A short but fun trip to land of kim-chi

Praise the Lord! was the first thing I said when hubby told me that he's being sent to Seoul, South Korea for a conference. Immediately I decided to join him after the conference so that we can spend some time in Seoul, just the 2 of us :) There was some complication in getting annual leave & some flight issues, but we braved through all those, had some arguments along the way..and finally managed to fly off to Seoul on 30th March, 11.30pm flight MH 066. The Airbus 330 was a disappointment as we thought that it being a 6 hours flight, usually the plane will come with individual screens..but no! So we ended up sleeping..but not very soundly as we usually do. You see within a 6 hours flight, the aircrew will serve a meal before we doze off..that would have taken an hour to 2 hours. Then 1.5 hours just before landing, they will serve another meal. So uninterrupted sleeping hours are only 2+ hours. This time we experienced something really unique! Upon nearing Incheon International Airport in Seoul, the pilot discovered that the weather was way too foggy and visibility was very very low. We could not land as per scheduled time. The plane hovered in the air for half an hour, then the pilot decided to divert to Busan airport as fuel was running low too. We spent a good 2 hours waiting in the plane at Busan airport runway; luckily this time they showed a pretty decent movie to occupy our time. When we eventually left Busan towards Incheon, we were already 3+ hours behind schedule. We only touched down at Incheon at 11am local time. Thank goodness, our trip is entirely free & easy, hence we did not need to rush. Incheon International Airport is a very beautiful & well organized & well designed airport with loads of shops to satisfy any last minute impulsive shopping. It feels very new too! And the best part is the transportation system to & fro the airport has been planned very well too! Once we touched down, grabbed our luggage, we proceeded to the airport bus counter to purchase bus tickets to head down to our hotel in Jung-gu (nearby Namdaemun Market). The journey took 60 minutes and from Namdaemun Market stop, we walked about 15mins to the Hill House Hotel. We were feeling a bit insecure & unsure at first, asked for directions to Hill House many many times as we walked towards it. This hotel is located at a very secluded area but the saving grace is that it is nearby to convenience shops & restaurants. There is subway, plenty of public transports just within minutes away - loved it there! The room was nothing to shout about, it has everything we needed, just that it's pretty smallish & kinda claustrophobic.

Enroute to Hill House; see the many shops & restaurants - we will never get hungry!

Hill House hotel - we got a free upgrade to deluxe room..can't quite imagine how 'small' a standard room is..

Day 1 - we took it easy on the first day as we didn't get much sleep in the plane. Once we left our luggages at the hotel reception area, we went for a quick meal nearby the hotel. The restaurant was very small, service was very bad but the food was simply great!

Yummy 1st lunch in Seoul; can't read Korean language so don't know what's the name of this restaurant. We had some beef soup with rice

After lunch, we took a stroll at Namdaemun Market which is just 9mins away from Hill House. It is termed as the fashion mecca of Korea but we didn't find the fashion there suitable for us. We bought some stuffs for the boys but nothing for ourselves. Lacking in sleep, the walk zapped off our energy completely. So we went back to the hotel, checked in, took a shower & slept.

We had mocha latte every single day - the Korean's quite a coffee-loving community..haha

Namdaemun "fashion mecca" but we were disappointed we couldn't find anything we liked here

By the time we woke up, it's time for dinner. We took the subway to Dongdaemun area in search for a good pair of boots for myself. The pair of flats which I wore from KL gave way due to all the walking in the day! We stumbled upon a very quaint restaurant in the small alleys along the main road at Dongdaemun area. They served some superbly-marinated pork, cooked to perfection & served on a steamer like pot, to keep the food warm, a beautiful contrast to the chill cold weather outside. We had Korea sake, a perfect combo to the pork. There is this wonderful sauce which we dipped the pork into - yummies!

Simply lovely dinner with pork & Korean sake in a quaint shop in Dongdaemun area

After dinner, we walked around a bit. Somehow unexpectedly, we managed to find Cheonggyecheon, which is this magnificently reconstructed stream that runs through the heart of Seoul town. It is so beautifully decorated with lights & superb art pieces on the walls of the stream; it is hard to believe there used to be dirty water & sewage running through it. If only our Sg Klang/Sg Gombak could look like this in the near future..what a sight to behold!

Though cold, we enjoyed the walk at the streams! Lovely sight

Day 2 - after a simple breakfast at the hotel, we took the subway to Changdeokgung. Despite the language barrier, the maps provided to us by the hotel were very useful & very easy to read. Even the directions in the subway were also very friendly, as in they have enough English translations for self-planned tourists like us to explore Seoul & all its splendors. We paid 8000W each for entrance to Changdeokgung (palace) and a guided tour of Secret Garden. We brisk walked for 2 hours non-stop as the tour guide told us stories of the past kingdom. At about 1pm, we left the palace and went to nearby Bukchon area for lunch.

Changdeokgung Palace - one of the UNESCO World Heritage site

"Youth gate" inside the Secret Garden - anyone who passed this gate will never need botox EVER!..haha

After lunch, we took a very very long walk from Bukchon to Samcheongdong..it was almost 2km walk but the pleasant weather made it very enjoyable. Samcheongdong is a very lovely place, we found out the Prime Minister's official residence is also here. There are many quaint shops, specialty boutiques and many many coffee outlets. Koreans love their coffee & kim-chi..! From Samcheongdong, we walked all the way to the nearest subway station...well another 1.5km walk!

Bukchon area nearby to the Palace..a lot of character & foreign influence here

Beautiful scenic Samcheongdong area..kinda like Notting Hill

Hubby Sze Weng enjoys eating ice-cream in cold weather

We took the subway to Myeong-dong area for some crazy shopping. Once we got to Myeong-dong..it's paradise!! Rows & rows of shops selling latest fashion, cosmetics, skincare products, sports apparels, eateries...you want it, you can find it there! A melting pot of mid to high end products can be found there. What a wonderful experience!!

Our favorite spot in Seoul - Myeong-dong shopping haven!

There's no way we will leave Seoul without indulging in Korean BBQ - 1st time having BBQ duck!

I went into the first The Face Shop outlet I see and grabbed loads of cosmetics & body care products...a whole big bag for less than RM100..what a bargain! Then I was also lured into Etude House, Tony Moly, Natural Republic, Skin Food and again The Face Shop. The weather started to get much colder than expected and I had conveniently forgotten to bring my outer jacket. Left with no choice (or rather a much preferred choice..hehe), I found a lovely faux leather jacket at H&M. Not all that cheap but it looks very nice on me. Together with a pair of dark blue jeans, I met my spending quota for the day. After a quick dinner of Korean BBQ duck meat, we took the subway back to our hotel. Again on the way back, we stopped by at Family Mart to grab 2 cups of hot mocha/latte. What a wonderful way to end the day!! Day 3 - After breakfast at the hotel, simple & lovely egg omelette with OJ, we took the ever-so-reliable subway to the Toy Shops area in Dongdaemun. Sze Weng is determined to find something for the boys, anxiously looking for Disney Cars themed toys. Through some miraculous divine help, we managed to buy a lovely Disney Cars themed vinyl-liked-material mat and Cars themed umbrella. Done with the little boys toys, it's time for mummy to indulge into some serious shoe shopping in this shopping haven area in Dongdaemun. We didn't manage to get accurate direction to the shoe mall, just managed to stumble our way into a mall where local Koreans sold shoes on wholesale. I was disappointed that they only sold shoes in minimum quantity of 10 pairs per design. Sze Weng managed to find a store in this mall that was willing to sell me 1 pair - so finally got 1 pair of white-slightly beige-ish heels..nice :)

Me in my new faux leather jacket bought from H&M; seen here having lunch in Dongdaemun area

Not satisfied with shopping at Myeong-dong the day before, we took the subway back to that shopping haven after lunch at Dongdaemun. Today, Sze Weng managed to buy a really nice chequered shirt..it makes him look really young & stylish..hrmm. After spending close to 3 hours in Myeong-dong area, going into almost every single shops there, we walked to Lotte Mart & Lotte Youth Plaza (it felt very much like malls in Orchard Road, SG). The stuff sold here were more premium & didn't quite fit our budget. Took the subway & headed towards Namdaemun, walked on the quiet lanes, it was a very cold evening. Sze Weng saw some toy shops and we managed to buy more toys for the boys - a hot air balloon toy exhibit & wind chime with swirl of bi-planes. Too tired to walk any further & due to the cold air, we simply got into one of the nearest, most decent looking restaurant in the back lanes & had the lousiest dinner. We ended the night early as we needed to pack & get up really early the next morning. Not quite the way we would like to end our last night in Seoul :( *wished I had the strength to check out the night life at Itaewon area...sigh...maybe next time! Day 4 - last day in the land of kim-chi. The day started really early for us, we got up at 6am. Walked almost 0.5km to the nearest airport bus stop, arrived at bus stop approx. 7am, very timely bus no. 615 came shortly - paid 10000W each for the ride to Incheon airport. With a heavy heart, we left Seoul...promising ourselves that we shall be back! Though it was a very short 4d3n trip to Seoul...we had a great time spent with just the 2 of us (we usually do :p). This short trip & the time spent together is especially precious this time around because in the past 9 months, we have been through a fairly challenging time where our faith has been tested big time. Throughout that 9 months, our relationship as husband & wife has been put on the test too. Needless to say, with God's grace & lots of prayers, it made us stronger & we understand each other better now. Praise the Lord once again for this trip. A tick for Seoul; one of the many places I've planned to visit in my "ever-growing-list-of-holiday-destinations"

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