My world of fun

Full House.

Ferry on the way to Shin do (island) from Incheon.

Bus from Shin do to Si do (Island where Full House is)

Walking on the way to Full House.. While raining!

Ze bike! :D

Cleaning these hole per hole?! :))

Remember Ji-eun writing here..

Ze fridge.

Han Ji-eun’s Room

Walk-in closet.

Portrait inside Lee Young-jae’s room.

Lee Young-jae’s room.

Dorking out. :))

How we got there:

We went to Incheon International Airport first and rode a cab to Sammok wharf. Then we rode the ferry to Shin do, rode a bus there (going around Shin do and Si do, different islands) and went down the stop near Full House at Si do. We then walked to Full House (tiring because it was 1km away and it was raining).

Luckily there is a taxi hotline and we asked the caretaker of Full House to call a cab for us. We went straight to Incheon International Airport by cab, then rode the train back to Seoul.

Last night in Seoul!

I was too tired yesterday that I didn’t blog about going to Full House. I’m planning to blog about it when I arrive at the Philippines tomorrow. I bought too much in here that the things I bought couldn’t fit in my bag. XD I had to put my stuff strategically. >:)

So yeah, I have to sleep early ‘cause we have to wake up at 3am. >.>

Deoksugung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung & N Seoul Tower

In Deoksugung there is a ceremony called “Changing of Guards.” It was cool because they sill preserve olden ceremonies like this. As I am a very huge fan of Royal Families, I am really fascinated by these stuff. So the other three palaces were smaller compared to Gyeongbokgung. We didn’t have any tour guide with us when we visited because we didn’t want to wait for the allotted time for English tour. So we went to tour by ourselves. We finished quite early that’s why we went to receive our money from our mom at the Industrial Bank of Korea (partner of western union in Korea). Finding the branch nearest us was quite hard because we only had the address. While getting lost and didn’t know where to go, we went to ask from the information booth in Insa-dong. She gave us a map and taught us how to get there. So we then followed the map but we still got lost. Afterwards we were approached by a Korean couple and they went to ask where we were going. The two were so kind that they helped us. ;_;

So there, after that we went to the hotel and slept for and hour or two and headed to N Seoul Tower. We visited the Teddy Bear Museum in there and went to the observatory. After that we went down again and found the ‘couple locks.’ The locks were especially shaped into Christmas trees and designed with Christmas lights. It was so cute but at the same time depressing. T^T After the cable car ride going down, we went to ride a taxi home. *ooh, I think that’s the cable care in Boys Over Flowers where Junpyo wrote “Jandi and Junpyo’s first night together”* The ahjussi was offering us a ride for 30,000 won but we didn’t accept it because it was too expensive! (our ride going there is only 3,800 won) So we walked and found another taxi.

We arrived at Insa-dong and went to eat at a restaurant-like stall. Then we bought food to eat while watching a movie at the hotel. :D Now we’re watching Thor.

Jongmyo Shrine, Gyeongbokgung and Namdaemun.

Today I’m not going to go in detail of what we did, because I’m currently watching a movie and planning to sleep after. I’ll just photo blog about these places when I get to the Philippines already. However I’d like to share that I’ve finished shopping for ‘pasalubong’ or ‘omiyage’ or Christmas gifts for my friends and parents. Now, I am broke and I shall restrain from buying stuff from now on. But I’m proud that I’ve done all of it already, ‘cause I don’t have to think about it anymore. XD Namdaemun is a shopping district wherein you can find all sorts of cheap stuff. This is a place where one should shop when looking for presents. However if you’re looking for boutiques, better go to Myeongdong. 

Anyways, I would also like to share that we bought the integrated ticket of all palaces plus Jongmyo Shrine for only 10,000 won. Tomorrow we’ll be visiting the other three palaces. Visiting Gyeongbokgung made me sad that there is no Royal Family in Korea anymore. But if I heard right, there is still a descendant of the Royal Family and he’s 50 years old right now, and he’s the owner of a broadcasting company. Not sure though..

Christmas Day.

I blame myself for not waking up early to attend the English mass at Myeongdong Cathedral. One reason also is because I’m not quite sure of how to get there. That’s why we just went ahead to Lotte World. As usual, going there was a struggle because of all the transfers in the train. There’s even a line (green line) where we have to transfer to the other side to get to the station that we need to get down at (Jamsil). When we arrived at the Lotte shopping mall, we finally spoke to the first Filipinos that we have ever met in Korea. They were workers here, we just didn’t ask what kind of work they do.

Finally in Lotte World, we got 2 kinds of discounts. First was the foreigner discount, and the other is the couple discount. That’s because the cashier saw that we have a guy with us. It’s better since we expected to pay 114,00 won but we ended up paying just 84,000 won for the 3 of us. We bought the special pass which is the ride-all-you-can pass. Lotte World has two parts, Adventure and Magic Island. Adventure was indoors and Magic Island was outdoors. It was so cold in Magic Island but we ended up riding more rides there than inside. All the waiting in line was so tiring that we just stayed there for almost 5 hours only. Also, we want to go to other places that’s why we didn’t stay long. There are many people in Lotte World celebrating Christmas since it’s holiday and they get their day-off.

Afterwards we went to COEX Mall which is only three stations away from Lotte World. In there I bought too much stuff. A manga, 2 clips, film & case for my instax mini. I decided to restrain myself and we went home afterwards. When we got to the station near our hotel, (Jogno sam-ga) we went to a small alley and found a restaurant. The ahjussi outside the restaurant was probably saying that their restaurant is famous and then we saw pictures of it being featured on a tv show. We were hungry so we went ahead and ate. When we entered the restaurant, there was no English menu and the ahjumma didn’t know that much English. So we chose the one which had a photo. The ahjumma was friendly and she even asked us how to say things in English. She served us the food and it was pork and fresh oyster with big cuts of kimchi. She also gave us a ‘sabisu’ or service which means it’s free. The ‘sabisu’ is Korean beef spare ribs soup. Korean beef tastes really different from what I’ve already tasted all my life. Another ‘sabisu’ given to us by ahjumma is (i’m not sure) an egg-like pudding. It tasted good that I want to try making it. Haha. Of course I got really full and we didn’t even get to finish the oysters.

On the way to the hotel, we bought our favorite snacks, street food! They bought taiyaki and skewered fish cake and I bought a egg shaped pancake-like food with an egg inside. ‘Twas yummy. While muching on food, my sister nabbed a cute coat for only 15,000 won, cheaper compared to others that we’ve seen. I think it was a Korean version of “ukay-ukay” since she only had one piece of each coat.

Finally, we’re home and again, my two travel-mates are dozing off. So now I’m calling our hotel ‘home.’ Haha. One thing, when I’m outside I cannot feel the pain in my foot but when I arrive at the hotel, I feel all the pain. 

Namiseom Island.

Went there this morning. It was so cold in there because the wind was strong plus the left over snow. Had fun sight-seeing but it was again tiring because of all the walking. Getting there too was a struggle with all the transfers in the train.

We met a Malaysian went we’re waiting for a cab to the station when we’re going back to Seoul. She was so friendly and she was the one who approached us since she’s alone. I was so happy that she assumed I was Korean and asked me “Are you a Korean?” Haha. It’s a compliment for me, since I look too much like a Filipino.

When we reached Seoul, we went to Dongdaemun Market but then it was closed already. (Probably because it’s Christmas Eve) So afterwards we went to eat at a restaurant. We ate barbecued beef and drank Somaek (beer+soju). My sister ended up drunk. OTW home, we bought Christmas Cake from a bakeshop. Now, we’re munching on it. YUM~ (strawberry fresh cream cake)

Interesting story: we saw a man literally shouting and selling cake like he’s selling in a fish market. In Filipino, “naglalako.” So cool. Many bought from him..

Anyways, it’s Christmas eve, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

63 Building (Yook Sam Building)

We ended up going to 63 Building instead of going to King Kong Ent. because we thought that it might be closed already. (it was 4pm when we decided to go)

We rode the subway from Jonggak Station transferred to Jongno sam ga Station then off to Yeouinaru Station. But before that, we experienced all the difficulties especially because not many Koreans can communicate well in English and we didn’t have much information about the subway stations.

When we arrived at Yeouinaru, we expected to ride a bus to 63 city but then we ended up walking up until the building itself. One funny thing, we asked a cab to bring us to 63 building after giving up and then the cab driver said, “63 Building? There! There!” We were dumbfounded because the place where we were standing is already the entrance to the 63 building. HAHAHAHHA

My First Snow.

It is currently snowing here in Seoul. While we’re walking near our hotel looking for a place to eat, it snowed! ^^

Nothing much to say about it, but I’m glad that this Christmas is a white one for me~

MYEONGDONG Shopping!

- the ajummas were so persuasive yet super friendly

- too many Face Shop, Tony Moly, Etude House, Skin Food branches!

- too many coffee shops

- found out that Holly’s cafe is from Korea

- Super cheap Skin Food compared to the ones in the PH

- COLD WEATHER. Freezing. Entering shops was the only way to escape from the cold.

- people are really fashionable. everyone.

- street food was awesome.

- too many Japanese tourists (even spoke to the store keeper in Japanese. She was better than me.)

- persuasive ladies who spoke to us in THAI

- and many more~