Well, as mentioned from previous post, I will blog about my Seoul Trip!
A visit to
Korea is never a complete one if one were to miss out Seoul, the largest city
in Korea.
Therefore,
after the APL Program ends, we as a group stayed for another 4 extra days (14th-17th
August) to pay Seoul a visit! Let’s summarise what we have done there.
Upon
arrival to Seoul, the first place we are heading to is of course our hostel. We
need to settle our luggage before we continue our adventure for the rest of the
days!
The hostel
we stayed is Kimchi Hostel which is located at Hongdae area. It is easily
accessible in the exit no 2 of Hongik university station. The location is
pretty strategic as most of the hotspot areas like Ehwa Woman’s University,
Dongdaemun, Myeong Dong, etc is within a
distance. One can easily navigate around by subway station. As I was there for
just a 3 days tour, so I don’t feel the need to buy T pass card, instead a
single journey ticket is pretty convenient as even a transit does not need any
purchase of another ticket.
Hondae
(Hongik University Area) is a neighbourhood known for its underground cultures
and freedom of self-expression. Unique cafes, cozy galleries, accessory stores,
fashion shops, clubs and gourmet eateries make this a popular hang-out for
young crowd. There is even a Hello Kitty Cafe and Little Prince Cafe at the
neighbourhood.
I went to
shopping at Myeongdong , one of the primary shopping districts in Seoul. The
two main streets, one starting at Myeong-dong station and the other across the
Lotte Department Store by Euljiro 1-ga Station, are lined with shops. The
various Hallyu-related items and events attracts large crowd of visitors.
Personally,
I couldn’t find much cheaper things over there, perhaps, Myeongdong is a
tourist hotspot and most of the things there are sold at expensive price. Friends
have told me that things sold at Dongdaemun might be cheaper than Myeongdong,
but I just didn’t have enough time for to stroll around Dongdaemun. =(
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| A lots of K-pop album sold at Myeongdong. |
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| Street food at Myeongdong |
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| Myeongdong |
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| The long Ice cream I bought in Myeongdong |
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| This is the 'Mascot' at one of the cosmetic shops in Myeongdong |
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| The Andong Chicken we had. |
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| 4 person portion- 30,000 woon |
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| Hongik University |
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| Murals near Hongdae |
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| Murals near Hongdae |
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| LOSER! xD |
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| A nice view on sun set at Hangang River |
Not to miss
historical places while visiting Korea, we went on our tour to Changdeokgung
Palace. It was built as a secondary palace if the Joseon Dynasty in 1405,
during King Taejong’s reign. Although it was originally secondary to
Gyeongbokgung palace, Changdeokgung was served as the residence for many kings
and later it became the main palace. After all palaces in Seoul were destroyed
during the Japanese invasion (1592-1598), Gyeongbukgong had been left in ruins.
Changdeokgung, however was reconstructed in 1610 and served as the main palace
for about 270 years, until Gyeongbokgung was finally rebuilt in 1868. I feel
proud for being able to visit this palace well as the secret garden. The
entrance fee for the palace is 3000 woon and secret garden is 5000 woon. Only
guided tours are offered in the secret garden.
Chicken
and Ginseng Soup at Mu-Gyo
This
restaurant has been around for 40 years. The menu is limited: Chicken and
Ginseng soup (samgyetang), chicken rice soup( dak gamtang) and potato pancake
(kamja jeon).
I find that
the fewer things are on the menu, the better the food is. The chicken and the
ginseng soup are the top seller here. The chicken is stuffed with rice,
chestnut, dates, garlic, and ginseng, and slowly cooked in a clear, golden
broth. It is meditative to dissect the chicken, dip the meat in a bit of salt
and enjoy the cubes of turnip kimchi or spicy garlic cloves. At lunch time, the
place is always packed.
Our last destination for Makan before leaving to Malaysia.
I miss Seoul! It is such a big state that 4 days trips never enough to explore it completely!
Will surely be there again in future! =)
