Besides eating and sightseeing, I often search for something new to do while travelling. Shopping might be one of the things to do, but to a budget traveler like me, experiencing something new is far more important than shopping.
Upon reaching Yongmun Station, you can see a big rail bike signboard at the exit. Walk straight for about 1km.
Beautiful scene along the river...
Inside the tunnel..
What is a rail bike?
Using abandoned railway, the Koreans turn it into a tourist spot by offering a unique bike ride along the railway. Hence, people can enjoy a unique bike riding experience and at the same time enjoying the beautiful 4 season picturesque scenery! What a brilliant idea!!
So, if you are coming to south korea and planning on your itinerary, I really do recommend you to try out their rail bike experience! There are many rail bikes in Korea, and some are accessible by Seoul subway - eg. Gangchon rail bike (강촌 레일파크) and Yangpyeong rail bike (양평 레일바이크). However, for other rail bikes like gokseong rail bike, you might need to travel to the south to experience it. If you followed my blog, you've probably saw one of my previous entry for Gukseong Rail Bike experience.
In this post, let's dive deeper into the rail bike experience in Yangpyeong!
So far, I've been to 2 rail bike experience, gokseong and yangpyeong rail bike.. Indeed, both have never disappoint me as it is really as fun as you imagined! Yangpyeong is situated at gyeonggi-do, a province near seoul. This place is best for anyone who wish to escape a day or two from the busy city. You can see that people and cars are obviously lesser than Seoul.
It took me 2 hours to travel from Seoul to this place by subway. And, you gotta walk about 1km from the subway station to the destination. So, since the travelling hours could be quite long, I suggest you to take a whole day to explore yangpyeong.
This is the starting & ending point of all rail bikes. Like a garden covered with beautiful flowers along the rail.
Since it is one-way railway, this rail bike departs by sessions. Unlike most rail bikes, this rail bike does not allow you to buy the ticket and depart right away. For eg, if your schedule is a 2pm session, then you will have to depart at 2pm with the others and come back together with the others. Each session about 1.5 - 2 hours interval. The whole rike bike journey is 3.2km - probably about 20 mins ride.
Types of rides
There are basically 2 types of rides - rail bike (which fits up to 4 person) and electric powered car. For rail bike, you need to "cycle" all the way to the end. However, if you are just too lazy to "cycle", you can choose the alternative - electric powered car. Basically it looks like a small hybrid car and whoever sits in does not even have to "cycle", the car operates by electricity and what you have to do is just controlling the speed.
Rail Bike (can fit up to 4 person)
Electric Powered Car - fits up to 2 person
What to Expect ?
This time I travelled alone, so, I expect to ride it all along by myself. But then the instructor said it's quite difficult for me to ride the rail bike alone since it's designed for 2-4 person. So, eventually, I joined another group - a family from Hong Kong during the whole journey! That's one of the best part when you travel alone - you got to meet a lot of new friends along the journey!
My new friends from Hong Kong..
Along the way..
Ticket Prices
Family Rail Bike (for 4 people): 29,000 won
Couple Rail Bike (for 2 people): 20,000 won
Electric-powered Car (for 2 people): 30,000 won
That day I went there alone, hence, no choice, my ticket price would be more expensive. I had to pay the ticket for 2 person (cuz that is the minimum). So, the best is you have a total of 4 person to travel along with.
How to get there?
[By Bus]
- Take an intercity bus from Dong Seoul Bus Terminal to Yongmun (용문) Intercity Bus Terminal.
Travel time: 1hr
Bus Schedule: 06:15-21:30, 30-40min intervals
- The rail bike station is about a 10min walk from Yongmun Bus Terminal.
[By Subway] - Took me about 2 hours from Hongdae area
- Take the Jungang Line of the Seoul Subway to Yongmun Station (용문역).
- From Cheongnyangni Station to Yongmun Station is about 1hr 30min.
- Take Exit 1 of Yongmun Station and walk on Yongmunyeok-gil (road) until you reach the stream.
- The rail bike station is just across the stream.
I really love this rail bike experience and I think it's one of the must-do list if you are travelling to Korea. This thingy is so popular here and even the koreans love it! Also, you can easily spot this activity in K-drama and tv commercials like running man! Don't hesitate, put this in your to-do list when you come to Korea for the next time!
What else to explore in Yangpyeong?
Dreamy Camera Cafe (꿈꾸는사진기)
(Pic source: Internet)
Obviously, this picture is not mine, I don't have such good camera. And also, I didn't manage to come to this camera cafe as planned due to some reasons, but I think anyone that anyone who is going to yangpyeong should pay a visit at this super unique camera! The architecture itself is superb and location wise although it is quite deserted from the city but it's surround with mountains and greenery!!
For further information, you can visit their facebook page here.
Some extra info I dig out from the internet:
1) Taxi cost from Yongmun Station to the cafe: appx 10,000 won.
2) Food Prices: appx 5,000 ~ 8,000 won per drink
So, if you are going to pay a visit here, probably both places will took you about a whole day and you could explore something new in Korea. Although it's considered some popular places in Korea, but there are still many who does not know about the hidden gems in Yangpyeong! It's time to try some new things and forget those mainstream itinerary in Seoul! HAHA!!
11.37pm
Malaysia Time
