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| CHANGGEYONGGUNG Gate |
The last part of my first Korea exploration! Days 3 and 4 are basically a tour of Seoul and some suggestions on what other places since we were not able to go to some places due to time constraint :( I will definitely check them out on my next trip there!
DAY 3 (April 5)
This was our Seoul City Tour Bus Day. It only costs 10,000 won and you can ride the Seoul City Tour Buses for the whole day! There are a total of 35 spots you can go to if you ride this bus however I don't recommend that you go down and visit all the spots haha. We were only able to go down at 5 spots and it took us around 5-6 hours to go to all that 5 spots haha THERE'S JUST SO MUCH TO SEE!!
1st Stop Changgyeonggung (Changgyeong Palace)
If you want to visit a palace that's not too big and too crowded, this is a good palace to visit. According to the audio in the bus, this was a palace where the queens usually stay. It would also be better if you be able to visit the Changdeokgung (Changdeok Palace) since it is a UNESCO Heritage site :) Changgyeonggung and Changdeokgung are just adjacent to each other so it wouldn't be so much of a hassle to go there.
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| Not-so bloomed Cherry Blossoms :( |
This is a very nice place especially if you want to see and buy traditional Korean stuff. There are lots and lots of traditional shops and restaurants. I think they also have some street shows but we were not able to see any :( THIS IS DEFINITELY ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLACES in Seoul :)
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| Photos don't do any justice to the niceness of the place |
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| Me and my brother's order: Beef dish (forgot what it's called) |
My parents ordered a raw crab dish it was kind of eeky to try at first but it was really good and the crab was very fresh! Our family friends ordered the same beef dish, bossam, and another dish which I forgot hihi. I suggest that you order the Bossam and the beef dish that we had :)
3rd Stop Cheongwadae and Sarangchae
The Blue House - The Presidential Residence. You can tour the compound of the Cheongwadae however we did not anymore since we wanted to see more places other than this one.
This is the biggest and grandest palace. This is I think 4 times bigger than the Changgyeonggung. If you have no time to visit any other palaces, I suggest that you visit just this palace. You will be able to find a lot of things here, however we did not tour the whole palace. You will find royal palace guards all over the place. At certain times there is what they call the changing of guards ceremony and also some times you can witness the re-enactment of the royal wedding!
Before heading to our next stop, the tour bus had to stop at the Gwanghamun Station since this is Station number 1 on the tour. Gwanghamun Gate is also one of the tourist attractions in Seoul. Here, my mom and I walked towards 2 of King Sejong's statues. I really think that this is a "must-picture-zone" when traveling to Seoul haha.
5th Stop N Seoul Tower
In this area you can also visit the Namsan Botanical Garden and the National Theater of Korea. On your way up to the tower, you will see jogging paths. So if you want to have a refreshing morning or afternoon you may want to jog up to the tower :) At the N Seoul Tower, you can go up to the observatory, you can check out the padlocks (featured in many Korean dramas as well hihi <3) and of course you can find one of the Teddy Bear Museums.
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| Dongdaemun / Gwanghamun Gate (?) |
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| Insadong <3 |
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| My brother found his bride!! |
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| Coffee prices range from 3000 won - 5000 won :) |
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| N SEOUL TOWER Had to give up fashion for the warmth of another layer of jacket haha |
Day 4 (April 6)
It is our last tour day and we really didn't where we wanted to go. We were supposed to find 3 cafes but ended up with only one. We were supposed to look for Hello Kitty Cafe, Coffee Prince Cafe, & Charlie Brown Cafe all are located in Hongdae. Also, it was my meet-up day with my old Korean classmate!
Hongdae is a "youth" place especially for gimik nights (aka Friday or Saturday nights). There are lots of clubs found around the area and yet another one of the many fashion districts in Seoul! :) So we started to look for the Hello Kitty Cafe after lunch. It was easy to find! From the main street, you need to turn right before the nearest 7-Eleven store. Then just go straight and if I remember correctly, you need to turn left on the 2nd alley and you will immediately see the store! :)
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| Photo by Dayan Pau |
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| Photo by Dayan Pau |
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| Cafe Latte |
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| Cafe Mocha |
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| Seoul Station |
MYEONGDONG CATHEDRAL
Aside from the shopping area in Myeongdong, this is one of the places featured in the Seoul City Tour Bus.I think this is also featured in some Korean dramas and movies.
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| The Korean Tourist hahaha |
DONGDAEMUN Fashion District
Here we saw the Dongdaemun History and Culture Stadium under construction. Also, the Dongdaemun Gate was also under construction at that time. So there are lots of things to look forward to haha. It was in Dongdaemun that I found my "authentic" Korean backpack haha. We also got to see 2 street performances :)
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| Dongdaemun History and Culture Stadium underway! Definitely a must see in the future!! |
CHEONGGYECHEON STREAM
After looking for my backpack we went to the nearest part of the super long Cheonggyecheon Stream. Although this was not the main part of the stream, it still looked picture-worthy. The main attraction of the stream is found near the City Hall area, so be sure to visit that part to be able to see the lights show :)
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| Cheonggyecheon Stream |
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| This is what we we're supposed to see if we went to the right area haha |
After this we had dinner at a nearby Japanese/Korean restaurant. It was a yummy and very affordable place
to eat at I just forgot the name and was too shy to take pictures haha. I ordered Omurice and it was really yummy!! After dinner I went back to the hotel and had to wait for an hour since my family and family friends went out for dinner.They ate dinner at a Korean restaurant.
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| Ssamgyupsal |
That wraps up our 4-day Korean trip. Here are some other places you might want to check out in Seoul. Most of these spots can be seen when you ride the Seoul City Tour Bus. :) These are other places that are "must-sees" (only in my opinion) :D
National Museum of Korea
I think this is one of the places that we should have visited since this would have shown us what made Korea what it is now. From previous reviews and stories, I heard that this is a very remarkable and a very huge place. So it will be worth your money and your time! You can visit this place via the Seoul City Tour Bus but if you opt to commute your way there, you can visit the link below for more information regarding transportation, and the museum itself.
Here's a link for more info: http://www.museum.go.kr/main/publish/view.jsp?menuID=002001001001
Cherry Blossoms (Seen only during the Spring time so make sure to plan your trip mid-April): Yeouido Park or Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival
Yeouido Park is nearer to Seoul compared to Jinhae. But if you want a more activities to do aside from seeing the beautiful blossoms, you might want to opt for the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival since there are shows scheduled as well. I think there are some idol groups which also perform in this festival.
For more information on how to go to Yeouido Park click on this link http://parks.seoul.go.kr/
For Jinhae Park, I think it's best to take this route: Ride the subway going to Masan Station. From Masan Station / Masan Intercity/Express Bus Terminal take bus #162 or 760 then get off at Jinhae station. This would take approximately 40-50 mins. For more information click on this link http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/
Bukchon Traditional Korean Village
This is the village featured in City Hunter. There are also plenty of traditional restaurants found in the area
Drama Tours (If you're a fan like me this is something you shouldn't miss!)
The major TV Stations are located near Yeouido Park so if you want to catch shows like Music Bank, MNET, and others, you might want to go near that area. Also, there are drama tours available. Here are some of the tours you can choose from: Winter Sonata Tour, City Hunter Tour, Full House Tour, The Moon Embracing the Sun Tour, and many more.
If you're a fan of historical dramas, it would be nice if you could visit MBC Dramia. This is the set that MBC uses every time they shoot their historical dramas. The latest drama that was shot there was The Moon Embracing the Sun. Some other dramas that were shot there were Jumong and Dong-yi among others.
Lotte World
This is a combined theme park and shopping mall. I think this is a more kid-oriented theme park compared to Everland but it would still be on my must-see list. Also compared to Everland this is much nearer to Seoul. Here's the subway map on how you can reach Lotte World.
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| Map retrieved from lotteworld.com |
Han River
The Han River is the also known as the Miracle River as this represents the lifeline of Korea. This spans a very long strip and is indeed also very wide. Due to its great width and length, they built numerous bridges which by themselves are tourist attractions. I think the best bridge to visit would be the Banpo bridge. This bridge is especially beautiful at night as it features colorful fountain. It was really a waste that we were not able to see this :( If you want to know more about the Banpo Bridge, click on this link http://www.sharewonders.com/tag/banpo-bridge/
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| Photo from sharewonders.com |
Jeju Island
This is also one of my dream destinations. I would like to climb the famous mountain (among Koreans at least hihi) - Halla Mountain.
This ends my first Korea exploration posts. Also don't forget to get a taste of their traditional cuisine!
그렇면, 잘가요! 만나서반갑습니다 서울!!
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