This is a throwback post of our visit to Seoul. If you are planning for your trip, this post gives you some ideas. During the last autumn, Bey and I went to Seoul for 9 days 8 nights. (6th Nov - 14th Nov 2016) We only visited Seoul, and it was more than what we expect. There are so many spots to explore. We planned to have a lazy relaxing trip; therefore, we stayed at the same hostel for 8 nights; to save all the trouble of moving.
The first thing we did upon our arrival at the airport was to get our Wifi device. We had pre-booked the device earlier through this website Wide Mobile. Wide Mobile has very good service as their staffs speak English and explain very well about the details. The great thing is the wifi network speed is FAST and it can connect up to 5 devices simultaneously. Honestly, we can't survive without this wifi device!
The next thing is to purchase our transportation card Tmoney. (i just realized that I don't have any photo of my tmoney; it is a limited addition of LINE character :'( Anyway, you can get Tmoney at C& U Convenience Store (1st floor of Incheon Airport). At the same time, we also bought the well- known Banana Milk drink. It's flavorful; just one sip; you will feel the banana fragrance all in your mouth. There are also other flavors: melon & strawberry. Good to grab and go!
We departed from Incheon International Airport to Seoul by bus. We waited at bus stop on the 1st floor of arrival. Our host provided us a direction guide, so we just followed accordingly and doubled check with the ticket office. It took about 1 hour 30 minutes ride to reach our hostel at Dongdaemun.
We booked our hostel through booking.com. We tried to save on our stays, as we knew we were going to spend more on FOOD & shopping. At the first place, I was struggling on which district to select on our stay. If you have done some research, you will realize that there are so many places to stay. After consulting with some friends that had been to Seoul, it actually doesn't matter on which district to stay but most importantly the convenience of transport. Hence, we selected Hostel Vanilla 1 Dongdaemun as it is within 3 minutes walk from Subway station line 1 & 4.
Let's take a tour at Hostel Vanilla 1 Dongdaemun
The first thing we did upon our arrival at the airport was to get our Wifi device. We had pre-booked the device earlier through this website Wide Mobile. Wide Mobile has very good service as their staffs speak English and explain very well about the details. The great thing is the wifi network speed is FAST and it can connect up to 5 devices simultaneously. Honestly, we can't survive without this wifi device!
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| Wide Mobile Roaming Center , 1st floor of Incheon Airport (pick up & return your device here) |
We booked our hostel through booking.com. We tried to save on our stays, as we knew we were going to spend more on FOOD & shopping. At the first place, I was struggling on which district to select on our stay. If you have done some research, you will realize that there are so many places to stay. After consulting with some friends that had been to Seoul, it actually doesn't matter on which district to stay but most importantly the convenience of transport. Hence, we selected Hostel Vanilla 1 Dongdaemun as it is within 3 minutes walk from Subway station line 1 & 4.
Let's take a tour at Hostel Vanilla 1 Dongdaemun
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| We had free breakfast (including milks, juice, breads, jams, instant noodles, hams, eggs,and also citron tea) at this sharing area. I miss citron tea the most! Each room is provided with a mini basket where you can place your items in the refrigerator. We got to cook our own meal too. This cozy area made us feel like home. |
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| To maintain the cleanliness of the place, we were not allow to wear our own shoes in the hostel. We were provided with sandals and kept our shoes in cupboard. |
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| Before entering our room, our host mentioned that Korea's rooms are small and not to compare with Malaysia's room. I guessed he did not want me to feel disappointed. LOL. Not to deny, it is a small room ! As you can see from the photo above, our luggage filled up the alley space. But, no worries, with this relatively cheap price, we have a great stay ! The hosts are super friendly and helpful too. |
Let me tell you, we did not plan ahead of our itinerary. We went spontaneously to places by following the Seoul Official Tourist Guide guidebook. You can get the soft copy here and also get a hard-copy guidebook from the airport It is very useful. We enjoy the feeling of searching through maps instead of apps. Ya. sound lousy, we got lost some times but it was fun.
Day 1
We had a night stroll at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). We were lucky that there was LED rose garden exhibition going on. The roses lightened up the place; couples everywhere; very romantic. <3
We had a night stroll at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). We were lucky that there was LED rose garden exhibition going on. The roses lightened up the place; couples everywhere; very romantic. <3
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| It looked like a bed of stars behind me ***** |
Day 2
We went to Namsan Park and hiked up to Namsan Tower. Throughout the journey of walking up the stairs, we had a great view of Seoul city, this also saved the cost of entering the observatory deck. If you like nature scenery, I would highly recommend you to walk up to Namsan Tower ; then, take the cable car ride for the way back.
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| Walking up the stairs. Step by step, Namsan tower is nearer to us. |
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| Upon arrival at the Namsan Tower, we were so hungry. We went to N Burger. The burger is so-so, but the fries are REALLY REALLY GOOD ! |
Day 3
The main reason we traveled to Seoul was to have our pre-wedding photo shoot. Our first shooting spot was at OLYMPIC Park. Olympic park autumn scenery really mesmerized me. The park is very very big and spacious! If you would like to escape from the town that is packed with tourists, do visit this beautiful park.
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| The Alone Tree |
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| <3 |
Next stop, we visited Common Ground to have some casual photo shooting. As I recalled, we need to transit 3 times subway to get to the place. But it is totally worth the effort; the popping blue color of the large containers look trendy. Inside the buildings, there are designer stores and restaurants, there are food truck at the ground area too. See more photos at this post
Day 4
Before sunrise, we were at Bukchon Hanok Village. It s a quiet peaceful village. Beautiful architecture of the wooden houses are great backgrounds of our photos. The photos looked like we were in love in the past century. :)
We walked from Bukchon Village to Gyeongbokgung Palace. I saw a lot of them wearing traditional costume, and later know that the costumes needed to rent before entering the palace. There are no costume rentals in the palace.
Before the sun went down, we managed to take great shots at Haneuel Park, World Cup Stadium. We rode a shuttle up the hill. We were welcomed with a sea of silver grass. The hill was like a maze, we were surrounded by tall silver grass, As the wind blow, the silver grass wave. And the silver grass shine in golden color when the sun set, totally amazed me. We will come back to this place again !
Day 5
We went to university district, visited Yonsei Uni, Ehwa Uni & Sinchon. We strolled around the campus as if we were studying there. On the way from Ehwa Uni to Yonsei Uni, there is a Sinchon pedistrian-friendly street where there are a lots of cafes and shops for relaxation and shopping.
At night, we went to Seoul lantern festival at Cheonggyecheon Stream. There are a lot of events going on throughout the year. So, do check on the website.
Before sunrise, we were at Bukchon Hanok Village. It s a quiet peaceful village. Beautiful architecture of the wooden houses are great backgrounds of our photos. The photos looked like we were in love in the past century. :)
Before the sun went down, we managed to take great shots at Haneuel Park, World Cup Stadium. We rode a shuttle up the hill. We were welcomed with a sea of silver grass. The hill was like a maze, we were surrounded by tall silver grass, As the wind blow, the silver grass wave. And the silver grass shine in golden color when the sun set, totally amazed me. We will come back to this place again !
Day 5
We went to university district, visited Yonsei Uni, Ehwa Uni & Sinchon. We strolled around the campus as if we were studying there. On the way from Ehwa Uni to Yonsei Uni, there is a Sinchon pedistrian-friendly street where there are a lots of cafes and shops for relaxation and shopping.
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| Yonsei University has beautiful vines growing on the building |
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| What I love about Seoul is that there are a lot of juice bars. I don't drink coffee, I love juices and there are a lot of mix options here. |
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| Various designs of lights and lanterns were all the way at the stream. This little home design is my favorite :) |
Day 6
We visited the craft area - Insadong. There are a lot of traditional handicraft stores and tea houses. I regretted that I did not buy any souvenirs at Insadong where items are sold in a comparatively cheaper price.
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| Insadong street |
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| Ssamzigil is a multi-storey complex with different art and craft stores |
In the evening, we went to Hongdae area, it was a happening district with trendy youths hanging around. We went to a newly open entertainment store and won a Rilakkuma back home!! ( actually we spent a lot to win it home, but anyway the excitement matters !LOL )
day 7 & 8 .... to be continue...
Stay tune !
Love,
Yvonne
