Just got back this past Thursday from Korea after a 9 day holiday & I already want to go back!
9 days was definitely not enough time to cover everything, for me at least.
9 days was definitely not enough time to cover everything, for me at least.
Even though this trip wasn't my first time in this country (my last trip being in July 2012), I definitely experienced a more well-rounded Korea this trip and explored more places! Unfortunately, I don't have much recollection of my last trip although it was a mere 2 years ago. For the most part, I just remember choosing to sleep in the hotel room a lot when everyone went out. Nothing really stood out to me, probably because I viewed this trip as just tagging along for a business trip, combined with the fact that I didn't know anything much about Korea back then.
Although I went in July in 2012 as well, the weather this time around was definitely much cooler than the blistering summer heat back then. Apparently this time I went during the rainy season which starts around the end of July and lasts till August.
Although I went in July in 2012 as well, the weather this time around was definitely much cooler than the blistering summer heat back then. Apparently this time I went during the rainy season which starts around the end of July and lasts till August.
Will be splitting my Korea posts into a few installments to avoid extremely lengthy posts.
Grab yourself a bag of popcorn before scrolling.
DAY 1
Took an early morning flight & arrived in the afternoon at Incheon International Airport after around 6 hours in the air.
Before heading straight for our hotel, we went to look for SIM cards. If you're wondering, we got our EverGreen SIMs from the GS25 (Korean version of 7-11) near Gate 10 in the airport. There was even a really helpful EverGreen staff on hand to help us put in our SIMs and teach us to use it. Cost me around 55,000won (around 68SGD) for one if I remember correctly? My iPhone 5 is my uk phone and was locked by the uk telecom, so the SIM was meant for my ancient iPhone 4 instead. A SIM card for an iPhone 5 would be slightly more expensive since you would need a nano sized SIM rather than micro. It may seem expensive but it comes with 3G data as well, which we hadn't even manage to finish by the end of our trip!
After speaking with airport staff, we hopped onto the airport limousine bus at their recommendation. Took the cab on my last trip but apparently the airport limousine is a better option - not only is it cheaper, it still drops us right at our hotel's doorstep (best to check whether your particular hotel is on its route).
It was a really smooth 1.5 hours journey to our hotel. The seats were really spacious and there was lots of leg room. Would even vouch for the fact that it probably was more comfy than a cab ride would've been!
Stayed at Pullman Ambassador Hotel after having previously stayed there in 2012 as well.
View of N Seoul Tower from our room, albeit slightly hazy.
Decided to get an upgrade right after checking in as we didn't really like the room we were in. Stayed in the suite on our last trip so we didn't really know what the regular room looked like when we booked it..
If you've read my previous posts, you would know that if there's one thing I'm particular about on trips its the hotel room. Thankfully, the interior decor of our upgraded room was so much better. Definitely managed to get a good night's sleep in there!
Decided to go to Myeongdong, one of the most touristy areas in Seoul, after settling in.
Although Myeongdong isn't right next door to our hotel, we made use of the hotel's complimentary bus service that shuttled us there in 10mins.
If you want to sample authentic Korean food, Myeongdong would be a good place to go. The streets are abuzz with street food vendors doing business there in the evenings.
So many Korean cosmetic brands lining the streets of Myeongdong.
Best part is that they give out so many free samples! Ended up bringing back more samples than cosmetics I actually paid for, some of which were whole trial sets!
If you're looking to get an ample amount of samples, Myeongdong would be your best bet because the shops seem to be especially generous there, probably because there are so many tourists in that area.
If you want to sample authentic Korean food, Myeongdong would be a good place to go. The streets are abuzz with street food vendors doing business there in the evenings.
Decided to have the famous twister potato after seeing nearly half of the crowd in Myeongdong walking around with this in hand. Attempting to eat it while walking can get quite unglam though, especially since the stick is so long. Deciding where to start eating the twister potato was a challenge, not gonna lie.
Chanced upon this random Ginseng chicken (samgyetang) restaurant & went in to have our dinner. Posters showing off a TV station having gone there to film were plastered on the walls, so we figured it had to be quite popular.
If I'm not wrong, the restaurant only serves their speciality - ginseng chicken is the only thing on the menu, although there's a variety of ginseng to choose from.
This was the first time I've tried this kind of samgyetang. The samgyetangs I've tried all had a thin broth, but this one was quite thick & the herbal taste was definitely more distinct. Don't know if this is the authentic samgyetang or if this is just a unique variation? Not bad though, glad I got to try something different!
The ahjumma taught us how to eat it properly. You're meant to take out the rice stuffed in the chicken, put it in the given bowl, & scoop some soup onto it, in order to get what is essentially porridge.
Whilst shopping around Myeongdong after dinner, I found this place called SoftBee that serves amazing soft ice-cream! It's pretty much ice-cream, but better because it has a whipped cream consistency to it. Add honeycomb to it & you get the perfect combination. Just typing this is making me drool....
DAY 2
Decided to skip on the hotel buffet spread and have a more authentic Korean breakfast instead at none other than.... PARIS BAGUETTE.
If you haven't been to the Singapore branch, where have you been?? Anyways, contrary to its name, its actually from Korea so we wanted to try out their confectioneries.
The branch we went to was right next to Gangnam Underground Station as we were planning to shop in the area after that.
Commenced shopping right after breakfast!
Whenever I'm in another country, I like to go to their local supermarkets/drug stores to have a browse. Korean pharmacies definitely did not disappoint.
This drugstore near Paris Baguette and Gangnam Station as well had 2 levels, most of which was stocked with cosmetics and food. Spent a good hour in here alone....
I spy Kim Soo Hyun.
His face was almost everywhere in Korea. From posters, to cosmetic shops, cardboard cutouts, lemon drinks, banks, and bakeries.. I bet he doesn't even have to act after this if he doesn't want to. Probably has enough cash to last him a lifetime from all the ads he's lending his face to.. haha.
After doing a bit more shopping at Gangnam Station, we took the metro to Sinsa Station to get to the Garosugil / Apujeong area. It was still in the Gangnam area but we had to change line once. I don't know why but I imagined Gangnam to be just a small area when in actual fact it's quite spread out.
Had some trouble figuring out the metro lines so we just ended up asking random passerby's who were surprisingly kind enough to stop and help us despite some of them not even being too sure as well. Of course, there was also the added challenge of a language barrier but somehow, we eventually managed to find our way.
Apujeong, Gangnam
Shopping was definitely slightly more expensive than normal since we were in the Gangnam area.
Despite the prices, you weren't even allowed to try most things on, which I've realized is the norm in quite a lot of shops in Korea. Most clothes were also free size, meaning they usually only had one size, especially for tops and dresses. I guess you can kind of gage your size from holding the clothing up to your body but would've preferred to actually try it on before spending the money. Needless to say, I still took some risks and bought without trying. Thank goodness they all more or less fit me!
Didn't really have a proper lunch because it was a rather frantic afternoon for me. Course module units for my university department were due to be open that day. There is a certain capacity for each course and selection for your course modules is on a first-come-first-served basis. So from 6a.m UK time (2p.m KST) I was basically already sitting in a nearby cafe leeching off their wifi just to camp in front of my laptop and constantly refreshing the modules page.... Funny thing is that the course module selection did not open until I got back to the hotel room which was already quite late in the evening.... So really I essentially wasted the whole afternoon stressing over nothing & lugging my laptop around with me, when I should've been enjoying my holiday.... #rantover I know that choosing my modules are more of a priority than shopping though. Obviously. lol
I was so stressed with the whole course module selection process that even though Lee Min Ho was on my cup, I didn't even realize until I was almost done with my drink.
Went back to Myeongdong after dumping all my shopping in the hotel room to have dinner at Yoogane.
I know Yoogane recently opened a branch in Singapore earlier this year but I've yet to go, so we went to the original branch in Seoul to give it a try.
We were unsure about how to go about ordering the food and there was a language barrier, but we basically ended up having the chicken galbi and just added some extras from the menu which the waiters helped us to cook right in front of us.
We got really full fast and ended up having quite a bit of leftovers. Want to try out the Singapore branch soon!
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Still have 7 more days of my trip to Korea to blog about so keep a look out for the next few parts.
Have a great week ahead!
xx
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