day 3, seoul part 2

ok...continuation of day 2.

jun picked us up in his car at 4p.m. and we drove around the city. seoul is really huge and the streets are wide and busy.

he drove us around namsan hill but we did not stop unfortunately. how i would love to stop just to take a photo of the city from above, but time did not permit it.

we reached sam-cheong dong area which is a hilly area in seoul. there are so many little shops in the area that it makes walking so interesting. albeit in the cold. oh, by the way the weather outside is -5.5 C. when the wind blows....brr......

i think we walked to an area called bukchon hanok village where traditional style houses still stand.

i love their roofs.

quite a number of tourists come here to take photos. it is so quiant and lovely.

that is the namsan tower (north seoul tower) on the hill there yonder.

a quiant little cafe in sam-cheong dong. i was so afraid of knocking into the wall accidentally that i hugged myself as i walked in. the coffee? just so-so.
there are some stalls by the street here, but not that many. the small boutiques, cafes and restaurants are the main attractions here.

that is the bugaksan hill which stands behind the presidential residence. well, no picture of the presidential residence yet. tomorrow, that is where i am going.

then we drove somemore to a crowded area called daehangno which is like their theatre district. it was super crowded there but unfortunately, we could not get a space for the car. ;(
we were stuck in the congestion in the streets that weave through the area for 30 mins. but i had fun ppl watching from the car and looking at all the lights that come out from the restaurants which were all fully packed as well.

don't they go to church since it is x-mas eve?

we decided to head somewhere else for dinner. it is at a market place where they only serve jakbol, a korean pig feet dish. even celebrities come to eat at this dingy place. it is also known as jakbol town.
the side dishes- garlic, chilli, kimchi, salt, fresh chinese cabbage, etc.

plum wine.

oh i hate this rotating heater. it was really hot....i made them switch it off.

vermicelli stuffed in pork intestine (sundae in korean) and pork liver.
the stuffed vermicelli is not that bad....although there is still the intestine smell.

hot soup that tasted like mint soup but it is not. it is not spicy....and it is good. dipping the stuffed intestine in the soup makes it more tolerable.

everything we had for dinner tonight.

part of the restaurant.

pig's feet. it is quite bland but you dip it in chilli sauce. lots and lots of collagen hahah.

found outside on the alley of the market, fermented anchovies.

the alley way into the restaurants.

fermented fish or something like that.

another christmas present from kien!! gosh, and i din even get her a thing. will buy her the mcdonalds breakfast she wants to eat tomorrow lah.

we will be on our own tomorrow because jun has to celebrate christmas with his family. so we will go to all the palaces.

and now i better go through the subway map and mark my course so i can cover as much as i can.

merry christmas to you all and may your christmas be filled with joy and love and peace.

day 3 seoul, part 1

an-nyoung....
it is 3.30p.m. now and i am resting at the hotel. we are waiting for jun, our korean friend and guide to go pick up his car before doing further exploration.

we have visited hongdae area famous for its entertainment and clubs earlier. so i am going to share some photos here before my ride comes. thanks to fast internet, loading photos is a breeze.

the street and what was left of yesterday's snow.
this is the thickest layer of untouched snow i could find at a park. it was still soft and fluffy.

hongdae area is really vibrant with the young crowd and of course there are shops, coffee shops and clubs scattered everywhere. the youth came out at noon and flooded the area.

we had lunch at one of the noodles shop.
dumplings.
seafood noodles sichuan style.

inside the restaurant.

my ja jang mien- bean paste noodle. it is sweet with some cabbage. this is the most basic one...it is not bad.
this is how it looks like before i mix everything together.

we had a walk around the area and jun took us to the place where they filmed the famous korean series- coffee prince. this place has become a tourist haunt. we see lots of japanese and taiwanese here but no korean.

i am not that familiar with the series although i know of its existence...



autograph of the main actress.




had some coffee and a piece of cake...to escape from the cold. could not really stay too long outside. felt like the nose is going to break into pieces anytime soon because it has become so stiff.

street of hong dae area....very popular with the young crowd.

celebrity spotting. up and coming hip-hop group MIB. ok, i did not know they were mib till the pr person shouted welcome mib. haha...then we googled him on the phone. many ppl were taking photos and videos of them, hence i did the same ;)

our christmas present from jun- ear mufflers. i got the black one as my coat is black. well, they do keep my ears really warm....now if only they have the same thing to keep my nose warm.

well, that is all for this afternoon. there will be more later tonight.

day 2, seoul

an early night today. gosh, i am with 2 ppl who are just happy to get away from work and office- physically. they are still constantly accepting phone calls and replying e-mails when on the go at the street. the schedule is not rushed at all...so everything was slow and steady.

today it was just walking at the shopping districts- namdaemun market and myeongdong.
our mode of transport was the subway and feet.
weather- 0Celcius...in the day time.

this is the entrance to the subway station from our side of the street at itaewon.

it is totally easy to blend in in the crowd- wear black. see my new boots? they keep me really cosy, well my feet especially. i will be in them for the next few days for sure. and i get to wear it outside my jeans hahaha......

we got off at namdaemun market....something like petaling street.



namsan tower or north seoul tower....but we din go up since it is winter and there is nothing much to see. the tower is also not on such a high hill, so i am not sure how much of seoul can be seen.

but seoul does not have so many skyscrapers surprisingly. but their shopping malls all have many storeys. went to one with 12 storeys...so many varieties...but oh so expensive. too lazy to convert when shopping, so could not really be bothered to check the goods since i can also get all the brands online.

i am more interested in discovering their food beause i really dunno much about them except kimchi. and...i only try kimchi for the first time today. my verdict? i don't like it hahah....although i will try one piece of every side dish that they offer.

lunch was bibimbap today...my first time too.





mushroom with roasted meat on bibimbap on iron plate. not bad....lots of vege inside and you eat it with the bean paste mixed and stirred in.

this is how it looks like after you stir all. i could not finish the portion. after all, i am not really a rice person as well.

beancurd in kimchi soup. the soup is quite good....i just don't like the vege kimchi haha...

this is in myeongdong. the building you see is lotte mall. all branded goods are here...but the more upmarket departmental store is sinsegae. all the brands.....wow.

it is called unesco road because there is a unesco hall here.

street food is aplenty on the streets but most of them are either fried or grilled. my throat is already very dry and i sneezed quite hard when i go into a warm place. my nose really cannot take the change of weather that fast. gosh, even my face is already swollen due to the cold.

we bought this crispy squid snack to try. yummy...wish i could try more. well, i still have few more days...

view of the pedestrian street from the 2nd floor of forever 21. going into shops was an escape from the cold.

myeongdong subway station.

a coffee break was requested...not by yours truly of course. i requested for a decaf.

there are so many shops selling korean brands cosmetics on the streets and they appear at almost every corner....the same brand! i heard the bb cream here is cheaper and i have got order to buy 2 dy hahah. so anyone wanna order somemore?? i should be getting them from faceshop. i don't use them.

at a big crossroad in the centre of seoul's shopping district. the sky turned dark at 5p.m.

we had our dinner at 7p.m.

yup, time to grill some meat.

lots of side dishes and pork there....and yeah, kimchi.

this is marinated pork.

they even grilled the kimchi and it was not that strong after grilling. this i could take, but i still do not like it.

oh, i also tried raw beef for the first time. yes, they are raw but mixed with sesame oil and an egg. it is actually not bad and i love it. haha... you eat it with the sliced radish. i think the french called it tartare.

this is how it looks like after you mix the radish and egg. there is no smell of beef but the oil. i am so proud of myself for trying all these korean dishes haha....

it is more a food discovery trip this time. but food is not cheap i tell you. we spent 100,000 won on this meal....so it is about rm300. can you believe it??

have to save the cash i have for food.

but....for shopping...haha....there is always the credit card ;)

how could i resist these hello kitty cushions on 50% discount? i have got accessories for my car!!! haha....time to dress-up the car when i go back.

also got more heattech wear from uniqlo which is also on discount. haiz....and i just got one before i left for korea the other day.

i wonder if it is still snowing outside. it was snowing when we walked back to the hotel at 9p.m. well, i will know when i go out tomorrow.

it is more walking and more streets and more food tomorrow.

my travel partner is already sleeping soundly for the past hour. it is only 11p.m. malaysian time now. it is faster by one hour here in korea. i managed to watch all the clips on x-factor usa finale and the result show.

am really impressed with the fast internet connection they have here. salute.

well, time to sleep. could not really sleep on the high pillow yesterday. going to use the cushion on the chair tonight.
night.