Walking SEOUL Part 2

Since I don't want extremely long posts...Here's the 2nd part (Day 1 and 2) of my 3-part first Korea exploration! I hope that this will give you an idea on what things to look forward to on your own trip there!

DAY 1 (April 3)
Our flight from Manila was at 1:15am (Philippine time) and we arrived at Incheon at 6:15am (Korean time). It took us around 30-40 minutes before we got out of the airport since there were many people who arrived at that time. After getting our luggages, the airport was designed to cater to the convenience of the airport users and especially for tourists. The counters for transportation, money changers, food stalls (i.e., McDonald's, local restaurants, etc) are right outside the arrival area and there are also cell phones available for rent. All I can say is that Incheon International Airport deserves their title of being the best airport in the world for 6 consecutive years! Daebak!!

We rode Bus No. 6001 headed for the Myeongdong area. It took us approximately 1 1/2 hours before we reached our drop off point, which is the last drop off for that bus. We went down at Sejong Hotel and was forced to walk to our hotel even if it was drizzling/snowing because taxis wouldn't accept us since our hotel was really just walking distance from our drop off point. Upon confirming our booking to the hotel we decided to eat lunch already since our rooms were still not available. Haha this was really an adventure for us since we still do not know what restaurants or shops were near our hotel and it was extremely cold, so we entered the nearest store that we got to and apparently it was only a ramyun shop. So we had ramyun and kimbap for our first meal in Korea. The store owner was an ajumma and she was quite nice despite the language barrier that we had. (TIP: If ever you'll visit Korea it would really be helpful if you would know a little bit of their language.) We were not able to take pictures in the restaurant but below is a picture of what our lunch (점심식사) looked like.

Retrieved from: food.rasterboy.com

After lunch we decided to just stay in the hotel until the weather gets better. If you will be staying at Astoria Hotel or any hotel near that area, 2 of the tourist attractions in Seoul are very near, you can just walk to get there. These are:

KOREA HOUSE
Retrieved from: lifeinkorea.com

Korea House is an ancient building which now serves as a theater for traditional performances. It also offers various traditional classes such as Kimchi making, Korean arts and crafts, just everything about Korean traditional culture you can find it there.

NAMSANGOL HANOK VILLAGE
Retrieved from: asianlifestyle.info

The Namsangol Hanok Village portrays a traditional Korean village. I believe that this is a very good place to visit especially if you're also very interested in Korean culture like me. However, we were not able to visit these places since it was really hard to decide on where to go especially when traveling in a big group :( I will make sure to visit this on my next visit. My friend who also went there said that this was a really nice place! Another Daebak? haha

(NOTE: My previous post has a map with some points on what attractions, restaurants and convenience stores are near Astoria Hotel or the Jung-gu, Myeongdong area) 

Going back to our trip...After the weather got better, around 4 pm, we decided to check out Myeongdong Shopping Area. It was a really really overwhelming place. There are super many stores, especially cosmetics stores. There are also malls you can check out such as Migliore, Shinsegae, Lotte Dept Store. The products sold in Myeongdong are really cheap and I think you can still haggle for the prices :) PLUS!! If you're a fan of Korean cosmetics, the prices are really really really cheap compared to those which can be bought in other countries, or at least in the Philippines. 

teehee Jang Geun Seuk haha

*sorry for the face haha

Cute stores of Myeongdong

One of the many Etude Houses in the area 

4-Storey F21 <3

After walking, going in and out of the different stores, and a little bit of shopping, we decided to search for a decent restaurant and eat a hearty dinner! We found a Japanese restaurant in the building beside F21 store.

After eating we continued with window shopping and found many street food carts. To end the day we tired out the sausage with ddeokbokki and it is very yummy! 오! 너무마시다! And of course, some fan-girling haha

Sausage with Ddeokbokki!! 

DAY 2 (April 4)

a.k.a EVERLAND DAY!!

Wee~~ long awaited day haha too excited to see what Everland looked like since I've seen it many times in Korean dramas. Had our breakfast at a nearby Mister Donut and it was really different from the donuts in the Philippines and in the States. They were really cute donuts haha!

Right after breakfast we headed for Everland!! If you'll be staying in the Jung-gu, Myeongdong area here's how you can reach Everland.

Chungmuro Station

1. Chungmuro Station (Orange Line) to Seoul National University of Education Station 
2. Transfer to the Green Line headed towards Gangnam. Alight at Gangnam Station and take Exit 7 since this would be nearer the pedestrian lane which would lead you to the bus station.
3. Take Bus 5002. This will drop you off directly to Everland ^__^

Gangnam Exit 7 

If you'll be buying tickets, it's only available through the counters at the entrance but don't forget to print out the foreigner discount page found in their website. I also suggest that if you're a ride enthusiast like me and my brother, you should visit the rides first before going anywhere else since there is terribly long line for the thrilling rides. However, I must say that it's worth the wait ^^.

Rides to look forward to:
1. Double Rock Spin

 2. Rolling X-Train

3. Let's Twist 

4. Here are some other rides that we were not able to ride due to lack of time and some were closed >.<

• Hurricane
• Columbus Adventures
• (The steepest wooden roller coaster! forgot the name though hihi)

(Disclaimer: Each ride takes about 45-60 mins waiting time but it really is worth the wait :) )

Also there are other places you can go to if you're not really a thrill seeker :) 

Little Europe

Secret Garden

"The Ride" hahaha

At around 6 pm we left the park since it became very windy. We rode the shuttle and the same bus back to Gangnam. We decided to have dinner in the Gangnam area but our family friends were too afraid to try entering the different restaurants hihi sooo they ended up in Burger King and I, with authentic street Ddeokbokki! 

This ends Day 1 and 2 please see my next post for Days 3 and 4.