Once we've reached Namsan Park, we took at lift up the mountain to purchase our cable car tickets.
The tickets were to and fro for 3 people - 25,500 won. Again, not exactly cheap but well, that's what tourists do, right?
As we adjourned up the hill to Namsan Tower, we looked down from the glass cable car and the view was breathtaking!
Autumn is indeed a beautiful season.
I am not sure about other countries but in Seoul, it is beautiful! I wish I could stay in Seoul for a longer time to witness snow in winter.
As soon as we got to foot of Namsan Tower, this was the scenery we saw.
I only managed to take few pictures because you know, your parents don't really know how to deal with cameras or camera phones.
As the matter of fact, I had a wardrobe malfunction that morning.
I didn't realize the temperature of 12 degrees Celcius would be so cold for jeggings. On top of that, my sweater and jacket weren't thick enough to withstand the cold wind on top of the mountain.
I was shivering hence, I had to jump up and down to keep my body warm.
After Namsan Tower, I headed back to the hotel to get changed - it was just too cold!
Lesson learned - it's better to have longer and thicker jacket, sweater, windbreaker and sweater to cover your butt. When the cold wind blow, my butt froze!
Our next stop was Hongdae. By the time we reached Hongdae, we were famished. Thus, we decided to head over to Kyochon, an infamous fried chicken restaurant. Yes, you didn't read wrongly, the entire restaurant serves only fried chicken and more fried chicken. We settled for one whole Red Fried Chicken.
The first bite into the chicken - we were having foodgasm. The meat was so juicy and tender and we got hooked into eating them. I don't particularly remember the price of the meal but it should be around 22000 won for the spicy chicken.
After Kyochon, we walked around Hongdae. If you do not know, Hongdae is famous among university students. The fashion itself suits younger generation. Erm... since I'm hitting middle age crisis, it's a no for me. We proceeded to walk to Trick Eye Museum.
The individual ticket is priced at 18,000 won. The ticket covered Trick Eye Museum and Ice Museum. If you have not been to this kinda museum, it is worth the trip but if you have been to one before, I'd advise you to skip it because the museum isn't big. The visit took us less than one hour and seriously, I came out of the two museums, disappointed.
Here are some pictures though.
I met Kim Soo Hyun, whoever that guy is. Sorry, I am not really in KPOP or KDrama ever since my degree years so, I've been out of the circle.
A picture of me, riding my white horses in the museum.
Then, I got beheaded by this wicked witch!
Seriously, this is quite smart!
I even got crushed by a dinosaur!
But hey, I'm still very much alive!
I could still peep at a guy's dick! LOL! Sorry for the taboo word though!
I was punished to cycle to heaven for being a peeping Tom!
After Trick Eye Museum, we headed to the Ice Museum.
I have to tell you, the temperature inside the Ice Museum was below 0 degree Celcius. It was -6 degrees Celcius and we were freezing even though we wore thick clothes!
We braced ourselves up because we wanted to take nice pictures. Within 10 minutes or so, mum gave up and she headed out of the museum as it was too cold for her body to take.
As for me, I took extra few pictures in the Ice Museum and decided to give up after 2 minutes.
Cold, it was just toooooo freaking cold!
Finally, it was time to leave Hongdae. Our next destination was back to Myeongdong for dinner at the infamous Nolboo Buldae Jjigae.
The restaurant charged us by head count - 7800 won per person.
If you do not know, Buldae Jjigae is also known as army base stew.
This dish was invented after the Korean war (1950-1953) when the American army was stationed in the city of Uijeongbu, near Seoul. They had their own food on the base, things like canned beans, meat, Spam, ham, and sausages. This food was totally new to Koreans. Eventually these ingredients made their way into surrounding area of the base and some creative Koreans made stew from them. They boiled spam, ham, sausages, and baked beans with kimchi, garlic, and hot pepper paste and flakes, creating a Korean-style stew with American ingredients.
Maangchi on Buldae Jjigae
We expected the amount to be ginormous but it was appropriate for the three of us. However, our tummies couldn't take more than what is seen in the picture above, so we didn't order noodles or rice to go with the stew.
After dinner, I did more shopping at Myeongdong.
I know you are probably asking why Myeongdong again? We were staying around Myeongdong and by the time dinner was over, it was already 8.30pm so, we decided not to go too far away.
We headed back to the hotel at around 11pm to call it a night.
The next morning, we woke up around 7.30am and got ready for our trip to Gwangjang Market.
Once we got there, I went straight in and tried to located one of the Bindaetteok stalls that a lot of bloggers recommended. When I finally found it after few minutes, I was over the moon. I told mum and her friend to quickly find a space and sit down while I ordered some Bindaetteok.
Each piece of bindaetteok is priced at 4000 won.
Initially, we ordered 2 pieces and thought it would be enough for 3 of us but then, we got hooked on it and ordered additional 2 more since it was so delicious!
I have a good mind to learn how to make these for Mr. BF but then again, that's whole other story.
I managed to snap a picture of the ahjumma making the bindaetteok.
Well, try to find this ahjumma if you are interested in her bindaetteok. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. We didn't manage to try other food but then again, our main agenda was the bindaetteok.
Bindaetteok, done - next destination, Noryangjin Fish Market.
Remember the stories about how people chomp down on live octopus and such? Well, it takes place at Noryangjin.
I didn't manage to try the live octopus because mum wasn't keen on eating live seafood. To be honest, I was a little disappointed because the whole trip to Noryangjin was about the live octopus. Nevertheless, there will always be next trip.
It took us the entire morning until 4pm for the trip and then, we headed to Seoul Main Station to do some grocery shopping at Lotte Mart. I had to stock up some banana milk for my sister and dad at home. Other than that, we spent a lot on Peppero since they are so cheap in Korea.
After grocery shopping, we stopped by Angel-in-us Cafe again because I wanted to try something that Malaysia doesn't have.
I know I kinda wasted a lot of money on my caffeine fix but hey, it's worth it, okay?
After our caffeine fix, we went back to the hostel to take our shower.
Then, it was time to head back to Myeongdong for the infamous Andong Jjimdak!
Jjimdak is braised chicken with vegetables. Dak (닭) is chicken and jjim (찜) is a cooking term for “braise” or “steam.” It is believed that this dish originates from Andong province in South Korea.
The portion was humongous for the 3 of us. We didn't expect this kinda portion. Mum got so shocked witnessing two ahjummas ordering one plate of this each on top of white rice. The 3 of us did not even managed to finish this plate and we didn't even order rice to go with it.
The braised chicken was so spicy to the point my lips got swollen after the meal but it was really worth it.
Sorry for the messy hair but yeah, my hair was in a mess after shower that night so I kinda pinned up my fringe so it would be less messy.
After shopping, I went to a nearby Starbucks to rekindle my love for Hojicha Latte for one last time. Then, we went back to the hotel, took our second shower and then, fell asleep almost immediately since we were so tired.
We woke up at 5.30am the next day to catch our flight at 9am. Hence, one last OOTD in front of the hotel entrance.
Asking about my shopping sprees? Nah... here you go!
I am not rich. Enough say.
Not everything is mine.
Our flight back to Malaysia was with MAS Airlines.
Again, we were well fed in the airline. I even requested for red wine.
Anyway, I enjoyed my 5 days 4 nights stay in Seoul and I am gonna say this, I will be back again soon just because I love the culture and food there.
I hope this entry may help those who are going to Seoul.
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