summer holidays in Seoul! (Day 1&2)

*LCCT, Sepang before boarding*

Who doesn't love holidays?
Even a short one.

I had the opportunity to visit Seoul on the 27th June - 4th July as my dad was invited to visit a tansformers manufacturing factory in an area 2 hours drive away from Seoul.
The company that invited my dad decided to stay in Artnouveau City, Gangnam which according to my dear friend, Ruhil Nadiah, is like the Upper East Side of New York.
In other words, the place where only rich people can afford to live.
Well, I've to agree with that part.
The hotel that we stayed at was magnificent!
There's a huge dressroom, a stove, microwave, plasma TV and even a washing machine!
A washing machine in a hotel room!
That was definitely a first for me and so me and my sisters went very 'jakun'.
We didn't use it, by the way, because we simply didn't understand the Korean instructions. Plus, detergent wasn't provided.

*spotted at the airport. mommy&daugther wearing the same boots. super cute!*

*in front of the hotel*
*super comfy hotel beds*
*huge sofa*
*washing machine, microwave, rice cooker- in a hotel room!**the biggest shower head i've ever seen!*

We arrived at Incheon International Airport at around 10pm. Seoul is only an hour ahead of Malaysia. The we ate Korean vegetarian dinner and our guide from the factory, Max, met us there. Such a really nice guy, can speak English quite fluent.
It took us at least an hour to the hotel from airport. It was quite cold, probably because it rained all day before we arrived, according to Max.

The second day started with a tour around Seoul. The factory hired us a tour guide, Sophie, whom can really speak fluent English. She sounded almost American to me.
The first stop was at Seoul Namsan Traditional Centre where various traditional performances are held on weekends. They have a huge stage and tourists can also participate in tea ceremony as well as wearing 'Hanbok', which is the Korean traditional costumes.
As we're with a tour package, we didn't really have time to participate or watch any activities.
Then we headed to a huge temple, the centre of Zen Buddhism in Korea. When I said it's huge, I really meant that. The Buddhist statues are humongous and probably covered with gold!
The third place visited was the Cheongwadae Sarangchae, a history centre nearby the official Korean Presidential site or The Blue House as Korean calls it. Here tourists can learn a lot about the history of South Korea- the emperors, idealists, technologies, arts, sports, Han River, festivals, traditional food & costumes and everything Korean! Every description is also written in English so no worries about language barriers.
Next in plan was a Ginseng Center where we learnt a lot about Korean ginseng, which is claimed to be the best among Chinese and American ginseng. The assistant explained to us about the types of ginseng, how and where it's grown and how to consume it. It was very informative and interesting that my dad ended up buying 2 boxes of ginseng!
At this point we were all already very very hungry and needed to recharge our energy. Sophie bought us to Korean Restaurant (yes, that's actually the name of the restaurant!) and treated us to a vegetarian dish called 'Hansik', a Korean traditional food. The rice is cooked in a hot pot and covered with various vegetables and an egg. As usual, it is served with kimchi, pickled radish and soybean paste.
I'm already hooked with kimchi!
Now that lunch's over, we hopped onto the tour bus and Sophie told us a brief history of the next destinations- The Changdeok Palace or Changdeokgung. And it really proves its name, the palace is SUPER huge! If you've watched Korean dramas about the old kings then you'll be able to imagine the whole palace. It is massive!
There are at least 5 different palaces in Seoul but according to Sophie, they are all almost the same so it's already sufficient for tourists to visit one of them. However, Gyeongbukgung is the main palace and provides more cultural activities to tourists. Unfortunately, it is closed every Tuesday, thus, the reason we went to Changdeokgung instead of Gyeongbukgung.
The last places were among the shopping heavens! We first visited Insa-dong where tourists can look up for souvenirs like keychains, bookmarks, T-shirts and even socks of your favourite Korean artists! As usual, there's a need to bargain and you do have to walk around first to get lower price. Don't worry about language barriers, they can speak fair English.
Then we went to Namdaemun, the largest market with everything- clothes, food, fruits, shoes, handbags, hair accessories..almost anything you can imagine! It is really huge, too huge in fact, and crowded as well. We didn't have much time, given only 40mins (girls can NEVER shop in just 40mins!) before the tour ended and the tour bus dropped us back at the hotel at around 7pm.

*Enjoy the pictures!*

*the settlements in Seoul*
*The Great King Sejong statue*
*Seoul Namsan Traditional Centre*
*Buddhist Temple*
*Cheongwadae Sarangchae*
*Ginseng Center. Photos are not allowed inside the centre*
*each box consists six bottles of this*
*our tour guide, Sophie*
*Seoul City Hall*

*Hansik for lunch. before and after. haha!*
*Changdeok Palace*

The most interesting fact about Seoul to me would be the location of the tourist attractions. The old palace and the temple are located right in the middle of the busy city! For example, next to the temple is a huge tall modern building and the reason behind this is to simply preserve the original site.
Now I truly understand what the commotion was about when our authority wanted to demolish Penjara Pudu a couple of years ago.
=(

Anyway, I've to admit that tour package is really helpful when you're in a country where English is only one of the foreign languages they learn. Nevertheless, the downside of taking tour package is that everything has to be in a rush and there's a limit to the places.
And it's expensive! Around 80,000Won or RM240 per head for 1 day tour.
Hence, do learn more about the subway system before coming to Seoul as it's cheaper, super easy and convenient.
And don't forget to get yourself Seoul tourist maps and you can go anywhere in Seoul without the needs to hire a tour guide.

*Details on Day 3 coming up!*

summer holidays in Seoul! (Day 3)

Day 3 in Seoul was all about rain.

It rained since morning and seemed like it would not stop.
Nothing like cats and dogs rain, more like the Zeus and Hades were really fighting up there.

But people in Seoul are used to it, and rain doesn't really stop them from doing their daily routines. They use umbrellas religiously.

*Gangnam on a rainy day. Taken from my hotel room*

Dad went to visit the factory and the rest stayed in the room, watching Korean dramas with no subtitles.
'City Hunter' was on TV on encore so watching Lee Minho almost all day long wasn't that bad.
Seriously, the rain did not stop. So when it drizzled me and mom quickly jumped out of the room for a sightseeing around Gangnam. We tried to borrow umbrellas from the concierge but there's no umbrella left.

We strolled along the streets and I noticed quite a number of coffee houses in just one block. There are Paris Baguette, Seven Monkeys Coffee, Republic of Coffee and Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf of course, just to name a few. I also noticed that most men wore full suit to work while ladies seemed more casual but they never not wearing high heels. I truly admire that, being a heels lover myself.
=)

My mom and I bought drinks at a coffee shop/bakery called Paris Baguette which looked like a really nice café. The cashier didn’t really speak English but with menu in hands, ordering wasn’t that difficult. We only bought a strawberry milk carton and a super cute mineral water as we weren’t sure if the breads are 'halal' to eat. The mineral water bottle looks like a giant roll deodorant! I just had to keep that bottle and bring it back home to Malaysia! A very impromptu souvenir..haha..

*Gangnam road signage*

*super cute water bottle!*

After quick refreshments, we went back to the hotel and my dear friend, Ruhil said to be on her way to Gangnam. She studied English Linguistics at Hankuk University and probably the main reason me and the rest followed my dad to Seoul. My dad’s troop was scheduled to fly home tomorrow but dad extended our (family) stay a bit longer so that we could spend more time in Seoul especially with Ruhil’s generous help. She had booked us a rented room/homestay which is always way cheaper than staying in hotels. She arrived at around 6pm and not long after that, dad also came back and had already taken his dinner with his colleagues. So the rest of us including Ruhil went out for dinner and along the way, she shared about her experience studying in Korea and she seemed to be very happy there. She now even looks like a Korean, especially with her fair skin!

Ruhil shoved us into a Japanese restaurant but owned by a Korean family and we all stared at her in awe when she made orders to the ‘ahjusshi’ or uncle. She can read and speak Korean really well. Me and my sisters were jealous, mainly because we all love Korean dramas, ever since ‘Winter Sonata’ were showed on TV3. We fell in love with Jun Sang instantly, followed by Won Bin through ‘Autumn in My Heart’. Hehehe.. Anyway we had Japanese Soba for dinner which is a type of noodle and also a shared rice with vegetables. Basically, according to Ruhil, Koreans cook their meals with sesame oil or vegetables oil and never with animal-based oil. Thus, as long as the food does not contain animal-based product, Muslim can consume it without any worry. The same goes with breads sold in bakeries but try not to buy those with sausage or meatloaf as it may not be ‘halal’. Well, if you’re not sure about your food or you ever feel ‘was was’, just don’t eat it, as simple as that.

We stopped by at Paris Baguette (a different one than earlier, there’s Paris Baguette everywhere!) to buy some breads for breakfast tomorrow as the rations that we bought from Malaysia (ehem, we Malaysians are very used to bring food from home) had already zero-ed out. We ordered a dessert that looked a lot like Malaysia ABC (air batu campur) but with fruits topping. A nice cool dessert to end the rainy day.

*me&Ruhil*

*Paris Baguette*

*our yummy dessert*

And I had begun to love Seoul.

=)

summer holidays in Seoul! (Day 4)

My dad's troop went back to Malaysia on the fourth day but my family stayed in for a couple more days.
Tak puas berjalan lagi. Haha!

We moved out from the hotel as it would be too expensive to stay there. Plus, Gangnam is a bit too far from the hearts of Seoul.
Ruhil already booked us a homestay room at Boetigogae and the company driver sent us all there after breakfast.
Korean house is quite small compared to what we have here in Malaysia. They have a lot of flats and apartments which are very close to one another. I can tell by now that space is really limited in Seoul.
We walked into the room and boy, I was amazed! There's everything in the room -bunker beds, wardrobes, TV and even a mini bar! I was certainly impressed!
The room cost us 15,000Won or RM45 per night for each person. It was still much much much cheaper than hotel rooms.
There were three rooms, kitchen and a bathroom in the house. The landlady lived in another house next to us. There was no sofa in the living room, just a dining table and computer table.
We're very grateful that Ruhil was there to help us. Language was quite a barrier and it would really help if you learn a few Korean words.

*landlady explaining to Ruhil about the house*

After moving in, Ruhil guided us to the subway station, bought us subway tickets/cards that can be topped up.
We went to Itaewon where the Central Mosque is situated. We had a Turkish lunch in a beautiful and peaceful restaurant. Muslims can find halal food easily in this small town. While waiting for our meal, Ruhil drew maps for our journey, just in case she couldn't make it the next day.
Basically, if you have the tourist and subway maps, it'd be super easy for you to move around. The most important thing is that you definitely have to cope with walking. You would see people walking everywhere. And while the road seemed at its peak all the time, so were the people who walked. You can tell the population is very large.
*subway**Itaewon*
*our beautiful tour guide!*

*Seoul Central Mosque*
*varieties of Baklava (Turkish pastry)*

After lunch and solat at the mosque, we headed to Myeongdong by subway. The trains were very punctual, no need to worry if you miss one as the other will arrive in less than 10 minutes.
Well, ou see, before I came to Seoul, I've heard all the fuss about the city being a blessed shopping heaven.
And I won't beg to differ in any way!
It is a shopping heaven!
Myeongdong is a huge shopping streets and not only do they have shoplots, there are also street shops like hawker style!
You can find almost anything here -shoes, handbags, accessories, phone covers, food, beauty stuff...
There are also a 3-storey Zara and 4-storey Forever 21 boutiques where stuff sold is super cheap as everything is manufactured in China, thus, transportation costs are way cheaper.
Did I mention it's a shopping heaven?
;)
The funny thing was that Forever 21 shoes were cheaper or almost the same as the ones they sold hawker style.
I actually walked in into almost every shop!
So many decisions to make. So little time to execute those decisions.
Sigh.

Anyway, shopping wasn't the only highlight of the day.
The Seoul Global Culture and Tourism Centre is also situated in Myeongdong where you can get more information about Seoul especially the cultural events happening around town.
Tourists are also allowed to have the experience as a Korean by learning to wear their colourful traditional costumes and it's free. It is a must to try on the costumes if you visit Seoul as it is always nice to learn about different cultures.
After a little bit of shopping we went back to Itaewon for an Indian dinner which was delicious before heading back to our homestay.

I haven't traveled that much around the world (yet) but wherever country you visit, try not to convert the price. Once you start to convert, you won't be able to enjoy spending your money on holidays.
I've to admit food is quite pricey in Seoul, especially if you choose a nice restaurant but if the food taste nice and your tummy is singing happily, not hungrily, then what's the fuss about?
=)

*Myeongdong*
*okay my mom said it's not nice to laugh at people. so stop laughing, you!*

Day 4 basically ended with a nice long hot shower and a bunker bed.
Lovely.

summer holidays in Seoul! (Day 5)

Our day 5 in Seoul was simply breathtaking.

We started early because holidays are just not the time to sleep in.
Ruhil had gone home the night before and her friends were visiting her from outside of Seoul so she couldn't join us.
But she had already taught me everything I need to know about the subway system so I didn't worry much. God bless her.

We had planned our journey for today to be a trip to Nami Island.
Now, if you're a fan of Korean dramas, you would remember the first ever Korean drama series played on TV in Malaysia.
I supposed it's in 2001 or 2002, if I'm not mistaken, and the super famous drama was 'Winter Sonata'. If was so famous that me and friends all watched it and discussed about it at school.
And it's a love at first sight when I saw Jun Sang or his real name Bae Yong-joon. He's such a sweetheart in the drama.
Damn I'm a sucker for anything romantic.
Back to Nami Island, the place became famous mainly because of the drama which was also a hit in Korea.
It took us around an hour and a half to get there by train.
The place was breathtaking, beautiful and as weird as this may sound, romantic. You can feel the love here. It's like everyone was so happy to be here.
I bet the place would be even more gorgeous during spring or winter.
I'd definitely come back to Nami Island for my honeymoon!
Guess I've to start looking for a potential future husband now.
LOL!
*waiting for ferry*
*the famous 'first kiss' table*
*the statues of Jun Sang & the heroine, Yoo Jin*
*my parents trying their best to be an older version of Jun Sang & Yoo Jin. cute!*

We spent almost four hours on the serene island before taking the jetty back to train station and straight back to Seoul.
Next place we had in mind was another famous location for another drama, 'Boys Over Flowers', The Seoul Tower or Namsan Tower.
From the nearest train station, we needed to take cab as there's no bus or other train going up there. The cab dropped us at the cable car station and it cost us 2,000Won. Not bad for a cab fare.
From the cable car, we were able to see the town of Seoul. We could actually see how crowded the city was.
The tower is also famous for the massive number of padlocks around the fence or Locks of Love. Lovebirds would write love notes on the padlocks and lock them on the fence, symbolising a promise of eternal love between them.
Don't bother counting the padlocks. Or even read them. You'll go blind. There's just way too many to read.
On top of that, I bet the tower would look immensely beautiful at night especially with all the lights on. It is open at night and there's a lot of tour packages that choose to bring tourists there at night.
*now do you believe me when I said don't bother reading?*

I have hundreds of pictures taken but don't think it can all fit here.
One thing for sure, these two places are 'a must visit' places when you're in Seoul.
They'd take your breath away in a whole different kind of way.
Just like falling in love.
=)