Korea Trip in Winter

My sister asked us to come with her to Korea. Minsan lang naman, so we went. We have no itinerary whatsoever. We went there before and we have a clear list in mind which places we should go to. We had a good itinerary before, very detailed. When you get to some places you it will just hit you that this might be not worth your time. So this time we’ll just go to places where we think is good to be there again. We also booked the same Guesthouse. We had a good time there before, it would be good to be back, we hope.

Arriving at the airport, first thing to do of course is to get Korean currency. Just enough for the Limousine fare, T-Money, food for the night, and the pocket wifi rental.  T-Money on the airport was sold out. We just bought bus tickets. We got to the Airport Limousine Bus #6011 alright but I got us off early by one stop. I forgot there was a stop at Changdeokgung.
That night, we eat our first Korean food at Insadong outside Jongno 3-ga, the same place we have our dinner the last time we were there. It feels very Seoul-y to eat on these tents. We also hit the nearby 7Eleven to stock on water and breakfast for the next day.

The next day, we went to Meongdong. We had just enough money to buy T-money and top up. My old blog entry tells me that the best rate money changer is outside Hoehyeon Station. When we got there, the money changer place is not there anymore. We walked inside Namdaemun to find a money changer. It was still early and the shops are still opening. We found one and the rate is good. We also ate the first odeng store we found outside. 

After that we went up the mountain, up to Namsam Tower. It was awesome re-creating photos from our first visit.

2012

2017

There were a lot of changes. The area where they put locks on got extended. Up and outside the cable car station, there is now the railings where they can put locks. There’s also a store where you can buy locks and pen and is cheaper compared to the store right outside the tower. It was cold that morning so we tried to eat something. We tried churros con chocolate. 

  

We went down after then went around Meongdong to shop. 

We found Brown!

We ate at this Korean Barbecue place then went around again for a while. We were supposed to go to Gyeongbokgung but then I asked the tourist help guy for directions how to get there fast. He told me that the palace closes at 5PM, it was around 4:30 then and we will not make it. We just stayed there the whole stay. 

Crablets. You dip on on ketchup so, not good

 

A place we can check out next is Cheonggyecheon Stream.I consulted Google Maps how to get there then rode a bus. Too bad we got lost a little. We were on the wrong end of the river and I kinda noticed a little late. There was a lot of walking involved. 

I forgot where this is but it is far from the stream

 We rode another bus to get to the right place. They have this light that changes color now under the bridge.

 

We went back to Angguk via train this time then ate at a McDonald’s outside Angguk Station.  Next day we will do Gapyeong day tour.

Places we've been to in Seoul

Palaces in Seoul

Gyeongbokgung

There are five royal palaces in Seoul. The palaces all look the same so you can just go to one to save time. On our first day, we went to Gyeongbokgung. The guest house where we stayed is close to Changdeokgung so we did not enter that one. We also went to Deoksugung where we had the chance to see the changing of the guards ceremony. We also catch a changing of the guards ceremony in Gyeongbokgung but we had better pictures in Deoksugung. The National Folk Museum of Korea is nearby Gyeongbokgung so we also checked that out. Deoksugung is near the Seoul Museum of Art but we did not try that one because entrance is not free. Inside Deoksugung, there is the Art Gallery that you can enter for additional fee. We went to that one where we saw pictures of the royal family on the first floor and some art on the second floor. You can skip that one if you do not like art. In fact, you can skip going to Deoksugung if you have good pictures in Gyeongbokgung where there are more tourists.

National Folk Museum

Changing of the Guards in Gyeongbokgung

Deoksugung

Deoksugung Art Gallery

Fewer people here comparerd to Gyeongbokgung 

Changing of the Guards in Deoksugung

Hanok Villages

We visited two hanok villages in Seoul, Namsangol and Bukchon. Hanok village is a place with traditional houses. Namsangol is close to Namsan Park and we went there after shopping in Myeongdong and going up Seoul Tower. Our time spent there was a little short because it is getting dark and our feet kinda hurt from too much walking. We were not able to explore the village.

The place is huge. Too bad we're too tired to explore

Namsan Tower in the Background

Bukchon Village was nearby our guesthouse and Changdeokgung so we explored the village on our last day in Korea. Seeing tradional houses is cool thinking this is a city but they are still preserving the culture.

Houses at Bukchon

Cheonggyecheon Stream

We went to this place by just walking from the Guest House to Insadong then to Cheonggye Plaza. We have no idea that the place is that far although it was good to see more of the city by walking.

Namsan Park
A little walk in Myeongdong we saw two tourist helpers and I asked them how do we get to the Seoul Tower. The tower is visible from wher we stand then she asked me how are we planning to get there. I answered "by foot". So she smiled, gave me a map then showed the way. It was supposed to be an hour walk to the top of the mountain. Hahaha. I forget to ask about the cable car thing. She then told me the direction to the cable car.

Cable Car Tickets

We walk from Myeongdong to the cable car station. They have this inclined lift, the Namsan Oreumi to get to the station when coming from Sogong-ro. Using the cable car, the ascent to the top is a breeze instead of that supposed one-hour trek. It is quite chilly but from the cable car, we can still see people walking on the road to the top.

We went there to put a padlock on the tower fence which is what the place is famous for. Yes the place is really cheesy and full of writings on any surface.

Cheesy vandalism is totally unnecessary

Shopping
Need Won? The best exchange rate for the US Dollar is on the money changer on Hoehyeon station on exit 6 or 7. The next best that we saw was on Namdaemun. Screw the exchange rate on the airport as always. When you got your Won ready, then it is time to shop.

Myeongdong, baby!

What Chast bought mostly were of course beauty products. I don’t know anything about that, the Korean brands and stuff if what we would be buying would be cheaper or not but yeah, we end up buying a lot. She knows the stuff. Perfect as Christmas presents. There are other things to buy but that's what I will never forget. The main shopping place is Myeongdong and Namdaemun. We also tried Dongdaemun and some malls but Myeongdong is the place to be. I kinda studied some shopping Korean especially the numbers so haggling is possible. The rule is not to be shy. It is all for the better. The story of how we got the set of cute keychains is a good story to tell when we got back.