Spring Time in Korea - Part II
POSTED ON: Saturday, April 2, 2016 @ 10:06 PM | 0 comments
Well, even though the posts are titled Spring Time in Korea Part I & II, the weather there felt nothing like spring in mid March. Most days were okay-ish with temperatures at about 14 deg or so and the sunny skies helped quite a bit. Nights were of course colder between 9 to 12 deg but that's quite alright too if you're covered in warm clothing. But the days could get as cold as 5 deg and that, for sure, felt nothing like spring.
Anyway, back to my daily itinerary for your reference.
Day 4
Slept in on Day 4 of our Seoul trip and woke up for brunch at Garosu-Gil. Funny how we settled for Italian food in Korea. Mushroom soup, creamy prawn linguine and a blueberry smoothie.
Garosu-Gil is at Sinsa Station [Line 3, Exit #8]. Walk straight upon exiting the station for approximately 250m and turn left onto Garosu-gil. There's a little street signage at the start of the street so you shouldn't miss it.
Garosu-Gil is at Sinsa Station [Line 3, Exit #8]. Walk straight upon exiting the station for approximately 250m and turn left onto Garosu-gil. There's a little street signage at the start of the street so you shouldn't miss it.
Garosu-gil was dotted with cute cafes and hipster stores. Things are a little pricier here though, but still affordable. Spotted a shirt dress and I kinda regret not getting it now. Note to self: buy anything that catches your eye while on a holiday, no regrets later.
Look at the funny rows of shoes leading to the entrance of the shoe museum!
Headed to the Express Bus Terminal Station for some cheap underground shopping.
Express Bus Terminal Station [Line 3, Exit #8]
Unfortunately, we were there on a Sunday and oh goodness it was terribly crowded I could barely do any shopping proper. Apparels and accessories were cheap, no doubt. But the crowd on weekends was quite insane. Then again, it was still early spring while I was there so there weren't many clothes suitable for Singapore's hot and humid weather. Mostly long sleeved or knitted wear still. I suppose mid April onwards should be better for shopping.
Next stop was the newly opened Hyundai city outlets near Dongdaemun station.
Dongdaemun Station [Line 1 / Line 4, Exit #8]
Spent hours roaming the huge new mall. I think the whole mall was about 8 or 9 storeys high, with basement 1 and basement 2. I think I like basement 2 best since almost all the food was there. Well, food in Korea generally wasn't as cheap as I had expected it to be. Probably similar to Singapore's. But I just had to have a bite of everything! There's a Cantonese saying which means something like "eyes big big, stomach small small". Couldn't agree more.
The higher levels of the mall was somewhat like a department store, like Tangs or Isetan. But the basement was my foodie heaven. Honey butter chips, banana milk and banana ice cream at Yellow Cafe, strawberry shortcakes, apple cinnamon teas, and the list goes on...
Headed further down to Hello APM Mall and Migliore mall for some cheap buys. My mother bought quite a few fashionable tops at a good price.
No dinner for us at night as we were still rather full from all the food at Hyundai city outlet.
Day 5
After breakfast at Paris Baguette again, we were off to Gangnam for more shopping today!
Gangnam Station
[Line 2, Exit #10]
No longer the cheap bargain shops like at the Express Bus Terminal station or Hello APM mall. So I was a little more excited and ready to bag home some new clothes! Pretty fruitful shopping for apparels and cosmetics here. And what do you do when your legs are tired from shopping?
Sit down at one of Seoul's largest Paris Baguette and have high tea of course! It's a good thing we're only in Seoul for 5 full days. Can't image how much weight I would have gained if I stayed here any longer. Just look at that display cabinet full of sweet treats! And that's just one tenth of the selection they had in the store...
North Seoul Tower in the evening. We took a cable car up to the North Seoul tower. Alternatively, you could walk up the slope which would take about 45 minutes to an hour. Here's how to get to the cable car station:
Myeongdong Station [Line 4, Exit #3]
Turn left and walk towards Pacific Hotel, keep on the right side and walk up the hill towards the cable car station.
You'll probably see many other tourists walking up the hill along the way like we did, and we just followed the crowd.
Read online that there was supposed to be a laser show every hour starting from 8pm till 11pm that lasted for about 10 minute each. But NO. we were hanging around waiting for the laser show to start at 8pm but nothing happened. Approached a staff at one of the souvenir shops there and was told that the show had stopped since last summer! ):
Nevertheless, it was great fun with the cable car and endless selfie shots with the North Seoul Tower and artistic bare trees.
Back down via the cable car (or you could take a 30 minute stroll down the hill) and had our last Koean BBQ dinner at Wangbikib Korean BBQ. The name sounds familiar? Yes that's because we are back at the same restaurant as we did on the first night in Seoul.
Here's a photo of the entrance in case you're thinking of heading to the same place too. It's at Level 2 and they share the same entrance as a salon.
Day 6
Last day in Seoul and the temperature that day was the coldest in our 6 days there. 6deg and you're telling me it's spring??
Took the airport limousine bus from the bus stop near our hotel to the airport. Last meal in Korea with Korean style chicken rice and Korean fried chicken with their signature BBQ sauce. Missed home a little and glad to be back in Singapore after spending 6 days in Seoul.
So... where to next? :)
Love,
Lorraine
