Once Again in Seoul (Part 1)

Seoul has become one of my favorite destination.  I admit that part of it come from me being crazy of KPOP.  This trip is my second time in Seoul after almost two years and it definitely won't be the last cuz, I already have another one line up hehehe.  Last time, because it was the first, we dedicated most of our time on cultural tour; palaces.  For this second trip, we planned to pick up what we didn't get a chance to do last time and spent more time on shopping since it was summer.  What they were selling at that time, we could wear them in Thailand, unlike the first time when we went during winter.

On the day, my friend and I were so so excited.  So, can you imagine what we felt when we arrived at the check-in counter of Thai Airways and found a sign; said that our flight have been delayed due to a storm in Seoul?  And it wasn't a few hours delayed...12 hours!!  There were many emotional going on.  We were mad, sad, annoyed and disappointed.  First and foremost, we were mad at Thai Airways.  We did understand that the delayed was for our safety but, couldn't they just make some efforts to contact the passengers?  It was almost an hour drives from my house plus another15-20 mins searching for parking and we were greeted with this delayed sign.  Even worse, the staff there didn't have enough info for us.  The sign said that the flight delayed till 11am but, she just told us that you needed to come before 11am.  Did that mean we have to be here before 11am and waited for our faith?  Another thing was that our trip basically was shortened from 5 full days to 4 days.  Cuz, if we left at night, we would arrived in Seoul in early morning and we would have one full day.  However, leaving Thailand in the morning meant we would arrived in Seoul in the evening...That actually annoyed me the most.  There were so many passengers and foreigners complaining.  When there was nothing we could do, we left and went home.

The next morning, we got up bright and early to go to airport once again.  This time, there was no problem when checking in.  We were napping on the plane to conserve energy so that once we got into Seoul we could just catch up.  By the time, we arrived in Incheon International Airport, it was around 6pm already.  The immigration and luggage claim were pretty quick.  We knew that our hotel was so close to Airport Limousine Bus stop and so we were looking for the ticket booth.  There was a taxi driver looking for passengers.  With minimal English he could, he offered to take us into town but, we told him that we were going on a bus.  So, without any hassle, he pointed us to the direction of the bus.  This is so different from my perception of Korean when I was in college, they are actually friendly and helpful.  We stepped outside of airport, looked to the right, following the direction of uncle taxi and we found the bus stop right away.  It was very neat and easy to navigate actually. We went to ticket booth and told them that we needed to get to Acacia Hotel then, they just told us the fee.  On the tickets, there were number of bus as well as number of bus stop.  (http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/IABIe.cfm)  For our destination, we need to take bus no 6001 at bus stop no 12A.  The signs were easily seen and before long, we found our bus stop.

On the bus number sign, there was info of the route; the destination (for ours, it was Dongdaemun Fashion Town), where the bus stops and the time table.  And the bus was right on time.  

Then, we got onto the bus and WOW!  We didn't expect the airport bus to have that business class look.  My seat on Thai Airways looked much cheaper.  And the seat was comfortable which we were thankful about.  After a cramp 4 hours, this was great!  The ride took about 1.30 hours because our stop was almost the last.  We just slept and slept through it.
When we got off at Acacia stop, we only needed to walk around a corner and there was our hotel entrance (http://www.hotelacacia.co.kr/eng/html/ab/w_ab_010.asp).  The lobby was very simple looking, in another word, there was not much in the lobby.  The receptions were very friendly and they could speak English.  After a quick check-in, we headed up to our room.

The room style was minimalist.  There was not much to the decoration but, it made up with electrical appliances.  we got huge flat screen, a desktop with free Internet (this totally score) and some hi-so complicated telephone.  Oh and we got jacuzzi.  We were like running around taking pictures and admiring our room when we realize...there was no door to the bathroom!  OMG!  Basically, we walked into the bathroom and there were two doors on the left which were toilet and shower, on the right was jacuzzi.  It took some coordinating when using the bathroom.

Well, enough for the room for now.  More important thing at that moment was our rumbling stomachs and so, we quickly left hotel in search for delicious Korean food.  



Ref:http://lookatkorea.com/blog/



We walked toward Dongdaemun station and crossed a street to where shopping buildings were.  Following some reviews in Pantip web, we walked passed Hello APM and to its left, there was a small street.  On that little street and another street behind the Hello APM, there were so many Korean restaurants.  It was like a heaven for us.  There were all kinds of Korean food.  We were having a hard time choosing what we wanted for the first meal.  Then, we spotted a modern looking restaurant and on the picture display, we saw kimchi dumpling!  That was something that we really wanted to try but, didn't know where to get it.  Once we saw the pictures, we immediately made up our mind and entered.  I honestly couldn't remember the name of the restaurant only that it had bright orange sign and it was an long established place but was renovated to modern style.  Inside, the restaurant looked like a fast food chain, clean and with bright color.  The staff there couldn't really speak English.  They just waved us inside and we could just picked any table we want  Most of customers inside were young crowd with friends.  The menu looked so good!  There were variety of dumpling with different fillings (pork with vegetable, seafood and kimchi) and different ways of cooking (steamed or fried).  Of course, we chose Kimchi dumpling (steamed).  We also ordered tofu soup and rice with spicy octopus.  Looking around, we saw that most table ordered dumpling one kind or another so, we thought that we were in the right place.  Another thing that we noticed was the size of food...the portions were quite big...and we ordered 3 dishes!  When the food arrived...we were in heaven.  They all looked and smelled incredible (especially for Korean food addict like us).  Well, what to wait...let's dig in!

So happy, anyone can tell...

Just in case somebody want to look for kimchi dumpling

We really liked the kimchi dumpling.  Actually it was pork and kimchi.  It was very tasty, not spicy at all.  The tofu soup was very nice...somehow it tasted better than what we had in Thailand...was it because of the atmosphere?  The rice with spicy octopus was very similar to Bibimbub, came in hot stoned bowl.  We mixed it just like when we were eating Bibimbub.  Overall, it was very satisfied meal. 

After stuff ourselves, we needed some exercises to burn what we ate.  It would be unhealthy to go to bed with such a full belly, right?  We chose to do it a girls' way...shopping.  There are quite a few shopping buildings around and we decided to tackle one building a night...a lot already.  For this first night, we went to Migliore.  To get there, we just needed to retrace our step back to the main street and Migliore was on our left.  Migliore has 11 floors of shopping area selling cloth, shoes, bags and accessories.  That night, we shopped till about midnight then, we went back to our hotel.  

Next morning, we would like to start our trip with a spiritual sites.  I found a review in Pantip web about Bongeunsa Temple and it looked very interesting with its colorful lanterns.  Bongeunsa Temple is a Buddhist temple located in Gangnam-gu area.  To get there, we took a MTR line 2 and got off at Samseong station. 
Just a note on MTR: to take MTR, you will need to buy T-money card which you can buy at 7-11 store.  Then, refill the credit in the card as much as you like.  The refill machines are located in the subway station.  The fee for subway is 900W per ride. 
OK, so we got off the MTR then, we walked to the side of Coex Convention Center to look for Bongeunsa temple. 

On the way, we stopped for a quick breakfast at a small bakery under Coex.  There we saw a group of kindergarten students.  Their teachers were taking them to an aquarium.  They were adorable and because they were all carrying yellow backpacks, they looked a flock of little chicks.

When we got to the side of Coex, Bongeunsa temple was right across the street.  Inside the temple, it felt like a sanctuary with several small temple buildings amidst very green plants and trees.  On the way into the temple, there were people praying even before stepping across the threshold.  People would pray, took several steps and prayed again as if they were praying for different Gods and might be their ancestors but, that was just my speculation.

To get to Buddha statue, we needed to go under one building.  This building was directly ahead from the big gate, it was not a temple but, more like a place for people to pray at the Buddha.  Walking under, it looked like a mix between old and new.  Its ceiling was so pretty and colorful.  Still there was a hint of technology, see the camera on the ceiling?

Once we emerged from under the praying building, there it was another building...the lay out of the temple was kind of complicated with stairs leaded to different small temple and shrines.

It was too bad that there wasn't any festival during that time and therefore, no lanterns...a bit disappointed.  After that we walked around the temple area.  Here are some pictures...

Look at this pic and can hardly believe that this is in Seoul.

Old and New

It was very hot and humid that morning and we were soaking with sweat.  So, once we satisfied that we saw everything, we walked back to Coex Mall...really needed some air con.  We needed to take MTR to our next destination which was Myeongdong.  To get there, we once again took MTR line 2 and got off at Euljiro 3(sam)-ga.  Actually, there are 2 lines of MTR that can get to Myeongdong which are line 2 and line 4 Myeongdong stop.
Most people would go to Myeongdong to shop trendy cloth but, on that day, our purpose for going to Myeongdon was to eat.  Not different from an eating tour, right?  There is a noodle + dumpling (dumpling again hehehehe) restaurant that my friend and I got addicted to from our first visit in Seoul.  It's call Myeongdong Gyoja.  Actually, it is such a simple restaurant with only 4 menus, I think.  But the taste is great.  Here is the picture of restaurant.

There are two branches in Myeongdong because it's so popular.  We had to queue to eat there.  If I remember right, there were 2 kinds of cold noodle, 1 dumpling and a pork noodle with dumpling...it's my favorite.  After waited in queue for 10 mins, we got our table.  And because we missed it so much plus our hunger (didn't have proper breakfast, remember?), we each order a bowl of noodle (I had hot noodle and my friend ordered Bibim guksu or cold noodle).  We also ordered dumpling, there were 8 dumplings in total.  Once we ordered, we have to pay the bill right away.  Maybe because they have so many customers in and out, they need to prevent people from simply walk out without paying.  When the food arrived, we barely had enough room on the table for everything.  The noodle were huge, not just the bowls.  It would be difficult to understand without some visual...

I gotto tell you that, this bowl was full of noodle.  I watched Korean people slurping away till they got to the bottom of the bowl and just couldn't understand how they did it.  Some of them were very thin women.  Well, finished it or not, I enjoyed every bite.  My friend's Bibim Guksu was good too.  Somehow I think that Bibim Guksu in Seoul tasted better than what we usually had in Bangkok.  It just smells better, more aromatic.  As for the dumpling, the filling was so tasty.  The filling in the steamed dumpling and the one in my noodle soup actually were the same...so delicious.  One more picture.

One thing that I would like to warn anyone who want  to try this restaurant, don't underestimate their kimchi!  It might look cheap because they only gave us a small portion at a time but, that because, their kimchi was so burning hot!!  Well, we both didn't finish the noodles but, we were totally happy...that's what matter.
After such full meal, we need to exercise (so that we could eat some more).  We set our sights at N Seoul Tower. 
N Seoul Tower is located on Namsan mountain.  The only ways to get to the tower are by cable car or bus (OK...there is another way which is on foot but, I just want to disregard it from my laziness).  This is because they were trying to preserve the environment of Namsan mountain and so they banned all private vehicle from going to the tower.  The cable car station is within the walking distance from Myeongdong.  However, if it was summer time (like when we went), I would recommend taking bus or taxi up to the station.  We didn't know better and the Information counter told us that it would be a short walk and so we did.  (Myeongdong Station (line 4) exit 3 to Pacific Hotel and it is a 10 minute walk to the Namsan cable car)  OMG, they didn't mention that it's a short up uphill walk.  We were exhausted and once again soaking wet!  The cable car ride cost 6,300W round trip.  (http://www.nseoultower.net/english/customer/faq.asp)  The ride was short and hot because there were so many people in one car and there was no air con.  Once we got out, we had to walk up a bit further.  Then, we headed to ticket counter to get ticket for the tower.  The ticket to go up the tower cost 7,000W. 

Before going up, we got to check out the 2nd floor of N Plaza zone.  This is where the Korean lovers practice the custom of 'Love Padlocks' where two lovers affix a padlock to a fence or rail to symbolize their love.  I heard that there were so many padlocks but, there were so so many more than what I imagined.  It looked like art with different shape, size and color.

From some of the padlocks we looked at, this custom has become international... There were padlocks from foreign lovers as well.  

Make no mistake, we are friends hahahaha...  This bench was so cute, we just had to have a picture with it.  It bent in the middle and no matter how firm you sit, you would end up falling to the middle.  Then, we took an elevator up to the observatory (3F N Tower).  Too bad that it wasn't open aired.  We could see the view of Seoul all around.  on Some sides, there were windows with name of cities with distance.  It was excited (don't know why) to see that they had Bangkok on too.  Hello home....

Seen it all around, we went back down.  Just in time to see a demonstration of Korean martial arts at the lobby level.  We got used to Chinese and Japanese martial arts but, not much of Korean.  So, this was nice.

Then, we took the cable car and walked back to Myeongdong.  We needed something cool after all the walked we did and so, we went in search of something we didn't get a chance to have last time.  I already did some research before going to Korea for their foot-long ice-cream.  I'm not much of a sweet tooth but, I gotto try.  We found of the ice-cream stand near one of Skin Food shops.  They have a few flavors for us to choose; Vanilla&Chocolate, Strawberry&Chocolate and Mango&Strawberry.  We each picked one.

It looked yummy especially in that heat.  But, we couldn't finish it.  Not sure if because the weather so hot or the ice-cream already soft but, it melted too quickly.  We were in a lot of mess and had to throw away the half eaten ice-cream.
We walked around Myeongdong until late afternoon and head back to hotel for a bit of rest...after all the walk and heat, we needed a bit of break.  BUT not the end of day, we still have some shopping to do.  We only took and hour or two rest then, went back out...one reason because we started to get hungry.  Our menu for that night was BBQ.  We went back to the same street behind shopping malls and just picked one BBQ restaurant (there were so many and they were all look good).

We ordered both pork and beef (I like beef but my friend doesn't eat beef).  I think most Koreans eat beef so, the staff at restaurant didn't think that one of us might not take beef.  She cooked beef in front of my friend.  Even worse, once the beef was done, she cut it up and, with good intention, dipped one into a sauce and put it in my friend's plate.  Not wanting to hurt her feeling, we waited for her to move away then, we switched plate and sauce.  Not only that, once pork was cooked, she returned and mix pork and beef together so that my friend and I could have both.  It was kind of funny actually.  

Not only tasty BBQ, we decided to have Soju with out meal which is Korean traditional alcoholic drink...blend in with the local.  After the meal, we went shopping in one of the shopping mall there and hoped that the alcoholic would not make us too easy to spend.  Again we shopped till midnight and went back for the night.


[To be continue...]