Seoul Accommodation - PJ Seoul Hotel

A really nice hotel, away from the bustling shopping area of Myeong dong at Jung-go. Best thing about this hotel, it provides shuttle bus service. 

The triple room was quite comfortable and there are walking space after we left our luggages lying on the floor. With a table to condor off the sleeping area and the wardrobes - Visually, it makes the room looks bigger. Furthermore, there is a relatively big balcony which we can see the Seoul tower. Unfortunately, the weather was a little cold for us to enjoy the balcony to the fullest. 

While hotel normally gives toothbrush, combs as toilet necessity, this hotel also gives free masks (but well for the first night). Not too bad and maybe if they have given more, we could have tried the different type of masks and could have bought back as souvenirs. 

PJ Seoul Hotel - Triple Room

Direction:

1. Bus 6015 from airport / Chongmuro station (Exit Gate 8)

2. Turn left at first street (in between Kia Motor and Paris baguette) and continue walking straight for about 150m. You will see the hotel on the left. 

Shuttle Bus Service:

Course A (from 0815hr to 1800hr): Chungmuro Station > Myeongdong Station > Namdaemun Market > Lotte Department Store

Course B (from 1900hr - 0200hr) : Chungmuro Station > Sejong Hotel Entrance > Myeongdong Entrance > Jongro-2ga > Jongro-5ga > Dongdaemun Market

Address:
71, Mareunnae-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul 100-282, 

South Korea

Seoul 2014 - Day 7 - Hongdae Free Market, Ewha Women’s University

Today was spent at doing last minute shopping at Hongdae  and Ewha Women's University. Nothing much to emphasize but well, enjoy the walking and buying!

But before that, time for our early lunch at Gogung. This place is famous for its Jeonju bibimbap. Really had a great meal here and it's our very first and only authentic bibimbap in Seoul this time round. Had the seafood pancake too.. Loved it! 

I would definitely recommend this place and well, will be back when I'm back in Seoul!

Address:
37, Myeongdong 8ga-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 중구 명동8가길 37 (충무로2가)

Direction:
Myeongdong Station(Subway Line 4), Exit 10.
Go straight for 30m towards Migliore.
The restaurant is located behind Sejong Hotel.

Gogung, Jeonju bibimbap

After the heavy brunch, we headed to some shopping at Myeongdong before heading to Hondae.

Well, time for a late lunch now. Did a last minute google search and found this place:

(심슨탕) Sim Seun Tang for its Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Base Stew). Not a very big place to start off with but it's definitely cozy. The service crew did not speak much English and the menu is totally in Korean. Well, some pointing, some nodding and some simple English and that's it - we ordered our lunch .

If you are a kpop fan, maybe you can spot your idol's signature hidden somewhere!

Address:
Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. 355-210

(심슨탕) Sim Seun Tang -Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Base Stew)

A long day of shopping and we ended up eating Korean BBQ near our hotel - 

Ssamsarang. Why here? Because we always saw it when we visited the convenience stall but we did not have the time to visit it. Well, lucky us that we managed to step in and had our dinner. Simply loved it there. It is a very nice traditional Korean BBQ restaurant. The owner is very nice and even cooked for us and taught us the correct way to have our food. Simply loved their service and well, the food too!

Direction:
Chungmuro Station exit 8. look out for the 7-Eleven convenience store. This restaurant is just a couple of shops away.

Ssamsarang Korean BBQ near Chungmuro Station

Seoul 2014 - Day 6 - COEX Aquarium, Noryangjin fish market, Hangang River Park

Breakfast first before we split up for our morning activities. After some research on where we can have breakfast at 9am, we stumbled upon O’sulloc Tea House which opens at 9am. Cool, and we were the first customers of that day. This cafe is situated in Myeongdong and is very accessible. It has three-storey seating space and it feels very peaceful inside. Free wifi, if you are looking for a cafe to relax and surf the internet. 

If you love green tea, this is a place you should visit. Most of the food and drinks item revolves around green tea. The green matcha latte was really good, I love it. The food was not too bad. Do give it a try if you are around the corner. 

O’sulloc Tea House

Address:
Seoul-si Jung-gu Myeongdong-gil 48
(Myeongdong2-ga)

Direction:
Myeongdong Station, Exit 6, turn left onto Myeongdong 8-gil.
Go straight about 400m, and you will see O´sulloc Tea House on the right.

After breakfast, we headed to COEX Aquarium which is at COEX Mall. Unfortunately for us, the mall was under some major renovation and the shops were not fully opened. It was quite confusing to pass through the constructions to get to the Aquarium but we made our way there. Not posting the fishes photos here as I really took quite a fair bit. But here's the transport direction:

Myeongdong Station (Line 4) -> Transfer at Seoul Natl Univ of Education (Line 2) -> Samseong (line 2)

So what's next after the fishes was of course Lunch. Today, we made our way to Noryangjin fish market. This fish market is really full of fresh seafood. It is really huge but we did not bother to roam the whole place as we soon realised that each stall sells similar stuff. We finally decided on the stall with a friendly Chinese lady who was able to communicate with us in Mandarin. I guess communication was important now as we were buying something that has no price tag to it. 

Noryangjin fish market

After some recommendations and negotiations, we bought what we want and the lady brought us to a small restaurant on the second level. We did not bother to ask for the price for helping us to cook the seafood as we reckon it will be almost the same since it is so competitive. So, here's our Fresh seafood lunch from the market.

Left: Raw octopus
Top right: Abalone
Bottom Right: Scallop

The food is really fresh. This is my first time eating raw octopus. The feeling was not that fantastic. Though it was not the whole octopus, the tentacles were still moving. Well, it was pretty tough to chew. Not the best dish on the table, in my opinion. 

The abalone was really tender and nice. And the scallops was stirred fried and it was flavourful. 

Direction:
Subway Noryangjin Station (Exit 1) and walk across the overhead bridge to the market. Please remember it is EXIT 1 instead of exit 9. There are 2 exit points at the station. Though Exit 9 can still bring you to the fish market, it will take a walk at the street. Exit 1 is nearer!

Next up, we went to the Hangang River Park, in hope to see Cherry blossom trees. Luck was a little on us and we managed to catch a few trees with blooming. Nice view, how I wish I could see the full blossom. 

Hangang Rive Park - blooming trees

We saw a cart selling strawberries, and decided to get a box - Sat at the park, admiring the scenery and well, enjoy the strawberries. 

Our main aim was actually to catch the sunset cruise at Hangang River. Not sure well, but a cruise was always enjoyable. Relaxing and nice way to end the day. 

Hangang River Cruise

Headed back to Myeongdong for dinner and we settled at two-two chicken shop. Fried chicken was in trend and well, we cannot miss it, right? We had the original and spicy. The meat was a little dry for the original but the marinated ones was great. But for the price, we thought there were more chicken servings. 

Two Two chicken

So when the night was still young, we went for mid night shopping at Dong dae mon using the shuttle bus service provided by the hotel! Loving this service!

Seoul 2014 - Day 5 - DMZ Day trip, Lotte Supermarket

Today, we woke up pretty early to start the Day at DMZ. So here's the breakfast for us.

Breakfast at Hotel as it was too early

We booked the tour through Koridoor Tours and we had to make our way to Camp Kim by 7.30 am for the tour. Really early but really excited over it. The price was rather steep at USD 92 and it included lunch with choice of bimbimbap or bulgogi. 

Well, photos time for the DMZ - not doing a write up on the tour, you've got to do it on your own! So enjoy the photos. 

DMZ

North Korea, where are you?

Looking forward to the day where we can take the train from here to the North

Lunch

Well, that pretty summed up the DMZ trip. So time to head for a tea break before the supermaket shopping commenced.

Found this cafe "Angel-in-us Coffee" near to Seoul Lotte Supermarket. Pretty nice beverage. 

Tea-break before hitting the supermarket

After the supermarket, we lugged back our goodies via the train again. We did not even consider taking a cab despite our heavy boxes. So we popped into the Korean BBQ restaurant that is just beside the Chumgmuro Station which we passed by everytime we visited the convenience stall. Pretty authentic food and nice! The service was great and the service crew would help to do the bbq-ing, so we just sat back and enjoyed the meal. 

Korean BBQ

So what's next? We headed to Dongdaemon for midnight shopping using the hotel's shuttle bus. I have to say... THIS shuttle bus service is really good!!!!!!

Seoul 2014 - Day 4 - Bukchon Hanok Village, Changdeokgung Palace, Tosokchon Ginseng Chicken, Jongmyo (Royal Shrine), Insa-dong

Is cultural day today as we happened to be there at month end - Do note that it is free entrance to the Palace on every last Wednesday of the month. But you still have to pay for the entrance to the Secret Garden. 

Alright, there was no plan to where's for breakfast today and we decided to head towards Changdeokgung Palace area for a look. Luck was on us and we managed to find this porridge place -  Bonjuk - Nice warm porridge to start off the day. 

Do try out the porridge at this shop, the porridge was really great and thy are generous in their servings. 2 bowls of porridge and the 3 of us weren't able to finish, not that it was bad but it was too much! 

Porridge at Bonjuk 

After the breakfast, it was time for some walk. We joined a free English guided tour at 10.30 am at Changdeokgung Palace. It was great with the guide around. We learnt more about the history of the Palace and of course, the country itself. The pace of the tour was just nice, taking an hour to bring us through the main events of the Palace. It was not the first time I've visited this Palace, but it was the first time I heard more about the place. 

Changdeokgung Palace

More of Changdeokgung Palace

After the guided tour at the main Palace, the timing was just right for the Secret Garden Guided Tour. This was not free and it costed 5,000 won per person. This secret garden was pretty well-preserved and the weather at end-March was pretty awesome for the walk. 

Directions to Changdeokgung Palace:

Anguk Station (Subway Line 3), Exit 3. Go straight for 5min.

For Bonjuk Porridge, it will be at one of the road intersection, turn to the left and walk straight. You will see it on the left side. 

Secret Garden 

Alright, time for lunch. As usual, we tried to do some research on the great food at the area and the best place we had was at Tosokchon Ginseng Chicken. 

Priced at 15,000 won, the Ginseng Chicken is truly worth the price - 

The ginseng taste is especially strong and the chicken soup is really thick and rich. The chicken meat is tender and moist and you do not need much effort to eat as it will fall off easily when you used your chopsticks.

We tried both the black chicken and the ginseng chicken. Both were equally good. Oh, the kimchi banchan was great too. This place was real crowded and though you do not speak Korean, the ordering was easy and smooth. 

Direction:

Gyeongbokgung Station (Seoul Subway Line 3), Exit 2.

Go straight about 170m and turn left onto Jahamun-ro 5-gil Road, the shop is on the left. 

Tosokchon Ginseng Chicken 

Next up, we went to  Bukchon Hanok Village. Pretty much a well-preserved place where there are people currently living at the Village. So do not talk loudly and make a nuisance out of yourself so as not to disturb the locals living there. 

Oh, by the way, the house which Lee Min Ho starred in Personal Taste was actually a real unit in Bukcon Hanok Village. Want to know where is the exact location, look out for the free information guide stationed at the Village, they will let you know the direction. 

One thing I love about Seoul is that they have guides all over the place. They are more than happy to provide the information we need and if they do not know, they tried their best to find out for us. It really made the travel experience at Seoul a pleasant one. 

Direction:
Anguk Station (Line 3), Exit 2.

Bukchon Hanok Village

Next up was Insa-dong. It was a pretty nice walk along the streets, exploring the different shops at the place. When tired, just find a cafe to sit in and relax. Enjoy a tea-break before we embarked on our walks.

Insa-dong

Insa-dong is pretty much a relaxing place to be in and well, we noted that some of the shops are not in their usual form. That is, the shop names were written in Korean instead of the usual alphabets. Pretty cool. 

Shop Names in Korean @ Insa-dong

When the sky got darker, we decided to try out the dine-in street stall for dinner. Pretty much a new experience to eat in the tentage with the locals. I would not say that the food was fantastic but at least, the eating atmosphere was not too bad and it's an experience indeed.

Street stall food

Seoul 2014 - Day 3 - Gangnam, Everland

Up for a theme park day today. Breakfast is at Paris Baguette which is near the Chuungmuro subway station near the hotel. This shop has already opened it branches in Singapore but I think this is the first time I patronized the place. An affordable way to start the day!

Sandwich & Coffee for breakfast

Then, we proceeded to Gangnam via the subway so as to catch the bus to Everland. Shopping first as there are shops at the Gangnam underground station. After a fruitless shopping spree, we headed outside for lunch. Street stall wasn't really a must-try in my travel list though I knew that they should be authentic. But well, this time round, we proceeded to explore food street and managed to find one which we felt comfortable. 

The ajumma (aka auntie in Korean saying) was very friendly. Though she does not speak English, she made the effort to make us feel comfortable. She even taught me the korean words for the food we ordered and then set a quiz for me to answer at the end. Nice interaction with her and nice food as well. We often watched the actors in drama eating at the stalls and well, finally we tried it. Payment was only made at the end before you leave the stall. So, do not attempt to pay upfront!

Korean street food stall

Waiting for the bus to bring us to fairy land!  BUS No. 5002 ( 50 mins, 1,800 won) will do the wonder.

Direction:
Gangnam Station (Line 2) (10 mins, 1050 won) . Exit 10 and walk straight. Currently, the bus stand is near to Krispykreme Doughnuts.

We spent the rest of the day at Everland. The second time there, and I still felt excited. New experience with new company with longer stay there.

Tulips season and that's beauty!

Tulip fragrance in the air!

I don't remember seeing so many animals back in 2006 but this round, we really have a close up with the giraffe. Pretty insane when you were caught off guard that the giraffe just pop its head through the window of the bus. Quite shock but that's cool!

The animals

Visited the ligers before and watched the black bears' performances. Same gimmick, but it never fails to impress all on the bus. Interestingly on how they were trained to perform to us. Food is really a good lure for them.

Close encounters

T Express - the wooden roller coaster - was probably the highlight for me. Queued for 40 minutes to get a minute of thrill. Pretty much impressed by the wooden concept and well, another experience as the Korean guy beside me was really freaked out throughout the ride.

T Express - Wooden Roller Coaster

Dinner at one of the cafes in the theme park as we wanted to catch the lights parade. Pretty decent meal. 

Dinner time!

Lights parade really brighten up the dark night. Not that impressive if you have caught the Disney Parade before. A very short route to display the whole show. Need not stay for this, if you have other night plans. 

Light Parade at Everland

Supper was strawberries and an interesting combination of instant noodle + rice.

Strawberries and Instant Noodle + rice

Seoul 2014 - Day 2 - Myeondong, Namsangol Hanok Village, Seoul Tower

After a good night rest at PJ Hotel, we ventured out our second day in Seoul. It was a relatively easy day as we will just be combing Myeondong and visiting the Seoul Tower. 

First breakfast at Seoul is not any fanciful cafe or restaurant. I did some research and found a breakfast counter - Issac Toast & Coffee. They will only prepare the food when we ordered and thus, hot pipping sandwich toasts were what we had. There is a very small eating area besides the shop and luck was on us, we managed to 'squeeze' ourselves in it to finish our toast. 

Ordering in Seoul was not that smooth as they do not really speak English but pointing to the menu was easy. We jut have to pay attention to the simple English reply they had for us to complete the order. 

A simple sandwich toast that attracted long queue - not too bad to start off the day. The sandwiches are worth a try and I guess hot pipping food warmed us up for the walking next. 

Direction: Myeongdong Station (Line 4) exit 5, walk straight for 50m and should see the Big Red icon of Issac

Isaac Toast & Coffee @  Myeondong

Myeondong street is really lovely - I like. When in Rome, do what the Romans do. So we decided to put on hanok costumes to act like the Koreans. There is this free trying of the Hanok at M-Plaza, 

Just visit the center and make a reservations at the door. We reached there slightly after 10am and there were already a group in front of us. We lazed around the center where there are brochures on Seoul and of course, free wi-fi.

**Details:

M-Plaza, Myeongdong, Jung-gu, Seoul

Phone +82-789-7961

Date(s) Ongoing

Time(s) 10:30 ~ 12:00 / 14:00~18:00

※approx. 5~10 min per group**

Myeondong Streets

After the hanbok shoots, we took some time to hop from shops to shops for some shopping time. Myeondong is really a shopping paradise and you never get sick of it. Only hunger makes you want to stop and take a rest. 

Off we went to Myeongdong Kyoja (명동교자) for some comfort food. There was a long queue and we were queuing outside the shop for a short while. But it was not too long that we were directed to a table. We ordered the Kalguksu (hand-rolled noodle soup), Bibim guksu (noodles with vegetables and red hot pepper paste) and Mandu (dumplings). And of course, kimchi is always served on the table, for free!

Personally, I preferred the noodle soup to the dry spicy noodles. It was too dry to my liking. The soup base was great and that goes for the dumplings as well. Do give it a try if you are in Seoul. 

Address / Direction:

Main Branch

Myeongdong Station (Seoul Subway Line 4), Exit 8.

Upon exiting the station, turn left onto Myeongdong 10-gil Road. Go straight and the restaurant is on the right.

Myeongdong Kyoja Branch No. 1

From Myeongdong Station (Exit 8), turn left onto Myeongdong 10-gil Road. Go straight and the restaurant is on the left.

Mandu , Kalguksu, kimchi and Bibim guksu

After lunch was time for some cultural experience. We visited the Namsangol Hanok Village. It wasn't really in the planned itinerary, but we just made our way after getting lost while trying to get to N Seoul tower. 

Not a bad experience as we managed to see the olden days of how the Koreans lived, the buildings they stayed, the games they played. An interactive village which I thought would be nice for family with kids to visit. 

Free entry, by the way. 

Address:

28, Toegye-ro 34-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul 

Directions:

Subway - Chungmuro Station (Seoul Subway Line 3 & 4), Exit 4.

Walk along Hanongmaeul-gil st. for 5 minutes. 

Namsangol Hanok Village

Highlight of the day would be N Seoul Tower. We were pretty early for the evening view and thus, we took a walk up. We just stumbled upon the route up and thus, 'm not able to provide the directions. But the walk was very nice and peaceful. There wasn't many people doing the route and it seems like we 'owned' the place. 

Nansam Trail

N Seoul Tower is at the highest point in Seoul and well, a should-visit destination for those hoping to get a panoramic view of Seoul. An iconic symbol of Seoul, this place has now become a popular date spot for couples as they have the love padlocks area outside the tower.

Before ending the tower

Well, for 9,000 won, visit the observatory to get a view of Seoul. There is also a post office at the top where we could grab a postcard, a stamp and sent it back to our loved ones back home. To let them know that they are missed! 

Inside the tower

Back to city via the Nansam Cable car and then the Namsan Oreumi. The Namsan Cable Car is a 3-minute cable car ride that runs from the base of Namsan Mountain to N Seoul Tower, offering a splendid view. Then onto the Namsan Oreumi which is a free outdoor elevator that runs between the plaza in front of the Namsan Tunnel #3 Commemorative Plaza and the Namsan Cable Car.

After the visit to the tower

Dinner time at Yoogane. Read that this place is a definite must-try when in Seoul. So we found our way there (p.s. there is a branch now in Singapore after we are back but I have yet to try it). Pretty much a good eating place but the service crew does not really speak English. W have to point and do some charades to get our order done. But after which, the specific service crew will serve us throughout the whole meal . 

We ordered the stir-fried chicken and seafood combo. The ingredients was marinated and diced prior to cooking, and was stir-fried with gochujang (chilli pepper paste), assorted vegetables, onions, and rice cakes. We ordered additional rice so that they will fry it after the meat and seafood was cooked. And there it is... Korean fried rice with chicken and seafood. The food was pan-grilled on the spot by the service crew and to prevent splattering, an aluminum sheet circling the pan was in place.

Not too bad a dinner to end off the day. 

Dinner at Yoogane

Direction:

Myeong-dong Station. Exit 6. Turn right after Uniqlo and Yoogane is on your left (Near REDEYE).

Seoul 2014 - Day 1 - Silloam Sauna, Itaewon, Lotte Department Store

April, turning Spring - Finally touched down in Seoul Airport Incheon International Airport after a transit in Hong Kong. A break from work with Sis and cuzzie. Not my first trip to South Korea but it is the virgin trip there as a free and easy traveler. 

Took a midnight flight over and when we landed, it was not 6am yet. A couple of ways to reach the hotel from the airport and we decided to take the airport shuttle bus. This decision was made after considering that we do not want to lug our luggage up the stairs from the train station and well, we do not want to splurge on taxi. And most importantly, there is a direct shuttle bus that stops our Hotel -  Hotel PJ (will blog more about the hotel in later post). To see more on the airport bus shuttle, click here. 

There are ticket booths inside the arrival hall (1st Floor) near Gates 4 and Gate 9 or outside where you can buy the ticket at the ticket booths near near Gates 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, and gate 9C. The ticket cost 10,000 won each and the bus interval is around 20 to 35 minutes. Journey time to our stop is around 1 hour 30 minutes, depending on downtown traffic condition. Considering our early arrival there, the journey enabled us to take a short nap, boosting energy before we kick start the day. 

After depositing our luggage at the hotel, we made our way to our first stop - Siloam Sauna. We planned this for the first stop. Remember to buy the T-money card for easy convenience to take the public transport and at a discounted rate as compare to you buying the per trip card. 

From Chungmuro Station (line 4), take the train down to Seoul Station which required no transfer as it falls in the same line (3 stops away) which takes around 5mins, 1050 won.  Go to Exit 1 and look out for Lotte Mart. If I remembered correctly, you would have to go down a flight of stairs. go towards the cross junction and cross the road. Look up at the building, and you should be able to see the Siloam Sauna sign. Follow a path up and there you go:

Silloam Sauna

There are really many activities to be done there. You can sleep, bath, rest and try the different kinds of sauna. Interesting sights for us as we do not have such facitlies back home. I think it cost around 10,000 won and you can practically spend the whole day there. There are even cafes in there. 

But well, when in Korea, be like the Koreans. We have to fight the shyness in us to bath together with the strangers. But overall, we enjoyed our bath there as we really felt refreshed after the long hours flight. A good way to start the day with a hotel to freshen up. Idea, right?

Our initial plan after the sauna was to visit the Lotte Supermarket. Who can resist a supermarket. But, to our disappointment, it was closed on that Monday. I'm not sure how often that takes place, we saw some Koreans made wasted trips there as well. So well, off to Itaewon then. 

From Seoul Station (Line 4) -> Transfer at Samgakji (Line 6) -> Itaewon (14 mins, 1050 won).

We made some research for Food in Itaewon and decided to head to Sigolbapsang. From what we know, it is a small traditional Korean restaurant at Hannam-dong and for 8,000 won, you can sample up to 30 classic banchans. That sounds so crazy. From Exit 2 of the station, walk towards Hangangjin station direction. If you can't find your way, there are tourist information booth along the way. Just ask. Walk straight and Keep walking straight till there is a bank on your left. Look straight, Sigolbapsang is on a small road next to the bank. The shop sign is in orange, you can't miss it. 

The place is not big and there were only 5 tables. From what I understand, everyone will have to pay 8,000 won for the banchans and you can also order other dishes on the menu. We were too ambitious and over ordered, disregarding the 30 refillable banchans. We ordered a stew chicken and a pancake as well. The chicken dish, besides chicken, there were also potatoes underneath. Super full but super satisfied with the first meal there. Highly recommended if you like to try 30 different side dishes! And what's more, it is opened 24 hours daily. 

Sigolbapsang - banchans

After eating, we decided to walk around Itaewon. A place with many small shops. And then, coffee time at Passion 5. Passion 5 is located near Hangangjin Station in Hannam-dong. Just nice to be seated and chilling over a cup of coffee. 

Passion 5

Well, then off to Lotte Department Store near Euljiro 1(Il)-ga station.

Hangangjin / Itaewon (Line 6) -> Transfer at Sindang (line 2) -> Euljiro 1(Il)-ga (Line 2) (19/21 mins, 1050 won) 

What's more to say, shopping time with dinner at the food court. Then head back to Hotel PJ for a night rest.