Post cleaning

I've been back for a week now. I miss Korea's weather, food and generally everything!

Anyway, I have been cleaning my room for 2 days straight now. First was to Konmari my clothes. Because I started quite late, I finished around 12am. *Phew*

The next day I cleared my drawer (stationery) because I was quite beh tahan at the sight. I also started late on that because WK was back for the weekend as his wife has classes here.

While cleaning though, I found some gems. It was the things that Seon Young set to me in our letter exchanging days. So nostalgic.

At least there was a surprise.

Day 10 - Dongdaemun & Jamsil

Actually I don't have much itinerary for today. I'm very much excited to go home tho. Can't believe I'm actually home sick from Korea.

Anyway, we had to go and buy some items in Dongdaemun and my senior recommended Jamsil (walk around Lotte World / Park / Duty Free). Since I have never been to that area, I might as well just go.

It was raining for the whole day so we had to do much of the visiting indoors. That means not much photo taking. But mom did managed to get a few shots.

Jamsil is towards the East side and the place is HUGE! Unfortunately (or fortunately, depends how you look at it) we had bought much of our stuffs and we were lacking storage space. So we could only window shop.

All and all, it was quite a trip.

And I'm ready to go home now.

안녕 한국.
Hello KL.

Day 9 - Namdaemun, N Seoul Tower & Myeongdong

We started the day with Namdaemun. The streets were full of people. Btw, it is Children's Day today.

Bought the kids clothes and ate some fruits. Then we made our way to N Seoul Tower. After asking a few people we managed to reach to the cable car station to only find out that there is a 60minutes waiting time. Say what? Mom says not wait (we didn't wanna hike to the tower either), so I took her picture with the tower and we left for Myeongdong.

I never knew Myeongdong is soooo near to N Seoul Tower. I ended up near the neighbourhood which I stayed 4 years ago. I was quite ecstatic to be in a familiar neighbourhood. But then the shops around it changed. More cafes around that area now. And in conjunction with Children's Day, they had a sort of carnival along the road. Took some pictures of the familiar surroundings and also the hostel I used to stay, EO. We sat at the park nearby observing the people and visited the underground market. That area definitely changed. It is better lit, more shops and definitely looked better.

Myeongdong is always busy with people. Today I felt it especially because mountain people mountain sea. Too many in fact. After getting our stuff, we can't wait to exit Myeongdong.

We went back to our hostel for a rest and later on googled for our dinner suggestion. The place is really near our hostel and there are tons of  eatery there. Will go back tomorrow for last round of food adventures.

Day 8 - Palaces & Insadong

The sun was shining bright this morning. We (more like I) decided to visit the Palace grounds. The sun was shining bright alright, I totally underestimated the wind tho.

We started with the post office as we sent our postcards back home to family and friends. We proceeded to Gwanghwamun Square where there is a memorial for the Sewol Ferry Victims. May they rest in peace.

After visiting King Sejong and Admiral Yi Sun-Shin, we proceeded to Gyongbokgung Palace. There was people mountain people sea. We just visited the grounds but didn't go in. And proceeded to Bukchon Hanok Village. We had a long walk around the area and took our own sweet time to explore the place.

After that we went for lunch at a very quaint Korean restaurant.

Out of the three palaces around the area, we chose to visit the Changdeokgung Palace. The Secret Garden was closed for the day due to the strong winds.

Finally we walked around Insadong and Ssamziegil before returning to the hostel.

Day 7 - DMZ

Our DMZ tour starts at 8:10am waiting to be picked up by the tour company. We were then brought to be joined with the other tourists for the trip.

Sadly the weather is not helping. It is raining and very cloudy and we could hardly see much. The weather is soooo cold because the wind was howling. Luckily we were transported via the bus, if not I wouldn't know how we would have survived the cold. Maybe hide in the metro till coast is clear?

We went to a tunnel which was dugged by the North Koreans and the tunnel was very steep. Makes me wonder the determination and hard work when it was done 30&40 years ago...

After our half day tour, we went back to Hongdae because we wanted to try the Samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken) which I saw yesterday. That pot of soup was just what a doctor would order on a cold day. And that Samgyetang was soooo delicious.

After that late lunch, we went shopping as I had orders from VK. We went back to Ehwa as well and braved through the wind. Luckily it didn't howl when we got there. It was towards the end of it which we happily left back to the hostel.

P/S: I had also tried the Honey Butter Chips. It is really really good! Worth the hype.

Day 6 - Hongdae and Itaewon

Arrghh...I missed another day...

Anyway, it was a great day in the morning. The sun was shining bright and we walked around Hongdae and Hongik area and went to the Trick Eye Museum. Mom went photo crazy there but sadly she couldn't capture much nice pictures for me. #badphotographyskills

Then we ate in Hongdae before adjourning to Itaewon. Itaewon is more of an English tourist area, but since I haven't been there before it is quite an eye opener. There's a LINE store there which is quite cute.

By 6pm, we headed back to the hostel before stopping by the bakery and convenience store. Bread is for the following day during DMZ tour. And convenience store is for our dinner. Sigh ~

Day 5 - Ehwa Women's University, Yonsei University and Hangang Park

This morning, Seon Young cooked breakfast for us! I'm so touched and blessed. It was a simple meal but oh so satisfying.

We then headed to Ehwa Women's University for more sightseeing and shopping. I wasn't as shopaholic as I was 4 years ago. Must be the age...sigh...still it was great seeing familiar scene.

Then we adjourned back to Sinchon to head on to Yonsei University. On the way there, there was a street performance by Kakao Talk's mascot dancing to "Pick Me". It was so cute...

After Yonsei, we had dinner with Seon Young where she took us for BBQ dinner. It was a very satisfying and full meal.

Finally we adjourned to Hangang Park to walk off the calories and took lots of pics!

Day 4 - Dongdaemun

Forgot to post this yesterday. Lost the streak. Anyway, it was reunion day with Seon Young. (Reunited and it feels so good. Reunited coz we understood) We had breakfast and coffee together. She had work so we were on our own after that.

We headed to Dongdaemun after buying lots of things in Daiso near our place. (By the way, we stayed in Sinchon)

We bought toys and food at Dongdaemun. We then headed to under the bridge (cannot recall the name) to chill and makan.

In front of Doota, there is a tourist information counter which had a lucky draw box. I gotten myself a lovely clutch with toner, masks and a cute power bank. Mom apparently drew the big prize! However we would need to redeem it the next time we come before November as we had to reserve at least 10 days prior.

Then we adjourned to Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) for more photo taking. It is really beautiful there.