허브아일랜드(1)

I came across this place "Herb Island" under Travel Highlights in KTO website. From the way it was being described, it seems like a nice place. But ironically, the website doesn't provide any information on getting there. So I have to google for Herb Island's homepage and read its instructions on how to get there.

Herb Island is actually not an island. Herb Land or Garden would be more appropriate but I guess Herb Island sounds better. It is located in one remote mountain of Pocheon (포천) - a city to the Northeast of Seoul. Because of its remoteness, getting there can be a bit troublesome. First, I took Metro Line 1 to Uijeongbu Station (의정부역). As instructed by the homepage, at Uijeongbu Station, I was supposed to transfer to Bus 138 which would take me to Pocheon city where I could then take Bus 57 to Herb Island.

So at Uijeongbu Station, I exited from Exit 1 and walked towards the main road in front of the station. When I saw a taxi stand , I turned left and walked down the pavement beside the main road. The first bus stop which I came across did not have Bus 138, so I continued walking until the next bus stop which had a Bus 138-1 waiting. I checked the bus route for both Bus 138 and 138-1 at the bus stop and they seemed to be the same, so I boarded the waiting Bus 138-1. Normal bus fare is 1,600won.

The bus journey from Uijeongbu to Pocheon was about one hour. At Pocheon city, I alighted at 한마음약국 (Hanmaeun Pharmacy) bus stop which is just one stop after 포천시청 (Pocheon City Hall) stop. The 한마음약국 stop was also the same stop I waited for Bus 57.

At Baskin Robbins enjoying a cup of Jamoca while waiting for the next Bus 57 to arrive.

Bus 57 only departs 한마음약국 stop at specific times (0810, 1010, 1210, 1410, 1610, 1810). I must say that the bus is very punctual because my 1410 bus arrived on the dot. The bus journey to Herb Island is 30 minutes and the bus stop to alight is 삼정리 허브아일랜드. Normal bus fare is 1,000won. Once there, clear directional signs led me up to Herb Island.

After all the travelling, I am just 300m from Herb Island.

Admission into Herb Island costs only 3,000won but the fee can be redeemed with any purchase made. So in some sense, it is almost as good as free admission. After paying for my ticket, I walked up quite a steep slope before arriving at the main compound. Once there, the first thing I heard was musical box music. So it was like I had just entered a fairy land.

In Herb Island, there are gift shop, aroma shop, flower shop, cafe, bakery and restaurant. There are also greenhouses, man-made waterfall garden, open-air herb garden, mini-zoo and many beautifully decorated small huts. There are probably more things too see but I didn't really explore every shop and house.

Directional signs put up on a tree trunk at the entrance.

The first place I explored was this row of six aroma huts. They are not just beautifully painted and decorated, they smell good as well. Each hut is made to give off a distinctive aroma like alco, rosemary, lavender, peppermint, lemon and grapefruit. Don't ask me what is alco because I don't know myself.

The row of six aroma huts. I missed out on taking a close-up shot of Peppermint hut.

Nice decor at the window of the lemon aroma hut.

Looking inside the lemon aroma hut. The side walls are decorated but not shown.

Where the aroma huts are situated is actually a big carpark. The fringe of the carpark are lined with many other huts that are nicely-decorated with lotsa plastic flowers. However, one thing in common was that no matter where I went, every place smelled sweet because of the generous use of fragrant products in the decoration.

Nice looking and sweet smelling huts at the fringe of carpark.

Rainbow at the Rainbow Pond. The last feature I saw before I exited from the carpark.

Not far away from the carpark is the man-made waterfall garden. This water feature would definitely be more appreciated during summer. Beside the waterfall garden is the open-air herb garden but since the herbs are still "dead" at this time, there was nothing much to see and so no photo.

In the waterfall garden. The red wooden house is actually a convenience store.

Next, I walked towards the highest point in the Herb Island. Along the way, I saw a mini-zoo with with some deers and cockerels. They have peacock and golden pheasant as well. Anyway, there is a resting area and a convenience store at the highest point. you can enjoy a good view of the place while taking a rest. But what is more interesting over there is the herb greenhouse.

A view of Herb Island from a vantage point. The place is bigger than I thought.

Resting area. There are some more decorated huts there but kinda run-down.

Once I entered the greehhouse, I could smell the frangrance of herbs. I am not too sure if the frangrance is given off naturally by the herbs but it does smell good. I could also feel the warmness of the place literally. The temperature difference between inside and outside is like 20 deg. I was perspiring inside my thick clothing. The greehnouse doesn't just has herbs, there are also wooden sculptures and statues to make the place look like as if its your very own herb garden. There is definitely a lot of care and heart given to maintaining the plot and decorating it. I was kinda excited when I saw lavender for the very first time. Apart from lavender, I probably know how rosemary and rose look like and the rest are unknown plants to me.

These plants are lavender. Pretty lilac flowers.

A herb garden that is made to feel like its your very own herb garden.

To be continued in the next post...