Yup, 2 months without blogging so sorry guys!!!
But here it is, like finally after editing them on SO many different platforms online and off omg but it was all FREE yay
Chapter 2
Welcome to the 2nd installment of my trip to Seoul!
Before we headed out on our 2nd day, my mom helped us cook some Fried Rice with the ingredients we bought the previous night at eMart cos we knew that the places we were gonna go to had almost no affordable halal food.
Continuing from the previous day, we started the day with a visit to ALIVE Museum in Insadong, you know like, with it being similar to the Trick Eye Museum (that we visited the previous day) so like yeah there's no real reason tbh.
The directions given by Google were of NO help lol we kept walking in circles but we found this beautiful park in the middle of the city which was also one of the sites 2 Days 1 Night filmed at omg great start to the day!!!!
Just look at my mom and Nadiah going crazy over the flowers, snapping every few seconds.
By the way, the name of the park is Tapgol Park.
It felt like a neighbourhood park cos there were quite a number of old folks just doing slow exercises like taichi or something. But the weather was uh-MAY-zing like omg it was May (hahahahaah get it) so it was spring and it was morning literally chill weather.
Let's spare you the monstrosity of the disappointment ALIVE Museum brought us. I mean it wasn't THAT bad but comparing it to Trick Eye Museum, it was pretty sad... Also maybe cos there were more China tourists at ALIVE Museum that ruined our mood, or maybe just mine but yeah, avoid China tourists at all costs.
Insadong is a pretty cultural place. They sell lots of handicrafts and traditional snacks. One of my favourite snacks, though it isn't really traditional was the J-shaped Corny Cone Ice-cream or something idk thanks to EYK I call it penis ice-cream. I had it twice while I was there despite the cold weather, no regrets!
(By now you guys should know that I'm a lazy photographer. Lots of things I mentioned didn't come with any photos. I apologise but I believe in living in the moment and keeping some memories for myself loljk that was such bull hahaha I'm just plain lazy)
Also, the ice-cream was making my hands sticky so I didn't take any photos......
Along Insadong there'll be quite a few cart shops that sell wooden carvings, bells, Korean candy and souvenirs. If you're not planning to go to Dongdaemun or Namdaemun, getting souvenirs there is totally fine. There isn't much difference in the price although the people in Insadong are generally friendlier.
Korean Egg Bun Gyeran Bbang literally just a sweet bun with an egg on top
Korean Fish Bun with red bean filling
Like chewy pancakes stuffed with syrup and nuts and seeds
After the museum, we made our way to Cheonggyecheon Stream to have our packed lunch and to see the stream.
The palace was quite near the stream so after we ate and enjoyed the breeze we walked over to visit the king.
Before we headed out on our 2nd day, my mom helped us cook some Fried Rice with the ingredients we bought the previous night at eMart cos we knew that the places we were gonna go to had almost no affordable halal food.
Continuing from the previous day, we started the day with a visit to ALIVE Museum in Insadong, you know like, with it being similar to the Trick Eye Museum (that we visited the previous day) so like yeah there's no real reason tbh.
The directions given by Google were of NO help lol we kept walking in circles but we found this beautiful park in the middle of the city which was also one of the sites 2 Days 1 Night filmed at omg great start to the day!!!!
By the way, the name of the park is Tapgol Park.
It felt like a neighbourhood park cos there were quite a number of old folks just doing slow exercises like taichi or something. But the weather was uh-MAY-zing like omg it was May (hahahahaah get it) so it was spring and it was morning literally chill weather.
Let's spare you the monstrosity of the disappointment ALIVE Museum brought us. I mean it wasn't THAT bad but comparing it to Trick Eye Museum, it was pretty sad... Also maybe cos there were more China tourists at ALIVE Museum that ruined our mood, or maybe just mine but yeah, avoid China tourists at all costs.
Insadong is a pretty cultural place. They sell lots of handicrafts and traditional snacks. One of my favourite snacks, though it isn't really traditional was the J-shaped Corny Cone Ice-cream or something idk thanks to EYK I call it penis ice-cream. I had it twice while I was there despite the cold weather, no regrets!
(By now you guys should know that I'm a lazy photographer. Lots of things I mentioned didn't come with any photos. I apologise but I believe in living in the moment and keeping some memories for myself loljk that was such bull hahaha I'm just plain lazy)
Also, the ice-cream was making my hands sticky so I didn't take any photos......
Along Insadong there'll be quite a few cart shops that sell wooden carvings, bells, Korean candy and souvenirs. If you're not planning to go to Dongdaemun or Namdaemun, getting souvenirs there is totally fine. There isn't much difference in the price although the people in Insadong are generally friendlier.
After the museum, we made our way to Cheonggyecheon Stream to have our packed lunch and to see the stream.
At Gyeongbokgung Palace, while we were getting tickets, Nadiah made friends with 2 Malaysian girls who had like 2 guides. Apparently the guides were student volunteers who'd just approach tourists at the entrance of popular tourist attractions. So we just followed the 2 student guides and the Malaysian girls around the palace.
Oh, it's free ヾ(≧∇≦)ゞ
Well that was a mistake, let me tell you.
Just to get to the village entrance from the subway exit was like an uphill 8 minute walk. But the entrance doesn't have any traditional hanok houses so you'll have to walk another 8 minutes uphill to get to the absolutely gorgeous wooden houses. That's where the problem came in for us cos after walking around the whole palace, you will be absolutely shattered. When we saw 1 like just ONE actually like 3 I think we just took photos with it and headed back down HAHAHA yup such fun
For dinner, we ate at this Indian restaurant appropriately named Little India which honestly was overpriced HAHAHA I mean like I can get nicer Indian food at the hawker centre for a third of the price but we were hungry so yup. The portion was a tad too much and we packed the remaining food home to eat for breakfast the next day.
Nadiah and I woke up early the next day as we had pre-booked a tour of the DMZ in Korea thru this website here where they picked us up at a nearby hotel in a shady looking van but it was cool.
It brought us to another hotel with a bigger bus that was filled with quite a number of Singaporeans lawlz...
There was this group of aunties who made friends with us and were asking us why we were alone and where our (non-existent) boyfriends were...?
We went to one of North Korea's underground tunnels that actually led to Seoul like legit underground and hella claustraphobic. Not recommended for people with a weak heart too cos the air gets thinner as you go deeper altho South Korea blocked the tunnel halfway for safety purposes and such... Meh...
After the tour, they dropped us of at Itaewon which was just nice cos it was time for lunch (the tour started at 8am and ended around noon) and Itaewon was a place with halal Korean food. We wanted to eat at a restaurant named Eid but when we got there, it was closed for a family event... BUT THANK THE LATE KING cos a halal Korean restaurant just opened across the street.
Also just a heads up, the halal restaurants which we looked up online before the trip, were actually quite a walk away from the nearest subway exit like most if not all hais but worth it!!!!!
It was so new that they didn't even have a restaurant name but the food was divine and cheap!!!! I really love all the free banchans and water HAHAHA #SG50 cos that was very Singaporean but omg their banchans were really good I think it included lotus root and of course kimchi and some other types
We walked around Itaewon for a bit looking at the other halal restaurants and supermarkets. The Seoul Central Masjid was there too and it had a spectacular view. Even if you're not muslim, it's worth a visit. There were a few locals who visited it and took photos there too. Itaewon is filled with halal food and knowing that we might not visit Itaewon anytime soon, we got some roasted chicken and kebabs to go for dinner that night.
We moved on to Myeongdong, the land of cosmetics. The streets there were lined with cosmetic shop after cosmetic shop. Like you'll see Etude House and after walking 2 minutes you'll see another Etude House with different offers and promotions. We went facial mask crazy here cos 1 facial mask costs like less than a dollar?? There is no such thing as too much facial masks. Let's not get started on the BB creams, shall we?
After the tour, they dropped us of at Itaewon which was just nice cos it was time for lunch (the tour started at 8am and ended around noon) and Itaewon was a place with halal Korean food. We wanted to eat at a restaurant named Eid but when we got there, it was closed for a family event... BUT THANK THE LATE KING cos a halal Korean restaurant just opened across the street.
Also just a heads up, the halal restaurants which we looked up online before the trip, were actually quite a walk away from the nearest subway exit like most if not all hais but worth it!!!!!
It was so new that they didn't even have a restaurant name but the food was divine and cheap!!!! I really love all the free banchans and water HAHAHA #SG50 cos that was very Singaporean but omg their banchans were really good I think it included lotus root and of course kimchi and some other types
We moved on to Myeongdong, the land of cosmetics. The streets there were lined with cosmetic shop after cosmetic shop. Like you'll see Etude House and after walking 2 minutes you'll see another Etude House with different offers and promotions. We went facial mask crazy here cos 1 facial mask costs like less than a dollar?? There is no such thing as too much facial masks. Let's not get started on the BB creams, shall we?
So yup, that's the end of our 2nd and 3rd day in Seoul.
Seoul really has things for everyone. It satisfied the historian and the foodie in me. And probably the shoppers in Nadiah. All is well! Albeit tiring hahaha but I hope before you scroll thru this post, you'll press play on the vlog Nadiah filmed and I edited. I've been sticking to Vimeo to upload my videos but this video was too long and I had to pay extra to upload the HD version sigh but yup!
If you're not willing to read my post at least watch this slightly shaky vlog and look forward to another video and more photos on the last part to my Seoul series!
xx Squidkid
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