see you in Korea
since ive found time ive decided to pen down my korea trip here! guess i feel this is something i should do anyway since my everyday job involves encouraging people to go to korea. and i hope after reading this you'll want to book a ticket to Korea soon~!
DAY 0
i hope i will never ever have a chance to take an indirect flight to Korea ever again. i think because tix ran out on other airlines (i suppoose this is the reason), company had arranged for us to fly by thai airways. it was seriously annoying that there was a delay with both flight there and back. and it really sucked that i couldnt sleep the whole flight thru. for those who are planning to go to Korea, you can fly SQ, Korean Air & Asiana from SG directly to Incheon Airport. But if you are on a budget, you can opt for Thai Airways which can go up to half the price of what you're paying for the other airlines. That is..during low peak season. altho i do hate the indirect flight, i might opt for thai airways to save for my shopping fund the next time i go!
DAY 1
arrived at Incheon Airport at about 07:30hours!!! (: (: our tour guide greeted us and introduced the whole media group from Malaysia, Thai & SG. then surprise surprise! our tour guide, Hye Min brought us to a 찜질방 Jimjilbang which is a Korean styled sauna & spa! the Jimjilbang was at the airport and it was totally luxurious!! nothing like the ones you see on TV! i personally would have rather went to a traditional Jimjilbang where the locals go..heehee! but im not complaining about the one that i went to. it was reaaaaal nice~ look!
a 찜질방 jimjilbang is a MUST GO when you visit Korea! if you're wondering why Korean women even ahjummas (aunties) have such good skin, i personally believe this is the reason! my skin looked so good after coming out of the jimjilbang and i wish i had the luxury of going every week! and you feel totally refreshed!! just take note that most jimjilbangs in Korea have public showers and it is very common to have 'unclothed' women walking around. and even at this high class jimjilbang, there were no doors to the shower. so uh.... enjoy it anyways. it was weird for me for awhile but after that... i kinda got used to it. so you will to!
thereafter, we left the airport.......
and headed for lunch......
lunch was so good!! we had 만두 쑥국수 전골 which is noodles in a hot pot containing dumpling, meat and vegetables served in broth. and the cool thing was the leftover broth was cooked with rice to make 죽 porridge. actually was one of the best meals i had there and it was a perfect meal for winter to warm up your body! and i think the price is pretty reasonable its only 10,000 KRW which is about 12 S$.
after lunch, we checked into our hotel Seoul Plaza Hotel which is at the City Hall area. good and central location. had about 1.5hours to spare before the next schedule so of course i couldnt waste time to sightsee. hyemin had mentioned myeongdong and lotte department was a walking distance away so i knew i had to go dash and see as many places i could see. if you're wondering what 명동 myeong dong is, its a huge shopping street. be sure to spot your favourite kpop stars on all kinds of brands being sold there. managed to spot rain, leeminho, kimhyunjoong, lee byung hyun... heeehee cheap thrills like these make me happy! and also i went to lotte departmental to grocery shop and i managed to buy cheap nailpolishes from faceshop for the gfs. yeap, its about 1,000KRW almost half the price of what it is here and facemasks are like a must buy there! super cheap cheap!
1 and a half hours flew... and i rushed back to the hotel to meet the group... and left for the next schedule....
경복궁 GYEONGBOKGUNG Palace! if you directly translate it is "Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven.". One of the main and largest palace of the Joseon Dynasty. be sure to catch the royal guard changing ceremony here~ uh but during winter its kinda hard because the cold can be so painful and almost unbearable to stand there and watch even for 10mins. if theres a palace you want to visit, you should come here and watch the ceremony (not in winter preferably) !
next.... we left for Korea Tourism Organization HQ Office. attended a lecture and we visited the Korea Plaza in HQ. Real nice place! Check this out if you're into the hallyu wave. You probably wanna visit this place. i really really wanted to visit Star Avenue in Lotte World but i didnt have the time so i was happy i got to at least see abit of what i could see there. heehee i wish we had something like this in Korea Plaza SG. spot me and rain! ^^
right after, we had Korean Royal cuisine for dinner. doesnt the food look pretty?
the groups night was over...but mine wasnt! j came ovr to the hotel to meet me at about 9ish! unfortunately the gf couldnt make it :( was really hoping to meet her... but oh well, took the subway for the 1st time! and we headed for 동대문 dongdaemun which is the shopping heaven in seoul! walked for abit and i bought a winter jacket at a good bargain. and then i was craving for 파전 pajeon (seafood pancake) and we went to a pub nearby. and if you are into beer, you can indulge in 1,000KRW (1.20 S$) for a huge glass of beer! see below! so cheap right! and well, ive learnt that theres a misconception that koreans 'national' drink is soju but really the fact is that ALL koreans love their beer. from the young to the old.. the young generation actually dont fancy soju much. i <3 파전!!
DAY 2
second palace of the trip. 덕수궁 DEOKSOGUNG! mmm dont ask me how many palaces and tombs i visited because uh i cant even rmb but it was ALOT of them. you'll see...
after this... we left for N Seoul Tower! known by most people as Namsan Tower. this was where BFF was filmed! where joonpyo was waiting in the cold for jandi and also in the cable car... :) oh and please please visit the Teddy Bear Museum when you're at the NSeoul Tower because it is plain awesome. i felt like a kid again and was totally amazed by the bears. i personally think its a really smart way to educate tourists about Korean culture and history through these bears. also spot the BaeYongJoon bear when you're there and as well as bears from 'Goong' and 'Jewel in the Palace'. also if you've got a boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/husband, you'll wanna visit...
this is where you can LOCK YOUR LOVE at NSeoul Tower. write love messages/promises/vows to your partner and have your locks locked together and throw the key off the top of Namsan Tower. :) i will go there again ...... when i find my 오빠 oppa ~^^ as you can see above, you can also choose to HANDCUFF YOUR LOVE with your partner (:
next stop! 동구릉 DONGGU-REUNG! which is the biggest royal grave area in Korea!
then... we took a 3hr ride to Gangwondo Province which is where most of the ski resorts in South Korea is. i was off to 용평리조트 Yongpyong Resort, mostly known as the filming location of Winter Sonata! actually also one of the biggest and most popular ski resort in South Korea.
did a bit of night skiing that night.. wooohooo~! Yongpyong resort was awesome!! but sadly, there was no falling snow. :"(
DAY 3
anyways! the next morning i took a cable car up to Dragon Peak which is the top of Yongpyong Resort and i guess the experience there was the most memorable for me. my frozen ears almost dropped off because i didnt have ear muffs and the wind was whooo i cant even describe it. when i have the time i'll post the vid here. oooo and i also met inyoung unnie there! it was sucha coincidence that the drawing show were also havng a performance there. :) it was real nice seeing her again! and heehee i managed to steal a shot with the drawing show peeps (another group of performers). :)
byebye yongpyong! back to seoul.....
but first lunch at a restaurant near the resort that specializes in dried POLLACK.
then next to another royal site....... called 청령포 CHEONGRYEONGPO! this is one of the most beautiful places i visited during the trip and if you do have the chance, you should come to this place! hahahah but transport can be abit of a headache. but yes, this place is where King Danjong was left in seclusion when he was 17. it can be abit ironic that this gorgeous site had sucha sad history to it.
and this is JANG-REUNG - The tomb of King Danjong.
back to our hotel in Seoul called the Classic 500 which is a brand new hotel and is totally fab to the max. check out ma room! and im telling you it is HUGEEEEEE. real nice this place! super luxurious...
love my room!! and since the night was still young... went with some of the gang to 홍대/홍익대학교 Hongdae/Hongik University Street where the nightlife of Seoul is. really really happening there! and i was dying to go to a 노래방 Noraebang(Karoke) but mmmm nobody was interested... -_"
DAY 4
after the morning schedule (another tombstone and myeongdong, Chojeon textile and Quilt Museum) i was dropped off at 인사동 Insadong to tour the place myself while the rest went on to watch the JUMP performance. im so glad i had the chance to go there! and also the best thing was that i got to meet youngjae unni who came specially all the way from Incheon!! and because i was craving for 파전 again! we went to a really cool place to have tea. well, in fact we had 막걸리 Makgeolli which is the traditional Korean rice wine. really had a great time with youngjae even though it was a short meetup!
if you want to see everything traditional and Korean. this is where you should go. its a long street where you can get traditional snacks, traditional souvenir shops and more... and a MUST GO place when you're here is this place called 쌈지길 Ssamziegil which is a real charming place. really arty farty!
dinner with hyemin, jiyoung and kongling...at some temple food restaurant. yeahh hmmm dont ask if i enjoyed it... but it was as usual. a pretty sight! and a good experience.
thereafter, we said our goodbyes and went back to the hotel. and i got ready to spend my last night in Seoul with the drawing show peeps! was really really excited to see them!! took the subway by myself and i was really proud that i found my way to 혜화 hyehwa station to meet Seok Hoon. and thereafter Man Young came with the car and they fulfilled my last wish of going to N Seoul Tower again to see the night view of Seoul.
so pwetttttty!!! please please go to the NSeoul Tower to see the view at night! it is gorgeous and do spot the STAR. its amazing! the landscape of Seoul at night actually forms the shape of a star. rmb to spot that!
ahahha and because the weather was so cold, we dash back to the car and headed for 이태원 Itaewon which is a popular place for tourists especially americans. went for a drink for them.. and inyoung unnie finally came to join us! :) thereafter we headed for a 포장마차 Pojangmacha (traditional Korean Street Stall)nearby and had 오뎅국 odeng soup! and personally it was the best thing i ate during the whole trip! perfect food for winter!! i seriously miss it! anyway, thank you drawing show peeps for the wonderful night!!
and well... this is kinda the end of the trip. man how did the days pass so fast? :( it as sooooo short and i seriously didnt wanna come back to sg!!!
come visit Korea because from 2010 - 2012 is the VisitKorea Year which is a campaign for introducing Korea to tourists visiting South Korea. Theres gonna be lotsa events and also stuff like discount program for long-stay visitors, welcome plan, Korea grand sale, and tourist coupon service! :)
안녕~!