Adventures in Seoul (2010.3.22-3.25)
Soooo I signed up for a 4 day, 3 night trip to Seoul to visit my dearest Shao-sama. <3 It was...AMAZING. It went so fast it still doesn't really feel like I went, that I was there, that I saw Shao for the first time in three years (!!!). Well...technically I guess it also felt really short because...it was. Technically it was a four day trip, but on the first day, after arriving at Incheon Airport around 3pm, because of crazy heavy snow, and getting dragged to duty free shops, I didn't actually get to do whatever I wanted until 7pm. Then, on the fourth day, my flight was at 9am, so I was out of the hotel at 6am. DD:
But I digress.
Seoul at night from N Tower!
Onto the photo spam of hell!
Monday, March 22
As I mentioned above, this day was pretty much sucked into nothingness because of snow, etc. On the bright side, I was finally reunited with Shao-sama <3
We also had dinner/wandered around COEX mall before turning in for the night. I ordered jajangmyun because I am easily affected by anything around me, and had just finished the drama "Fantastic Couple."
My decently large and recently renovated hotel room, despite being very reasonably priced! It was technically a bit far, about 10 minutes from the station and then a 30-40 minute train ride from almost all major hotspots, but I thought it was pretty good. Except for shifty nightclub in the basement with hostesses and salarymen constantly going up to rooms on the second floor in pairs...so it was quite seedy at night, but other than that no real issues!
Tuesday, March 23
A TON of exploring today - we managed to walk over 14 kilometers (according to my super awesome "count how many steps you've walked in a day" program on my cell phone).
First we started off with the Gyeongbokgung, only to find that it was closed on Tuesdays. DD: We didn't get to go in, but we spent some time speculating about the strange little creature things on the beams of the roof.
Random sign post nearby Gyeongbokgung that I enjoy a lot!
Not to be discouraged, we decided to walk to Changgyeonggung! It was kinda lame that you could only enter with the official tour...there was waaaaaay too many people for only one tour guide. But it was quite pretty, and very nice to just wander around and soak in the atmosphere!
I was particularly fond of these strange statue things that were all over the place. So much that I wanted to be just like them, as I unfortunately attempt here :/
Stone flooring that apparently is crazy bumpy on purpose so that loyal subjects had to continuously stare at the ground to watch where they walk and not be able to look at the king.
Break time with POMENGRATE pomegranate juice! <3 Because pomegranate juice is for hot chicks~! (Or so the label says in some form or another.)
Adventures then continued to Insadong, and another place I don't know the name of...and both were filled with the great joys of FOOD and photo opportunities.
Apparently the Starbucks here is required to write their name in Korean to make sure that it matches up with the rest of that particular street.
Pimpin' the bonnet.
Delicious...and gigantic waffle. Right after we had eaten a decently sized lunch. >_< The cafe was nice and they had a salt caramel coffee drink that I quite enjoyed!
LEGOMAN.
Random lighting-up construction site wall thing that we stumbled upon! It's hard to explain properly, but I think if you get close to it, the light starts shifting from size to side, like the birds.
POOP-SHAPED ANPAN BREAD. o_O We were innocently strolling around when we stumbled upon this vendor. No matter how full we were, there was no way that we couldn't buy this bread, no? The taste itself was (thankfully!) normal.
In the evening, we made our way to Myeongdong!! Once again, we ate more food, did some shopping, etc. We even took purikura - it's been ages for me! But it was really cool how at the purikura pace, they laminated it for you and cut it in half for you, free of charge. You can even choose to make your purikura into a keychain, etc. for just like $2.00.
Dinner was a bit spicy, but still delicious! Especially the strange boob-shaped rice cakes hehehe.
Finally, our last destination for the day was N Seoul Tower:
Awesome diagonal elevator that takes you from the base of a mountain? to the boarding area for the cable car that takes you to N Tower.
Overlooking Seoul from the arrival area for the cable car.
N Tower! I couldn't get any good shots, but N Tower was decidedly one of our new favorite places. Especially their souvenir shop...o_O I could loiter in there FOREVER just staring at their super adorable merchandise.
More posing with giant lego figures:
Wednesday, March 24
I don't really have too many photos from this day, as I spent the morning wandering the grocery store near my hotel, and then Dongdaemun to shop mostly for souvenirs. Then I went off to meet Shao at Idae, where we looked around and had some delicious nabe type thing that I don't know the name of??? The sauce was amaaaaaaazing! We went shopping, and I got myself a pair of the kind of black heels I have been lusting over, as well as a crazy awesome sweater for super cheap! I shall take a photo of me wearing them eventually.
Halfway through shopping, we then stopped to get a foot massage! It was intensely painful at times and I felt really bad for constantly making Shao interpret for me, because the massage ladies only spoke Korean and Chinese. D:
We then headed over to Hongdae to hunt down this particular establishment:
Recognize this sign?
Yes...the Coffee Prince cafe!
More of the Coffee Prince cafe, just like it was in the drama <3 I really love the flower mural on the wall. You can also kinda make out the prince and princess drawing on the window, also as it was in the drama! (<-- according to my huge Seoul guide magazine thing).
Hongdae.
Thursday, March 25
Incheon Airport. Not much to say about my last "day" in Korea...woke up at 5am and watched lots of Kpop videos on TV as I was getting ready. As soon as I got back I was -and still am- hunting down Kpop girl unit songs like crazy. XDD On the way to the airport, we stopped by a souvenir shop and finally! I managed to use up pretty much the rest of my won, as well as pick up KOREAN SEAWEED CHOCOLATE. I brought it work on Friday, and needless to say, it sparked up a lot of fun conversations <3.
That's it for my very choppy report o_O. I also have a ton more photos, but they've already been uploaded to facebook for your viewing pleasure!!
I am totally passing out as I write this because I think I've direly deprived of sleep (for me)...I'm sure this post was super incoherent but thanks for reading!! And thanks to Shao-sama once again for being an AMAZING host. I wish I could stayed longer...but hopefully we will meet again soon, yeah? :DDD
Good night!
But I digress.
Seoul at night from N Tower!
Onto the photo spam of hell!
Monday, March 22
As I mentioned above, this day was pretty much sucked into nothingness because of snow, etc. On the bright side, I was finally reunited with Shao-sama <3
We also had dinner/wandered around COEX mall before turning in for the night. I ordered jajangmyun because I am easily affected by anything around me, and had just finished the drama "Fantastic Couple."
My decently large and recently renovated hotel room, despite being very reasonably priced! It was technically a bit far, about 10 minutes from the station and then a 30-40 minute train ride from almost all major hotspots, but I thought it was pretty good. Except for shifty nightclub in the basement with hostesses and salarymen constantly going up to rooms on the second floor in pairs...so it was quite seedy at night, but other than that no real issues!
Tuesday, March 23
A TON of exploring today - we managed to walk over 14 kilometers (according to my super awesome "count how many steps you've walked in a day" program on my cell phone).
First we started off with the Gyeongbokgung, only to find that it was closed on Tuesdays. DD: We didn't get to go in, but we spent some time speculating about the strange little creature things on the beams of the roof.
Random sign post nearby Gyeongbokgung that I enjoy a lot!
Not to be discouraged, we decided to walk to Changgyeonggung! It was kinda lame that you could only enter with the official tour...there was waaaaaay too many people for only one tour guide. But it was quite pretty, and very nice to just wander around and soak in the atmosphere!
I was particularly fond of these strange statue things that were all over the place. So much that I wanted to be just like them, as I unfortunately attempt here :/
Stone flooring that apparently is crazy bumpy on purpose so that loyal subjects had to continuously stare at the ground to watch where they walk and not be able to look at the king.
Break time with POMENGRATE pomegranate juice! <3 Because pomegranate juice is for hot chicks~! (Or so the label says in some form or another.)
Adventures then continued to Insadong, and another place I don't know the name of...and both were filled with the great joys of FOOD and photo opportunities.
Apparently the Starbucks here is required to write their name in Korean to make sure that it matches up with the rest of that particular street.
Pimpin' the bonnet.
Delicious...and gigantic waffle. Right after we had eaten a decently sized lunch. >_< The cafe was nice and they had a salt caramel coffee drink that I quite enjoyed!
LEGOMAN.
Random lighting-up construction site wall thing that we stumbled upon! It's hard to explain properly, but I think if you get close to it, the light starts shifting from size to side, like the birds.
POOP-SHAPED ANPAN BREAD. o_O We were innocently strolling around when we stumbled upon this vendor. No matter how full we were, there was no way that we couldn't buy this bread, no? The taste itself was (thankfully!) normal.
In the evening, we made our way to Myeongdong!! Once again, we ate more food, did some shopping, etc. We even took purikura - it's been ages for me! But it was really cool how at the purikura pace, they laminated it for you and cut it in half for you, free of charge. You can even choose to make your purikura into a keychain, etc. for just like $2.00.
Dinner was a bit spicy, but still delicious! Especially the strange boob-shaped rice cakes hehehe.
Finally, our last destination for the day was N Seoul Tower:
Awesome diagonal elevator that takes you from the base of a mountain? to the boarding area for the cable car that takes you to N Tower.
Overlooking Seoul from the arrival area for the cable car.
N Tower! I couldn't get any good shots, but N Tower was decidedly one of our new favorite places. Especially their souvenir shop...o_O I could loiter in there FOREVER just staring at their super adorable merchandise.
More posing with giant lego figures:
Wednesday, March 24
I don't really have too many photos from this day, as I spent the morning wandering the grocery store near my hotel, and then Dongdaemun to shop mostly for souvenirs. Then I went off to meet Shao at Idae, where we looked around and had some delicious nabe type thing that I don't know the name of??? The sauce was amaaaaaaazing! We went shopping, and I got myself a pair of the kind of black heels I have been lusting over, as well as a crazy awesome sweater for super cheap! I shall take a photo of me wearing them eventually.
Halfway through shopping, we then stopped to get a foot massage! It was intensely painful at times and I felt really bad for constantly making Shao interpret for me, because the massage ladies only spoke Korean and Chinese. D:
We then headed over to Hongdae to hunt down this particular establishment:
Recognize this sign?
Yes...the Coffee Prince cafe!
More of the Coffee Prince cafe, just like it was in the drama <3 I really love the flower mural on the wall. You can also kinda make out the prince and princess drawing on the window, also as it was in the drama! (<-- according to my huge Seoul guide magazine thing).
Hongdae.
Thursday, March 25
Incheon Airport. Not much to say about my last "day" in Korea...woke up at 5am and watched lots of Kpop videos on TV as I was getting ready. As soon as I got back I was -and still am- hunting down Kpop girl unit songs like crazy. XDD On the way to the airport, we stopped by a souvenir shop and finally! I managed to use up pretty much the rest of my won, as well as pick up KOREAN SEAWEED CHOCOLATE. I brought it work on Friday, and needless to say, it sparked up a lot of fun conversations <3.
That's it for my very choppy report o_O. I also have a ton more photos, but they've already been uploaded to facebook for your viewing pleasure!!
I am totally passing out as I write this because I think I've direly deprived of sleep (for me)...I'm sure this post was super incoherent but thanks for reading!! And thanks to Shao-sama once again for being an AMAZING host. I wish I could stayed longer...but hopefully we will meet again soon, yeah? :DDD
Good night!