A Glimpse of Heaven at Ora Beach Resort

I have never been to any place, any beach, which is more stunning than Ora Beach. It began from a short, random browsing in the afternoon, and I found Marischka Prudence’s blog where she posted many breathtaking pictures of Ora. It was a loooong way to go from Pattimura Airport, Ambon. We had to spend 1.5 hours to reach Port of Tulehu and 3 hours more on a ferry to reach Port of Amahai, Central Maluku.

I advise you to choose the executive class for the ferry ride as it would be more comfortable compared to the economy class. Based on my experience, the executive class section was equipped with a TV and air conditioner, plus we were placed in a special area and there were not too many passengers in that area. After arriving at Amahai, we were picked up by a tour guide and we spent around 3 hours by car to reach Ora Island. It felt like forever as we had to go through a winding road and it began to get dark so the driver had to drive the car slowly. We thought that ride would be the last and we would reach Ora resort shortly, but we still needed to take a small boat, around 5 minutes to reach the resort as it is placed in the middle of the sea.

Mountain and Sea at one scene

Panoramic View

The Rooms

photo credit @jeftavito

We spent 2 nights at Ora Beach Resort. The next day, we were guided to visit snorkeling spots around the resort. There was no diving equipment available at Ora, but you will be very satisfied to explore just by snorkeling as the water was very clear.

Photo credit @jeftavito

photo credit @irenenathalia

And, sadly, we had to go back to Ambon city, though we still wanted to spend more time longer in Ora 😦

Ora was really worth a visit, though we had to spend around 7 hours from Ambon city (not to mention 4 hours from Jakarta), it was all paid off once we saw the hidden paradise at Ora Beach. Our trip was all arranged nicely by Alvin, he is the owner of this resort. If you need more info about the tour and cost you may email me at natashaamadea29@gmail.com and I will share Alvin’s contact and all the budget plan from Jakarta.

Mount Seorak – Seoraksan Tourist Hotel.

Mount Seorak might not be as famous as Nami Island, Jeju Island, or Seoul. But, I highly recommend you to visit this beautiful mountain once you arrive in South Korea. It is located at Seoraksan National Park, Sokcho, a small city near Seoul.

I went there on March 11th 2013, it was early Spring and the temperature was about 9 Celcius Degree. To get to Sokcho City, we took the Intercity Bus from Dong Seoul Bus Terminal (if you use the SMRT, you need to disembark at Gangbyeon Station Line 2 and find Exit 4, then you will be directed to Dong Seoul.) We chose the non-stop bus that took around 3 hours to get to Sokcho Intercity Bus Terminal. You may find the transportation details (fares and timetables) by clicking this link and input Origin : Seoul (City : All), Destination : Gangwon-do (City : Sokcho).  The intercity bus is running between 06.25 to 23.00 18 times a day. After arriving at Sokcho Intercity Bus Terminal, we took the local bus no. 7-1, and disembarked at the last stop which is the Seoraksan National Park.

We arrived there at around 3 pm, because we just arrived at Incheon Airport at 11 am, it means we did not have much time left to be spent at Mount Seorak. So, we decided to take the cable car (round trip fare was KRW 9,000) to reach the Mount Seorak faster. The cable car was very big and we were surrounded by clear window glasses, so we were able to take many beautiful pictures freely.

It was a short and breathtaking ride, but the view in Mount Seorak was more beautiful than what we saw from the cable car.

Because it was starting to get dark, the officers “forced” us to hurry take the last cable car from Mount Seorak and go back to the park. Some people said that actually we could hike to the higher place and there will be more beautiful views up there. But since we arrived too late, we did not have time to hike. Too Bad.

We stayed at Seoraksan Tourist Hotel, which is located inside the Seoraksan National Park area, for one night because we think we would be able to spend more time at the park if we stay there. The hotel was old but clean, the staffs were all really nice but only one of them who was able to speak English. But, if you want to explore Sokcho city at night, I think you should book a room in the city, my recommendation would be The House Hostel as it’s quite cheap and located in the heart of the city. Plus, if you stay inside the park area like I did, you won’t find any restaurant open at 6pm and above. The worst part is, you will not find any public transportation operating above 6pm. I felt like I was isolated in the middle of nowhere at that time.The only way to go to the city and find some restaurants is by calling a cab, which is very expensive in South Korea.

We got a very good deal from Agoda for Seoraksan Tourist Hotel, 800,000IDR/night for a triple room. The hotel was very quiet and we were the only guests who stayed there at that night.