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Korea: Autumn (Family Trip)

Posted on January 12, 2016 by serenatan

My second Korea trip. This time, with my family. We went during end of Sept til early Oct to Seoul and Jeju Island. So its Autumn this time.

I have pretty much explained all the places visited in my previous Korea post so I’ll just do the newly visited places in this post instead. As many of the places and attractions are mainly for my family that visited for the first time.

Seoul:

LINE FRIENDS Store, Garuso-gil

This huge signboard must not be missed!

You will see this HUGE Brown bear just right in front of the entrance.

Buy all you want! Its too cute to just ignore.

2. Dark Han Ma Ri, Restaurant near Sinchon.

My second visit to this awesome restaurant that serves chicken in soup and many other dishes of cause. I brought my family here and they all loved it! Too hard to not include it here in this post, too.

3. Hongdae

Hongdae is a university district that has so much to offer not only on food, fashion, beauty but also its unique ambience that draws so much attention in the country to check out their street performances by students and street artists.

Strolling along Hongdae.

FOOD!

Street performance, daily.

4. Ewha Womans University

Ewha Womans Univeristy is famous in Korea and it is one of the best university in the country. Despite its name Womans University, it is not restricted to only women, but men who wants a taste of Korean culture and the feeling of being in a womans university are also welcomed. Oh yes, only foreigners though.

Its famous library. Even Runningman filmed a few of their episodes here. Walk along Ewha street, you can find many stalls like Banila co, Innisfree, fashion brands are all available. Some stalls are open for bargain too.

5. Guard changing ceremony, Gyeongbokgung

Its Chuseok festival, we’ve seen many locals dressed up in Hanbok (traditional Korean costume) taking pictures at Gyeongbokgung.

I managed to hunt down a pair for a shot.

6. Korea Ginseng Chicken Soup since 1960

7. Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP)

On the way to DDP, the outstanding Dongdaemun Gate.

The astonishing view.

Award-winning architecture.

A shot with DDP.

8. Gwangjang Market

Variety of food.

Visited this Ajumma’s stall. The best Mandu ever tasted.

9. Myeongdong night strolling

Bro with a cat mascot.

Egg bun.

Cheeseeeeeeeee!

10. Nami Island + Bungy

This time, its AUTUMN.

Beautiful.

Encouraged and dared both brother and sister to try out Bungy as I did it before at the same spot here in Nami.

TADA!

Jeju Island:

Yongduam Rock

2. Neul Bom Black Pork Restaurant

Jeju black pork is very famous worldwide. To my surprised, it was really very good.

3. Teddybear Safari

There are 2 different companies of Teddy Bear Museum. I was at the other one during my previous visit.

So cute!

4. Manjanggul Lava Tube [UNESCO World Heritage]

It took us about an hour to complete the tour.

5. Mysterious Road

Click on link to read more about this Mysterious Road explanation.

6. Jeju National Folk Museum

To be honest, nothing much here. There’s tour guide that will brief you a little about Korean history and wine making and so on. In the end, if you do not buy any products from them, they show temper.

7. Seongsan Ilchulbong [UNESCO World Heritage]

This place is beautiful beyond words.

Le bf and I.

Wanted to check out the woman diver performance but it was cancelled due to inappropriate weather.

Managed to climb up the peak and the view was priceless.

8. Jeju Stone Park

9. Hallasan Horse Ranch

Til then.

Annyeong x

Korea Spring, Day Six: Seoul, Korea

Posted on September 25, 2015 by serenatan

We woke up early today as it will be our last day in Korea before ending the trip.

Follow our footstep:

1 . Gyeongbokgung

Built in 1395, Gyeongbokgung Palace is also commonly referred to as the Northern Palace because its location is furthest north when compared to the neighboring palaces of Changdeokgung (Eastern Palace) and Gyeongheegung (Western Palace) Palace. Gyeongbokgung Palace is arguably the most beautiful, and remains the largest of all five palaces.

A pavilion at Gyeongbokgung. It was also the filming site of “Rooftop Prince”.

The beautiful arch. Me love ❤

Beautiful, don’t you think?

And.. obviously I am talking about the palace, no?

2. National Folk Museum

The museum is not that big, so it won’t be too time-consuming to check it out.

And, its free admission!

3. Gwanghwamun

Changing of guards: 1pm daily.

4. King Sejong Statue

5. Admiral Yi Shun Shin Statue

6. Ssamziegil, Insadong.

7. Insadong

Lunch Time.

Our lunch looked like this:

TADA!

Insadong street is packed with tourists venturing into all the local stalls.

You can easily get souvenirs like keychain, post cards etc here too.

I got myself a Taegukgi shirt for only RM30.

8. Bukchon Hanok Village

Situated nearby Insadong area. It is accessible via foot.

Easy guide to walk to Bukchon Hanok Village.

9. Try “Hanbok”

Try on Korean Traditional Costume, a.k.a Hanbok.

Beautiful right!?

10. Cafe Breezin, Samcheong-dong

The waffle is super good.

I realized.. there is nothing in Korea that is not good. At all!

Evening view from top of Cafe Breezin overlooking the street of Samcheong-dong.

11. Namdaemun Market

You can taste variety of food here in Namdaemun market.

Bear in mind, the shops close pretty early.

12. Myeongdong, (Again!)

We went back to Myeongdong after checking out Namdaemun.

Did some last-minute shopping here, had supper and walk around since it was our last day in Seoul already.

I must say Korea has been a great place throughout my 7 days trip and the weather was nice.

I can’t wait to blog about my Autumn trip in Korea soon!

Til then.

Korea Spring, Day Three: Seoul, Korea

Posted on September 6, 2015 by serenatan

It was a great night before I realised that day three was equally awesome, too.

We kinda printed out a list of places to go accordingly with directions and it was a very detailed itinery all done by me myself and I. I have always been very impatience about going for trips and must make sure all is well communicated beforehand.

Never that I thought this so called “brilliant” itinery will be ruined upside down. Well, not particularly ruined but it didn’t go according to plan at all. We kinda visited places on day one and two that was supposedly for day three and four etc.

But I guess everything happens for a reason!

Day Three was a hectic one as I recalled. We went to some hot spots recommended not only by locals but friends from our home ground who have been here before we did. Check out where we went on day three:

1. Myeongdong

Myeongdong is one of the hottest must-go in Seoul, Korea. Being known for its endless variety of cosmetic and beauty products, street food, snacks, fashion and many many more.

It was about 11 degree celcius in the morning and the hungry me has started hearing signals from my precious stomach. Steven, a friend of mine recommended us to this dumpling restaurant to satisfy my crying stomach.

2. Myeongdong Gyoja, Restaurant at Myeongdong

The dumplings are so delicious! Their portion are quite big too. A bowl of noodle can be shared by two.

3. Hello Kitty Cafe, Myeongdong branch

Everything in this shop is so pinkish. Though am not a fan of pink but we are talking about Hello Kitty Cafe, nevermind. The tables and chairs are all shaped in Hello Kitty. Even the packaging for food and drinks.

Desserts looked super tempting. Too bad we didn’t have any as we were still super full from our lunch earlier.

Souvenirs! I bought a pair of Hello Kitty dressed in King and Queen from Josean Dynasty. You can also get them from Hello Kitty Island in Jeju Island but subject to availability.

A picture with this cute Hello Kitty plush.

Hello Kitty Cafe is overall amazing to me. (Imma Hello Kitty fans, Big time!)

A cup of Mocha latte with beautiful coffee art of Hello Kitty. You get different designs each time.

4. Street Vendors, Myeongdong.

Churros!

Famous egg buns!

Pancakes!

Deep Dried Squid!

Tang-Hulu.

5. Lotte Mart, Myeongdong branch.

Lotte Duty Free Mart has 12Floors in total offering variety of products and services.

One of the highlight: LINE Store!

6. Namsan

You can actually take a cab over to Namsan cable car station or be adventurous and walk over from Myeongdong.

Weather is so nice that we walked 15mins to reach. Enjoying the beautfiful view of Seoul late evening.

Cable car ticket: 8,500won.

Nice walk up to Namsan.

Stop by at love lock, Namsan. You can purchase a lock for as low as 5,000won.

7. N Seoul Tower

N Seoul Tower view from Namsan.

Reached the ticketing booth of N Seoul Tower. Previously Namsan Tower.

Love Lock at night, Namsan.

Korea Spring, Day Two: Seoul, Korea

Posted on June 16, 2015 by serenatan

We woke up pretty early on our second day in Korea. Mainly because we were feeling cold. Yes, coming from a tropical country like Malaysia, I am really not used to cold and dry weather like in Korea but it was a great experience for someone who doesn’t fancy cold weather much as it was nice strolling around without sweating, at least. Haha..

We were greeted by complimentary breakfast set from Cozybox Guesthouse. A set consists of hard boiled egg, ramyeon (aka Korean ramen/instant noodle), Gimbap (a popular Korean dish made from steamed white rice and other ingredients rolled in dried seaweed) and Yakult. I was too hungry and forgotten to take a snap shot of it 😦

Check out where we visited on our day two:

1. Nami Island

Gaining its fame from the Korean hit drama, Winter Sonata. Mainly took place in this historical island. Tourists from around the globe visit to take pictures and the island is always packed with people in all seasons. Claims to have different view all four seasons. It is crowded mostly during Winter (Winter Sonata, maybe) and Autumn.

Check out How to go to Nami Island

We took approximately an hour or more to reach Gapyeong station. Where you have to locate a cab to the Namiseom ticketing office to board the Nami Island ferry.

pic: (left) Gapyeong station. (right) boyfriend waiting for a cab.

pic: (left) ticketing office of Namiseom. (right) Nami Island entrance ticket/entry visa.

The ticketing counter is on your right when you approach Namiseom. Bear in mind that you will get a discount for the ticket to Nami Island if you are tourist at 8,000won instead of 10,000won. So much love!

Group pic in front of Namiseom.

The ferry to Nami Island from Namiseom.

Finally! Nami Island!

pic: (left) Signboard in Nami Island. (right) Cutiepie spotted!

Nami Island bank.

Filming location of Winter Sonata.

Nami Island is an amazing place. Close to nature and it was so relaxing strolling around this small island. Love birds, families and many foreigners were seen spending time chilling and playing games on the grass that usually turn into an ice field during Winter. But Spring time, was just nice. You can spend a dollar or two trying out local snacks from the stalls available in the island or sitting down in a cafe or a restaurant having deep thoughts.

On our way back to Namiseom from Nami Island, we spotted a place possible enough to do bungy activity. I was in doubt at first but going closer to check it turned out to be a place for bungy jump! Without thinking twice, I have decided to give it a shot as bungy jump is always top of my bucket list! The dare devil me urged others to jump with me but unfortunately, only 4 out of 8 of us did it. It costs 40,000won per jump and no, you won’t get any certificate from it cause its not AJ Hackett!

The Bungy Jump platform at Namiseom.

Curious? Check out my Korea bungy jump video HERE

Read about my nerve-wrenching Bungy Jump experience at Macau Tower coming very soon!

2. Dinner

The sad part is that I have forgotten the name of the restaurant we dine in after Nami Island visit. Maybe we were too hungry to figure that out and just stormed into any restaurant that sells.. FOOD!

pic: (left) bibimbap set. (right) chicken ddeokbukki with rice.

And some nice soju to end the night.

Korea Spring, Day One: Seoul, Korea

Posted on June 15, 2015 by serenatan

When I was sixteen, I was overly obsessed with this Korean boy group, TVXQ. Constantly imagining myself being close to them k-pop stars, I vowed to visit South Korea at least once in my life and it turned out to be a dream-come-true after ten years of waiting. (I was a student back then and did not have the permission and enough cash to travel)

After a few years of gambling my life in the working world and this ever so competitive society, I did the best decision to my buddy’s proposal to book the flight to Seoul – The Land of Morning Calm.

We managed to strike the lucky charm and got ourselves a pair of Air Asia X at RM600+ both ways. As we got it way earlier from the travelling date, we spent some time researching on the point of interests in Seoul.

After arriving Incheon International Airport, we were amazed by the architecture. Its modern and humble design caught my eyes and it was very crowded when we arrived at 3:40pm at 8 degree celcius.

Without wasting time, I made my way to “K Book” store situated at the lower ground of Incheon Airport to redeem the local sim card that I have ordered online for my 7 days trip here in Korea. Check out EG SIM, HERE. Also you might want to consider getting the T-Money card for easy access in Seoul. You can basically use T-Money for KTX, metro, mrt, taxi, buses and even 7-eleven in Seoul. Super convenient. Something like our Malaysian Touch n’Go? LOL. Find out more about T-Money card and its coverage of usage, HERE.

We took the KTX to Ewha Women Uni. Station, where our guesthouse situated. Before departing to Seoul, we made a reservation online with Cozybox Guesthouse. Conveniently situated opposite of The Coffeebean & Tealeaf in Daehyun-dong, Seodaemun in Shinchon, Hongdae. You can find bakery, souvenir shops, restaurants that open till late night and Shinchon police station is just right in front. Going down the road for a bout a minute more by walking, you will see a mini shopping street with variety of korean latest fashion, shoes, cute socks and street food too! Do check out Cozybox Guesthouse HERE.

Here are some of the places we have visited in day one:

1. Dinner at “Dark Han Ma Ri” Restaurant

We were greeted in Mandarin by Ajumma working in the restaurant. It was our first visit (obviously!) so we were introduced to try out their chicken dish in hot pot and later on with rice shimmer to perfection. As you can see from the first pic below, the chicken was well-cooked and perfectly melted our hungry stomach with minced garlic and their complimentary kimchi!

2. Sinchon street market

Throughout our whole Korea trip, shopping in Sinchon was overall the cheapest. It was just few steps away from Cozybox Guesthouse and the variety of fashion, street food is just great. I wouldn’t say it is the best but they do have many beauty products and clothing selling at reasonable price. We were strolling around and did a little shopping here.

3. Dongdaemun

We took a cab to Dongdaemun and it stopped in front of Doota Shopping Mall. One of the many famous malls in Seoul. We went in to have a look. There were many clothing booths located at ground floor, mainly from local designers and their pricing was sky high. I did not manage to secure any but did a while of window shopping. It was really crowded with youngsters or maybe there were just avoiding the strong outdoor wind. Fortunately, there were LINE characters air balloons in front of the mall which garnered a lot flashes of camera. Of cause, we did too. If you are tired of walking already, head to one of the many coffee shops/cafe just nearby Dongdaemun. Don’t forget to check out Gwangjang Market along the way as it is crowned the largest food alley in Seoul! Yummmms!

4. Food Cafe, Sinchon

We were hungry and decided to head to a cafe just across the road from Cozybox Guesthouse. Food Cafe offers variety of Ramyeon and I picked the Cheese Ramyeon. Sounds weird to me but to my surprised, it was so good!

Happy and exhausted. We ended day one with much satisfaction.