Yeongju Loess Pension (풍기 황토 펜션)

We reached Punggi 5 hours earlier as tickets for V-train were sold out on that day. We just took O-train directly from Seoul to Punggi.

We took taxi directly to Loesspension, though we saw few restaurants and market around Punggi station, as we didn't want to bring our luggage around.

This cute mushroom-shaped cottage made of only loess (황토 = 黄土高原) and pine tree. It's  chemicals free and also eco-friendly, as the combination of ancient secret and science effortless keeping the room cold in summer and warm in winter. Cool, right?!

Yeongju Loess Pension 

It took about 10 minutes from Punggi Station to this pension. However, the owner was not around. Only ahjumma was cleaning the room. I told her that we booked the room. Luckily she understood what I tried to say with my limited Korean language. 

She tried to call, but no responses, and she said she'll try again later as the owner was at work. We walked around, and after awhile she told us that the owner will come back soon.

Landscape view of Loess Pension Cottage

Since this cow also has nothing to do like me... Let's take photos together :P

Hungry~~~!!! Why only have BBQ pit? Where is the food?

Peek-a-boo! Is it inside this big pot?!

Desperate for food...

See whether I can climb this wall to go in to the kitchen...

Anybody home? Please help me to call for food delivery...

KT Olleh pocket wifi has no internet connection here ㅠㅠ

안녕~ 강아지야 ^^ 

도와 주세요~~~!

Are you sure 강아지? 

You must be joking, this tree has no fruit, not even a leaf :(

Last resort... Jump! Jump!! Jump!!! to get attention :P

Finally, there's white car turning in after waited for about 1 hour. The lady owner came in, and told her that we booked through the website. Then they showed us the room, and we made payment. 

It's partly my fault, as I stated on the reservation that we'll be there around 19:30 pm. Although, she didn't confirm our booking, maybe because I wrote it in English and secondly I didn't make the payment as I don't want to bother my Korean friend to book and pay for me first. But, luckily there's a room for us. 

Just dropped our luggage there, and asked whether she can help us to call for a taxi to bring us to nearby restaurant. She said she's going out and will drop us at the restaurant.

At the same time, her 삼촌 (uncle) came back, then she asked for a name card and gave to us. She told us to call his uncle so that we can take his taxi back here. 

In her car, she said that I looked like Korean lady, and praise me that I can speak good Korean language. She asked few questions, and I tried to answer her one word by one word. When she asked how did we come there and how long we will stay. I paused quite long to digest her question, as I was thinking do I need to tell her my full itinerary... She looked at me and I looked at her (maybe with my blank and blur face) then she laughed, and I laughed too. Then she repeated again that question, and I answered that with so much difficulty... from we took flight from Singapore to Seoul, then today from Seoul to Punggi by O-train, tomorrow will go to Busan, bla bla bla... but didn't finish my full itinerary as we reached the restaurant ㅋㅋㅋ

Room No. 3 - 80,000 Won 

Address: 경북 영주시 픙기읍 금계리 177-1

http://loesspension.com

Ph: 054 6377800 / 010 25194377

The room is good to accommodate 2 person. It's quite big with attached kitchen and long wooden dining table. Bathroom is equipped with basic toiletries. Due to environmental friendly practice, remember to bring your own toothbrush and toothpaste as most of the accommodations in Korea do not provide them.

Mattresses, pillows, blankets and  wall-mounted air-heater 

As the ceiling is high, you need to switch on air-heater to keep the room warmer, even though the floor is heated (ondol floor). They came to check and increase the heat of the floor after checking with us whether it's warm enough. We had a good rest until my HP alarm woke me up! 

It's nice and cozy accommodation, but it's better to eat before you come here or maybe buy some food to BBQ. It must be so much fun munching some food and snacks and enjoying the unblocked view of vast sky... and kinda romantic under the moonlight and shy twinkling stars with some soju or makgeolli ^^

Please check the links below for recommended attractions around Yeongju:

~ Seonbichon Village (선비촌)

~ Sosu Seowon Confucian Academy (소수서원) 

~ [Yeongju] Museom Single Log Bridge (무섬외 나무다리)

~ [Yeongju] Quaint Museom Hanok Village (영주 무섬마을)

~ [Yeongju] Legends of Buseoksa Temple (부석사)

~ [O-Train] - Railroad Trip from Seoul to Punggi

[O-Train] - Railroad Trip from Seoul to Punggi

Korea offers plenty of breathtaking scenery, though some of the region is less accessible than major cities due to its rugged geography. But, Korea never fails to win in tourism industry because they always provide visitors with lots of convenient options to access to their beautiful country.

On 12 April 2013, Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail)  introduced special railroads V-train and O-train to cater for tourists and locals to enjoy the spectacular views of mountains, cliffs and valleys along the ride.

S-train  also started its operation on 27 Sep 2013 for easier and more enjoyable ways to access the southern regions.

DMZ-train route will start operation on 4 May 2014. Korail will launch more tourism-specialized trains such as G-train for the Western coast, and B-train for the Eastern coast, which are currently in their pipeline.

Our railroad trip with O-train from Seoul to Punggi

Our V-train and O-train routes plan.

Check this link for full V-train and O-train time schedules. 

So sad that we only took O-train, as V-train tickets were sold out. I couldn't changed our schedule as I'd booked hotel on the respective destinations. Do secure your seat earlier to avoid disappointment, as they are really popular not only for tourists, but locals also love to travel with their family and friends.

The O-train, whose name is derived from the round shape of the letter “O” to suggest its circular route, stops by 13 stations including Yeongwol, Mindongsan, Chujeon, Taebaek, Cheoram, Buncheon, Bonghwa, Yeongju, Punggi, Danyang, and Jecheon. 

The train circulates four times a day with two runs going clockwise and another two in the opposite direction. It takes four hours and 50 minutes to compete the entire 257.2-kilometer loop through Gangwon-do (Gangwon Province), Gyeongsangbuk-do (North Gyeongsang Province), and Chungcheongbuk-do (North Chungcheong Province). 

 7:45 am: Seoul Station (서울역)

Upss~! How to squeeze our big luggage 

on this overhead compartment?!

I checked with train attendant whether there is other place to put our luggage. 

She asked our destination and tickets and moved us to this Couple Room 2. 

Having our breakfast (Sushi, bread, and rice cake) in O-train.

You can purchase food and drink at reasonable price at the cafe.

Observatory room for better viewing

 HD TV screen showing the real time view.

Pretty sunrise reflection on the river

Can you feel the cold outside? 

It's warm inside the train, as the heater just below our seats.

Let's Korail with O-Train

9:44 - 9:59 am: Jecheon Station (제천역)

with waiting room to shield chilly wind

11:34 - 11:44 am: Chujeon Station (추전역)

~the highest station in Korea - 855m above sea level~

O-train stops for 10 minutes at Chujeon Station

best of romantic winter scenery~^^

There are some stalls selling local foods...
We bought makgeolli, grilled cuttlefish and sweet corn ^^

The last photo shoot before the train leaving us :P

Chujeon Station

Do take note on arrival and departure time of each station. Don't miss the train, especially if your belongings still inside the train! Most of the stations only stop for 1-2 minutes. Only transfer stations (Jecheon & Yeongju), and breathtaking panoramic views from Chujeon station stop for about 10 minutes.

11:51 - 11:53 am: Taebaek Station (태백역).

Remaining snow still covering most part of Taebaek mountain.


12:12 - 12:14 pm: Cheoram Station (철암역)
O-train connects to V-train at Cheoram Station

Picturesque landscape of Korean Peninsula

14:09 pm: Punggi Station (풍기역)

For more information on Korail O-train:

www.korail.com 

+82-1599-7777/ +82-1588-7788 (Korean, English)

Stunning Scenery and Scenic Valleys

Related Posts:

~ [S-Train] - Scenic Southtern Explorer
~ [S-train] - Bukcheon Cosmos, Hadong, Suncheon and Deungnyang

~ Quaint Museom Hanok Village (영주 무섬마을)

~ Museom Single Log Bridge (무섬외 나무다리)

~ Yeongju Loess Pension (풍기 황토 펜션)