Little Summer Vacation-Korea (Part 2)

LITTLE SUMMER VACATION

PART 2 : VACATION IN KOREA

LOU

BEFORE YOU READ ANY FURTHER:

Hey! I hope you have come to read this post after having had a look at Tri's compelling and engrossing account of her adventure in England over the last "summer" vacation! Because if you haven't,  make sure you do that before you proceed. (Believe me, that gal makes everything seem exceptionally interesting huehue)

But if you've already enjoyed the adventure in England, welcome to Part 2: Vacation in Korea!

WOOHOO LET'S START OVER

Good day, hello and annyeong haseyo.

So over the past holidays, I had the chance to go on a trip to the magnificent country of Korea with my mom, brother, aunt, uncle, two cousins and my grandma. What a big bunch of people, right? But to answer the obvious, I definitely had tons of fun there and so I'm going to share some of my experiences in Korea with you guys here! So here go the highlights of my 7 day vacation in Korea:

Highlight #1: Where should you stay while in Korea?

Let's be real. Who goes to Korea and DOESN'T go to Seoul? Considering it is the capital of Korea and possibly the busiest city in the country, filled with shops to 'donate' your money to, restaurants to fill up your tummy and attractions to feast your eyes upon, I can't see why you would not want to stay in Seoul. I mean, staying in the country side is just fine but trees and plantations could get rather boring after some time. (Sorry trees, I love you)

Though the prices may be higher if staying in Seoul, it would be much more convenient to get to your desired location as most attractions would not be too far off from  the city centre. So for me, I stayed at a hotel called New Kukje Hotel that was located somewhere near Myeongdong. Rooms were as good as they could get and yes, for all those who cannot live without it,there is wifi. (I'll talk more about the wifi situation in Korea later on) Also there are sometimes mini markets near or on the ground floor of hotels, so looking for hotels with mini markets is always useful if you are in need of food in the middle of the night.

Highlight #2: Shopping streets/districts?

We all know there is an abundance of shopping streets in Korea. Maybe you've heard of some of them? Myeongdong, Insadong, Dongdaemun, Itaewon, Ewha and Hongdae? There are so many of them that the names can get you tremendously mixed up and possibly make you question,"Oh waaait, what's that place called again?" Yup, definitely happened to me a couple of times.

But if you are visiting Korea one day, make sure to take a day or two to walk around these shopping districts, as you'll absolutely find something you like. And with lower and bargainable prices too.

Though, be informed that not all shop owners (if you're going to places with non-branded shops) speak perfect English as it is not their first language and if you're shopping for clothes in these such places, you have to know that they will not let you try the clothes on. It's not because you're a foreigner though, it's just a general rule, I guess, that they have. It's almost like a gamble. Kinda. "WILL IT FIT OR WILL IT NOT!"

Gwanghwamun

Namdaemun

Myeongdong

Insadong

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Highlight #3: Other places you might want to visit

To be honest, I spent merely seven days there, (without a tour guide) so I would not know ALL the places you should go to. (Google could probably help you with that.) But these are some of the other places that I think you would want to take a look at:

1. Gyeongbokgung Palace

Yes, the palace is indeed a magnificent place where you could observe the mind boggling infrastructure of the ancient royal palace. Inside, you will be able to learn about the history of Korea, for it serves as a National Palace Museum and National Folk Museum of Korea.

Gyeongbokgung Palace from the outside

Gyeongbokgung Palace from afar

Tip: Make sure to go there at the correct time scheduled to watch the guard changing ceremony! It's something you would not want to miss.

Also, during the guard changing ceremony, they use an announcing system thing to narrate the steps of the guards changing their position. I may have laughed slightly too much about how the English announcer spoke. Sorry to say, but the voice was so monotonous and bored sounding I kinda just died a little huehuehue

The guard changing ceremony

2. Busan

Busan is the second largest city in Korea and it would be a waste not to see how it is like over there. You could spend a day or two there, like I did. If you're staying in Seoul, the easiest way to get there would be to buy KTX Train tickets there. Once you arrive, EXPLORE TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT!

(My uncle wanted us to go inside a place where they sold only fish and sea creatures and stuff. Let's just say the smell was so 'pleasant' that the rest of us just backed away slowly and continued walking in the other direction)

Busan Train Station

View of the sea in Busan

3. Seoul Tower/ Busan Tower

Make a trip up either one of the towers and enjoy the breathtaking view over the city skyline. Get ready with your camera!

So at the top of Busan Tower, there's this curved wall where people write stuff on. Ahh all the heart shapes and 'name A ' plus 'name B' messages I saw.

Busan Tower

The breathtaking view from the top of Busan Tower

Messages left by tourists on wall

4. Lotte World/ Everland

Do you like thrilling, scream inducing roller coaster rides? Then these amusement parks are just for you! Gosh. I sound like a sales person. But yes these places are great fun so I suggest you spend 1 day, or at least half the day there to fully enjoy the experience. 
Lotte World was almost a bitter-sweet experience for me because I had to go with my 5 year old cousin who couldn't go on most of the rides because of her height. And we also watched like 2 or 3 plays/ theatre things that involved robotic animals on stage. It was all in Korean though, so I actually have no idea why we watched them. Oh well, my cousin wanted to. Oh and my grandma fell asleep during one of the plays too.

So yup, you guessed it, mostly slow, 'family rated' rides for me. (Well it wasn't that bad since I had an excuse not to give myself a heart attack by going on extreme roller coasters with my brother. *cough*)

Lotte Castle

 

Band performing in Lotte World

 

 Lotte World interior

 

Highlight #4: Tips for Travellers

1) If you are travelling without a tour guide, I suggest you do some reading up before hand. Knowing where you plan to go is always a good thing.

2) Use the public train and/or bus service! They are so convenient, and the train system maps out to every place possible. Speaking about that, it would be much easier if you would just get the train/ bus cards (T-money cards, they are called) so you can just beep in and beep out when you ride the train/bus. You can get these from the machines in train stations.

3) Don't bother getting portable hot spots or anything. There's free wifi everywhere so it almost seems like a waste of money.

4) Don't be surprised about senior citizens in train stations pushing you around. They are some fierce creatures.

5) Don't worry, everything in Seoul is written in both Korean and English so you will face no problems reading signs and such. (Hopefully)

6) Some (SOME not ALL) taxi drivers can be quite reckless, so be prepared for some hard swerves and abrupt halts. (but then again it's like that in all countries I think)

7) Get to know some simple Korean phrases and words. It could be useful. Plus most local people like it even if you just greet them or thank them in their native tongue.

8) Don't get surprised if you see a lot of the word "Lotte" around. Lotteria, a fast food chain, Lotte World, an amusement park, Lotte Mart, a supermarket and Lotte Department Store. They are everywhereeee

So yes, that is about it. Whoops sorry for a very long post, but I hope you enjoyed the read.

Unfortunately, unlike Trin, I did not meet any famous celebrities. Sigh. #ahemwhatwasIexpecting

Either way, it was an unforgettable experience to me and if you ever go to Korea too, I hope you will feel the same.

But to be completely honest, the thing that I cannot forget would be the pain of the soles of my feet after a long day of walking. With an average walking time of 8 hours a day, I have no idea how I survived. Definitely lost a few calories though. Actually probably much more than just a few.

To end this, here are some additional photos that I took during the span of 7 days.

 

Next, Bri will be talking about her holiday in Gopeng. Look out for the third and last part of the Little Summer Vacation series.