As what all last-minute lazy girls do, I did my packing at around 3PM SGT on the day of departure itself. Managed to squeeze everything into a backpack + handbag. Bid my grandma goodbye, and being the grandma who is ever so wise, she told me, "Enjoy every day because you don't want to return home regretting anything." ^^
Got into the car with my parents and I started freaking out. I had butterflies in my stomach, for I was about to embark on a trip with no adults tagging along for the first time in my life. To this city which I have dreamed of going for more than a year. Upon reaching Changi, I hugged my parents and went to meet up with Chanel, Crystal and YY, my travel mates~ Then it was the regular check-in (we took AirAsia) procedures blahblahblah.
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| Taken with Chanel with my handy Canon Powershot SX40 |
We had a stopover at KL, and there was an hour of flight delay. It didn't came off as that much of a surprise for us since it is kind of expected for budget airlines as they often have to fit transit flight passengers into one aircraft to minimize operation costs. I don't really care about anything when I'm on the plane, though the leg room part made things a little uncomfortable yet it's about 一分钱一分货 at the end of the day. On-board entertainment is just an added bonus. I mean, I have my phone so that's pretty much everything I need. Nevertheless, the flight was just dozing off and then waking up every one hour interval due to the excitement that keeps building up as the sky brightens.
And the announcement came. We were finally in Seoul.
First thing we did was to purchase t-money, which costs 2500 won, from 7-11. Something similar to EZlink card in Singapore, that you can use when taking the public transport. You can top up the card at any convenience store or at the train station itself. Crystal and YY bought the m pass from gs25 which was 6000 won. The diff is that this one comes with discount coupons that you can use at various cultural attractions. We (me + Chanel) didn't get it because cultural places of interests aren't really the priority on our list of to-go places. SHOPPING IS MORE IMPORTANT YOZ. Bought the legendary banana milk. It actually tasted like the meiji ones you can buy here in Singapore but a little bit sweeter and unlike the meiji one, this doesn't leave any weird aftertaste.
We rented an egg from the Olleh booth (located between door 6 and 7) so that we can have portable wifi during the trip. It costs 6500 won/day with coupon, and you have to place a 200 000 won deposit with them. Though people say "wifi is everywhere in Korea", it is still useful to have an egg with you on the go, especially if you are an active SNS user like me/us.
An ahjusshi outside the airport offered to give us a ride to Seoul for 16000 won for 4 people, but we decided to take the train (via AREX line, from Incheon Int'l Airport to Hongik Univ.) instead, which took about ~45min. It was peaceful until we witnessed our first drama on the train lol. Some dudes were quarreling and all I could remember of that incident was "shibal". :-)
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| :DD |
Took quite some time to find our guesthouse because the map that they have provided on their site is a little unhelpful.. We stayed in Kimchee Guesthouse for this trip. Rate (as of today 28/5) is: 18,000 won per night, for 4mixed dorm.
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| Pics, for those who asked and are considering KC guesthouse |
We were allocated the room that was all the way at the top, with two bunk beds. It is rather small but enough to fit in four people and their luggage. One thing to note is that, if you are bringing too heavy or bulky a luggage you have to lug it all the way up the stairs, as there are no elevators in the guesthouse. The girl who was at the counter that day was nice and helped to bring up the luggage for us. c:
Some of the services they provide (and that we have made use of) are:
-hairdryer
-adapter (deposit 5000 won)
-laundry service (3000 won per bag)
They do provide shampoo and shower gel in the toilet but the pumps aren't really working that well. There isn't a bathroom attached to each room, and we used the ones located on the fourth floor.
I wouldn't call the place very clean, but I wouldn't call it dirty either.
Location ❤❤❤❤ ♡
Cleanliness ❤❤❤ ♡ ♡
Staff friendliness ❤❤❤ ♡ ♡
Services ❤❤❤❤ ♡
So for those who are planning to stay in Kimchee Guesthouse, here's a map that I've drawn :D using Paint. Being someone who is very much of a 路痴/someone with no sense of direction, I can guarantee you that this is 路痴-proof. (Certified by Hacky :D)
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| Painstakingly drawn with Paint. Click to view enlarge/original size~ |
The guesthouse is located in a less hyped/un-happening area in Hongdae, with Exit 9 being the busier area. But the good thing is that we are near Sasha and Ira's place and W cafe and that's enough.
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| Refusing to get off the bed |
It was so so so comfortable, with the nice, cooling weather and comfy blanket, we didn't want to get off our beds and only left for "lunch" at 3PM SGT. Hahaha my watch was still kept at SGT. Sorry if someone referenced to my watch for timing and ended up being an hour late.
Found Lunarich, and decided to have our lunch there. Pomodoro for 11000won~
Made our way to Myeongdong (we took the subway and had to change lines, but we found out that we could actually take Line 2 and drop off at either Euljiro 1 or 3 ga and walk our way there). We had no idea how to get to Namsan Tower, so we just walked in the direction of it. Climbed up a drearily long slope for like 15 min, and finally reached the cable car center.
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| Just had to make this climb worthwhile |
And as with all touristy places (ON A SATURDAY EVENING), the queue was horrid.
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| Felt way longer than that. |
Purchased the ticket and continued queuing up the cable car tower. 17 000 won for 2 adults, round trip.
Got on the cable car, which was more of a cable bus since they packed ~25 people in the carriage -.- And you get to see the usual things you expect to see when you are on a cable car, so I shall not bother elaborating. (See why shopping suits me better?)
There were tons of Korean couples everywhere, I can't stress this enough, and the congregation of couples over at Namsan Tower just makes every non-couple feel so out of place. One thing we noticed is, there are quite a lot of Koreans at these places of interest. Whereas back in Singapore, you won't see that many Singaporeans visiting the Istana and idk, Jurong Bird Park that often?
After we were done with Namsan Tower, we went around Myeongdong, did some shopping, and ate Milk Tea Bingsu at Twosome cafe. And that pretty much sums up our first day in Seoul~
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| I like the nuts! |
Day Two was a very touristy day for us so let pics do the talking!
Passed by a pet/grooming shop on our way to the station + snapped a few pictures of these adorable furballs~
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| Do some mental blurring of the guy in blue shirt since I don't have PS installed in my current lappie |
Arrived at Gwanghwamun Square and was greeted by pretty, blooming flowers that are so vibrant and full of life.
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| #prayforsouthkorea |
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| A blue balloon that somehow made its way into the waters, lying there oh so poetically |
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| Admiral Yi Sunshin, my new idol |
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| One of my favorite shots so this shall be in the biggest size possible. |
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| Guy who created the Hangul. Ignore the guy in white. |
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| These letters that took me ~two months to fully master |
There is actually an underground museum at the back of King Sejong's statue, for both King Sejong and Admiral Yi Sunshin. And it was where I found out how great a person Admiral Yi is. A real hero. It's kind of weird for me to list his heroic feats here but to put it simply, he won major battles without losing a single ship of his own.
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| The Story of King Sejong |
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| Took a photo of some shuaige :p C'mon, you have to admit that he is good-looking right |
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| "Hangeul" benches |
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| Famous Turtle battleships Admiral Yi designed |
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| "You will win for sure if you fight at your peril!" |
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| "We are at the height of the battle. Don't let anybody know about my death." |
Caught the changing of guards at Gwanghwamun by coincidence~ Talk about good timing.
Bought a ticket and entered Gyeongbokgung Palace. The steps are freaking high I wondered how many palace maids and guards actually fell when they were in a rush. :/ ouch
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| Another one of my favorite shots. I'm not a pedophile but it just so happens that kids express these intangibles very well in captured moments. |
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| Standard tourist shot |
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| And it started to drizzle :/ |
The place was bigger than what it looks like from the outside, and we took a nice ~2 hour stroll in the palace.
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| I |
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| have no idea |
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| what I'm doing |
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| Pond~ |
Insadong is like this artsy place where you can find handicrafts etc. So we walked around, snapped some pictures, had our dinner and concluded Day 2 as the rain got heavier.
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| Bubbles brings out the child in everyone |
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| Dolsot Bibimbap for dinner |
One tip that I have to emphasize: BRING A MARKER with you because there will always be places for you to scribble and confess your love!
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| Obviously not written by me |
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| 女神！ |
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| CHU SARANG, AKA THE CUTEST KID ON EARTH |
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Sorry for taking such a long time to finish this post. (And I wonder if it's kinda boring... Pictures for the upcoming posts will be more interesting! Trickeye Museum, Everland, etc.)
Random, but here's some interesting Engrish that I've spotted~
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| Mm, don't undermine the book. |
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Day 3 will mostly be about EXO's arrival in ICN~!
Can't edit my photos because I don't have Photoshop installed on my spare laptop :/
