Hey SEOUL Sisters! (Day 3)

It's our Day 3 (Nov. 17) in Seoul and there's still so much to do. This day, we're off to Petite France and Nami Island, which were both far from downtown. If you were wondering how we manage to navigate around Seoul, we just did some research and we downloaded the "Subway Korea" application for iOS and Android. It's a very useful app as it calculates the fastest routes and the train fares. It even includes the time table of the train trips so you won't miss the train.

From Hongik University Station, it took us about 2 hrs to get to Cheongpyong Station of the ITX line. Well that already included walking through multiple train transfers. Outside the Cheongpyong Station, we took the City Tour Bus, worth 5,000 won each. That would go through several attractions but we only chose the Petite France and the Nami Island. At Petite France, we paid 8,000 won each for entry. Actually, there's nothing much to do inside. We just saw a France-like community, which we were able to appreciate since we couldn't afford yet to go to the real France haha! There's this cool rock band who performed their own version of Oppa Gangnam Style and I liked it! After 20 minutes of going around, we had lunch at a restaurant there. The average rate per plate was around 9,000 won, which was quite pricey.

at the train station

Petite France

it's cold! brrr...

vanity attacked! lol

make a wish!

my most favorite spot

band performing their own version of Oppa Gangnam Style

watch their performance :)

We missed the bus going to Nami Island. We were just a few minutes late because we were not able to note the time of arrival of the bus written at the brochures given to us. The next bus would arrive after an hour and a half, so we just decided to take a cab. The Nami Island was quite far from Petite France that it cost us around 28,000 won. Yikes! Anyway, Nami Island's entrance starts from the port where the ferry is. That ferry takes the guests to the Nami Island itself, which for marketing purposes they called, Nami Republic. There were lots of tourists of different nationalities there; thus, the long queue at the ticket booth. Admission Fee (5,000 won) and ferry ride (3,000 won) amounted to 8,000 won each. It was just a quick 15-minute ride to get to the island from the mainland. Nami Island has become popular because it was the shooting place of Winter Sonata, one of the most popular Korean dramas. Other than biking and taking photos, there's nothing else to do there. So after 30 minutes, we went back to the mainland.

the ferry to Nami Island

just like a Korean haha

my shot via Instagram

First Kiss Bridge (Winter Sonata)

this was where the First Kiss in the Korean drama, Winter Sonata was shot

Seoul sisters in Nami Island :)

what a relaxing view :)

We waited for the bus to Gapyeong Station of the ITX line and we headed back downtown. We had dinner at a mall in Dongdaemun. I tried their Jjampong and I liked it. Plus we ordered crepes for dessert haha. We shopped a little at the night markets there, then we headed home. But since Dianne and I were a bit bored, we went out for a walk around Hongdae. We discovered a lot of coffee shops, bars/clubs, streetfood stalls, and clothing and accessories shops. We had some spicy chicken skewers and something like a tempura for our streetfood trip. We're not much of risk-takers when it comes to food so we didn't try weird-looking streetfood haha.

Jjampong

i forgot its name :))

Starbucks tumblers

heaven!!! LOL!

it actually tasted good :)

After more than an hour of walking around, we went back to the hotel room and met new housemates who were Filipinos too. They were staying inside the room in front of our room. There are three rooms in Pastel's Guesthouse in Prugio Apartment in Hongdae (the building where Nolita is) and the place is really nice. There are a lot of freebies too -- toiletries, hot/cold water, coffee/tea. Plus, our host, Jimmy (owner of the apartment) is also nice for assisting us with directions and other travel concerns. Check out this link to see how awesome the place is!:)

Total spending for the day for 4 pax:
Transportation - 47,000 won (subway and cab for 4pax)
Gapyeong Tour Bus - 20,000 won (5,000 won each)
Lunch - 40,000 won (in Petite France)
Dinner - 36,000 won (plus crepes for dessert)
TOTAL: 143,000 won = Php 5,470 (or approx. Php 1,368/pax)

Day 4 coming up next!:)

Hey SEOUL Sisters! (Day 2)

It's our second day (Nov. 16) in Seoul, and we're getting used to the cold weather. For our Day 2, we're off to Everland Resort. It's an amusement park like Disneyland. We though about going to Lotte World too, but it's gonna cost us a lot of time and money to go to both. Lotte World an indoor one but they said it's more of for kiddos while Everland had more thrilling rides for young adults. However, one of the advantages of Lotte World is, it's nearer the city. It's accessible via subway 'coz it's just at Jamsil Station. But since we chose Everland, which was outside the city, we had to travel for more than 2 hours to get there.

From Hongdae, we took the subway to Gangnam Station which took us around 40mins. Then we went to the middle of the wide street where the bust stop was. There were three stops there. Buses were very organized that they stop on the designated bus stops. We were waiting for bus 5002 (not 500-2) going to Everland. However, we were at the 1st bus stop and that bus' stop was on the 2nd one, and we couldn't stop the bus that we just stared at it as it went away. Good thing a bus arrives every 30mins. Anyway, so we went to right bus stop this time so were finally able to ride a bus. It took us an hour and a half until the last stop, which was the Everland. But that stop was not so near Everland itself so we had to take Everland's special mini bus, which took us to the Everland entrance.

photobooth at the Gangnam station

we didn't know how to grab the photos haha

It was so cold in Everland because it's in a mountain I guess. At the ticket booth, we paid for 4 All-Day passes at 32,000 won each. Originally, each 1-Day ticket is worth 40,000 for adults but since we got a discount coupon for foreigners at their website, we only paid 32,000 won each. We just showed our passports as a proof that we're foreign tourists. Click this link for the ticket prices and discount coupon. They also have Night passes, which is good for 5pm 'til 30 minutes before closing time. The theme park hours vary from day to day. So just check their website. But most of the time, they operate from 10am to 8pm.

Everland!

look at that backdrop haha so fake!

huggable bears!

Seoul sisters with the Everland bears:))

We took a cable car to our first ride, which was the huge rollercoaster that had tracks made of wood. It's called the T Express. There was a long queue but we were patient enough to stay in line. We were not allowed to wear hats/bonnets and scarves so imagine how cold it was up there! The ride was about 3 minutes or less but it was so fun! We actually found ourselves in tears after the ride because of the cold wind that hit our faces. haha! So after that ride, we went to the SK Telecom lounge for foreigners wherein we got free coffee and wifi. Then we had lunch at a fastfood. Ok, so even their burgers were a bit spicy. Good thing I love spicy food!:)

T Express

I love the SK Telecom Lounge!

Then we watched the parade and walked around. Then we entered the Global Village, which was a rip-off of "It's a Small World" of Disneyland. Plus, Disneyland's got better looking dolls haha! Anyway, our next ride was the Hurricane, but only Pam and I chose to ride it. That ride was fun but got us quite dizzy. It actually resembles the Pizza-La ride in Fuji-Q Highland in Japan; but in the Hurricane, people are facing each other, while at the Pizza-La, people are facing outside the circle. From there, Pam and I queued for the Double Rock Spin. While in line, we could see how the ride was spinning the others, which got Pam and I really scared to the point of almost backing out. But then again, we only live once! haha! So we took the risk! Before the ride started, we already said our goodbyes and farewell messages. Yeah, we were paranoids! LOL! But luckily, we survived the ride! haha! We're close to throwing up though! haha! After that, we entered the 3D theater for the Pororo 3D Adventure and besides the fact that we couldn't understand it, we also didn't enjoy it. Disneyland's Philharmagic is a better 3D adventure than that. We left the theme park at around 4:30pm because we had to meet Pam's friends in CoEx Mall in Samseong.

fake snow right there!

yummy float!

while watching the parade

Double Rock Spin

while waiting for the Everland bus

We got off at Gangnam bus stop. But since we thought it's near, we tried walking from there to Samseong. It was raining and we're getting wet 'coz we didn't bring umbrellas. Then we realized it's far so we took the subway from Seollung to Samseong (just one station away). The station was connected to CoEx so we just waited for Pam's friends at CoEx. Then they treated us to dinner at Mad Garlic, which was just a 5-minute walk from CoEx Mall. We ordered different pastas and pizzas, some of them were really spicy, but yummy!:) After dinner, we dropped by the IDC Seoul office to borrow umbrella from Pam's friends. And since we were so tired and sleepy, we just headed back home.

dinner:)

really nice new Korean friends :)

at IDC Seoul, South Korea office

Total expenses for the day:

1. Transportation (bus & subway) - 20,000 won

2. Entrance Fee (32,000 won each) - 128,000 won 

3. Lunch (fastfood) - 17,000 won

4. Dinner - FREE!

TOTAL: 165,000 won = Php 6,320 (or approx. Php 1,580/pax)

That was a fun and freezing Day 2! Follow our Seoul adventure in my next posts.

Hey SEOUL Sisters! (Day 1)

So it's officially our first day in Seoul (Nov. 15). We left our place at around 9am and took the subway to Gwanghwamun. At the subway station, we purchased T-Money card worth 3,000 won each. T-Money is more than just a subway card as it stores money, which you can use to pay buses and convenience stores just by tapping your card. It's very convenient! Plus you get discounts on subway and bus fares with T-Money too. However, the amount paid for the card wasn't refundable, so we had to let go of our 3,000 won. Also, the card wasn't pre-loaded with credits so we had to reload it right after purchase from the vending machine.

Our itinerary for Day 1 was a downtown tour. There's a city tour bus in Seoul that features 3 different courses: 1) City Circulation Course, 2) Palace Course, and 3)Night Course. Actually there are a lot of common stops in these courses. But when we got to Gwanghwamun bus stop, the attendant at the ticket booth suggested that we take the City Circulation Course. Each ticket was wroth 10,000 won. The "hop on hop off" bus departs every 30mins at every stop. For further information, click this link. The only downside of this was, we were not able to go to all the palaces because they close at 4:30 to 5:00pm. And the entire day from 9am to 9pm wasn't enough because of a lot of stops. We were not able to get off at Namsan Tower where the entire city, as well as DMZ (the boundary of North and South Korea) can be viewed, because we were already too tired.  We also missed the Locks of Love, which can be found at the Namsan stop too. Anyway, so here's how our day went:

1. Gwanghwamun (1st bus stop) - It's where we bought tickets. But you can buy from the bus driver when you get on the bus at any other stops. We departed here at 10:30am.

2. Deoksugung Palace - We paid 2000 won each for entry. It's so funny 'coz this stop was just 2 minutes away from the previous stop. Anyway, there's nothing much to see inside. We just got fascinated by lots of autumn leaves that got us really nice photos. After taking photos inside, we exited the gate and witnessed at 11am, the ceremony of changing of the guards. Then we went to the bus stop to wait for the bus.

Deoksugung Palace

I love autumn colors!:)

photo bombers alert! lol

changing of the guards

he's also looking at the camera haha

3. National Museum of Korea - Entrance is free! It's a really nice and big museum. There were a lot to see but we had to hurry because we've only got an hour to spare in order to catch the next bus. The buses actually arrive on time at every stop. How cool is that?:)

outside the museum

whatever this was lol

group pic inside the museum

I just took a photo, I didn't read the caption!:))

4. Itaewon - It's a popular place for shopping and dining. There were a lot of tourists there, mostly whites. We chose to get off at this stop 'coz we were too hungry. After getting our multiple currencies changed into won, we proceeded to a Korean restaurant for lunch. We chose a traditional Korean resto wherein we had to take off our shoes and sit on the floor. Honestly, we were clueless on most of the dishes but we just chose what to eat based on the photos on the menu. Then we were surprised to be served with a lot of plates and bowls filled with different dishes. It was a feast! haha! But we were too hungry that we finished them all. LOL! And it was even funnier because a couple approached us asking if we were living on Korea, then we said we're just tourists. Apparently they were talent scouts looking for models. Woah! We could've been the next K-Pop sensation! LOL! Anyway, our total bill amounted to around 28,000 won. Super worth it! Anyway, while waiting for the bus, we explored some of the shops. We checked out different brands of cosmetics and bought a few. 

almost everything's spicy

5. Changdeokgung - It's one of UNESCO's World Heritage sites. It was a long ride getting here that we fell asleep in the bus. When we got there, we were already too lazy to enter the palace since we had to pay 3000 won so we just took photos outside. After that, our crazy adventure began! We walked not knowing where to go. The next bus stop supposedly was Insadong, but we just walked to get there since it's gonna take a longer time for us to wait for the bus.

entrance gate

6. Insadong - It's a shopping strip featuring shops of clothes, accessories, antiques, artistic crafts, and cosmetics/beauty products. We got so hooked into buying lots of cosmetics and beauty products because the salesladies were very aggressive in attracting us to come inside their shops. They hand us freebies just so we would enter their shop. We had no choice but to buy! But hey, we enjoyed it! Most especially because they kept giving us freebies 'til after purchasing their products. 5 stars for customer service! And yeah, they speak English too!:) So that started our addiction to Korean beauty products haha!

Insadong street

One of our favorite shops!:)

We kept walking 'til we realized we're back at Gwanghwamun, the first bus stop. And since the night was too cold, we decided to have coffee at a coffee shop somewhere across the Deoksugung Palace. After coffee we walked going to Namdaemun Night Market.

Gwanghwamun Gate

7. Namdaemun - It's one of the stops of the city circulation course, but since it's near where we we had coffee, we just walked going there. There were lots of clothing stalls at the Namdaemun Night Market. Clothes and accessories range from 5000 won to 50,000 won depending on the quality of the product. A lot of scarves, earmuffs, boots, gloves and jackets were being sold because it's almost winter. I was amazed that first class-looking winter clothes were being sold in a Divisoria-ish kind of place. After shopping, we headed back to our place for some dinner. We brought some canned goods to cook, while we bought microwaveable rice from the stocks of our host.

8. President Hotel - After freshening up, we headed to President Hotel to meet up with a friend whom we'll be partying with that night. We took a big cab (looked like a mini van) to JJ Mahoney's in Namsan area.

8. JJ Mahoney's, Hyatt Hotel - They said it's one of the best high-end clubs in Seoul. We just got invited to an event there. Anyway, there were two rooms at the club. One has a big dance floor and the music that was being played was a mix of RnB, HipHop, House and Trance. Whenever no one's dancing on the floor, the DJ plays Oppa Gangnam Style to attract people to the dance floor. And I was so proud having danced that song on a Korean dance floor lol! But hey, it's so weird 'coz we couldn't find the DJ's booth haha! I just assumed there's a "DJ" 'coz there's music being spinned LOL! Anyway, we met some Korean guys on the dance floor and they took us to the other room, wherein a live band was performing. They said that's the most popular foreign band in Korea. I wasn't sure of their nationalities but most of them were white. They were performing mostly RnB and Hiphop, just like the Black Eyed Peas. They were dancing well too! SO after escaping those Korean guys, we were back to our table drinking Heineken and Asahi while munching on some fruits! Well they got a healthy pica-pica set, unlike those in the Philippines where everything seems so oily haha! Anyway, after a couple of hours at the club, we headed back home. I can't remember how much we paid for the cab, probably something more than 10,000 won. It's quite pricey because it's already late and Namsan was quite far from Hongdae, where we were staying.

sorority sisters

Total spending (w/o shopping expenses) for the day for 4pax:

1. T-Money Card - 12,000 won

2. City Tour - 40,000 won

3. Lunch - 28,000 won

4. Coffee - 17,000 won

5. Transportation (cab & trains) - 30,000 won

6. Party - FREE!

TOTAL: 127,000 won = Php 4,865 (or approx. Php 1,217/pax)

That's just Day 1! Got 5 days more to write about!:)