Seoul Day 4

June 9, 2011

Itaewon

On day 4, we finally dragged our feet to Itaewon, the place where we can find Halal supermarkets. Itaewon appears to be a quiet place compared to city area of Seoul. It’s a long stretch of road, and we decided to walk down and up the road before climbing the rather steep slopes to our supermarkets Along the street, it’s mainly small shops selling clothes or food joints; saw a few Turkish restaurant too. However we didn’t dine there, just because we more excited to do groceries shopping!

Streets of Iteawon…

Turkish delights…! They are suuupperrrr sweet! But it’s nice, some with almond nuts

Finally we found the halal supermart at one of the lanes up the slopes We bought alot of spices, and 2kg of chicken where we fried them instantly upon reaching our apartment! Awesome!

Seoul Day 3

June 8, 2011

Geongbokgung Palace

Situated in Gwanghwamun area, i think this is a must-go palace. It’s huge, must say it’s might be twice or triple of the palace we went in day 2. Okay, it’s not only huge, it’s soooo majestic! Amazing! But remember, it’s closed on Mondays and it might take you about 2 hours or so to walk around the palace. They even have the Folk Museum in the area itself, which is worth visiting. I must say that the Koreans have such a rich culture that I’m so impressed and started to wonder what do we have in Singapore other than our food culture

Entrance to the palace

Geongbokgung palace

Love the landscape

We're lucky to be there at the correct timing!

Changing of guards ceremony

Palace grounds

The past and the present

Interior

I could get lost in the palace ground

One of the many entrance

The royal garden

Outside the Folk Museum - Born in the year of the DOG!

Tried on the hat and the shoes!

Love these cosmetic cases such a beauty

 Seoul Namsan Tower

Next up, we head on to Seoul Tower! You got to take a cable car up the Namsan hill and  you will be greeted by a flight of stairs before you finally get to tower! We actually took a short rest after that flight of stairs before we explored this tower which is full of LOVE!

Namsan Cable Car

Seoul Tower

The tower itself

Be sure to visit the Teddy Bear Museum!

View from the top

Breathtaking view!

Be sure to lock your love here!

Locks of love <3

It's a deck full of locks!

With the bears in the Teddy Bear museum

In the past

Love this one!

And this too!

 

Villagers

Traditions

 

 

Concert!

Break dance!

End of Day 3. We were sooo tired and by the time we done with our locks at the deck, it’s almost dark and the sun was setting. We decided to splurge and get onto the cab. Bad decision made – we paid close to $80SGD for a 10-15mins ride from Namsan cable car to our hotel in Sinchon. However the experience we had for this day, was priceless <3

Seoul Day 2 – Part 2

…continuation…

Deoksugung Palace

Located about 10 minutes away from The Story of King Sejong museum. Just walk down the road and soon, you’ll reach the entrance I was in awe of big area of the palace grounds. This is our first palace visit in Seoul. In fact, i like it that the palace grounds still stand strong despite the busy commercial area just outside the palace. It’s like you are totally in a different place when you stepped in and yet you are actually just next to busy commerce district.

It was a GREAT day 2. Lina enjoyed herself definitely!

Shopping tip: You will find Duty Free store next to this palace. Go shop!

Seoul Day 2 – Part 1

June 7, Tuesday

Seoul Subway

Prior to the trip, we did our homework. We looked up the subway map and were overwhelmed by the many different lines and colours. Our local train lines(map) were nothing compared to theirs. We bought the tourist pass and it lasted us through the 10 days with one time top-up during the last few days. Though it took us awhile to figure out the machine, but it’s easy to use once you find the English function button. Also, don’t worry so much about not being able to understand the words, because the name of the stations are in English too It’s easy to get from one line to the other and make the necessary transfers (Tip: Just follow the signs/arrows and just make sure you know which line you are transferring to, and also be sure of which EXIT you are heading to). Read this to know more

Purchasing our tourist pass

The colourful map of Seoul subway

Non-peak hours, not many commuters

 Story of King Sejong – Museum

We alighted at Gwanghwamun station (Purple line) to get to Gyeongbokgung Palace, but only to find out that it’s closed on Mondays. Our bad, we didn’t read the information on the booklet thoroughly. Since we were already at Gwanghwamun Square, we headed to the King Sejong Story exhibition hall (which is an underground museum) where the entrance is just beneath the Statue of King Sejong at Gwanghwamun Square itself. My first impression – AWESOME – underground museum. We walked through the exhibition hall feeling overwhelmed with the great details and exhibits about the King himself and his contributions.  

The exhibition hall is huge. There’s always something interesting at every corner of the exhibition area. There was this corner whereby visitors can write notes/wishes to the museum, korea, or to just anyone. Colourful papers are provided and once we are done, we can hang it on the ‘tree’ where there hundreds of notes by other visitors.

The tree full of wishes and notes

Awesome Korea <3 Moly

At the other end of the exhibition hall, there were a few table being set up for visitors from other countries to learn write our names in Korean language on the rice paper. We were so concerned on the outcome of our handwriting. Some of us, had 2 versions – yes rewrote to make the writing look nicer, at least to the 3 of us

Learning korean

That's Molyyati in korean

To be cont’d….

Seoul Day 1

We arrived early at about 7.00 am Seoul time (6am in SG) feeling sleepy and tired after the 6 hours flight. However we were excited! First up will be finding the right airport bus that will stop at our accomodation, Casaville Shinchon Residence, located just next to Sinchon subway station.

At the airport itself, we got to the ticket counter for the bus. We took bus no. 6002 which cost us 10,000 won (aprox. $11SGD). It’s very easy to get around to the city center from Incheon Airport with these airport buses (click here to find out more). The bus ride took about 45 mins but it’s worth the money.

It was easy to locate our apartment building from the bus stop where we alighted. Took about 7 mins walk (bearing in mind we need to drag our luggages from the bus stop). Upon arrival, we are not able to check in as yet, we were early. We had about 2 hours before we can check in.

So we did what we do best – to walk around the area and shop because we noticed the HUGE Hyundai building (Department store! Not office!) just opposite our apartment. So off we went. To our surprise, there was ALOT of shopping that can be done around that area.

So there we were, sleepy BUT walking in and out of shops like Faceshop, Uniqlo, Hyundai Dept Store, etc. No prize for guessing what we bought – we went crazy in the Faceshop store because of the prices! It’s 1/3 of the price in Singapore. Their face mask – 10 pcs (in 1 pack) costing only 10,000 won. Yes, $11SGD for 10 pcs. And here we are paying $12.90 for 3 pcs! So when in Korea, go grab them!!! Their other facial products were also selling at very low prices. Let me share with you – my Pore Minimizer toner cost me 7USD ($9SGD) there and I paid $29.90SGD here. GOSH! So yeah, I bought the most! Hahah! And my 2 friends couldn’t resist too!

Casaville Shinchon Residences, Seoul

We chose this apartment mainly because of it’s kitchenette facilities. We are Muslims, and we know Halal food isn’t easily available in Korea. So what did we do? We packed FOOD in our luggages – that’s why I mentioned got to DRAG our heavy luggages earlier. Yup, we brought alot of food; pasta, maggie, nutella, bread, soup, chilli sauce and the list goes on. We literally brought the whole kitchen from Singapore. And if you were wondering whether we cooked everyday, the answer is YES. Mostly brunch and dinner. We are lucky to have a local supermarket right next to our apartment. So that’s where we bought garlic, onions, veg oil; the essentials for cooking/frying. We fully utilized the kitchenette the whole 10 days. And don’t worry, if you afraid that the whole apartment will smell when you cook, you can easily open windows. On the 2nd floor, you can easily find the washing machine/dryer (you will need coins) for your laundry.

We stayed on the 11th floor and here’s the view during morning traffic. For the rest of the day, we slept. Woke up to find that it was already dark outside! We still ended up walking the area around our apartment again that night!

Our apartment was situated 5 mins away (walking) from Sinchon subway station. That made our travelling to other parts of Seoul much more easier for the days to come.

(Photos credits: Murne & Lina)