Korea Trip - Day 4

It was Sunday, and because we didn't get the chance to really enjoy Namdaemun the previous day, we decided to visit it again, this time early in the morning. So off we went to Namdaemun.

We arrived around 8.45 am. Most of the stalls and shops were in the middle of opening up. We decided to walk around and see if there were any shops already opened.

Standing in the middle of the road, surrounded by not-yet-opened shops.

This shop is already opened, selling the latest ahjumma fashions.

As we walked around, the shops started to be ready for business one by one. Being early, there were no crowd in the market and we can browse easily. The ahjummas (aunties) here were especially friendly, almost all asking where we are from. They were also mighty impressed by the little Koreans we know (asking for the price, asking for discounts) and our correct pronounciation, one ahjumma even pinched my cheek. Because we were one of their first customers, we also got additional discounts on top of the already reduced prices.

I must say, Namdaemun is one of the very best place to shop for clothes in Seoul. I love, love the blouses and hoodies they sell here. The blouses were really beautiful, pricing around 15,000 KRW (if it is priced higher, try to haggle until you get around that price) and the sellers all insisted that they were all made in Korea and not in China. I guess clothes made in Korea are supposed to be of better quality (but oh so soft, I'm afraid of washing it by machine). Needless to say, I bought a few blouses and hoodies.

Hoodies. Not really a practical wear for Malaysian weather, but being so pretty I still bought them. That white Chopper hoodie? Mine.

Look at the pretteh! If I have all the money in the world I would've bought them all.

How did we shop? We used a mix of Korean, English, Japanese and sign languages. The sellers here mostly speak fluent Japanese, and there was this one time we wanted a new piece and not the displayed one. I impulsively said "atarashi" (I was actually getting my languages mixed up and only when I spoke it I realized that was Japanese and not Korean). The ahjusshi understood however, and went inside to get us a new one. Whee! There was also this one ahjusshi that said "Tiga sepuluh ribu!" when we walked pass his stall. I think they are already getting used to seeing Malay faces.

From Namdaemun, we went to Myeongdong. It was 10.30 am and Myeongdong was also relatively empty. We wanted to check out SPAO again, but the store apparently is closed on Sundays. So we just mostly walked around, taking silly pictures with Korean idols endorsement boards. Anis and Nadia also bought a serious amount of Converse sneakers. Korean Converse stores have a lot of colours not available in KL.

Myeongdong street is rarely this empty. Especially on a Sunday.

Yep. That's Hyun Bin.

G Dragon from the group Big Bang.

Flower boy Song Joong Ki. Oh why, why did you leave Running Man?

We went back to our room, but not before putting a big dent on our wallet by buying photo albums and CDs of our favourite Korean groups from a shop inside Myeongdong subway station. Carrying so many plastics, plus the albums were heavy I didn't take any pictures at all.

Damages. We had to put our purchases down to look for the room's key.

At our room, we cooked the chicken drummets we brought from Malaysia, heated up a can of sardine and also the instant rice bought in GS25. It was one of the very best meals we had in Korea. Mostly because we were hungry.

Done with our lunch and prayers, we moved again. This time our destination was COEX Mall located in Gangnam, at the opposite site of Han River. COEX Mall was big, but we really didn't explore it because our feet were really hurting. My calves especially were really painful because I was running the other night in order not to miss the Seoul City Tour Bus. I actually do feel our trip here was a bit wasted because Gangnam was very far from where we stayed. It is worth going however if you want to experience COEX Aquarium.

COEX Mall's entrance from the subway station.

COEX Aquarium was big, it was divided into sections and of the most interesting sections was the one intended for children. Here it has many aquariums and tanks in almost every shapes imaginable. The kids loved it, squealing and saying "Annyeong!" to the fishes.

Fishes! : Inside a PC, vending machine, kitchen sink, cracked tank, traffic light, washing machine...

The deep-sea tank was also very, very big. With big sharks, turtles, other fishes. When one of the big sharks swam very close to where I was standing, it felt like I was swimming next to it. Those with phobias of sharks (like Rahah and Kaifa) will probably not appreciate it though. Hehehe.

Big, fat, shark swimming through!

After the aquarium, we went to Bandi and Luni's in COEX Mall, but just to find a book by Tablo (Epik High) that Anis wanted to buy. Once she got the book, we started heading back to the subway station.

We also bought iced-chocolate in Dunkin Donuts. This device lights up when drinks are ready but because we didn't know we waited near the counter.

We took the subway to Myeongdong station again, this time to watch NANTA, a non-verbal musical. The plot was simple, but very well executed and so funny. It also involved a lot of viewers' participation. One time the actor asked us to stomp our feet, I did so and then only I remembered my legs hurt. Ouch. We laughed so much throughout the show, it was really entertaining.

We bought the cheapest tickets sold, but still got a clear view of the stage.

The actors for that day's performance.

Picture with the staff at reception hall. So short compared to her. Woe is me.

NANTA done, we were finished with our fourth day at Seoul. We were tired, but also excited because the next day, Nami Island!

Korea Trip - Day 3 (Part 2)

From Dongdaemun, me and Anis took the subway to Anguk Station. I was following the map provided by Nami Island Shuttle Bus which said that the nearest way to go to the office was by exiting through Anguk Station, so to Anguk Station we went.

Dongdaemun gate in front of Dongdaemun Station.

Anguk Station is located in Insadong, a place full with antique and craft stores. We also saw a lot of older citizens in their smartest clothes here, I think there is a community center for them located near. From Anguk Station's exit 6, we honestly tried to follow the map but we got lost. We've walked very far from where we were supposed to head and finally I couldn't recognize any landmark around us.

This map was not helpful at all!

Knowing that we were lost, I stopped to ask a Korean how to get to Tapgol Park. He had a hard time understanding what I said so I typed "Tapgol" on my iPod, and he said "Ahhh! Tapgol!". He pondered for a while how to tell us the way and then he said "Follow me!". So me and Anis followed him. He guided us through the most bizarre path; behind restaurants, small lanes, back alleys, to the extend I was a bit scared and tried to remember what was the Korean words for "Help me!". However after walking for quite some time we finally stopped, and he pointed that Tapgol Park was just right upfront. I said many many thanks to him, it must be really out of his way but he still brought us to the place. This would be one of the many instances during our trip where we would be amazed by the generosity and helpfulness of Koreans.

From Tapgol Park, we found the Nami Shuttle Bus Office easily, and paid the price for our integrated tickets (including return bus trips, ferry and admission) to Nami Island. From Tapgol Park, we took the subway from Jongno 3-ga (THIS is the closest subway station, not Anguk) to Hoehyeon Station, which is the subway station for Namdaemun.

The other members were already there and they have asked the information booth in Namdaemun how to get to the halal kebab stall. I know that there is a halal kebab stall in Namdaemun from my reading on the internet, but all the sites/forum posts on the internet don't exactly specify the location of the stall. So in case anyone else is wondering where the stall is, I've pinpointed it on a map below:

It is right in front of the road between exit 5 and exit 6, just a few steps away from Namdaemun Market's Gate 5.

The stall is next to NH Bank, right behind that newspaper stall.

The stall is very small, and there was no place to sit except for a few chairs the owner puts inside the stall itself. We let Nadia's parents, Rahah and Azie inside while the rest of us sat on the stairs for some upstairs offices next to the stall; one person sitting on one step, going higher. What a view we must have made eating our kebabs, some Koreans even took a second glance at us, smiling and waving.

Halal kebab in Namdaemun. I took this from Daum Map because I didn't remember to take any picture at all. Too hungry.

Once we finished eating, we browsed Namdaemun market for a while, bought some stuffs and finally because we were too tired of walking we decided to take taxis back to our rooms. There were some misunderstandings when the door on Kaifa's side was not closed properly and we thought the taxi ahjusshi was telling us to lean back or wear our seat belts. And then he couldn't find the address based on the business card Mr. Ko gave us. Finally by butchering the Korean language (I kept pointing and saying "Igo, Igo" (this) when I should've said "Yeogi, yeogi" (here). No wonder that ahjusshi was grumpy), we managed to arrive at our rooms safely. It was actually cheaper to take taxi because we shared the taxi with 4 people, than taking the subway. After dividing the fare, each of us only had to pay less than 800 won.

After resting for a few hours, we made our way to Gwanghamun again. This time to take the Seoul City Tour Night Bus. This bus took us across most of the bridges crossing Han River with explanations about each bridge. However, I would suggest skipping from taking this bus and take the Han River Ferry Cruise instead. We couldn't see much from the bus, and the bus didn't stop at all.

My pathetic attempt to take a picture of the lights show on Banpo Bridge.

After one and a half hour, the bus took us back to Gwanghamun and this time we managed to see how Cheonggyecheon stream look at night.

Still too beautiful.

The temperature around Cheonggyecheon however was too cold for us, so we took refuge in a 7-Eleven store nearby. We scalded our tongue drinking hot chocolate, and discovered these:

Yep. Pringles in Korea are 'HALAL JAKIM'.

We wanted to take a look at Kyobo, which is the largest book store in South Korea. The bookstore is also located in Gwanghamun so we walked there, but not before taking these pictures of Gwanghamun Square:

The statue is of King Sejong the Great, considered the greatest king of Korea. He was the one that created the Hangul alphabets, replacing the much more difficult Chinese characters (Koreans call them 'Hanja') that was used previously.

Another statue in the square is of Admiral Yi Sun Sin, who is revered for his many victories against the Japanese.

Kyobo Bookstore is connected through exit #3 of Gwanghamun Station. There are many books, and the store is humongous. Most of the books are in Korean though, so I mainly looked at the cards and postcards (I bought Nadiah's birthday card here). Kyobo have a lot of workers, making me think that the store was still crowded until a worker suddenly approached me and said

"Miss, this store closes at 10."

I looked at my watch and it was already 10.05. Oh! I apologized and immediately made my payment. Then me and Anis (again) had to be escorted to the one remaining door still open, which was not the door we used previously. We walked to the door we used before and the rest of them were already waiting there.

The view on the way from Myeongdong station to our rooms. Namsan Tower can be seen.

All agreeing that we have had a long day, we made our way back to our rooms.

Korea Trip - Day 3 (Part 1)

Day 3 must be the day we walked the most. We started the day by following 'Cheonggyecheon Stream Walking Tour'. I booked this tour online and it was provided free by Seoul Walking Tour Office. We arrived at 10 am and our guide, Mrs Kim Jung Mee was already waiting for us, but another group (Malaysians too) were late so we had to wait. We took the opportunity to take pictures around the beginning area of the stream.

Beautiful flowers everywhere. After I took this picture, the ahjusshi inside that bus waved at me.

It was on a Saturday morning so the were many people, including groups of school kids probably on a trip. While I was busy taking pictures of flowers, I saw a school boy kept looking at me. After a while he approached me and asked "Are you a Muslim?". I said yes, and we made small talks. Apparently he is interested in religion, he said he knows about Prophet Muhammad, has even read Qur'an, and even knows that the headscarf I'm wearing is called "hijab". But then he said, even though he read about religions, in the end he thinks that religion is pointless. I had nothing to say about that. While we were talking, his friends kept looking at us, apparently interested in chatting with me too, but were shy/can't speak English. We took pictures together and suddenly one of them wasn't shy anymore and tried putting his arm around me. I pushed it away. LOL.

I never got the boy's name. He was the one wearing green shirt.

Then I had to go because the other group had arrived. Before I left a lady which I think was their teacher said "Syukran" to me. Hmm.. she must think that every Muslim is an Arab. I smiled and nodded at her.

We started the walking tour, the tour guide provided us with a lot of information but I was mostly distracted with watching people, and just enjoying the beautiful scenery around me. The water of the stream was crystal clear, there were many fishes, ducks (and their ducks were different from Malaysian ducks) and we even saw a stork (cue me singing "Bangau oh Bangau").

The grand fountain at the beginning of Cheonggyecheon Stream.

Seoul's residents love hanging around the stream, I can understand why. The temperature down the stream is noticeably colder, and the stream is just too beautiful.

Playing guitar.

Painting pictures.

Annyeong!

Listening to a volunteer wearing Korean's traditional clothes.

Along the wall of the stream, there were many significant art pieces. This one was a replica of a painting depicting the royal procession of King Jeongjo and his mother Queen Hgyeonggung when they visited his late father's tomb. The mural is 2.4 meters height and is 186 meters long. What is interesting about this painting is the king didn't sit inside the palanquin, he gave it for his mother to sit in. He was a few steps at the back on a horse.

Very long mural.

Found! Royal palanquin and the king.

Me taking picture of Nadia taking picture of Anis taking picture.

Cheonggyecheon stream wasn't always this beautiful. It was at one time heavily polluted, home to trash, sand and waste (sounds familiar?) until it was covered by concrete and finally an elevated highway was built on top of it. However in 2003 the Seoul Metropolitan Government decided to restore the stream which included removing the elevated highway and pumping water from Han River to the stream. The result: extraordinary.

Ducks swimming happily.

Finally it was the end of our 2.7 km walk. Our feet were screaming, but we were thankful that the weather was nice to us. It was predicted to rain that day, but thankfully it didn't rain in the morning.

When we took this picture, Mrs Kim Jung Mee said that I look like one of her children. I told her that I am already 27, but she said her oldest child is 25. WHOA. She further said that she is already 50 plus. We couldn't believe our ears. But having a job conducting walking tours must be one of the factors of her youthful look.

The end of our tour was near Dongdaemun, one of the three shopping destinations in Seoul. We went to the clothing market, and I bought a shirt for me and a shirt for my brother. Then we went to the opposite building to look at fabrics. Having no interest in fabrics, me and Anis decided to go pick up our tickets to Nami Island at the shuttle bus office near Tapgol Park. And this, was when we got lost.

Korea Trip - Day 2

We woke up early, partly because Seoul's 6.30 am is like Malaysia's 8.00 am; it was so bright. Nadia's parents cooked a lot of rendang and nasi impit and brought them from Malaysia so for our breakfast we heated them on the microwave.

Excited in the morning, before our feet started aching. Me and my iPod which was really useful for the subway navigation and common Korean phrases apps.

We walked to Myeongdong subway station and took the train to Anguk station for our very first destination, Changdeokgung Palace. From the subway's exit 3, it was a very short walk to the palace. There are 5 Grand Palaces in Seoul, but we chose Changdeokgung because it is home to the 'Huwon' or Secret Garden. The secret garden and the palace dated back since the Joseon Dynasty in Korea.

Inside the subway, Anis looking at the list of stations.

Walking from Anguk station to Changdeokgung.

In front of Changdeokgung's entrance with everyone's tickets.

Visitors are not allowed to tour the secret garden by our own, and the English guided tour starts only at 11.30 so we took our time touring the palace. It then started raining...

'Selca' with Korean schoolgirls. 'Selca' or 'Self Camera' is Korean term for photo of own picture taken by oneself.

In front of the gate to Huwon.

Although it was raining, can I say that their rain is different from Malaysia's? It wasn't as heavy, some of us that followed the guided tour didn't even use umbrella. I had mine brought from Malaysia because I checked the weather prediction and it was predicted to rain that day. One thing, the weather predictions were accurate too. Malaysians don't usually take notice of weather forecasts but Koreans very much do. I was told that it was going to rain that day by our airport taxi driver the previous night too, he said the radio said so.

Raining inside the Huwon.

The trip across Huwon took about one and a half hour. I must say that the Huwon is really beautiful, and our guide did a very good job explaining all the interesting parts of the garden. He pointed the places where the previous Great Kings of Korea used to sit and ponder about and just generally enjoying the nature. He pointed the different quarters for men and women, the low doors (Koreans height average were not more than 160cm back in Joseon dynasty. HOW DID THEY GET SO TALL NOW?) and also the ondol or Korean traditional heating system. Our guide informed us that winter in Korea used to be very cold, minus 20+ degrees. He said ondol ensured the survival of Korean people.

Part of ondol. This is where fire is lit. Heat and smoke will then be distributed throughout the connected floor and smoke will come out from a chimney at the end of the floor.

Like many other eastern gardens, Huwon is made up of elements of trees and water. This is a big pond inside Huwon.

Part of the same pond.

Just.. greens everywhere. The freshness of air here is really indescribable. Only slightly defeated by Nami Island.

I didn't manage to take a lot of pictures because I was holding my umbrella. Although I feel that the Huwon was already very beautiful then, the guide said that it is absolutely breathtaking during autumn. I think will go again in autumn and take more pictures then.


We waited for the Seoul City Tour Bus at its bus stop in front of the palace's entrance and took the bus to Itaewon. The price was 9500 KRW paid by T-Money for a one day pass. In the bus, every seat is provided with a headphone with multiple languages option including English and each time the bus pass through significant landmarks, we were provided with descriptions through the headphone. There were many landmarks and stops, including National Museum of Korea, War Memorial, the Blue House (official residence of the President of South Korea) but because it was past 2pm and we were starving we skipped all the other places and went straight to Itaewon.

In front of War Memorial of Korea. When I lowered my camera I saw the soldier guard was actually giving me "no picture" sign using his hands. Ooops.

Itaewon is a district in Seoul with the highest population of foreigners. The US Army base is located near here and so we saw many US Army personnel too. Itaewon is also home to Seoul Grand Mosque. The mosque is located up a hill, and the walking there was really tiring. Not only that, the women's prayer section is located on 3rd Floor. I was ready to cry.

Main prayer hall of Seoul Grand Mosque taken from women's prayer section. Two Koreans briefed (about the Mosque?) by a Muslim.

After our Jama' Zuhr + Asr prayers, it was finally time to eat! There are many halal restaurants in Itaewon and we had a hard time choosing a place to eat. We finally chose a restaurant named 'Little India Seoul'. Me, Anis and Nadia shared the 2 persons meal set but the meal was actually more than enough for 3 persons. And it was gooooooood. The tandoori chicken, the curry, the naan but especially the samosa. The samosa's pastry was really nice.

Tandoori chicken. It was served before the main dishes and Northern Indians eat it before main dishes but we wanted to wait for the rice until the server asked us if there's anything wrong with it. Sorry miss, we didn't know.

We found out that the restaurant actually just opened on that day and we were their second customers. We wished them the best of luck, especially when they didn't charge us the 10% Value Added Tax (VAT), and also served us free cinnamon teas.

Seoul City Tour Bus Stop at Itaewon.


Itaewon is also the subject of this homage to 80's pop songs, a song titled 'Itaewon Freedom'. If you don't find this awesome, there is something wrong with you.

From Itaewon, we boarded the Seoul City Tour Bus again to Namsan Mountain. I think everyone have to experience going up Namsan Mountain by bus. They have already restricted the vehicles allowed to be driven up the mountain to preserve the environment and personal vehicles and taxis are absolutely not allowed. Most of the other buses going up to Namsan Mountain have also been replaced to electric buses. Why I say it is a must have experience? The road up the Namsan Mountain crossing Namsan Park was really beautiful, and the way the bus driver drove the bus through all the slopes and curves was really 'beautiful' too, to the extend I wanted to shout "AHJUSSHI SLOW DOWN". It was a thrilling experience.

Bus stop for Namsan Tower. Electric buses!

From the Namsan stop, it was another journey uphill to the Namsan Tower. All things considered taking the cable car is maybe the less painful option.

Climbing up, up, up.

Because of the rain, it was foggy that day and very cold. When we wanted to buy tickets to observatory deck, we were advised not to because there was literally nothing to see.

Can't see the top!

I, however, have another mission in mind for this trip to Namsan Tower. It is a custom for couples to place a lock here (and throw the key away) as a symbol of their love. I have prepared something for my favourite cousin in the whole world!

Happy birthday Nad! SARANGHAE! ♥

We took the cable car down from Namsan Tower, and from the station we walked to Myeongdong and visited SPAO. I'm glad we visited SPAO at this time even though we already had a full day. For the other remaining days of our trip SPAO was closed.

The road from Namsan Cable Car to Myeongdong.

Shirts modeled by Super Junior.

Cardboard of Girls' Generation.

SPAO is a clothing line partly owned by SM Entertainment. It is mainly endorsed by Super Junior and Girls' Generation. I bought a cap. Hehe. Once the excitement of finally getting my cap was over, I realized that I am really exhausted. We then climbed back up to our rooms, tired but really satisfied with our day.