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. :/

Seoul Day 4: Butterfinger Pancakes, Grilling Clams

This was a super chill day meeting up with friends and eating the whole day. Met Samanatha, Margaret & her bf and we went to Butterfinger Pancakes (near Apgujeong Rodeo Station) for a hearty brunch. This was so awesome, if you are looking for brunch food in Seoul you have to visit this place. There is another branch in Gangnam but at Apgujeong you might be able to bump into some celebrities as SM Entertainment, Cube Studio and JYP Entertainment are located in that area too. 

Pancakes. Tastes good when you eat it with their maple syrup.

Split Decision, a little of everything when you can't decide what to eat. I enjoyed every single item on that platter, especially the thick piece of ham!

Directions to Butterfinger Pancakes: http://magazine.seoulselection.com/2013/03/12/comfort-food/

Went shopping after brunch and for dinner we went to Grilling Clams (near Sinnonhyeon station) Went there with Margaret's SMU friends and this was really damn awesome! YOU HAVE TO EAT HERE. The clams were super huge and fresh. We ordered a large set among 5 of us and the bill only totalled about $12.80 each. Didn't know clams can be this filling, but all of us left with a satisfied stomach. Other than clams, there were also some prawns, sotong, ddeokbokki with cheese (loved this!), sweet potato etc. Cheap and good food, this was the best meal I had in Seoul. 

First round of our feast. 

If you really can't find, just show this sign and hopefully someone brings you there!

Credits: http://www.seoulgrid.com/blog/grilling-clams-at-%EA%B0%AF%EB%B2%8C%EC%9D%98%EC%A7%84%EC%A3%BC-nonhyeon/

Directions to Grilling Clams: http://hiddengemtravel.blogspot.sg/2012/01/dining-gangnam-seoul.html

Seoul Day 3: Sinsadong, Express Bus Terminal, Gwangjang market

After a whole day of sightseeing on the second day, my legs were starting to ache. There is no time to recover because in Korea, you are forever climbing stairs. To transfer between lines or exit from subway stations, you have to climb stairs. You hardly get escalators unless that flight of stairs is extremely steep and high. Oh well, it's a good workout and I don't feel as guilty for eating so much everyday :> And this probably also explains why most Koreans I spotted have pretty toned legs/big calves and quite a few actually wear sports shoes out. 

On the third day, I started the morning with a nice brunch at Sinsadong. Bloom and goute is a flower and cake cafe, the basement is a floral shop while the second level is a cafe. I wished I could sit there all day, but no, I had to start shopping :D

Eggs benedict (15,000 won)

After brunch I went SHOPPING! Okay girls MUST go there! Gangnam Underground Shopping Arcade at Express Bus Terminal Station is a shopping heaven! It's very easy to shop there as the layout is very neat! You have two rows of stores that are never ending and you make a turn at the end and shop on the other side. You and easily spend 3 to 4 hours here! The stuff here is very cheap, I bought most dresses and skirts for 5,000 won & 10,000 won. Apparently there is another huge underground shopping centre at Gangnam Station but I didn't have time to go there. Go try if you have time! Stuff in underground shopping centres are really much cheaper than those in malls!

You can't even see the end! Anyway to get here, take Exit 8 of Express Bus Terminal Station and walk till you see this row of shops. There will already be some shops that are cheap along the way, but make sure you get to this main stretch!

At the end of one lane, there will be several cafes and eateries for people to take a break. I totally needed it! Had sour cream fries at Miss & Mr Potato, it's not bad! 

After shopping, I went to Gwangjang market (Jongno 5-ga Station Exit 8) for dinner! This is a place to go if you want to try some traditional food.

Ddeokbokki & kimbap (3,000 won each)

Kimchi pancake (3,000 won)

Red mango for dessert

Seoul Day 2: Gyeongbokgung, Bukchon hanok village, Insadong, Myeongdong

Day 2

Headed to Gyeongbokgung on the second day. Apparently this is the prettiest palace but I can't compare since I only visited one palace in Seoul. Walked around on my own without a tour since I was there early and the English tour was only at 11am. I didn't learn about any history of the palace and everything looked the same to me since I had no idea what it was used for.

Royal guards changing ceremony

Visited a very popular samgyetang (ginseng chicken) place for lunch. Lots of tourists and locals visit Tosokchon for its signature samgyetang (15,000 won). I think this samgyetang stands out because lots of herbs and ingredients were used. You can really taste the goodness in the soup.

Visited Paris Baguette for dessert. Got a patbingsu with green tea ice cream (7,500 won) I felt that the shaved ice was a little too rough. I really love patbingsu! My only regret is that I didn't get to try the nicer patbingsus around. :< If you are going to Seoul, you can check this 9 places to get patbingsu in Seoul! My friends recommended me Homilbat in the Sinchon/Ewha area so do try it! Paris Baguette's one is not very good in my opinion.

Next was bukchon hanok village. You can get a map from the tourist information centre after you exit from Anguk station and the map is really useful to let you know where are the spots to visit in the village.

Walked over to Insadong and it was raining. Left for Myeongdong quite quickly since there was nothing much!

Had dinner at Myeongdong Kyoja. It's a restaurant that only has 4 dishes on their menu and every item costs 8,000 won. 

This is their signature dish. I like the texture of the noodles! It's smooth and chewy but the dumplings were pretty small.

Can't find the original picture so I have to screen shot :/ Anyway I love the mandu! It tastes a little like xiaolongbao, except that there is a more generous serving of meat. This is a must try!

Dessert at Twosome cafe (Siwon's pop up cafe)

Myeongdong is a shopping heaven! Or maybe I should say comestics and skin care shopping heaven! You can easily find Etude house, tony moly, nature republic, face shop, innisfree, laneige etc. and it's CHEAP! I think you will burn most money here. Most brands have A FEW stores in Myeongdong, it's pretty overwhelming. They have lots of salesgirls who can speak English and Chinese so you don't have to worry about language barrier. And you get lots of free samples too! I collected 10 masks and lots of other samples over the 9 days in Seoul. Oh, look out for stores with global tax free/global blue tax free logo so you can claim for tax refund if you spend above 30,000 won. For clothes wise, I think it is better than Dongdaemun as well. 

Seoul Day 1: Dongdaemun

Day 1

Arrived at Incheon airport around 3pm and my adventure began as I waited for my bus to head to my hostel. This was something I did not let my parents know, the fact that I would be staying alone. Wanted to really be adventurous for once and be on my own, I felt that Korea was really a safe place to travel around alone but I know my parents would be worried if I told them so yeah, don't tell them better! And I really enjoyed myself and proved that I can travel alone, nothing happened to me! (Y)

Taking a bus alone. 

This was pretty significant because it's the first time I am travelling alone overseas.

Arrived at my hostel around 1.5h later. This is the cosy common area in the hostel!

My clean hostel. I was so lucky because nobody moved in for all the 8 nights I stayed there! I had the whole room to myself! It was really shiok because I could take up any amount of space I needed, bathe as long as I want (I can bathe up to 1 hour) and I can sleep any time I want! 

I really love the area where I stayed, so many cafes, restaurants and Korea BBQ just right outside my hostel. Like really just a stone's throw away. There are always people hanging around this area at night so I feel pretty safe even if I go back late! 

After checking in around 7pm, I decided to visit Dongdaemun since it was pretty near where I was staying. I was ready to walk around and look at the Korean fashion trends and just enjoy Seoul. I remember it was pretty cold that night, but I loved that chilly weather!

My very first meal in Seoul. I was amazed by the amount of side dishes all for myself. The bibimbap (8,000 won) was good but I would love it more if there was meat. I need meat in my food!

So the first day was pretty much chilling around. I felt that Dongdaemun was pretty disappointing because I didn't really see much cheap clothes around. Maybe I didn't explore enough? Only stepped into 3 shopping malls (Doota, Migliore and Hello apM) , I have no idea where the cheap stuff are! :O