Korea! 🇰🇷
We were there for 8 days this time and unfortunately, I didn't take many photos. I have never been the type to take many photos on trips but this time, I've taken more photos than usual. I'm just not used to snapping every moment but rather live and enjoy the moment.
I'll be just picking out some highlights to share! Who knows how long it'll take me to finish writing this post or when it'll be published.
Lodging
So this time around, instead of staying at the usual guesthouse in Myeongdong area (I stayed there the past two visits to Korea), I wanted to try staying in a different area. My mum and sister left me up to make the decision so I searched for a place somewhere in Hongdae as it was another popular location for tourists. We ended up settling for the first option on Airbnb... A studio apartment just above the trick eye museum.
Unfortunately, we didn't take photos of the place. I used to love taking photos of hotels when I'm on a holiday but that's not really the case anymore, we just dumped our bags and headed out for food! Haha.
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| Unfortunately, this listing is no longer available, last I've checked. |
I really enjoyed my stay here. Our host was very patient in answering my queries and even helping us to book the taxi to the airport on our last day. I did ask her about ordering food to the apartment, like chicken delivery and she did mention I could approach her for help as well. Highly recommend this place and I would definitely consider booking this place again.
Update: Sadly this location is no longer available for booking.
Update: Sadly this location is no longer available for booking.
Location wise, I would say I prefer the Myeongdong area because it's easier to find food but otherwise Hongdae is livelier and there are more shops and street food. My Korean friend did say that it wouldn't be easy for a foreigner to find food around Hongdae as you've to walk into the streets and alleys. And I'm not good with maps so if you're like me, then Myeongdong might be a friendlier place to stay.
Places
For a more comprehensive read, I shall number the places we visited. I will not state all the places we've visited but just the places I feel are worth the time.
1. Palaces
There are 5 palaces in Seoul. I definitely recommend tourists to visit at least once. It's really something worth visiting if it's your first time in Korea. I don't have any particular favourite palace to visit but there are certain palaces that have more to offer like the Secret Garden, which you need to pay an extra entrance fee.
2. Myeongdong
I absolutely love shopping at Myeongdong! It's a place I'd definitely visit if I were in Korea. The first 2 trips to Korea, we stayed in that area so we literally went shopping like every day. It really depends on your agenda though, I'm a shopper so definitely, we'd head to shopping areas.
There are many other shopping areas but I prefer Myeongdong as they have everything there. Clothing, makeup, food... It's all there and it's street shopping, so it's quite different from the usual shopping malls we have back home. The only downside to Myeongdong as compared to other shopping areas is that on weekends, it is really crowded with mostly tourists! It's rather difficult to move around as there are that many people from many different countries.
3. GOTO Mall
The most recent trip (which was back in 2017), we ventured to a new shopping location. I've heard many influencers talking about shopping at the Express Bus Terminal but it's pretty far away from the places we were staying at so we didn't consider travelling there, up till this trip that is.
If my memory serves me right, we were there for the most part of the day. The shops were arranged in different lanes and it's quite similar to shopping in Bangkok where we walked lane by lane and stopped only if we saw something that we liked.
We managed to get quite a bit of shopping done there. I got a bag, a jacket and we managed to get some gifts for family and friends too. If I'm not wrong, there were quite a few shops offering items at discounted prices so I'm sure you would be able to find things to buy there. I would definitely recommend shopping here!
4. COEX Aquarium
Food
It's the first time visiting the COEX Aquarium. Previously, we went to the aquarium at the 63 Building. Comparing the 2 aquariums, I prefer the one at COEX. It's a little pricey but they have the exhibits done up pretty nicely. Plus, they had Otters! We managed to catch the feeding time for the Otters and it was absolutely adorable.
The COEX Aquarium was also more accessible compared to the 63 Building, where we had to take a bus to get there. COEX is just at the subway station so if you are travelling with kids, it would definitely be more convenient for you.
Food
When it comes to food, there's nothing like street food in Korea. On this trip, I remember we had lots of street food. Along the streets of Hongdae, they had lots of stall selling food so we got a little bit of this and that.
For people visiting Korea for the first time, I'd definitely recommend trying local because it really only just tastes good in Korea or when it's cooked by Koreans.
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That's it for the summary of my trip to Korea in 2017! We were hoping to visit Korea again this year but in light of the coronavirus situation, we probably won't be travelling anytime soon. Hoping to travel to Korea again soon so till then... Take care, everyone!
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