Seoul Day 9: Hyehwa

On the last day, I explored Hyehwa where my hostel is located.

Isaac toast. This is a MUST TRY! It was so freaking good! I'm glad I found this place. 

I had mine in Hyehwa, I know there is one in Myeongdong. It's usually along the streets and I'm sure you won't miss it because it smells so good! They make it on the spot and you can watch them prepare! 

Apple mango shaved ice at Tous Les Jours. 

The mango was too frozen and sour! But the apple sauce was good! 

Our flight got delayed by 2 hours so we had a complimentary food voucher! 

This pork cutlet was cheap and shiok!

Mini melts

White chocolate mocha from Caffe Bene. 

This is almost everywhere in Seoul! Tastes pretty good :>

Caramel macchiato cake from Starbucks, quite decent too!

And this marks the end of my Seoul trip! I guess my most memorable experience was asking for money from strangers because I was too broke. It's a long story but to cut it short, I got scammed by the single trip ticket machine which was totally unexpected. I only had enough money for one trip. So when the machine screwed me up, I could only ask for money to get to the airport. I'm so glad that after asking 3 people and overcoming the communication barrier, I found a person who gave me money. Thank you stranger! :> 

Seoul Day 8: Myeongdong, NANTA

Started the day by visting Ewha again! As this was my second last day, I went back to buy some stuff that I was still contemplating earlier. Ended up spending more than I should, so I was pretty broke. :O My plan was to shop till afternoon and have some cake and tea while I read a book at some cafe. But being the broke person I was, I couldn't afford to go to any cafes. I settled for Macs and read my book there while I waited for my friends to catch NANTA at night. 

Bulgogi burger that was so awesome!

Lots of fan girls screaming. I can't even see who that person is. 

NANTA! 

I think NANTA was pretty entertaining! The guys all had at least six packs, the only female in the cast had a hot bod too! They engaged the audience well and this is really worth watching! We managed to get 20% discount because my friends' guesthouse owner booked this for us. And we were very lucky to get our seats upgraded for free! We bought the cheapest tickets (32,000 won after discount) and we managed to get good seats on the first floor! (Y)

Bibimbap (8,000 won)

Waffles from Mangosix. 

Credits: Flickr

If you are into mango stuff, you have to visit Mangosix. I tried the froyo once and it was pretty good! I also had some mango drink and it was awesome too! There are a few branches around I think it's pretty easy to spot. I had mine in Myeongdong. 

Credits: Official Site of Korea Tourism

If you are a green tea lover, you have to visit O'sulloc for green tea latte, green tea cakes, green tea ice cream etc. I spotted one in Myeongdong!

Directions: http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/FO/FO_EN_6_4_4.jsp?cid=592154

Seoul Day 7: DMZ tour, Cheonggyecheon stream

Thought I wouldn't get a chance to go for DMZ tour since nobody wanted to go with me. So glad I found W! I think going for DMZ tour with him is pretty interesting, especially since both of us watched IRIS not too long ago. We concluded that the most dangerous place is the safest place. To be honest, if NK is to attack SK, they also aim Seoul and not the people at the border. So we are the safest people :D

Breakfast from Paris Baguette just outside the hostel

The SK guards guarding the place

The train station that links SK to NK. I wonder if I will live to see the day it operates.

It was pretty foggy that day but that's supposed to be NK. Best shot I could get because no photography allowed beyond a certain point. I saw the plantations in NK and the flags of NK and SK. Apparently they once competed whose flag was higher but SK gave in.

Propaganda

3rd tunnel. This was pretty challenging because there was a very steep slope as you can see in the picture. SK has discovered several tunnels built by NK over the years.

DMZ and the border

It was a half day tour so we were done by evening! Headed for Korean BBQ just outside the hostel we were staying at. Don't look down on this small portion of meat, it's more than enough to make you full!

Beef (10,000 won)

Pork (8,000 won)

After dinner, we explored our own area and I realized the area around my hostel is really quite awesome! Lots of cheap and yummy food, beauty brands and affordable shopping! We also headed to Cheonggyecheon stream for a walk. It was quite pretty at night with all the lights. There were lots of people chilling by the stream. It was a very long stretch and we walked quite abit. 

Had supper at Kyochon just outside our hostel. This place has really good fried chicken, must try! It's almost everywhere I think you should be able to find it.

Complimentary cereal

Beer (2,500 won)

Fried chicken! (15,000 won) We had half original and half hot flavour. 

Both were good, I loved the skin! I find it amazing how it is NOT oily at all. You just can't stop eating this. 2 of us managed to finish 20+ drumlets/wings!

Seoul Day 6: Lotte World

I guess there are some things that you can't do alone, like visiting a theme park. On the 6th day, I headed to Lotte World with my friends. I think out of all my friends who visited or will be visiting Seoul, I'm the only one who went to Lotte World. If I go back to Seoul again in future, I'll definitely make a trip to Everland. Everland and Carribbean Bay seem so fun! I was feeling pretty adventurous that day so I took almost all the rides. Partly also because there weren't any rides that were too thrilling for me to handle. After taking that challenging roller coaster in Wonderland Canada, I guess I'm pretty fearless now. 

Waffle with whipped cream and chocolate sauce

Took the indoor hot air balloon. The queue was mad long.

Soft serve green tea ice cream while queuing for another ride

Love this ride because the scenery was so good! I was right above the water. 

Took this twice!

View of the outdoor theme park

View of indoor theme park

Left the theme park around evening. Headed to Myeongdong for dinner and some shopping!

Samgyetang (13,000 won)

Seoul Day 5: N Seoul Tower, Teddy Bear Museum, Ewha Womans University

Started the morning with a trip to N Seoul Tower! Took a cable car up (8,000 won for round trip) instead of hiking because my itinerary was pretty packed (excuses) :/ 

N Seoul Tower which I didn't go up

Locks

Went to the teddy bear museum (8,000 won) at N Seoul Tower. It was a place I really really wanted to go and was looking forward to. It was really fun for me! There are two parts, the first part of the tour shows the history of Korea. The second part was more modern and showcased several tourist attractions in Seoul. 

Cheongwade

Cheonggyecheon stream

NANTA!

Had churros at N Seoul Tower but it tastes so horrible. Dry, not crispy and tasteless.

Had lunch at a place near the cable car station. This pork cutlet was quite shiok!

After visiting N Seoul Tower, I went to Ewha Womans University for shopping! This is my second favourite place for shopping (first place is express bus terminal). Bought a bag, a pair of wedges and several tops and dresses! :D Oh, there is a really cheap retail store here called Baviphat selling comestics and skincare from several brands such as Laneige, Nature Republic, Face shop, Missha, Tony Moly etc. They sell the more popular products at MUCH CHEAPER PRICES. I personally feel that you should check this place out and buy the stuff you can find before heading to Myeongdong. The downside is that there is no tax refund here, so it really depends how much you are buying. There is this stretch in Ewha that is all skin care brands (separate from the apparel stretch) and Baviphat is located in one of the stores there. 

If you are looking for food in Ewha, check out these two places!

The braised chicken here is good! Order the one that is least spicy. Remember to look out for a chicken hugging a chilli! It's just next to Baviphat if I am not wrong.

Credits: Morethangold

Credits: Tumblr

For dessert, you can visit 호밀밭 Homilbat for pat bing su! The shaved ice is very thin and it is unique because they serve the shaved ice and red bean separately.

Credits: Seoultravelapp

Credits: Seoultravelapp

This was the day I shopped the most! My hands were so full from all the shopping bags that I really couldn't go on anymore. It was so heavy too! Headed to Itaewon to meet YT and her bf for dinner! They chose Maple Tree House for Korean BBQ. Omg it was so freaking expensive. My most expensive meal ever in Seoul. We had two servings of the amount of meat in the picture and the bill totalled to 35,000 won per person. :O 

Anyway I had a super weird encounter with a stranger during dinner. I arrived earlier since I couldn't shop anymore. There was this Indonesian lady who sat at the table next to me and was alone. She started talking to me like where I'm from, how long I've been here, where I was staying etc. I think she talked to me for an hour plus. After my friends arrived she still kept talking to me! It was pretty entertaining to talk to her initially but she kept cutting into my conversation with my friends so it's not funny anymore. And she started talking to them also! She said she was lonely and I even introduced my hostel to her. :/