Seoul Fall 2013

Seoul Fall 2013

We took another trip to Seoul again, this time in Oct 2013.
Missed cute 자기야 so we went to see her again.

Took off from Changi airport T2 on Korean Air.
Love the Orchid garden and we stop by for pics everytime.

The red eye flight went by quickly and before landing, we were served breakfast.
I chose the porridge and it came with a seasoning packet of seaweed and some spices.
There was also a western omelette selection.

On the bus to Seoul

Drama set filming in front of the hotel at Guro.
They did so many takes on this one single scene where they open the door to the car for this group of guys.

Lunchtime!

It was tofu soup 순두부

 Later on, we had waffles, which are quite readily available in the cafes.

Koreans seem to like waffles. 

 Near the palace, there is an underground museum that showcases the origins of the palace and Korean history. There was an exhibit of art by school children. Quite creative!

Night dinner was roasted and fried chicken!
Always eat this when in Korea. So tasty!

We went over to Hongdae and one thing I love about Seoul is the huge variety of cafes that they have.

Oftentimes, they are independently owned and have their own decor and menu.

 Kimchi fried rice with egg and seaweed

 Pancakes for Greenie.
Coffee in Seoul is very expensive although comparable to prices in Starbucks.
Wish they have cheap coffee like kopi in Singapore.

Bakery at KTX station before leaving for Busan

Korean style porridge.

Lots of different toppings available such as beef, mushrooms, abalone etc

The most expensive ones were the abalone and beef.

Porridge in Korea is certainly expensive for what you get.

It costs about 10,000 won and the amount of food and ingredients aren't that much.

Bibimbap is a better option, I feel.

We also had Japanese style shabu-shabu which was just ok.
I would pass on it next time.

This is the Cheonggyecheon Stream lantern festival.
We got there on the 2nd night that it started and it was so crowded.
It was single direction and the regular exits/entrances were all manned by personnel.
People could only enter and exit at certain locations.
We ended up just viewing the lanterns from above the stream.
There were also lots of vendors set up, selling food, drawings, clothes etc, just a pasar malam!

 We had a caricature drawn but it didnt turn out well.
Didnt look at all like us! :(

Wanted to try their ramyeon (ramen) and so we stopped by a neighbourhood store.
Also had kimbab to go with it.
Ramyeon is cheap.
I wonder if they use Shin ramyeon as a base. :)

 Lunch the next day before heading to Namsan
Pork tonkatsu with rice and kimbab, a different kind as the egg is wrapped on top.

Park outside Dongguk university.
This university has many Korean actors who went there such as Lee Seung Gi, Han Hyo Joo, Gianna Jun, Shin Min A, Park Min Young.
We took a subway to the university and then switched to a bus to get to Namsan.

The fall foliage was beautiful!

 Namsan tower and the road leading up to the base.
The bus dropped us off at a stop and we walked up a hill to where the elevators were.
We bought a combo ticket for the tower and the Teddy Bear museum.
(Teddy Bear museum is now closed unfortunately. It has shifted to another location).

There is also a cable car station as an alternate route.
From past experience, the queue can be super long.

Personally, I love the Teddy Bear museum.
There are life sized bears as well as dioramas which show the daily lives of Koreans throughout the ages from the Joseon era to modern day Korea.
It also has famous Korean paintings but with Teddy Bears in it. :)
Very cute.

Finally took a high speed elevator up Namsan tower.

 I have a connection with cities that start with the letter S. :)
lol, who knew that Seattle would beat out Denver in the 2014 Superbowl!
It was all written in bold here. :0

 Looks like a tree of ... love locks?
Lovers put locks and add theirs to this growing tree.
There is a row of something like 5 such trees.

 We walked down Namsan which was really nice.
Much easier to walk down than up! :)

BBQ dinner!
The seasoned ones with sauce are tastier, I feel.

 A grocery store (eMart) in Seoul.
There were so many tasting stations!
Galbi, pasta, noodles, soup, tea, ice cream.
Pretty much, u can have a 3 course dinner doing a single round. :)

 Greenie with friends

 Lunch before leaving for the airport.
This is soup bulgogi with plenty of banchan.
The rice was given as an extra but there was so much food for the two of us.

 Traditional wedding procession at the airport, outside the cultural center.
Highly recommend going earlier to the airport and get a handicraft work at the cultural center!
They have different items all the time and I have made a fan, painting, bowl and many other items.
Very nice souvenir to bring home.

 Hello Kitty cafe inside the airport.

Thanks for reading!
Hope you had a good time. :)