Korea Day 17 2/9/2012

Last day in Korea. Regina shifted to her dormitory today, so I decided to walk around. Met up with Heasoo again for lunch one last time. I don't know when I will ever see her again. Haha. But I'm sure I will. Wanted to meet up with Eunji unnie too, but our schedules don't match :(

Anyway, we met at Times Square and we went to a Korean restaurant. I tasted cold noodles, Naengmyun for the first time. It is pyeongyang style naengmyun. The taste is not bad, just that I'm not really used to putting so much vinegar.

After that, I went back to Ewha district to find this shop called Kosney. In this shop, they sell all kinds of things, including diaries and stationery that you find on blogshops and cost so much. But in Kosney, the cost much cheaper. I bought a diary to use for the year 2013 and a new pencil case that is on sale.

After that, I went back to Hongdae. As I was exploring hongdae one last time, I saw this cafe.

Coffee Lab. It looked special so I went in to have a look, and take a break. And it is indeed special. They decorate their ceiling with~

Yes. Chairs.

I ordered a Vanilla Latte, and an Oreo cheesecake. This is how my order came:

The vanilla latte is really aromatic. And it is not too sweet, neither too bitter. The balance is just nice. The oreo cheesecake is so creamy. The best thing is, it is not the kind of cream that makes you get sick of it. It makes you want to eat more. And all these for a reasonable price. Like normal cafe prices.

Went back to the guesthouse after this. Well, I shifted to Oasis guesthouse because there's gonna be repairs done on the room for Lavender Story. And guess what, I was treated to dinner by the owner. Like, erm he called in delivery for him and another guest which is a Korean that had been living in Australia. And it was something that I had wanted to try all along! Jjajangmyun! yay. YUMMY. and he opened a bottle of beer for us each. YES. beer again. Lol.

I really thank him for the hospitality. Really. He almost wanted to give me another bottle, but I refused, because I turn red easily from alcohol. Yup. And that was how the day ended.

Korea Day 16 Hangang 1/9/2012

Saturday! Decided to get out of the city area and head to Han river!

First thing we did was to buy tickets for the tour cruise. The tour cruise goes along the Han river and the have several types. They have the normal one, and they have those that have programmes on the cruise. Of course, since we want to enjoy the scenery, we bought tickets for the normal one (it's the cheapest one too).

The whole journey is about one hour, and it's really nice when there is wind. It is really cooling.

After that, we strolled along Han river, until the sky is dark.

And we managed to chance upon...

Totally like an outdoor clubbing event, just that there are people of all ages. haha. So amusing XD

Korea Day 15 Food Trail 31/8/2012

Met up with Eunji unnie for lunch today! We met at Shinchon and she brought me to eat Korean BBQ! :D

Actually, koreans don't usually call it bbq. Well, in Singapore, our korean bbq usually refers to all kinds of meat. But in Korea, people dont grill all kind of meat together. Normally they just order one set of one kind of meat. Hence actually, korean bbq can refer to bulgogoi, samgyeopsal, kalbi, etc. but not everything. Nevertheless, it is really cheap to eat like that. But of course not as cheap as other korean food.

After lunch, I went to get my BAP repackaged album! OMG so happy :D

Anyways, went to Apgujeong after that to meet Regina. And with that, we started on our fangirling food trail!

First stoppppp

Yoochun's gelato shop! It is really quite easy to find. And the gelato ice cream is really not bad!
[EDIT: The shop has since ceased operation. :( ]

The two brothers. Left is yoochun, right is yoohwan. All so cute right. and look so alike. And they give a sticker with every cup of gelato you buy. so good. haha.

Second stop..

If you are guessing the reason, well, it is..

not superjunior. but..

correct. SHINHWA. didn't manage to get all six of them inside the camera. but yea! :D

Honey glazed chicken. It is really nice! and very filling :D

Handprints of the six guys. HAHAHA.

Last stop! we went back to hongdae for dinner just for this :)

Yes it is the runningman Haha's restaurant. The hongdae branch is managed by him while there is another branch managed by Leessang (Gary and Gil). You can see the very reggae, jamaican deco from outside already!

Samgyeopsal, Makchang (pig's intestine) and bean paste soup. Very nice!! The food here is yummm. And yes that is beer. Lol.

It was a weekend so as we were walking back to out dorm, we saw many buskers, so we decided to come back out after putting our things. Finally, I can really see the streets of Hongdae.

Korea Day 14 Coex Mall, Times Square 30/8/2012

The day when typhoon tembin reached Korea.

Since it kept raining, I decided to explore the shopping malls instead. So first, I went to Coex Mall. It is this huge mall that I keep getting lost in. Plus it links to another shopping centre too! There is a very huge bookstore inside for book lovers.

There is supposedly an aquarium in the mall, but I can't seem to find it. An entry fee is needed, though.

The next place I went was Times Square at Youngdeungpo. Once out of the station, you can see Lotte Department Store. To get to Times Square, you need to walk through an underground shopping street. It is really full of shops, and there are a lot people. Like, people are really shopping there. I guess you can get some good buys, but I wasn't really planning on buying anything that day.

Times Square had shops of really expensive brands. I suppose it is one of the higher class shopping malls. There is a Kyobo bookstore there, and the mall is linked to shinsegae department store. Overall not much, it just gives me the feel of Ngee Ann City.

Korea Day 13 Samcheondong, Insadong 29/8/2012

Regina had her Korean placement test today, so in the meantime, I decided to go and explore the Anguk area. Well, that place is very artsy.

When I came out of Anguk station, I saw this:

The start of the artsy trail haha.

Anyway, I went to the Samcheondong （三清洞）area first. This area is famous for its Hanok style buildings. Bukchon （北村）is also in the area.

Buildings like this can be seen everywhere in the area! There are many cafes in Samcheondong too, and quite a few of them retain such an environment. If you are a cafe lover, I would say this place is a must go, because there are many nice cafes over here.

So as I was walking around, I saw wall murals. You seldom see wall murals in Singapore. Or rather, you don't see them when you walk down streets. These murals are so pretty..

So, after walking for quite a while, I dropped in on this cafe for a break. The cafe is called Cafe Yeon.

This is one of the cafes that retain the hanok style environment. While I was inside, I could really relax. The environment was actually very calming.

After that, I headed Insadong. Insadong was more lively, as it is more of a shopping street. But the shops are more of the craft shops. They sell paintings, handmade fans, etc. Good for getting souvenirs.

There is an area in Insadong called Ssamzigil, which has many many interesting craft shops, unlike the traditional craft shops.

People who are interested in artsy stuff and crafts should come here. I think you will spend the whole day in this place.

Korea Day 12 28/8/2012

Typhoon day. After shifting back to Lavender Story, we stocked up on food and stayed indoors, replenishing our sleep, watching videos, studying korean. Had ramyun for lunch, but decided to have something better for dinner, so we went to the mart to get those instant easy to cook stuff.

So this is our dinner! meatballs, cutlet, rice, seaweed soup and makgeolli!! :D

Korea Day 11 Lotte World 27/8/2012

It's a Monday! The weather was being nice to us by giving us a day before bringing typhoon bolaven. It was a very good day, so we went to Lotte World!

It is a must to go for amusement park lovers. Well, we didn't manage to ride alot of the rides, because most of the thrill rides had very long queues! :( But still we had fun. If you like to see the overall of Lotte World, especially the indoor part, you can take this ride called Aeronaut's Balloon Ride I think. Can't really remember the name. Regina and I queued really long for it. It takes you on a journey around the inside of a Lotte World in a mechanically operated hot air balloon.

One of the thrill rides we took was Gyroswing. Wow this was scary. It's like a massive swing that can hold 40 people. And it rotates, so there will definitely be one point where you are in the direction the swing is moving and when it swings down, WHOO. the adrenaline rush is superb.

Another thrill ride I really enjoyed was Atlantis. It is a roller coaster, but you never know when there is a dip. Okay. You will know one of it when it is in the open air, but the others are in the dark. So exciting. Haha.

Korea Day 10 26/8/2012

Met Heasoo today! And decided to go shopping in Ewha area. So as we were deciding a place to eat, Regina suddenly saw...

Hence, might as well, we had our lunch here. And we don't need to go and find it in Gangnam anymore haha. Well, the food was not bad. I love the pizza, but a bit pricey though.

after lunch, we went into Ewha Women's University to look around. It is really really pretty!!

So beautiful. How I wish I could study in a campus like this. The surroundings make people happy already. Anyway, after that, it is shopping time! Ewha shopping district has many shops that sell 10000 KRW bags (roughly around SGD11) and they are really nice! I bought quite a few. And of course I bought shoes too! Their shoes are made in korea and really good quality.

So after much shopping, it's time for a break. Heasoo brought us to this famous 밭빙수 (patbingsoo) shop. We even have to queue for a seat inside! Patbingsoo is also known as red bean shaved ice. A little like ice kacang? but different. Their shaved ice is really very fine..

 There were three of us, so we decided to share three different flavours - milk, green tea and fruit.

The shaved ice and the red bean is given separately. How you eat it is to scoop a spoonful of red bean, put it on the shaved ice, then scoop the shaved ice together with the red bean and eat it. Don't worry if you finish your red bean before the shaved ice. They will refill the red bean for you free of charge. No stirring is needed as the shaved ice melts really quickly since it is so fine. All are really nice!!! and refreshing!! :D

After eating, we decided to go to a hair salon to do our hair. Regina and I have heard that hair salons in Korea, their service and products are of good quality, so doing our hair is a must! :D So thankful for Heasoo, as she had to be our translator. haha.

So we were at the salon until night time, after which, we headed back home..

Korea Day 8 N Seoul Tower 24/8/2012

After coming back from overnight shopping, we slept till around 2 in the afternoon since we were so drained out. Our plan today was to go to N Seoul Tower.

And so, here we are in the evening!

We took the N in the N Seoul tower stands for Namsan, since it is located in the area. We took the shuttle bus to the carpark, and we still had to walk. The worst thing is, it is an uphill path and the slope was very steep! I can't even stop halfway or I will get pulled downwards by the gravity. So after a very tiring walk uphill, we finally arrived. We bought tickets and went up to the observatory straight.

This was shown on the screen on the ceiling of the lift up to the observatory. When the lift goes up, it plays a video that simulates the going up of the lift. Quite interesting.

When we reached the observatory, as usual there is a lot of tourists. But the night view of Korea was so beautiful.

Snapped some pictures of the beautiful night scenery and went down after that. It was already starting to drizzle. We went to the lookout platform where the railings are full of..

Yes locks. Left by couples. Supposedly a couple buy a pair of locks and the write their love pledges on these locks and lock them together on the railing, Then they throw away the key as a symbol of everlasting love. However, they are not allowed to throw the key off the platform anymore. Haha. It's a pretty cool sight.

So after sightseeing, we had dinner at the burger place here.

I don't know if it is the best burger in Seoul, but it is definitely one of the nicest burgers I had tasted. And the fries are awesome. I really loved the fries. Haha

It was raining heavily after we finish our dinner, so we had to head home in the rain. It was so cold! with the wind blowing. >.<

Korea Day 7 Overnight Shopping 23/8/2012

Woke up in the morning to visit another guesthouse that we were supposed to move to for the period of 25th to 27th August. It is quite near from the one we are living in now! Anyway, after visiting, the guesthouse owner of the current guesthouse Lavender Story drove us back. On the way, he stopped by a bubble tea shop and treated us a cup each!

From what I see, the bubble tea trend just kind of started in Korea. I have seen quite a few bubble tea shops, but they are really small. It's hard to find bubble tea here in Korea. Haha, but there is GongCha in Myeongdong! And the queue was so long I decided not to buy. Yup. So this was my first cup of bubble tea in Korea. Surprisingly it tastes quite nice! Not too sweet and not too bland. :D

After that we went back to rest for awhile before heading out again at around 5 or 6pm to Itaewon. Itaewon is like a place that Westerners frequent. Probably because of its history. Itaewon is located in the middle of Yongsan-gu. In the aftermath of the Korean War, American soldiers began to stay in Yongsan Garrison, and probably the influence spreaded till now. Here, you can see alot of imported brands, and restaurants of cuisines from different countries. This place is very multicultural.

Regina and I walked around just to see how the environment is like. There are really alot of westerners. Unlike in Myeongdong, where most of the foreigners are from China or Japan.

When settling our dinner, we decided to get....

KFC!!! Haha. well it is always nice to try fastfood in different countries. I was actually quite surprised they had crispy chicken too! and the crispiness is much more crunchier than the KFC crispy chicken in Singapore. It is less spicy as well. The cheese they use for their cheese fries is that used for nachos if I'm not wrong. The meal is not bad!

So after dinner, it was around 8pm so we decided to start on our overnight shopping trip! And so we headed to Dongdaemun!

Dongdaemun is full of buildings that has apparel shops that does mainly wholesale. Most of the shops do sell their clothes individually as well. This area is usually opened overnight, and closes at about 5am in the morning. Many people recommended this place since it is a place where people buy their clothes in bulk and so it is supposedly cheaper. However, I beg to differ. In most of the buildings I went to, the bags and shoes are rather expensive, the clothes are priced normally. Tried to haggle, but mostly it's not possible. The sellers does not really care about people who come here to buy clothes individually, hence they don't really entertain your bargaining. Even if you bargain, the most you can cut is around 3000KRW?

I bought mainly shorts in this area. Somehow their shorts are considered cheap. I got mine at 10000KRW each. And the design and material is really nice! I bought jeggings as well. But that's about all I got. The other apparels are priced abit too high than I expected. Nevertheless, it is not a bad experience. I guess if you look more closely, you should be able to get some good buys. :)

We were tired by the time it was around 2am, so we decided to cab back to hongdae..

Korea Day 6 GyeongBokGung 22/8/2012

Woke up just in time for lunch due to late night noraebang. After which, we went to Gyeongbokgung. 景福宫. 경복궁

Went inside but didn't manage to walk the whole palace. Too big. so we only walked all the buildings in the centre. Haha.

Okay the things that I'm gonna write later mostly get from the guidebook one. Lol. But so interesting. 

Geunjeongjeon 勤政殿. This is the main throne hall of the palace. The meaning of the name is 'all affairs will be properly managed if Your Majesty demonstrate diligence'. This is where the king will deal with state affairs, including meetings and receptions with foreign envoys.

The stone markers bearing the ranks of the officials. The officials will stand in rows beside the markers that indicates the ranks. During a court meeting that happens four times a month, the officials will sit on cushions made of skins of different animals, depending on the individual's rank.

The ceiling is so high that from outside, the hall looks like it has two storeys but actually it only has one. You can see the carvings of dragons on the ceiling.

Sajeongjeon 思政殿. this is where the king holds daily morning meetings with his officials. Beside this are two buildings cheonchujeong and manchujeon with heated floors for the king's comfort in winter. 

There are several of these rooms in front of sajeongjeon and they are used to store the private property of the royal household. this particular storeroom is named 玄字库.

Gangnyeongjeon 康宁殿. the living quarters of the king. Behind it is Gyotaejeon 交泰殿, the living quarters of the queen which unfortunately I don't have an overall picture of that for. 

The garden behind Gyotaejeon is called Amisan. The chimneys (the orange coloured structure) are being termed as one of the national treasures.

One interesting thing about Gyotaejeon is that the doors have six flaps instead of the two big flaps in other buildings. This is because having six flaps it easier to open for women.

This pond is named Hyangwonji 香远池. It is squared shape. In the centre there is a pavilion name Hyangwonjeong 香远亭. I feel that this is the prettiest location in the palace.

Behind this is a building called Geoncheonggung 乾清宫. It is built by King Gojong in 1873. It includes a separate living quarters for the king and the queen, as well as a study.

It is the only place in the palace grounds that is of such brown colour. In 1895, Queen Myeongseong was assassinated by the Japanese here. 

The next place we went was the residence of the crown prince and princess. The residence was built to the east of the king's palace as the crown prince was regarded as the rising sun.

There are two buildings in the residence. Bihyeonggak 丕显阁 and Jaseondang 资善堂. Bihyeonggak is the study room of the crown prince and Jaseondang is the living quarters.

After visiting this place, it's about time that gyeongbokgung closes. So we headed out to Gwanghwamun, the entrance to the palace.

The square in front of Gwanghwamun is really big. There of course, holds the statue of the great King Sejong. Below the statue is an underground pass that has an exhibition of the story of King Sejong.

The exhibition is in Korean though. :/

Some interesting things I saw. The top photo shows the word Hangul and the second photo shows the word Aigoo which means something like Aiya! haha.

After that we went to Kyobo bookstore to look around. It's abit like Kinokuniya in Singapore, just that it is the Korea version. And then we head back to our accomodation.