Korea 2015 - Busan

10:01:00 PM Unknown 1 Comments

Busan

We didnt really spend a lot of time at Busan as firstly, I fell sick going there and secondly, it was raining on the 2nd day and so we cut short our time at Busan and went back to Seoul. =(

How to go Busan from Seoul

Option 1: Book the regular Korail train online (Use OCBC Frank Card to enjoy 6% cash rebate!). A return ticket costs about 100,000 won per pax.

Option 2: Book the KR pass online. A 3 day pass costs 83,700 won per pax under Saver (for 2-5 pax per group).  For this option, you need to change the eticket to the Korail ticket, which can be done at any of the KTX station. You can choose your seats (if available) when you have converted the tickets.

Obviously, we took the option 2. However, our trip to Busan clashed with the public holiday, so many people were going Busan and all the seats were full! We ended up with 'standing tickets' lor. Imagine standing for 2.5hours for the whole journey. I reckon I fell sick because of poor ventilation in the train as we can only find space to stand in the passage way connecting the cabins where the luggage/toilets were. In short, there was no dedicated standing cabin and standing all the way to Busan was a bad decision. So on our way back, we were glad to secure seat numbers coz the thought of standing 2.5hr back to Seoul was bad enuff.

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Korea 2015 - Dongdaemum

4:46:00 PM Unknown 0 Comments

Dongdaemun

Doota
If you love shopping, you definitely wont miss out Dongdaemun, a commercial district comprising of traditional markets and shopping malls.

Subway: Dongdaemum History & Culture Park, Exit 14
Direction: The exit will lead to Goodmorning City basement. The rest of the malls, APM, Migliore and Doota are lined up side by side along the main road.

Personally, I only like APM and Migliore. Goodmorning City looks like an abandoned mall, so other than cutting through it to go to the other malls, dont bother to spend time there. LOL

Both APM and Migliore are huge, basement are usually for shoes; level 1 - 3 are for woman fashion, male fashion are level 4 & 5 ( I think, didnt go beyond level 4). Prices can be 'negotiated', will be cheaper than the price tags, so dont be 'intimidated'! 

Doota is more upscaled, but there's a Line pop-up store if you are a fan of Line characters! In fact, I saw the store at both Everland and Garosugil. Looks like the Korean adore Line characters. Hee.

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Bing-go

12:27:00 AM Unknown 0 Comments


BING GO (Korean Dessert House)
Venue: 102 Gullimard Road #01-01 S399719
Contact: 6440 5509

*****

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Korea 2015 - Yangpyeong / Jongno

11:40:00 PM Unknown 0 Comments

We were going to the 'countryside' of Seoul to do strawberry picking! Was looking very forward to it! And because of the strawberry picking, I needed to make rearrangement of the itinerary a few times, and can only finalised the details at the very last minute, which is totally not my style lah. But dont worry, I've got the name card of the farm that I went, which should help those who are keen to go on their own as currently, there is not a lot of information online, or not in english.

I'm quite OCD when it comes to itinerary planning; will check and double check to make sure no waste of time by more efficient travelling around, all my tickets are booked on the right dates etc. And I probably cant tahan if I dont have an itinerary planned for my trips. Having said that, I would change the itinerary on a daily basis, coz too 'ambitious' so will need to sacrifice some items.. very old liao, cannot chiong like last time. Keke

Starting the day with a good ginseng chicken!

Koryeo Samgyetang (고려삼계탕) 
Address: Seoul, Jung-gu, Seosomun-dong 55-3
Subway: Cityhall, Exit 10
Direction: Go straight for about 100m. It is located at the first alleyway on the right.

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Korea 2015 - Anguk/Insadong

11:06:00 PM Unknown 0 Comments

Anguk/Insadong

Started a brand new day in search for Hanjeongsik! Heh, too much influence from the drama, da chang jin lah.. keke
Hanjeongsik is a full-course Korean meal with an array of savory side dishes. The most lavish of hanjeongsik traditional originated with the banquets served in the royal palaces or the homes of aristocrats.
Jirisan Restaurant (지리산)
Address: 서울특별시 종로구 인사동14길 30 (30, Insadong 14-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul) 
Subway: Anguk, Exit 6
Direction: Go straight 100m and turn left at the intersection. Walk along Insadong-gil Road and turn left onto Insadong 14-gil. Go 120m to the end of the alleyway and turn left.  Jirisan is 30m ahead on the right.

The restaurant was not that difficult to find. Once you exit the station, walk in the direction of Insadong's walking street where you can find lotza Korea souvenirs such as keychains, magnets etc. And turn left into Insadong 14-gil, a small alley on your left.

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Korea 2015 - Hongdae/Sinchon/Ehwa

10:54:00 PM Unknown 2 Comments

Hongdae/Sinchon/Ehwa
A youngster area where you can find cats/dogs cafes, Hongik University, Trick Eye Museum, Hello Kitty cafe and of coz, shopping!

This time round, we decided to visit Trick Eye Museum + Ice Gallery (in the same building). There's a 20% discount coupon from Korea Tourism Organisation. Click here to print the coupon vouchers;  there are also discount coupons for Wifi Router, Alive Musuem etc, so dont forget to check it out! =)

Trick Eye Musuem + Ice Gallery
357-1, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul Seogyo Plaza Basement 2
서울특별시 마포구 홍익로3길 20 (서교동)
Subway: Hongik Univ Station, Exit 9 
Ticket: 12000 Won (after discount)

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Korea 2015

6:48:00 PM Unknown 0 Comments

Some preparation work before THE Korea Trip

1) Smart phone applications

Before my trip, I downloaded a few Seoul/Korea applications but find them quite useless except for the 2 below:

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AirBnb

4:58:00 PM Unknown 0 Comments

I'm back from Korea this week AND we went back to work the next day, even though we slept at 3plus am. Crazy or not?

Before I start sharing my another so-packed-so-not achievable itinerary (including myself =p), I will share about my first airbnb experience. Overall, good and bad. *Shrugged*

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