Before I start, I just wanna say how much I miss Seoul! I'm already planning my next trip in 2020 (waiting for miss sakai to graduate) for Busan & Seoul again. I'm actually not a huge fan of Korean food because the ones in Malaysia are very typical & limited but I didn't think that I'd enjoy it so much in Seoul. I guess it's just that there aren't many good ones here, in my opinion la. *If you know of any, recommend me!
So I visited Seoul in the end of March which was winter-spring period. If only we flew there a day later we would have enjoyed the spring blossoms on the last day. We literally just missed it because after arriving at the airport, we saw posts of people posting cherry blossoms!! :( I CRY... But it's okay because that just gives me another reason to visit again. RIP my bank account. The weather was great btw because I love cold weather like 5-15 C ° kind where you still can layer clothes & not too thick but still nice.
DAY 1 (MYEONGDONG):
We took a midnight Airasia flight & arrived in the late morning in Seoul. We managed to snag the free seats during their promo but of course free means the seats not nice la. We were seated right at the last row & I had to sit separated from them, with a Korean aunty. The aunty was so nice though, I helped pick up her bottle cap & she grabbed my hands to thank me. Idk I was just so shocked by the hand grabbing hahahah. Actually, throughout the trip we met alot of nice people & I guess it really depends on your luck because a friend of mine went a week later & she was culture shocked.
Anyway, since we arrived early & it wasn't check in time yet, our Airbnb host still allowed us to place our bags in our stay. Our airbnb was really convenient as it's a short walk away from Myeongdong a.k.a. every vain girl's dream. We grabbed lunch at an ajumma's home-style restaurant in the basement at where we stayed since we were starving as we arrived. There were plenty of side dishes to choose from & the food was yummy!
We walked around our area after lunch to wait for check in time. Coincidentally there was some riot going on, no idea about what but there were many people wearing Korean traditional outfits which looked so nice.
After checking in, we walked over to
Myeongdong for shopping & dinner, most importantly is to visit the
Stylenanda Pink Hotel, which was every Instagrammer’s dream! I seriously wish my
future home would be as chic as the store.
I couldn’t resist but get a matte lipstick
from 3CE even though was quite pricey, but hey, all that pretty ass interior
& packaging sold me. If you love cute, pretty packaging like me, you’ve got
to be prepared to go broke when in Seoul! The people there really put a lot of
attention to the little details on packaging, & literally makes you want to
buy stuff you don’t even need because it’s simply too pretty to say no!
Myeongdong seems to be crowded everyday but as someone who hates crowded places, I didn't really mind it here. I guess it was the cold weather that made things all a little better.
The cold weather even made all the street food look extra hot, steaming & tempting!
Excuse my very un-glam second day because I don’t know what went wrong with me as I didn't put much makeup & just set off for
Nami Island. I guess I wasn’t really in my right mind since less than 24 hours
before my flight to Seoul I’ve only just came back from Singapore for my
semester break to pack & jet set again.
Travelling there via train wasn’t as easy because it was only our second day & we have yet to get used to taking public transport there. We intended to take a direct bus but only missed it by a few minutes. ☹ However, we were so lucky to bump into an old couple who kindly told us that we were at the last stop & took the train with us to the right station. So kind!
We took like almost 3 hours just to travel there as we got lost for quite a bit. There’s a bus that takes you directly to the ferry terminal to go to Nami Island & several other touristy spots. It’s actually cheaper to take a cab if you’re going with a few people because the train station isn’t that far from the ferry terminal. The bus we took would be worth it for people intending to visit several tourist attractions.
We spent about 3-4 hours there which was some what sufficient enough to enjoy a good stroll, take plenty of photos, eat & go
on a bike ride.
Our Korean drama moment lol.. We left Nami Island at around 4pm as we wanted to avoid rush hour in the train. I feel like we could have spent more time there as the place was huge & really nice to just chill. Too bad we got lost taking the train which wasted a huge portion of our time. We ended the night with Korean Chinese cuisine, having some jjajiang mian & Korean sweet sour pork. I actually didn't know there was Korean Chinese cuisine until this trip which I really tasted the similarities.
DAY 3 (GWANGHWAMUN, GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE, BUKCHON HANOK VILLAGE, GAROSUGIL):
The third day of my trip was the day I was
most excited about because we finally got to wear hanboks to Gyeongbokgung
Palace! Ok it's sooo important to have a few photographers during a trip so you can capture the best candid moments. I really love this photo of us three girls with our very matchy outfits.
The weather was perfect to wear hanboks & I felt so cute & lady-like in it! There are plenty of hanbok rental shops right outside the Gyeongbokgung Palace & I just followed the crowd & entered a random shop. Hanboks come in choices of royal (which obviously is more expensive to rent) or normal. Normal ones are pretty enough & the time given to rent (2 hours if I’m not mistaken) is really enough to explore the palace & snap all the photos you’ll need.
Usually they will only allow you to pick 2 pieces only to try & any more would subject to an extra charge. I guess its because it's pretty troublesome to hang it back & the shops are often pretty crowded. Hair services are included in the fee so it’s pretty worth it to me for feeling pretty for 2 hours hahah! I seriously felt so great wearing the hanbok & felt even better when people wanted to take pictures with me as they mistook me for being Korean LOL.
It was just too much fun I can’t even!
We actually returned our hanboks earlier
than the supposed time because it was really enough if you’re just exploring
Gyeongbokgung Palace.
After returning to modern times, we headed off to get
ginseng chicken for lunch. It’s usually served with some rice wine (if I’m not
mistaken), & its definitely not for people with low blood pressure. After
finishing the tiny cup of alcohol alongside my ginseng chicken, my pulse raised
as my face turned red & I felt so uneasy. If this ever happens to you,
drink loads of water & quickly pee it out. Eventually your pulse will go
back to normal. 😊
We headed to Bukchon Hanok Village after
filling our tummies & I noticed that the hanbok rental here is actually
slightly cheaper compared to near Gyeongbokgung Palace. The place is quieter
& will take you a longer time to explore it till the end (there's a map every few hundred meters showing where you're at). But I guess
everything depends on what kind of view you’re looking for la.
We left Bukchon Hanok Village before rush hour, making our way to Garosujil, a place with pretty stores & IG worthy cafes. I wish we came here in the morning because I couldn't really see many nice cafes. But its ok, just another reason to go back! :P
There’s even a LINE friends store there which was
so cute!
We had a light dinner at James Cheese, Garosujil. No address for this one as I felt is was OKOK only & a little pricey compared to the food we've been having.
DAY 4 (LOTTE WORLD):
We had a light dinner at James Cheese, Garosujil. No address for this one as I felt is was OKOK only & a little pricey compared to the food we've been having.
We had Paris Baguette nearby our place before heading to Lotte World & they really pay attention to packaging as there was a custom packaging just for one bread!! Everything was all pretty, pretty & pleasing for the eyes.
Lotte World day was quite a chill & relaxing day. Fun for me because I felt like a kid again & got to reminisce the days where I used to love stuff like these.
NOTE: Do wear pants with pockets to keep your phone & some money because you’ll need to put most of your things in the locker so not the best idea to bring a camera along as most rides do not allow any added gadgets on board. So forgive me first as all pictures on that day were taken with my phone.
There was a space on the top floor (maybe it was a temporary exhibition), but there were several sets to take pictures at. Perfect for every macam yes Instagrammer like myself.
We took about half a day at Lotte World because some of the big rides were closed that day & certain added stuff like VR had an extra charge to it. Our Lotte World tickets were really cheap as we got our standard tickets from Klook for RM120 only, RM70 cheaper than buying on the spot.
We headed over to Sugine Jogaejeongol seafood restaurant for dinner. We purposely travelled there just to eat it & it was a small, cosy restaurant that only locals go to. And, IT WAS SO DAMN GOOD!!
Literally food heaven for me because I love shellfish (clams, muscles...). It was a really great value for money as it was only RM40 per person with plenty of super fresh seafood!
Sugine Jogaejeongol
Address: 141-9, Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Phone Number: 02-512-8007
Price Range: 10,000 ~ 20,000 won per pax
Business Hours: 17:00 - 01:00
Today was the day I chose to celebrate my belated birthday with bae since I was in Guangzhou during my actual birthday. He made me choose a day where I had to pick out my birthday gift and he'd belanja the whole day. We headed over to Myeongdong to grab some morning fuel & finally tried Isaac Toast. Ok la nothing very special but just an overpriced sandwich which requires waiting in line. Us girls did some sprint shopping while the boys queued for food because... Myeongdong!
It was a more relaxed, chill day as we headed to Commonground after filling our stomachs. Seriously Commonground is the perfect place to get a Korean brand gift for a friend. I got my Fennec wallet there & the price is pretty reasonable, around the same as Charles and Keiths. The FILA store there is good because there are more sizes & maybe not many people go there to buy FILA? I missed out my chance on buying FILA shoes because they didn't have my size! It's so much cheaper than in KL I felt so sad not being able to buy..
After some good shopping, we stopped by a nearby Bingsu shop & I got my birthday Bingsu! They didn't have candles cuz why would you put candles on ice right? So spoon as candle will do la.
After Commonground, we headed over to Hongdae which is a super happening place for youngsters to hang out & show off their talents. Literally no photos were taken here because our eyes were simply too busy enjoying what was infront of us because it was just so lively.
DAY 6 (EWHA WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY, EWHA SHOPPING STREET):
We walked somewhere near where we stayed & came across some random noodle shop for breakfast but it turned out to be really good!
We headed to Ewha to look around at the shopping street & very photoworthy Ewha Women's University.
We didn't spend much time at Ewha Women's University because us girls had planned a shopping trip to Goto Mall for some retail therapy, while the boys accompanied bae for his tattoo. If you're looking to get really nice campus life photos, maybe allow 2 hours solely at the university as the grounds are really huge. But if you're planning to shop more, especially cheap clothing (cheap for Korean standards not China standards), head over to Goto Mall!
Tips for those heading to Goto Mall:
- It's not noticeable from above ground because it's an underground mall
- Don't go to road level (we did...) because you will have a really tough time finding it
- Instead, at Express Bus Terminal Station go to Exit 1-4, either one
- It can get pretty crowded & hot so wear comfortable, flexible clothes
- There arent many eateries so fill your tummies first
We spent most of the day shopping & had a really fruitful last full day.
Overall this trip was truly an enjoyable one with a balance of chill days & touristy days, exactly how I like it. It made me love Korean food because I'm usually not a fan of the Korean food here in KL. I'd definitely want to head back again, visit the other places like Busan or Jeju Island. One things for sure, on my next trip I'd better not miss out on the cherry blossoms again.
If you're interested in my Seoul itinerary, feel free to drop me an email at kimmiemaey@gmail.com :)
Photo credits to my boyfriend as not all photos were taken by me. And thanks to him, this trip was a smooth one because of his well planned itinerary! ♥
