**Full of Pictures and Words**
Hey guys! I have mentioned in my
birthday post that we are doing a trip for my birthday this year! And our pick was SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA!!
Lately, Darrin and I have been obsessed with Running Man! It is basically a Korean variety show in which the 7 Running Man would go to beautiful landmarks and attractions in Asia, mainly South Korea, to complete missions and play games. Sometimes, they would also invite guests to appear on the show and join the fun. If you have never watched it before, go watch it and you will be addicted!!! It is very different from all the Chinese game shows I have watched. I introduced Running Man to Darrin and he have been watching it like a marathon and laughing by himself. We would watch episodes of Running Man together, sort of in a daily basis, during our summer break. Very addicting!
The food and landmarks that was featured in the variety show made Darrin and I have this very big urge to visit Korea. Korea has always been one of the many places I wanted to visit, so we both agreed on going there as a birthday trip for me and a "before-school-starts-again" trip^^
Make sure to always arrive early for any flights! Thanks to Darrin's sister for driving us to the airport in her PJs at 8:00am! Hahahhaha!
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| All ready to board the flight |
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| Off to Korea we go^^ |
I had a really good flight experience to Incheon International Airport (ICN). The flight attendants were very nice and funny, extremely attentive as well +++ Gotta stay hydrated throughout the flight, so I asked for a cup of hot tea, and the flight attendant brought me a whole pot... Hahahha! Totally did not expect that because other attendants gave me a cup instead. Some of the food we ate during the flight! They served skewers and egg rolls for appetizer, as well as cheese plates accommodated with crackers and grapes.
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| The salmon dish |
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| Yummy sundae |
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| Meal before we land |
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| Plus another pot of tea^^ |
Did I mentioned that we booked our hotel 5 minutes before we were required to turn off all electronic devices? Hotel Aropa and N Four Seasons were both out of rooms, and we wanted to see if there was any chance that a room will become available. There was also a love hotel called Hotel Pop that I wanted to stay in because the rooms looks pretty interesting. At last, we settled with Doulos Hotel in Jongno, Seoul because of the ratings.
Darrin and I didn't do much research compared to our
Osaka, Japan trip. We just know that we'll be visiting Dongdemun, Namdemun, and Myeongdong for sure. His mission was to try out as much street foods as possible from the food stands and mine was shopping^^
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| Hello Korea^^ |
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| Yay!! So excited |
The airport is big! We need to go down a few escalators for the tram which will take us to the arrivals and immigration/customs. I think the whole process was less than 20 minutes and then we were out to exchange some won^^ Later on, I found out that there are many other currency exchange centers throughout the city. Oh well, next time we know. Technology in Incheon Airport is pretty amazing!
First stop would be to our hotel! There are actually many ways to get to Downtown Seoul or around the city from Incheon Airport, such as Taxis, Limousine Buses, Airport Railroad Express and Metropolitan Subways. We choose to take the bus 6002 to the hotel (not in front of the hotel, but 2 blocks away), and use public subways to commute. Darrin suggested to get the Seoul City Pass since we are staying in Seoul for a few days. I totally recommend the pass to anyone traveling and exploring on their own because the pass allows you to take buses and subways by just tapping on the reader. I think there was a 3,000won ($3) fee for the card itself and we put 22,000won in both cards. It's rechargeable at most convenient stores and can get money refunded if you don't want to keep the card for next time.
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| Our bus! Was just right outside of arrivals |
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| Oh my! Looks like the ones in Running Man |
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| Push button for stop request ^^ |
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| Random bus... |
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| ...and field... Hahahhaa! |
Bus ride from the airport to the hotel was a about 1 hour and 30 minutes. The bus dropped us off across Uniqlo, near a bunch of food stands (a nice lady gave us free fried squid), and supposedly, the walk to the hotel was less than 5 minutes, but we got confused with the map and it took us about 15 minutes. The hotel was located inside a alley way and can be confusing to find. A man on a bicycle, who doesn't speak English, could kind of tell we were lost so he approached us and helped us out. Pretty funny how he told us to follow him as he rode his bicycle guiding us to the entrance. To our surprise, the staffs in the hotel knows good amount of English^^
We are staying in Korea for just a short amount of time, therefore, Darrin and I went out and begin hunting for food! I saw from the map that our hotel was fairly close to Insadong! Insadong is a district in Seoul that is known for having the largest selections of art galleries, souvenirs, traditional Korean items, etc. I also heard from my colleague that Insadong is loaded with food and restaurants.
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| Off we go!! |
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| Spicy chicken skewers near Insadong area |
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| ~ 1,000 won skewers (spicy and tasty) ~ |
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| Hi Darrin^^ |
Oh my... the weather in Seoul was very hot and humid. We went in the beginning of August, so I'm assuming it is not the best time to visit Seoul. Aside from showering 3 times a day and sweat the minute I step out of our hotel... weather was still bearable! Hahahaha! Since we are only staying in Korea for just a few days, we want to make the best out of it^^ Hot and humid weather could really affects my appetite and mood tho><
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| Happy to be on vacation |
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| We're heading to Dongdaemun |
Remember I told you about the Seoul City Pass? Very convenient and easy to use. Just tap and go, no need to take out money to buy tickets at all because we put $$ in already. The fee was about 1,000 won from our hotel to Dongdaemun! We took the subway line 1 (blue color) from Jongno 3-ga to Dongdaemun station and exit #6. Pretty confusing at first!! Take a look at the map below.
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| Subway map |
Dongdaemun have so many malls and department stores like Doota, Migliore, Lotte, Hellp APM etc. They open until late hours too! I remembered Migliore opens until 5am in the morning! There were soooo many street stands which sells t-shirts, hats, food, accessories, suitcases, etc. So excited because I was prepared to shop alot!!
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| Some of the department stores |
Darrin suggested we should eat first before shopping because he said it was time for dinner. See? Always thinking about eat...eat...eat...! Really didn't know what I felt like eating... so we walked around Dongdaemun and came upon a "Dakhanmari" restaurant in one of the alley.
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| Random alley^^ |
First time trying "Dakhanmari", so we didn't know what to expect. The place was loud and lively! Full of customers! We do not speak the Korean language... No worry! If you know Mandarin, there were waitresses who spoke Mandarin. Otherwise, just try hand gestures (usually works)^^ Within 2~3 minutes of sitting down, another lady came out from the kitchen and placed a pot on our table which looked like this:
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| Dakhanmari = Whole Chicken |
~ Looking at other tables to see how they eat... ~
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| Pretty tasty sauces + kimchi |
We find the meal pretty interesting. Darrin and I ordered just the whole chicken, which was 22,000 won and I think it was enough to fill us. In the Dakhanmari dish, there was a a whole chicken, green onions, topokki, and daikon. Of course, there are are more items that you can order to add to the broth.
Full tummy! Time to check out the famous Dongdaemun shopping malls. Pictures taken at Migliore:
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| First couple hat!! |
I thought I'd go crazy shopping, but I didn't... the atmosphere in Migliore and APM reminded me of "MK" in Hong Kong, where almost everywhere sells the exact same thing but different price. Oh... the price... I feel like the price was not a "set price". Some store owners would jack the price higher than the original because they knew I was a tourist. WTF! Of course I don't buy when I know I'm getting ripped off... very obvious too! Make sure you negotiate, even if you don't speak the langauge!
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| In front of Doota |
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| Big TV on the back O.O |
Dongdaemun is very big! There's more than 20 shopping malls in the area and we just went to 3 (APM, Migliore, Doota)... each one of them had floors and floors of goodies. Didn't really have the mood to shop the clothes because my body's not fully adjusted to the humid weather. Gotta return next time to explore more! Ideally with someone who speaks Korean so the shop keepers have less chances of jacking up the price on us^^
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| Getting ready for breakfast |
~ Western breakfast buffet style @ hotel ~
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| Softer shell, still juicy |
Doulos Hotel was one of the high rating hotels on Agoda and we were pretty happy that we booked it. Very clean rooms with great wifi connection throughout the whole property. There was also two computers for guests to use. Breakfast was served from 7am-10am. Great for us because we were hungry and restaruants around the hotel were not open yet.
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| Alley which leads to the hotel |
On the way to Insadong, we passed by Tapgol Park! Online it said that it is the first modern park to be built, so must come right??
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| In Tapgol Park |
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| It's like SF "fa yun kok" |
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| Arrived Insadong cultural street |
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| I might not look like it, but I'm sweating like crazy... |
Insadong is one of the popular areas to visit for traditional culture and arts while in Seoul. The area have tons of souvenir shops and (around 100) art galleries. Very interesting area! Many little alleys which leads to interesting findings and traditional Korean style restaurants. 10 minute walk from the Doulos Hotel if you ignore everything on your way. Hahahahahhaa^^
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| Our selfie (^~^) |
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| Art on walls + gift shops |
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| Alley leads to great findings |
Our target was actually to find a dumpling place in the alley! Couldn't find it in the end... and went for our first official bibimbap meal in Korea. (Dun worry if you got lost in the area because there are information desks around. Just that the information person took a break when we went to look for them...)
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| Dine at GoGung (Credit: visit korea) |
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| Lovely meal! Spicy octopus bibimbap for me! |
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| Look at this cutie^^ |
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| Given many sides + soup + korean dessert |
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| Lady told us this is "Korean dessert" |
Quality of the bibimbap is very very good. I will definitely return the next time I visit Korea. Love the spicy octopus bibimbap. The octopus comes out on a separate dish, so you can mix it in yourself. It is very spicy and they cannot adjust the level of spice because they premade the octopus already. Get it if you like spicy!! I was sweating and my nose was running.... but all good because it's delicious. Darrin's bibimbap was the traditional hot stone? A bit plain for me but he likes it! For some reason, the bowl looks small... trust me, it makes you full. There are many sides to accompany your meal and I heard it's refillable!
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I'm almost as tall as Lee Min Ho! (just kidding ^^)
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~ Brought snacks and drinks in case we get hungry at night ~
Back to the hotel we go. Gotta drop off the samgak-kimbaps in our room fridge first, otherwise it'll go bad for sure. Then off to Myeongdong we go! SOOOOOO EXICTED!
Do you see TonyMoly? I love that brand! Everything is so cute!! Yup! That's my first stop in Myeongdong^^ Before I went into the store, there is a lady outside who gives me a basket, along with a few free samples including masks and lotions. Then the lady followed me around while I was shopping. I didn't mind it so much because probably she thought I might have questions to ask. Then I went to Etude House and the same thing happen... To my surprise (first time in Korea), I realized there is at least one employee in every beauty store standing outside trying to pull customers in. After you enter, they would follow you around... uh... I started to get annoyed because everytime I picked up an item, they would start to explain and stuff. I wanted to shop by myself (with Darrin) without being followed! And then when we were walking around Myeongdong, there was also a lady who probably is so eager to get customers and she pulled my arm and tried to drag me in... OMG! Have anyone also experience this? Maybe I'm overreacting, but it rarely happens to that point in the States... or even in Japan... or anywhere I've been to!
Other than that, we enjoyed Myeongdong a lot. Food and shopping everywhere!! Didn't take too much picture here because I was distracted^^ (I love sugar cane juice! haven't had them for 4+ years)
Darrin must be a happy camper because he brought a lot of clothes... and I didn't even buy a single piece! Got a few beauty products from different stores tho, mainly TonlyMoly!! Also brought some accessories because they were soooo cheap compared to online pricing and stores back at home.
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| Of course we have to eat Korean BBQ in Korea^^ |
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| Live blue crab as side! Gooey... Prefer the cooked ones |
I thought there were "all you can eat" BBQ in Korea! Apparently, they don't have it (or maybe we didn't find it), so we ordered the meats separately. I have to admit that price is better in America, plus... the taste is pretty much the same. This was a Korean BBQ restaurant that was featured in the booklet. Forgot the name and I gave all the maps/booklets to my coworker... but it's in Myeongdong. You can also find many other BBQ places in the area too!
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| Namdaemun Market |
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| Fresh fruit at Gate 5 |
~ 1,000 won for a slice! Of course BUY!! (Sweating) ~
Namdaemun Market is known for being Seoul largest traditional market. Got confused after we exit the subway station, but then when we came to Gate 5, there was a large crowd, so we just followed them. So many stuff sold at a very affordable price. Don't expect to see fashionable clothes here. Hahaha! Our target was to look for the tornado potato (that's the whole point in coming to Namdaemun for us^^) and we started to search for it after eating the watermelon. There are tons of food and restaurants in the little alleys.
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| Namdaemun Map (credits: Greg Curley) |
Guess what... at the end, we didn't find it. Gave up!! My feet was tired and I almost suffocated from the heat!! Not exaggerating. It was very hot and humid! Desperate need to shower and have some AC.
That night, we had decided to try the food stands "dai pai dong" near the hotel. First time eating Korean blood sausage, sundae (soondae).
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| Food stand menu |
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| Sundae, cucumber, and fishcake soup |
The lady did not speak English, but it's okay because the menu had English. This sundae is pretty spicy for me and not a big fan of it... I didn't even finish one piece. Darrin is so funny when he ate this. He freaking choked on his first piece and kept drinking water to flush it down. He drank about 4 glass or more?? With tears in his eyes too!! The lady thought he had an allergic reaction or something and looked pretty worried that maybe it was her food that caused Darrin to feel sick. Dun worry, he's okay, he coughed it out. It's just that maybe a piece of onion got caught on his throat. Otherwise I won't be laughing. We didn't know how to speak Korean to let the lady know it's nothing serious... probably she could tell since I was laughing. Oh yea... we paid 12,000 won for this dish. I didn't know it was considered expensive until a friend told me we can get it for cheaper. Darrin likes it tho, aside from the fact he choked on his first piece! HAHAHHAHA!
Oh Yoo Jae Suk... Darrin and I wanted meet him!! Then we saw him on TV.... Hahahah!! @.@
Ending the post here. Follow us on
Part 2 for more of our adventure in Korea^^
Much Love,
Jamie
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