on the Great Ocean Road, we headed up to the Grampians National Park. It's a 3 hour drive from Melbourne City and people usually give this spot a miss but if you're a fan of hiking and the mountains — I highly recommend the Grampians. 

We stayed for 2 nights at the Grampians. For the first night, we had our first ever glamping experience at Halls Gap Lakeside Tourist Park! A tourist park is an area where people on their caravans and motor-homes stop and charge up for the night but they also have cabins, fancy tents and other lodging available if you came here by car (like we did). We booked it through an Airbnb link here. (You can use my airbnb invite here if you haven't got an account, and get S$45 off the accommodation wheee)

                         

   

It was such an incredible experience and we honestly wished we booked it for both nights instead but we didn't know how we felt about sharing a public washroom (which is probably the only bad thing about this glamping). 

The accommodation really have everything we would need for a night's stay. There's a mini fridge, plates, utensils etc. There's also a BBQ pit so of course, we bought our own groceries from a nearby store in Halls Gap and had a BBQ right there in the woods with wild cockatoos eyeing my food. The tent was a little warm and stuffy in the day but as it got cooler at sundown, they also have heater and a heated blanket. We also had the best view of the night sky with stars aplenty. 

We went on a couple of hikes and visited the MacKenzie Falls, Boroka Lookout, Reeds Lookout and The Balconies. Of course, the most famous trail (and the one i enjoyed the least) — The Pinnacles. You can check out where to go, what to do etc on their official site. 

2 weeks flew by just like that and I hope you enjoyed your Lunar New Year celebrations as much as I did!

My day one outfit was a blue floral lacy number from LoveBonito. I wanted to get something that I know I would/ can wear again for other occasions and not a qipao-esque piece that I can only wear once.

Day two is when I look like a red packet hahaha. A simple jumpsuit - also from LoveBonito that I can wear again for work and casual weekend brunches. I also brought my impractical Cult Gaia bag out to play, it's such a statement piece that really amps up any outfit.