The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps
To prepare meals for our toddler, we needed an accommodation with kitchen. Better still, if it’s at a convenient location. It was a tough search before we found Shinchon Ever8 Serviced Residence (www.ever8.co.kr) that best met our criteria. Location Ever8 Serviced Residence (“Ever8”) is in …
Jeongbang Falls, Cheonjeyeon Falls, and Cheonjiyeon Falls are 3 famous waterfalls of Jeju island. They are located in Seogwipo, the southern part of the island. To find the exact locations, key in the following GPS phone numbers* into the GPS of your rented car or …
This is my fourth and final post about Nami Island! Can’t believe I wrote so much about a tiny island. I wanted to specifically dedicate one post for children, because of how child friendly Nami Island is. It was designated the 14th UNICEF Child-Friendly Park in the world and the 1st in Korea.
With 5 nursing rooms on Nami Island, it’s easy to find a place to nurse with discretion. We went to the one at Picture Book Library and it was empty and cosy. The changing diaper stations and nursing rooms were clean and tidy.
To explore Nami Island, parents can bring their children and hop on to Story Tour Bus, Unicef Charity train or to cycle around on the family bike (2 adults + 2 children).
There are quite a few places on Nami Island where children can let loose and have fun. Locate these places on Nami Island Brochure: (Chinese Version) (English Version).
Right next to UNICEF Hall is Unchi Garden, where there’s an outdoor playground for kids to have fun and be creative. We would go if we had more time and the weather was dry. If your children want to have more outdoor play, for example zip-line, trampolines and swings, check out Forest Adventure TreeGo. More details in my post of ‘Things to Do in Nami Island‘.
If outdoors is not your children’s thing, wander into Picture Book Library and have them pick up a book. It has an outstanding children’s book collection and also indoor slides and playground on the first and second floor. So fun, we saw local teenagers in uniforms running about the second floor’s play area. There are also programs and activities such as colouring and maze exploration available. Approach the staff to find out more.
If you are a muslim, there’s prayer room on the second floor and a Halal restaurant near the entrance: Asian Family Restaurant Dongmoon. I supposed this restaurant has child-friendly menu too. Because while we were there, a group of children seemingly on school excursion was having their lunch at this restaurant.
Picture Book Library is a good pit stop to change and feed your child, while letting them read and play. Can probably set aside 45 minutes to one hour here. Opening Hours: 10:00AM to 5:00PM
Among other things you can do on Nami Island, children can easily explore and interact with the beautiful nature that is everywhere on Nami Island. Have fun on Nami Island with your children!
Be sure to bookmark my South Korea (Seoul and Jeju) Itinerary.
The rain poured the moment we stepped foot on Nami Island. Light drizzle was still fine for us, but the sky had other plans. We needed a shelter soon. We were hungry too – didn’t have breakfast. Without any research, we didn’t know what to …
“You must go to Nami Island! It’s beautiful in Autumn,” my sister-in-law recommended. Snippets of memory came to mind. A pair of lovers walked down a frosty white lane, and slow music played in the background. It must be magical walking down the wintry lane …
“Should we try out the rail bike?” I asked my husband, “It’s quite near Nami Island.”
“Yes, it looks like an interesting and unique experience. Let’s do it!”
If only the decision process were that simple. What traversed between these two sentences was a myriad of reasons why we shouldn’t ride on the rail bike, mainly due to my young toddler (16-month-old).
Firstly, our schedule would become tight if we account for the transfers from Nami Island to Gangchon Rail Park. Gapyeong Rail Park would have more convenient from Nami Island, but I preferred Gangchon.
Secondly, I was unsure how safe it was to carry a 16-month-old baby during the ride, the T&Cs excluded children below three for insurance. Thirdly, I was sure Baby E could not sit still on my lap for more than 10 minutes. Lastly, I did not think I had the strength to babywear her for the whole journey in the autumn cold, while pedalling. Even though hubby was the designated main cyclist, I am not a leech.
In the end, my playful self was willing to take the risk of having a baby on board. I couldn’t give up trying this activity when we were quite near the rail park. So here comes my Gangchon Rail Bike Review!
Before that, you might want to know the logistical aspects of this trip. For that, you can refer to my other post, “About Gangchon Rail Park“:
The photo taken at the park entrance (see below) was taken at the end of the rail bike activity. We didn’t have the luxury of time in the beginning. What happened?
I looked left and right, but the taxis were not coming as quickly, and we were at the end of the queue. All those in line were on the same ferry as us, coming from Nami Island, and we were many steps slower. Nearing our turn, there were two taxis turning in, one for the family before us and another one for us. As the taxis were about to U-turn, a tourist bus got stuck and blocked their way. I was taking deep breaths by now.
When we finally hopped onto the taxi and whisked off to Gapyeong station, it was now the subway taking a long time to come. Even a mere 10-minute wait seemed so long when rushing.
I was getting nervou as we were going to be late. We had booked a two-seater for the 3:30 PM session via Klook (Btw, two-seater is apparently a more popular choice, so book early!). It was stipulated that we should arrive half an hour earlier, aka 3:00 PM. When we reached Gimyujeong Station, I looked at my watch, “3:25 PM”. Since the booking sites stated a 4-minute walk from the station to the park, we should be able to make it.
“I’ll run over first. You just quickly walk over with the pram,” my husband ordered and zoomed off.
I picked up my speed to chase after him, but after a while, I slowed down to walking in quick steps. While running with the pram and bags, the 4-minute walk didn’t seem so 4 minutes. It felt like a lengthy 1.2km instead. As I walked past the rail park entrance, I saw my hubby signalling me to slow down. I was panting furiously.
“See that long queue?” My husband said, pointing into the distance, and continued, “They’re all waiting to get on the rail bikes. The line is only starting to move. When I was asking the counter staff for directions, someone was still getting the rail bike tickets for the 3:30 PM session.” And that someone turned out to be on the bike just behind us. Phew!
Even though we joined the queue at about 3:40 PM, we still had time to take turns to go to the toilet. The queue was moving very slowly as people were getting on the bikes in an orderly fashion. I didn’t expect one session to have so many people – you can get an idea of the crowd in my photos at the end of this post.
All’s good in the end. Morale of the story, to have a relaxing trip, remember to account for enough buffer and travelling time!
“Hello!” Baby E waved. She waved before she fell into a short but deep slumber thereafter.
We squeezed our things — foldable pockit stroller, three bags, sweaters, camera, phones, etc — around and under our seats and buckled up. The staff helped me adjust the seat forward so that my short legs could reach the pedals. :P Then, our wait continued. This time, it was to wait for the four-seater bikes to move off first.
After an approximately 10-minute wait, I was glad we were finally moving, but only for about 100m when we stopped again. Understandably, it was a long line of bikes, and the bikes were setting off slowly because of the need for safety distance. In any case, it was a good pit stop to ask the staff to take a photo of us in the 2-seater bike.
Moreover, all my worries about riding with a baby were gone at this moment. Baby E was so tired, she KO-ed when our bike moved that short distance forward. She even slept through super loud noises for one of the tunnels we went through.
How about pedalling while carrying a baby?
If you are not sporty and are worried about how taxing the cycling will be, I can safely tell you that it’s quite easy peasy! Or perhaps I had a good bike partner. Both of us felt that it was a slow and relaxing cycle, and before we knew it, we had reached the point to disembark. By the way, I was baby-wearing my baby for the whole journey.
The cycling was not taxing nor intensive as we could even rest our feet and not pedal at times. This is so the bike can slow down to maintain a safe distance and not bump into the bike in front of us. Moreover, sometimes we had to hand-brake, like when we hit downward slopes that accelerated the bike.
We could also take our own sweet time to enjoy the scenery and take photos because sometimes the bike behind us lagged quite a bit. In any case, you should enjoy the journey and not be stressed by, if any, a tailgating bike. It wouldn’t matter if a bike is slightly slower because even in a bottleneck situation, most people wouldn’t know where the “weakest link” is anyway. Btw, the bike behind us was cycled by a ~60-year-old grandma and her ~9-year-old granddaughter. If they can do it, so can you! :)
In the cool air, the lalang grass waved at us, so near we could touch it from our bike. Casting my view further, sparsely scattered houses made me envious of the quiet and contemplative countryside life. I took in breaths of fresh air as we rode past mountains glimmering in an orange glow, and a quiet river rippling in between towering mountains.
It was a good choice to come during autumn, heard it’s beautiful in winter too. The other two seasons should be nice as well, but nothing to shout about. This scenery is supposedly nicer than the one at Gapyeong Rail Park.
The tunnels we go through here were supposedly more numerous than at Gapyeong Rail Park, and hence more worthwhile! Cycling through mountain tunnels is quite intriguing, but four times would have been boring. Hence, Gangchon Rail Park added a little spice for three of its four tunnels. I must applaud them for their thoughts and efforts in curating the tunnel experience.
This video gives you a glimpse of what you might experience in these three tunnels:
We enjoyed the first tunnel in its barest form, while having bubbles flying all around in the second tunnel. In the tunnel, lighted up in blue and purple, the bubbles danced around us to a bubbling sound effect and an upbeat song. Then, in the third tunnel, flashing white lights in the dark created a starry night atmosphere, coupled with a slow romantic song for the mood.
For the last tunnel, throbbing strobe lights with ear-shattering thumping disco music thundered through. Good thing Baby E was so tired that she slept through this. This is supposedly the tunnel for the VR experience, but we weren’t asked to opt in for it, so I’m not sure if it’s still available.
Our rail bike kissed the butt of the bike in front and came to a stop, concluding our time on the rail bike. We wished the ride had been longer as we basked in the magnificent view of the golden mountains. Being the last few bikes to reach, we didn’t have much time to admire the spectacular landscape, except to snap a few photos. A few others went for a quick toilet break at this stop.
We walked from the rail bike to the train, which would bring us through the second part of the journey and to the end point, the old Gangchon Station. From there, we would take a free shuttle bus back to the starting point, which is near Gimyujeong Station. More information in my post, “About Gangchon Rail Park“.
No one’s rushing us to get on the train, but I felt rushed by the people heading so quickly towards it. Moreover, most people were already on board the train, while empty bikes abounded. This reminded me of what hubby overheard a tour guide telling the first few bikes in the beginning, “There’s no point riding fast and rushing. Because you’ll still have to wait for everyone to arrive and board the train.”
As we were about to head up the first carriage we came to, someone told us it was full. So we went to the next one, and the next one, and next, and finally we went up to the last carriage, which technically was the first from the train head. It looked full, too. However, we had no choice but to head up and find pockets of seats.
Thank God for hubby’s sharp eyes, he spotted an empty row hidden among the crowd, and we squeezed in. I think this is the only carriage that is open-air, and perhaps why it still had seats. The rows are uncomfortably close to one another that you are just a whisper away from the person in front of and behind you.
Facing the front, we were on the left side of the train, which, as you can see in the photo above, doesn’t have much of a view. So if you have the choice, pick the right side (pun intended). The train journey was effortless for us as we sat there while the train chugged past scenic views at a leisurely pace.
Like I’ve said, there were lots of riders. The photo above only captured the front part of the crowd while the rest stretched all the way till the end, and couldn’t fit into the frame. Regardless, enjoy the ride! Hubby and I were glad that we didn’t skip this because we would have missed out on this lovely experience. In hindsight, my initial worries seemed so exaggerated.
So if you have time and are nearby, like in Nami Island, slot in this activity and get your tickets through Klook and Trazy today. Book early for your desired timing, yes, the sessions have specific timings.
Have fun!
You might also want to check out my other posts on Korea. Leave your comments or questions below. Love to hear from you. :)
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“Where can I feed my nursing toddler?” That was the question pressing on my heart before our trip to Seoul. Jeju is easy because I can just latch her in the car we rented for our 4D3N trip. I searched online and found very little …
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Eat Ginseng Chicken in Korea, yummy. Ride a rail bike, fun. Visit Nami Island, it’s beautiful. Make your own perfume in Seoul, that’s exotic. Well, at least it’s not common among tourists to Seoul. I was looking through Trazy.com for things to do in Korea, and …