last day in seoul

home sweet home...or is it???

i had a bad bad flight. only managed to sleep for 1 hour in the plane. damn it. the place where i was sitting had strong cold draught and made me very cold. i had my jacket but i do not have a balaclava! the nose could not bear it.

arrived before 6a.m. at lcct and had a smooth ride back on the bus to kl sentral and the commuter to tm. phew. i din have to wait long and i arrived at tm before 9.15a.m.

i can't wait to call it a night earlier later. it is first meeting for the brand new year tomorrow. and the day after that would be a second meeting. work work work....the end of holidays is near.

anyway, let me finish writing about the last day in seoul.

i finally had time to venture on the streets of itaewon- alone. my travel mate was not interested to go hence, i brisked through the whole street taking in everything.

itaewon is known for its 'international' crowd. it is near an american military base camp and there are restaurants serving food from different cuisines from around the world. the only mosque in seoul is also in this area, so halal food is definitely not a problem here.

i had a happy happy walk because i found samsung leeum museum of art right at the other end of the street from where i was staying. this museum was in my to-visit list, but unfortunately time did not permit me to visit.

a look of the museum from outside. i am already impressed with its surrounding. it is on top of a small hill. art lover should not miss this place.

this is the arch at the entrance of itaewon street.

one of the fuel stations along this road. there are two. see how the fuel pump is hanging instead of sticking to a kiosk. really saves space.

aaarrrrgghh....comme des garcons play store!!! and they were having 20-30% discount.....but...it was not opened yet. i was there at 10.45a.m. but the shop would only be opened at 11a.m. phew! good lah....save my money from buying another similar t-shirt which i already have hahaha.

but.....my money is still spend...in buying this:
i bought a pair of jeans from evisu. i have mentioned earlier that things from japan are cheap right?? they hire hong kongians to work in their shop. yes, this brand is popular with the hong kongians.

the pair of jeans just fit right....can't get any fatter if i want the jeans to wear longer.

check-out at the hotel was a breeze. my suitcase weighed 19kg...just right for the 20kg i bought for the trip home.

on the way to lunch, we passed by this place:


seoul, world cup football stadium. the place where the finals was held.

lunch was kimchi jjigae- stewed pork kimchi soup. this is the best meal i had in korea and it is one of the more reasonably priced one.

the lunch crowd. all locals.

only the locals know this place and it is not really in the city centre.

fried pork cutlets. i love the coleslaw topped with yoghurt.

this is how it looks like when you mix lots and lots of seaweed to the rice, then pour the stew over the soup, and then mix mix mix. yummy...

everything there was on the table, fried egg roll and lots of kimchi side dishes. look at that pot of kimchi soup brewing in the middle. i want it!!!

after lunch, we went for some business visits. i only tagged along and acted as the secretary. and when the host gifted new year gifts, i also got some. wakakka...such hospitable korean manufacturers. thank you thank you....to my friend too lah.

a set of nail clippers- one for the fingers, the other bigger one for the toes. the toe clipper even comes with a magnifying glass so those who have difficulty bending down or seeing their toes from a distance can use the glass. convenient eh??

and the metal part, where you clip your nail, it can rotate to suit the angle that you want. cool eh?

2nd gift set- a lunch box set worth rm300. waaa....my lunch is definitely going to be more delicious if i eat from the box set hahaha....

the container is made of ceramic and it is quite heavy. it even comes with a pair of chopsticks. how convenient. i am not going to keep this lunch set in the cupboard. i am going to use it for work to make it worth its price.

after the 2 visits, we went to incheon international airport and reached there at about 5.30p.m. our flight was at 0020 so we had hours to spend there.

kia forte, our ride. it has a really spacious car booth that could fit both our big suitcases and with still a lot of space remaining for another one.

this was how we spent 3 hours at the cafe- watching 3 idiots on my macbook. lousy airport, there was no free wi-fi. so watching a movie was an activity we could do without the internet connection

the airport is a spacious one and they have different arrival halls too. the duty free is impressive as well. louis vuitton boutique is there. well, you can find lv boutiques almost everywhere. with tax refund, one can really shop a lot here....if you have the money.

well, i guess that sums up my trip to seoul. it has been a good one as i manage to see everything on the list i have prepared. the food is good and i am glad that my first korean cuisine experience is in seoul itself with a local guide. yes, i grumbled about the weather but fortunately nobody fell sick. it was definitely a good good break.

kam-sa-ha-mi-da seoul.