Day 11 : Icn - Kul

We couldn't sleep well that night. Not sure why there were many sirens going off throughout the night - in fact I'd seen many ambulances zipping around since yesterday afternoon .... plus our neighbours in the next room were speaking so loudly past midnight .....

So ME and I both gave up sleeping and got up around 3.00 a.m.; my bags were packed already ... so we took our time getting ourselves ready. We were going to catch the first bus to the airport.

The reception told us that the first bus was at 4.20 a.m., but when we checked the bus stop, the time stated was at 4.35 a.m. We were there at about 4.00 a.m., and since it was drizzling, we took covers outside a shop nearby ....

I wasn't scared at all, waiting there ..... but then there was this airport taxi that stopped and then tried to tout us to use the taxi to the airport; we turned the driver down and he drove off ..... and then came back later. He parked by the side of the road .... as if waiting for us to take up his offer ...

Not long after that, a Chinese lady joined us there at the bus stop, so the three of us waiting for the bus. I felt better with more people around, waiting for the bus. And it did arrive right on time at 4.35 a.m. ....

The bus stop

We informed the bus driver our terminal, paid him the fare and then were on our way to Incheon Airport. We reached the airport early and then waited to check in. We then went to the discount store and got back cash refund on our T-money card. I bought some kimbap rolls to bring home for bro and sil ....

For breakfast ..... ME wanted hot coffee; and there were many specialty coffee shops ... but we went for the cheapest option ...

Hot coffee latte and shrimp burger from Lotteria  

Yummy .... love it ... 

Our plane had arrived ......

Our gate .... 

The flight departed right on time .... I had a row of seat all to myself .... so it was a VERY comfy flight back to KUL ..... I love South Korea and I WILL come back. :))

Day 8 : Namiseom

Somehow I found travelling to Gapyeong confusing. Gapyeong is the nearest train station to Namiseom or Nami Island.

The confusion took place at Cheongyangni, Hoegi, Jungnang and Sangbong stations. Somehow we got on and off the trains multiple time because we weren't too sure if it was going the right direction ...

From Dongdaemun History and Culture Park, we went to Wangsimni. That was where we switched to the commuter train. We went straight from the subway station to the commuter train platform - it was seamless. The train came, but I dared not go on it. Because we did not have a ticket! Our T-money card let us ride on the subway but not on the commuter train.

So we went in search of people to ask .... and somehow there weren't any staff around. But we found a ticket machine .... and we bought 2 tickets to Gapyeong. From Wangsimni, we thought we could go straight to Gapyeong. But then the train stopped at Cheongyangni, and we were informed that we had to change trains. So we exited and went to another platform, and from there we took another train. When we reached Jungnang or Sangbong .... don't know why we exited .... only to realise that we were on the right train after all.

Heh ... and so we waited for the next train and proceeded straight to Gapyeong. We reached Gapyeong at 10.45 a.m.; we could get a refund of 500 won for a used train ticket at the refund machine. I thought that was cool.

There was an information centre just outside the Gapyeong station .... and we were told to wait for the bus across the road. We waited for quite long but the bus did not come .... and so we asked one lady at the bus stop. She's a Chinese national but fluent in Korean ..... and she said, "Just follow me!" Heh. We waited some more but still no sign of the bus.

So the lady and her friend decided to take a taxi and she invited us to go with them. We did. It wasn't expensive at all .... KRW6000 to Namiseom. We shared the fare.

From the ferry point, we paid KRW30000 each to Namiseom. It was a hot, hot day ...

Reaching Namiseom ....

It was a hot day and I was glad that they paths were covered .... so ME and I strolled along the path .... our first destination was the

Shady walkway 

We were going to the Metasequoia Lane, where there's this lane lined with Redwood trees; this was where the ever famous drama Winter Sonata was filmed ...

This lane was an attraction .... 

A statue of the main leads of Winter Sonata could be found here ... 

The drama couple, Jung Yu Jin & Kang Jun Sang 

Heh, this was the first Korean drama I had ever watched back in 2002. I had loved the beautiful winter scenery, but the story itself was disappointing.  

 ME and I had an ice-cream break ..... my strawberry ice-cream tasted so natural and was so delicious! 

We continued to walk around the island after that ....

We waited for the bus back to the train station to head back to Seoul. Actually we could have gone to Petite France and Garden of Morning Calm here in Gapyeong ... but I was not interested to go to Petite France and it was too hot to go walk at the garden ...

The journey back to Seoul was smoother ..... and by the time we reached Seoul, we were both hungry ...  so we picked a shop and randomly went in. Mr. Paik's shop - Hong Kong Banjum Plus!

 Our orders 

 Tangsuyuk

 Jaengban Jjajang

The portion was huge! And the food was so good! Better than any fried noodles we get here in Kuching!! We both enjoyed our meal lots .... 

We went shopping after dinner. Since we were going home in 2 days, it was time to buy all that we wanted to buy. I bought a bottle of Iope Hyaluronic softener, Iope Hyaluronic cream and ampoule, a bottle of Laneige sleeping mask, a Laneige Pore control BB cushion, 3 Aritaum lip tints. 

Milkis to quench my thirst ...

Day 7 : Namsan & Namdaemun & Myeong-dong

That morning, we were headed to Namsan. I found the instructions from the guidebook a bit unclear, and even the directions online were hazy. And as a result, we missed the elevator - the Namsan Oreumi Elevator - which brings visitors to Namsan Cable Car Station.

As soon as we exited the subway station, we had been following the signboards, and it led us to the edge of Namsan Park. We could see the tower and it looked pretty far ... and so we stopped to ask an old ahjusshi who was manning a private parking lot. He's probably used to people asking him for directions .... so he said to us, "walk, bus or cable car" .... heh ....

At that point, we thought we'd either take the bus or walk. If we were to walk, he told us to take the flight of stairs up to the park, and from there there was a trail up to Namsan Tower. He said that the stairs was a drama filming spot and suggested we went to have a look ....

Samsooni Stairs  

The stairs where the drama "My Name is Kim Sam Soon" took place .... the kindly Ahjusshi's little kiosk is just across the road, down the stairs .... 

From here, we decided to walk up to Namsan Tower .... the road was good and I loved the lush green surroundings, the air was fresh and the weather was rather pleasant that morning .... 

We walked slowly up the slopes .... it probably took us about 20 minutes .... 

And when we finally reached there, the view was rewarding .... 

 View of Seoul from Namsan ... 

That's the tower .... N Seoul Tower

Namsan Tower featured in many Korean dramas .... like My Love from the Star and even the Legend of the Blue Sea .... 

And so we had a look around the place ... there were so many love locks!! 

We hanged out at the tower for a while .... people-watching, chit-chatting .... and then decided to head back down. We'd take the bus down. The bus is the easiest and most cost-effective way down ....

If I were go go to Namsan next time, I'd take the bus up from the nearest subway station. Read here. 

We got off at Namdaemun .... what a huge market and the first thing we spotted was the famous hotteok stall ..... long queue indeed!!! We joined the queue too!

Vegetable Hotteok 

So delicious! 

At first bite, it may seem to be bland .... but the more you chewed, the tastier the it became .... 

All that walking and I was still hungry ..... so we went to the food alley .... 

Banchan ... loved the seaweed salad ...

Patjuk 

Red bean porridge .... it's salty!! Heh .... back home, we normally have our red bean soup sweet but here it's a savoury dish one eat with banchan ...... 

Dolsot bibimbap .... loved the burnt rice at the bottom of the pot ... 

It was indeed a wholesome, fibrous and healthy meal with lots of vegetables ...

We browsed around Namdaemun .... I did not have anything particular to buy, but I was amazed at the costume jewellery wholesalers. There were so many of them! And the many accessories they sold just blew me away!! So many pretty trinkets and blings! 

Sitting down at 7-11 with my Binggrae coffee milk .... 

Namdaemun 

I was too full to try these dumplings ...

We walked to Myeong-dong after that. Myeong-dong was more modern and had lots of cosmetics shops. We walked past shops and there given free samples of facial masks ..... 

Myeong Dong

The sales people spoke Mandarin; normally I'd enquire in English but they'd asked you if you could speak Mandarin and inform you they could speak Mandarin better .... and were pushing for sales in every shop. There were also snacks sold on the street ..... 

ME and I did not buy any cosmetics that evening .... so we walked around, soaking in the atmosphere ... and soon we left .... 

Dinner was Korean fried chicken at BHC .... 

Well, the chicken was so crispy and had a nutty flavour to it! So good! We wouldn't get this quality back home in Malaysia .....