Fascinating Seoul / June 2013

The stress is here.
The pressure is real.

I'm on final year right now and I just have so many things to be settled. Never mind. Everything will be alright, at least this what I could say to myself hahaha.

Let's just talk about my Seoul trip first. I posted a must-do list before my arrival, right? I managed to accomplish my Seoul checklist! Yeay!

I bought too much CDs, it's obvious. But still not enough coz we had very limited baggage and space. Our flight from Seoul-Tokyo only give us 15kg of free baggage allowance per passenger. Sad uh? But here's the fact. We came to Seoul with 4 luggage and we realized that we had 8 luggage when we got home. EXPAND~

My Korean course is not a waste. I spoke a lot Korean, especially when shopping and eating. Sometimes the employer of 7Eleven just couldn't speak English so I had to talk using Korean to find the things that I wanted. Also when buying food, some products just don't have English name on it. Reading menu also a big problem for my family. Most of the restaurants only provide menu in Hangeul so I had to translate and do transaction for my family.

nicest and safest bento that we ate in Seoul *because it's shrimp*

We once had trouble with food in a Japanese bento restaurant. My bro ordered Sirloin katsu. He was a hundred percent sure that its a beef. He even asked the waitress to make sure it's beef, not pork. The waitress just nodded and repeated, "beef."
When the food came, it looked so white. Just like broiler chicken on McDonald's or KFC. My bro also said that the taste was just unpleasant. He asked my Mom to try some and my Mom started giving assumptions on how the beef was cooked, etc. I just smiled because I warned him that sirloin is not always beef.
In the end, I asked the cashier what meat it was using Korean because she didn't get it in English. Yeah, as expected, it was PORK. My bro was going crazy at the time, and started feeling guilty, wrongful and even sick. HAHAHA.


Seoul is really glamour for us. You can see how much effort that Seoulites do to look nice in everyday life. They successfully make us jealous with their beauty, men and women. Another interesting is all people have smartphone. Youngsters to senior citizens. I was shocked by seeing a lot of grandmas playing Kakao Talk games in their Galaxy Note or S3. They KakaoTalk-ing everywhere and Samsung is the nation's brand I think. Hahaha.

alight here for Myeongdong (from line 2)

The public transportation in Seoul is fabulous! I like the bus and subway system, also the tourist-friendly M-Pass Card that allows you to take 20 ride in a day with a very affordable price. Available up-to 7 days! In Singapore they got only 3 Days Singapore Tourist Pass. We wanna stay longer eh :P

Always remember the number of exit that you have to take because each stations could have up to 14 exits. Also be prepared to climb countless stairs. Most exits don't provide you escalator. I don't know if it's only me, I felt that the subway station was hotter than the outdoor area. I came on Summer but maybe they just don't have AC in their underground stations.

COEX Aquarium was one of my favorite destinations in Seoul. Sounds childish but this aquarium is really nice. I like how they placed it inside a mall hahaha. The ticket was quite expensive but I think its worth the show. Great water animals collections and lovely decorations are the attractive sides of this iconic place.

Teddy Bear Museum and N Seoul Tower are the must-visit destinations! Take entrance packages to visit both the museum and the observation deck! You have to walk and climb a hill to get there but it's okay. You should feel ashamed with all the senior citizens who climb their way up from the downtown area hahaha. Just take bus that will cost you about 1350 won per person ;)

N Seoul Tower is smaller but definitely less-crowded than Tokyo Skytree Tower.

Overall, Seoul is one of the best city that I've visited. Seoul will greet you with the best airport in the world for 8 consecutive years, take you to the downtown area with various choices of transportation, host you in a great but affordable hostel (I haven't found this type of guest house in other countries - great facilities, perfect location and spacious room but cost you less than 3 stars hotel), and provide you with anything that you can imagine. Shopping, art, entertainment, night-life, nature... Everything.

Lookin forward to come back again!

PS: I strongly recommend Hongdae Guest House as a place to stay.