Seoul Winter Trip, Day 1 (Jan 16, 2014)
Seoul had been one of my dream destinations, it's mainly because I love K-Pop. I went here with my fellow cultural mission buddy, Kak Marissa and Kak Jennifer, along with Kak Jennifer's sister, Tata, which is my friend and also Kak Amez and her sister Bon Bon. That makes 6 people going.
A little story behind the trip is during my rehearsal for cultural mission, I heard Kak Marissa and Kak Jennifer already bought tickets to Seoul. I asked them who else were going. I had enough money at that time from my part-time job as dance teacher and the money was enough for me to buy the airline ticket. They allowed me to join and I was thinking very hard whether wasting my money or not. After discussing my dad, he let me go and cover the rest of the expenses. Yayy!! :D
After 6-hour direct flight, I couldn't believe I finally arrived in Seoul! Being at the airport, meeting Korean people, they already made me excited at the beginning. Let the real adventure begin..
Done with immigration and baggage, we gathered at the arrival hall to buy T-Money from 7-Eleven. T-Money is a must-have card. It's used for subway, buses, taxis, and even could be used for paying at several convenient stores. We were going to stay at an apartment from airbnb. Our host, Robert, already told us to call him first before leaving. We were having a hard time reaching him because none of us knew how to use the public phone. After a few attempts, the call is connected and we could reach him. Finally. We directly went downstairs to take the AREX line subway to go to Hongdae. We arrived at the station and get out at exit 5 because Robert would pick us up there. For the first time, we felt winter fresh air. We were a bit surprised it wasn't as cold as we expected it to be. He hadn't arrived yet so I called him and he said he was on his way. At this exit, there wasn't much people passing. Somehow, we felt lost because there was nothing to see. And suddenly it was getting colder. 'Yeah, this is it,' we thought. Then finally Robert came with his car! He looked younger than on the picture. He greeted us all and he was very friendly. He kindly put our luggage into his car and we were directly going to the apartment. Inside the car, we talked a bit and found out he's already married and has a son or two, I forgot. Suddenly we arrived at the apartment. That was quick.
The building looked like a two-story house. The door security uses code, no keys or card needed. It's great because we didn't have to depend on anybody and there won't be any problem regarding they keys. Our room is located at second floor. When the door opened, I thought 'Oh wow, I'll definitely have a great stay here.' It was very comfortable, it was only us staying, and we felt like the owner of the house. I highly recommend this place for staying. Robert owns more apartment with various capacity. Here's the link of my accommodation, I don't have to say much, everything looks exactly like on the picture: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1188046
Robert gave us some information about the house, how to use this and that, the rules and everything. He lend us his wi-fi egg so we could stay connected when we're outside. Wi-fi egg is a portable wi-fi.We preferred using that instead of sim cards because it was cheaper and could be used for up to 4 people. He left and we decided to walk around the neighborhood.
I love my apartment's location and neighborhood very much. It is 10-minute walk from the station and very close to Coffee Prince (one of Korean dramas) café. Any area in Seoul which is near the university is usually crowded, and Hongdae is one of the most popular areas. Hongdae provides everything! Shopping places, cafés, restaurants, clubs, noraebang (karaoke), you name it. Sometimes there are local street musicians performing. So when you don't feel like going too far, you can get instant entertainment here. I still want to say more but it's better to experience by yourself how perfect the area is.
We were starving so we looked for something to eat. We looked for crowded restaurants because it's a sign they're good. We found one that provided the menu outside so we could see the menu. The udon package thing looked interesting and affordable so we decided to eat here. We just pointed the menu and we couldn't order a portion, it had to be two. Weird but we're hungry so no other choice. We ordered juices for drinks and it turned out that there was free water. We found out later that every restaurants provide free water/tea. Then free appetizer came, I already anticipated the kimchi (Korean fermented vegetables). It taste so good, especially because I was eating it at the original place. The waiter then came with big pan put on our table, then she put everything: udon, pork, vegetables, sauces, and the best thing which is cheese for the topping. Too bad we didn't know what kind of meat it was at first. Some of us couldn't eat pork. Because this was accident, we all kept eating except Kak Amez. It was sooo good but it was too much so we couldn't finish it.
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| Giant portion of udon! |
After we filled our stomach and warmed ourselves, we walked around Hongdae. Everything looked interesting and we stopped at several shops that caught our eyes. While waiting for the others, I just looked around at my surroundings and felt so happy. Somehow, the place itself gave romantic feelings. K-Pop and other Korean songs were being played at the shops. Sometimes I hummed to it while passing.
We didn't want to spend our whole day here. We decided to go somewhere that only required walking and taking pictures because we didn't want to be too tired, so we went to Gwanghwamun. Based on Robert's suggestion, we better stop at City Hall station. We actually could go directly at Gwanghwamun station, but from City Hall, we could pass more sightseeings.
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| Deoksugung Palace |
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| City Hall |
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| Admiral Yi Sun-sin statue |
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| King Sejong statue |
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| Gwanghwamun Gate |
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| View from Gwanghwamun Gate |
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| We could go inside Gwanhwamun Gate up to this point because we didn't buy tickets and it was going to be closed. The guards even asked the guests to leave. |
We decided to go to Insadong since it's near Gwanghwamun and it would be our last stop. There are many souvenir shops and the owner could give special discounts for tourists. I found some street food too.
At Insadong, there is a shopping area called Ssamziegil which sells many unique stuff.
We were looking for night skating but they were all closed. We were tired after all and had walked very far that made our feet sore so we went home. At home, we watched K-Pop music shows. At least we could enjoy and listen it, because if we watch dramas or any other shows, we couldn't understand because there was no subtitles!
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