Gosh life has been non-stop since coming back from Seoul. Work has been very busy, and then Izzy had stomach flu and I was a bit under the weather too. With this, one month just zoomed passed.
Been meaning to continue our Seoul adventure.
Day One
To be honest we had a rocky start on the first day. Our 2am flight was delayed till 3am and we were super groggy when we got on the plane. Kids were sleeping and we had to wake them up. The stewardess served us food at 4am and we had no appetite whatsoever. Made worse by the turbulence which scared us so much. I think in total we each slept about 4h that night. So thankful that our kids love traveling and did not whine, but i did feel like i floated out of that plane into Incheon airport. My original plan for Day One was to explore the palace area, have the famous ginseng chicken soup, and then visit the Bukchon hanok village. Followed by a nice Korean BBQ for dinner. The moment we stepped into our hanok and saw the comfy beds we were so tempted to just sleep away! But I knew we had to go out to find some food at some point, and after resting (ie idling around and kids exploring the hanok) we managed to get everyone out. Luckily Uber makes travelling around very convenient. We called for a taxi straight to the ginseng chicken soup place near the palace. Honest opinion? We weren't fans... cos we didn't like the glutinous rice in the chicken which for me, made the soup a bit powdery. It was almost 4pm when we finally got lunch done. Visited the hanok village which really was an Instagrammers haven because well, there were loads everywhere snapping away. Kian was not impressed, amused even.
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| In the Bukchon hanok village |
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| Thanks Izzy for this shot |
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| Cute signs like this was everywhere to remind tourists to keep the noise level low |
At 5pm we toyed with the idea of hanging out till 630pm which was my dinner reservation but even the best of us gave up and we decided to go back for a nap! We all had a sweet nap till 630pm before I jumped up in shock. We woke the kids up (this time round with tears as they wanted to continue sleeping but the table was waiting for us..). Dinner was in a rather posh BBQ place where we didn't dare to over order; K thought it was nice but not so satisfying. On the way out we came out to a food street with many authentic eateries (literally up his street lol) and he said we were to come back the next day for dinner in a cheaper place, where we could splurge and eat to our heart's content.
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| The food street at night |
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| The same food street the next evening when we were back scouting for somewhere authentic |
Day Two
Because we missed our palace visit, we had to make up for it on the second day. We decided to skip our original plan of hiking in Bukhansan National Park. We arrived at the palace in the late morning, and honestly, it was also another instagrammer's haven because you enter for free if you rent a traditional hanbok costume. I tried to convince our kids to do so, but guess what? They have a mind of their own now, and they flatly refused to wear a hanbok. Oh well, nvm off we go into explore. The palace has been restored really well and the grand hall was indeed very grand and impressive. We caught sight of many enjoying their hanbok and posing on palace grounds. They made my photos interesting too!
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| Very well restored |
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| How cute is this little boy! |
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| My little model |
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| My little poser |
Enroute to the palace the driver drove past a street full of cafes and I made a mental note to go for lunch. What luck, that was a lovely cafe street and we went to a few before deciding on one. Strawberries were in season and there were signs of strawberries everywhere. In croissants, in cakes, in drinks.. amazing. I ordered my first Strawberry Royal Milk Tea and didn't look back. In fact it sparked my quest for more strawberry milk teas!
The cafe overlooked more traditional hanoks in the background which was really beautiful. I am ever so grateful that our kiddos love drawing and crafting. They brought their pencil cases, some paper and scissors and started drawing stuff they saw along the way. They barely looked up and we had to cajole them to eat.
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| Gabriel did his version of a hanok |
After lunch we Uber'd to the Namsan Botanical Gardens for some fresh air and space for the kids to run about. They saw some pinecones and kept picking them up along the way. I guess that was our way to make up for the hiking we had pre planned. For dinner, you can be sure K called for an Uber to bring us back to the food street. Midway near the palace there were so much protestors that the driver asked us to walk the last leg of our journey, which thankfully was not too far. There were protests everyday we drove past the palace. Some for the then-President Yoon, and some against him. But weirdly I heard people singing in the microphones too which I didn't quite understand.
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| Love this photo of them |
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Signs of spring
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| He said they were building a rock cake |
Dinner was back at the food street from last night, at this authentic BBQ place and we were sat next to a couple probably in their 50s who kindly help translate for us with the waitresses. They kept glancing over at our table in amusement, probably cos we over ordered!
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| Izzy's enthusiasm for k-BBQ says it all here |
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| A v satisfied daddy after the meal |
So far so good, the trip is getting better already!
Day Three
That was the day we said goodbye to our beloved hanok, and move to somewhere more central (and touristy!). Kids spent most part of the morning doing more art and craft, drawing cards and all.. even left two lovely messages for the owner of the Air BnB.
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| Our reviews in their guest book, well Izzy's reviews really |
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| Leaving the hanok |
For the remaining nights, I found a B&B right in the heart of Myeongdong, a shopping area. The taxi brought us and stopped right in the midst of heavy pedestrain traffic. We were struggling to figure out which was our B&B and finally we found it. Wow, right smack beside a huge Olive Young (a popular K beauty chain) and opposite the kids' fav Sushiro! Right at our doorstep was also the food street at night where vendors push their cart and sell their street food. So much activity and buzz! It felt exciting to be right there. I planned the day just to walk around Myeongdong and to take it easy. Through friends' recommendation, we had lunch at Kyoja, which is a famous place for noodles and dumplings. We were lucky to join a short Q, and before we sat down, the menu came flying to us and they asked us for our order. We had to pay and right after we took off our jackets 3 bowls of hot steaming noodles and a basket of dumplings appeared in front of us. Wow, how quick did that take? And of course when we finished, very quickly they came to clear our table (huge sign for you to please take your stuff and leave, thank you very much). K wasn't impressed with the service (or lack thereof). He thought we were part of a production line, waiting to be fed and then good-bye! Noodles were good, hot and comforting on a cold day like it was.
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| at Kyoja, Myeongdong |
We walked around more, I discovered the Apple store and went in for a browse.. we shopped in Myeongdong, and finally for dinner we went to a Korean Fried Chicken place. I have to say that by this day, the temperatures have dipped from our balmy 20degC to a single digit today. The weather range is really huge in Seoul.
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| Almost sunset |
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Cold weather doesnt stop us from having some mango shaved ice!
At Sulbing in Myeongdong. |
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| By then we were very excited at the prospect of a snow day on Tuesday |
Let's talk quickly about
Olive Young. The flagship store next to us was practically rammed every single night when we returned back to our B&B. Boyfriends, husbands would be waiting near the entrance. Females would be browsing hurriedly, whilst checking
Xiao Hong Shu for recommendations on what is good. I genuinely felt lost in this two storey store and had to text my girlfriends to send some tips! "Help, what is good at Olive Young?" I asked. I tried to stay calm and browse for things that jumped out at me.
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| I didn't get this but I thought it was such a good idea to cover white hair at the scalp (touch ups) |
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| Men nipple covers?! |
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| Many were crowding round this brand of haircare and I bought this hair oil which smells divine |
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| Men advertising lip tint.. err bit too forward for me |
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| See the crowd? At 930pm on a weeknight! They say they close at 1030pm but I bet they close later |
I hope I can find time to blog the next 4 days in Seoul!
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