Travel with me: 2016

Hi all, following is part 2 of our vacation... and it's Seoul!

Staying near Seoul station was definitely our best choice. You can travel to anywhere easily. If you are thinking to travel to other places easily, you may choose Seoul station. But if your main objective is to shop, then maybe staying in Myeongdong, Hongdae, Ewha, Gangnam and Dongdaemun would be better.

For your information, there's a reason why I arranged my trip this way. Since Chuseok falls on 14th - 16th September 2016, we went to the university area the first 2 days. Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving day) is celebrated by the whole nation and they have 3 days off and this year, coincidentally, it falls on Wednesday till Friday and follows by weekend. I tried to search for information from the Korea Tourism Organization/blogs if the shops are close during that period but since some shops are depending on the owner themselves, it's hard to know whether they will be open or close. To be safe, we decided to go to University area before Chuseok holiday and main tourist attraction spots on Chuseok day (Cos they will definitely open on public holidays). (^.~)

Day 1 Seoul

On our first day in Seoul, we planned to go to Hongdae & Sansu-dong cafe street. However, we only managed to go to Hongdae since we had some issues upon arriving our apartment. To travel to Hongdae, transfer to Line 2, Hongik University Station, exit 3 or 8. Don't go for exit 6. It's too far and you will need GPS to lead you to the main attraction place. There will be a lot of people exiting to Hongdae shopping street. If no one is going to the same place as you, it means you are going to the wrong path.

If you are here don't forget to try the Kiss the Tiramisu ice cream. They have a few shops here... at least 2 of them. It's yummy and it's a good idea to have it in a wine glass plastic cup (It looks classy in a way.. lol) and it only cost KRW4,900.

We wanted to try out the Masizzim (Galbi Zzin beef short ribs stew) but we couldn't find it.. we walked up and down and were super hungry T.T . The crowds were increasing as the day was getting darker. In the end, we decided to try Myth Jokbal cos there's a long queue waiting outside. When there's a long queue, it means something is nice inside... hehehe... As what the shop's name had suggested, yes, they only serve pig trotter here... but with a big serving of salads. Really yummy... they cooked their pig trotter in traditional way and it's not too greasy or oily. Just nice...! Remember to put your name in their waiting list if they are full... don't just stand there and wait for your turn to go in.

(Super big portion for 2)

(The yummilicious pig trotter that you will never regret)

(The big portion of salad, side dishes and a few sauces for you to dip the pig trotter in)

(Yummy! It's something like a cold vinegar soup with acorn jelly if im not wrong)

After dinner, you can do some shopping here while digesting your food. It is well known that their prices are reasonable since it's around the university area. Anyhow, you can try to bargain... and walk around more to get cheaper price for the same item. It might differ a little. =)

Day 2

Like what i've mentioned, the first two days will be University area, so it's Ewha Woman University next! To go to Ewha Woman University by subway, you have to take Line 2 to Ewha Station and exit 2 or 3. If you are going from Seoul station, remember to transfer at City Hall to Line 2.

Just like it's name suggested, yes, it's woman's heaven... you can get all the cosmetics/skincare/clothes here. For guys, don't worry, you still can shop but of course not as much as gals. My hubby did... he bought his clothes and pants here. Btw, he got harassed by an ahjumma too. Hahahahaha... touch here and there. Too friendly maybe? Lol~ Oh ya, remember to bargain... the price can go cheaper. ^^

After our morning shopping, we went to Majang Meat Market in the afternoon for our lunch. I forgot to mention about our breakfast..lol.. If we don't have any specific restaurant to go for breakfast, we will just buy some bread, egg, milk or coffee as light breakfast.

(Something that I needed to try out of curiosity.. haha...boiled eggs sold in convenience store)

To go to Majang Meat Market by subway, please go to Majang Station at Line 5, and exit 2. After exiting gate 2, walk straight along the shops on your left, go straight until the end of the road and you'll see big crosswalk with traffic lights and flyover (someone wrote it as 350m but I personally think it's more than that... maybe 500 m?). Then, turn left and walk straight again for about 400m... there are a few shops on your left. After the shop lots, there will be some condominiums/apartments on your left... go straight and you'll see the Majang Meat Market entrance after the parking space.

(Photo credit to one of the blogger.. I forgot where I got it already. For your reference but I think my description is more detailed than the picture.. lol)

(The entrance to Majang meat market)

(The wholesale dealer for meat market)

We had Hanwoo (Korean Top Grade Beef) for 2 pax in assorted meat for KRW56,000. Once you bought you beef/pork from the stalls, they will bring you to a restaurant located above the stalls. The restaurant that we went was the first restaurant on the right, level 1. They charged us KRW10,000 for the plain water and the side dishes.. all refillable. It's all self service including grilling your own meat. We don't know anything at all when we arrived and they couldn't speak english until one of their customer (I guess.. cos he was waiting for something/bill with a box and he wore office wear.. maybe he bought some meat from them) came and offered us some help.

(Our assorted Hanwoo beef for 2 pax)

(They sell beef bones too!)

(All types of beef parts can be found here)

(A chart to tell which part of beef/pork)

(Potato salad as one of their side dish... yummy!)

(The sauce they prepared for you... your beef will taste super delicious!)

(Hanwoo beef grilling in the process.. don't wait too long or it'll burnt)

(On our way out, we can see some fake pig head on the stall counter.. hahaha~ I don't know whether it's real or fake but it comes with eyelashes and eyebrow... lol..)

Next, dinner in Noryangjin Fish Market. To go to Noryangjin Fish Market, go to Noryangjin Station at Line 1, Exit 1 or 2. Once you exit, go to the staircase going up to the bridge (cos you need to cross over to the right side..) to go to the fish market. At the end of the bridge, you can exit either at the old fish market or new fish market entrances.. they all end up at the same place anyway). We went to the new entrance...

(View from the top to the right side of the fish market)

(Left side of the fish market)

(Middle and towards the back)

(Lotsa seafood! Did you see the king crab on top left?)

(more seafood)

(Big Octopus)

(Gaebul! We didn't try it... but what does it looks like? Lol)

Since it's a fish wholesale market, there are some shopping guidelines you need to know...

1) Always bargain and don't buy it straight away from the first stall.

2) They are all very good in selling their seafood. They will give you a lot of special price and promotion. Like free abalone/prawns if you buy more.

3) Don't agree to buy it and in the end, you did not. They will show you their mad face and stomp their feet. Lol.. typical korean ahjumma I guess.

4) Always weight the seafood and ask for the best price.

5) They are all good in speaking korean and mandarin.

(We bought our seafood here...Sorry, I can't rotate it)

To be exact, we bought our seafood somewhere in the middle on the left side after entering the fish market from the new fish market entrance. There's a reason why I written it out in specific. If i'm not mistaken, every stall cooperate with their respective restaurant. Meaning if you bought your seafood from A stall, A-1 restaurant will cook it for you if you decide to eat it there. So, there will be runners, bringing you to their restaurant. And this stall cooperated with this first restaurant (picture below) located on the left side of the fish market, at the end of the fish stalls but first restaurant. They sell some seafood fritters in front of their restaurant as well.

(Super bad customer service... NOT RECOMMENDED!)

Before my story begins, let me just tell you what we bought for our dinner. As I wanted to try the King Crab so badly, we got one here (although they are only in season in March/April), with 4 prawns, and 5 abalones for KRW75,000. If i'm not wrong, the king crab cost us around KRW60,000.. which is quite normal and this one was large We paid KRW75,000 to the fish stall.. okay. We're happy with it cos it's quite a bargain but now... the bad experience in Korea begins...

So, this restaurant is suppose to cook our seafood and serve us some side dishes (Korean culture) and plain water. Of course they asked if we would want to order any drinks like beer or soju but I don't feel like drinking so I declined them politely and asked for plain water instead. While waiting for our food, they did not serve us anything at all.... not even our plain water for 30-40 minutes. We asked for our plain water for a few times but it seems like it falls on deaf ears. It came in the end after we stop the waitress from going off and ask for it. When our food arrives, it was served as shown in the picture. The prawn was cold, the king crab is almost cool down (not even piping hot), and the abalone is not washed properly. Yes, we asked for the abalone to be barbecued so it's black... but when you eat it, you know it's not washed properly.

As you can see the King Crab was really big and its shell was hard, thick and full with thorns. As a first timer, for sure we had difficulties in cutting it. The waitress just looked at us, laughed and talked to themselves without offering any help or teach us the right way to do it. Bear in mind that they can speak chinese/mandarin fluently. They served some chinese customer really really well. As long as you order more with them, they will serve you properly with side dishes. Such a mata duitan! My gosh... I'm fine with it even if they don't help us... but the thing that made me angry was.... the fee that they charged us. They charged us for the side dishes when in fact we didn't even get any. My hubby told them but they just ignored us. In total, they charged us KRW19,000 for cooking fee, side dishes and plain water. In reality, I paid KRW19,000 for cooking fee and plain water only. Who in the world will pay at least RM72++ for cooking fee (steam & bbq) and plain water? It's like a mamak stall only to be honest. I will never return to this restaurant... it's my first and last visit to this restaurant. To avoid going to this restaurant again, i'm sorry to say that I will never return to the same fish stall to buy their seafood. Even if we wanted to go and get our lunch/dinner in the fish market in the future, I would want to check out to which restaurant are we going first before buying their seafood. NEVER AGAIN I told myself. I don't even want to buy their seafood fritters. Pity my hubby.. he was still hungry and wanted to buy the fritters but he knew i'm mad and angry at their service. Don't let them earn your money when they are treating you that way.

Day 3 Seoul

Third day was our FUN day in Everland theme park. We initially wanted to go to both Everland & Carribean Bay since both are just beside each other and it's under the same company. Luckily we decided to go to Everland only, since every attraction used up at least 50 minutes of waiting time O.O .So, only 4 attractions in one whole day.

For foreigners who wish to go to Everland or Carribean Bay, you may call Daesung Tour at 032 322 7001 one day before for reservation in English language. You may need to bring along your passport for verification.

Ticket Price (In summary):

Everland & Shuttle Bus (Daesung Tour) - KRW47,000 (Discounted price)

Everland & Carribean Bay only - KRW71,000 (Not discounted yet)

Shuttle Bus only - KRW12,000

Getting there:

By shuttle bus - At 8.20am, we departed from Seoul Station, Exit 10, left side. (They have a few stops, you may check from the website).

Duration: 40-50 minutes (depending on the traffic condition)

Everland Attractions:

Out of 8 attractions that I've selected, we only managed to go to 4 attractions (I've highlighted those that we went).

1. European Adventure: T Express

2. Zootopia: Amazon Express

3. Zootopia: Lost Valley

4. Zootopia: Safari World

5. Magic Land: Thunder Falls

6. American Adventure: Rolling X Train (Roller Coaster)

7. American Adventure: Columbus Adventure (Viking Ship)

8. American Adventure: Hurricane

Bonus: Panda World : Meet real panda, Lebao & Aibao

Remember to have a good breakfast if you don't want to end up being motion sickness and couldn't play all the stuff that you wanted. Lol~~ like what happen to my hubby... X'D I really really wanted to play the roller coaster but my hubby surrendered with white flag. lol...

(Our breakfast: Cheesecake by Ryan, Kakao Friends)

14th September 2016 was the first day of Chuseok. Yes, Everland is open and they have special discount for all foreigners. If you think there will be less crowd, you are wrong... lol. It was nicely decorated in Halloween theme since Halloween was around the corner.

T Express is a MUST if you visit Everland. Don't miss it! Once you started the T Express, prepare yourself for a nonstop up and down journey! hahaha~~ thrilling!

(View from outside.. The T Express! Made from woods.. O.O)

(View from inside the queue area)

(The famous love letter in a bulb)

(To be honest, their pandas were much more cleaner than the one I saw in Chengdu, China)

(Selfie with Aibao.. lol~ Can you spot us?)

So, after your exciting and tiring journey in Everland, you will need to go back to the parking Area No. 5, Platform no. 7 or 8, to go back to Seoul Station. Don't miss the bus! They depart at 6.30pm.

We were so tired after such a long day and our Host was kind enough to help us order some food to be delivered to our apartment. hehehe... so we ordered Jajangmyun (Black bean noodle), Tangsuyuk (Sweet & Sour Pork) and Chimaek (Chicken & Beer) to fill our hunger. Delicious!