Autumn in Seoul (Part 2): The Walkdown

Spending 6 days in Seoul surely wasn't enough -- a lot of places unexplored, countless food untried. Nevertheless, I'll try to summarize my 6-day journey in Seoul here, day by day, minus 2 days I lost for flights. 

Day 1 - SUB-HKG, HKG-ICN

My friends and I (there were 3 of us) arrived in Seoul on October 27, late at night. The host of the apartment we stayed at (found her  at airbnb through a reference from a friend) was kind enough to pick us up at Seoul Station, and together we took a taxi home. The apartment was really cozy and homey, with 4 bedrooms (we got 2 bedrooms), a shared living room and kitchen, plus a bathroom we could use.  When we got there, we were greeted by 2 adorable schnauzers and Angie (our host) even took the time to explain how we could get around from her place. The loft is conveniently located in the center of Seoul, and several subway stations are only 5 mins away by bus. After a whole day spent in the plane, we were exhausted and soon found ourselves sleeping at 2 AM. 

Day 2 - Namsan & Myeongdong

I didn't go up the observatory deck, and since it was the afternoon, no lights were on just yet. A note to ya'll there: visit Namsan around 3-4PM to get the beautiful night scenery. Watch out for the crowds, though!

On the second day, we decided to stroll around Seoul and not going too far since we were still kinda jet lagged. That day the weather was moderately cold, probably around 10 degrees Celcius - tolerable to my tropical self. We went to Namsan Hanok Village (somehow small, not much to see, but it was nice) and continued up to Namsan Tower, the must-go spot for couples.

Yep. Here is the famous love bench, with many love locks behind it. I wonder how many couples have broken up and still have their token of love hanging there. It's tragically sweet if you think about it....

Namsan Tower was just like what I pictured it to be: romantic and interesting. The highlight was of course all the locks hanging on the fence and on several tree-shaped wires. The place was full of lovey-dovey couples, who made me even more aware of my singleness (if that's even a word). Long story short, our group took some pics, strolled around, and came back because we wanted to go to the next important stop: Myeongdong. 

Myeongdong is heaven! What more can I say. We spent more than 4 hours in this spot because the area is huuuge. We couldn't find every single item we wanted on our list, but we got most of them, so it was enough for the day. We initially wanted to come back again in the last day, but it sadly didn't happen. Anyway, this is the place where I spent most of my money. You can see what I have bought in my previous post. They don't look much, but trust me, money flies by like air when you're a beauty enthusiast in Myeongdong. It was hard to restrain myself from buying everything, but I managed to hold back. *self pat 

Day 3 - Nami Island & Garden of Morning Calm

It was Saturday, and though Angie had warned us that Nami Island would be super jam-packed with hoomans on weekends, we decided to go anyway since it was our best option. We left early using iTX (kudos to Angie who helped us bought the tickets and waited with us til the train came) and arrived there around 9.30, pretty early not to get caught in a long queue for the ferry to Nami Island. 

Nami Island in Fall is picturesque -- everywhere you saw reddish and yellowish ginko leaves, and it was just screaming romance. We, as classic camera whores, of course snapped countless pictures. We also went bike riding. As I suck at riding bike (can only paddle straight with no balance what so ever to turn left/right without falling), we rented one couple bike (poor friend who had to carry me in the back; I tried hard to help paddling, though!) and one single bike.  

|| Travel tip: Before continuing your journey to either Petite France or Morning Calm, try the dakgalbi restaurants which are everywhere around Nami. Just pick one restaurant that looks crowded. Try the naengmyeon too (cold buckwheat noodles)! ;) || 

i'll come back again when the weather is nice and warm, hopefully.

After a couple hours, we were ready to move to the next designated spot: Garden of Morning Calm. We sadly didn't have enough time to stop by Petite France since time was tight and the journey to Morning Calm itself was almost 2 hours by bus. The long 2-hour winding drive to Morning Calm took its toll on me; I soon found my self battling with horrible motion sickness, and threw up all my lunch when I arrived at Morning Calm - not a beautiful sight. Feeling dehydrated and drained out of energy, I wasn't in the mood of taking pictures, but thanks to the fresh, clean air and beautiful scenery, I re-collected enough energy and spirit to last for the day. Morning Calm was serene and peaceful. Despite my horrible weak self interfering, I enjoyed exploring the massive open garden.

PS: The Garden Shop is full of natural cosmetics and body care you should try! I ended up buying one small aromatherapy.  

It is the place where Park Bo Gum shot his newest historical drama. I wish I could meet Park Bo Gum, that cute adorable man. 

Day 4 - Gyeongbokgung Palace & Hongdae

The trip to Nami was long and extremely tiring, but we had no time to rest. The next day we headed straight to Gyeongbokgung Palace. This place is bigger than my expectation. I didn't even get to explore every single spot. It got pretty repetitive and self-explanatory by the first hour. Plus, we needed to get to Hongdae before 4 PM, so we were kinda in a rush.

Before heading to Hongdae, we had lunch in this super popular samgyetang restaurant: Tosokchon Samgyetang. There was this 1 KM queue, and we waited for almost 45mins before getting a table. The samgyetang was warm and rich. We were sated and satisfied. 

|| How to get to Tosokchon: Take the train to Gyeongbokgung Station, go out from Exit 2. From there on you just have to walk straight and turn left when you see GS25 (convenience store). You'll easily spot the place since there will always be a long, crazy queue in front of the place. ||

They are both samgyetang. On the left is regular chicken, on the right is the black chicken which cost 12000 won more. My suggestion, try the regular chicken since black chicken tastes just like any other chicken, and order the onion pancake instead. 

Continue down to Hongdae. There were 2 big plans for this day: getting to the tattoo studio (yes, another tattoos!) and visiting a pet cafe. Amazingly, though we were confused at first, we managed to find the tattoo studio without much getting lost. The tattoo artist spoke very little to almost no English, but since I had booked and stated my desired designs a month before, there wasn't much explaining left to do. I ended up getting 2 more small tattoos: on my wrist (my dow paw design) and near my elbow (my dog's face). I was very happy with the result. The process was not painful at all. I think from the scale of 1-10, the pain was 1. I spent almost $250 for 2 tiny tattoos but you know you can't beat quality when it comes to tattoos. If you're interested in getting a small tattoo in Seoul, I recommend checking this place called Playground Tattoo (instagram: playground_tattoo) - the artist, Diki, clearly knows what he's doing. It's better to bring a korean speaking friend, though, and you need to make an appointment a month before.

The final result of my new tattoos. What do you think? 

After getting my tattoos done, we went straight to the nearby pet cafe recommended by Angie. The cafe only offers drinks, and the owner has at least 4 dogs and several cats. We spent 2 hours playing with cute puppies in costumes and gave them some tasty treats. It was time well-spent, indeed!

One of the puppies was wearing Ronald Mcdonald's shirt! How cute!!! 

Day 5 - Everland & Lotte Mart

It was Halloween day, and we went to Everland. It was another long journey, but thankfully I didn't have motion sickness again. I didn't really fancy crazy rides, so I mostly spent my time walking around the area and taking pictures, as usual. We were there for almost 9 hours straight. We even got the chance to see the Halloween Parade at 6PM. 

|| Quickest way to get to Everland: Take the train to Gangnam Station, go to exit 10. Walk straight till you find a bus stop in front of Kakao Friends Store. Take the 5002 bus to Everland. From Everland station you'll need to take another shuttle bus provided by Everland to go to the main gate of Everland and Carribean Bay. ||

It was Halloween season in Everland. You can see the big T-Express on the background - the scariest ride on the lot.

The giant carrousel was pretty!

Funny thing happened when we were in Everland. One of my friends was queueing for T-Express, the scary roller coaster ride, so the other 2 (my friend and I) decided to leave her there and went walking on our own. We promised to meet at the exact same spot we left her. After 2 hours we went back but didn't see that friend who rode the T-Express. We thought she might have left and toured the place herself, but things got complicated since we didn't have internet connection and couldn't contact each other. We wanted to head home but we were missing a party. We walked around Everland and kept coming back to our designated spot but to no avail. Finally we took a further measure and asked the customer relation to help us find our missing friend. It was quite hilarious since normally people go and report a missing child, not an adult. Long story short, after the Halloween Parade we decided to come back to T-Express to see if our friend was waiting there, and we were finally reunited! Apparently, she had to queue for 5 hours before getting to the ride itself, so when we came back couple times she was actually still inside the long line. That was insane! We didn't inform the customer relation we had found her, so in the bus-ride home I received a call asking if my friend had been found. Sorry for causing you troubles, sir! ;)

Before we headed back to the apartment, we stopped by Kakao Friends store in Gangnam where I found a paradise for all things Ryan (the cute lion character) and bought a cute Ryan cup. We also made a quick tour to Lotte Mart in Seoul Station to buy some snacks to take home. 

Whether you like Kakao Friends or not, you must stop by this place. It's heaven on Earth for people with child's heart like me. Though the price is on the steeper side, all their merchandise are made in Korea and will make the perfect souvenirs! Psst... Ryan the lion is the most adorable character and his plush toys are selling super fast like lightning!

Day 6 - Gangnam & Dongdaemun

the cute giant Brown bear! :3

There is also a cafe upstairs. 

On the last day (we had a morning flight the next day) we went back to Gangnam area to visit the biggest Line Store and made a quick detour to COEX (the biggest shopping mall in Seoul). The Line Store, similar to Kakao Friends store, is full of cute, adorable Line merchandise. I personally love Leonard the frog, but decided not to buy anything from the store but 2 baby clothes for my nephew. I had fun looking around, though!

COEX, on the other hand, wasn't explored much. We had promised Angie to go back before 6 PM to eat samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly) together, so we just took a short visit to SM store, filled with SM artists merchandise, and went straight to Dongdaemun afterwards. I had to say, Dongdaemun area is confusing for me. I couldn't find a spot where I could shop for some cheap clothes or bags. I guess I like the underground shopping area in Gangnam better, or maybe the shopping area in Hongdae. 

Anyhow, we successfully got back to the apartment before 6PM and went out to eat some grilled meat. It was affordable! You pay only 12.000 won and you can eat as much meat as you want! If you're a big eater, definitely try the place. It's across Namyeong Station.  

Day 7 - ICN-HKG, HKG-SUB

We woke up early at 5AM, took the taxi to Seoul Station, and took the all-stop train to Incheon Airport, and left for Hong Kong at 8.50 AM KST. We finally said our final goodbye to Seoul, which had been wonderful this whole week, in spite of the often freezing autumn weather! 

Annyeonghigaseyo, Seoul! 

Our last group photo we took on the last night in Angie's lovely apartment, accompanied by her 2 sweet dogs. Till we meet again, fellas!