Seoul Day 1 首爾第一日 – Shopping @ Hongik University area

So I’m finally back from my supposedly-9-days-but-expectedly-10-days trip from Korea! It’s kinda a long-awaited getaway trip, yet once it comes, I wasn’t that excited after all =/

But it is definitely a great experience and nonetheless to say, super memorable trip! Haha! And I finally get to experience flying on my own!

I have been wanting and will definitely go on a trip alone one day! So this is like a “trial experience” for me to at least experience taking a flight alone first (:

Took half-day leave because my flight is only in the evening and I later regret that because I could have spend the half day catching some sleep since it’s really really really hard to sleep in the plane!!!

Warm brownie with ice-cream while waiting for boarding~! ❤

And macarons! 几感动～ ❤ ❤ ❤

Finally, it’s time to board!
Mixed feeling~ Excited yet freaking nervous because I’m damn paranoid that anything might crop up! =/

Thanks to budget airline, I get to fly~!

Queuing to board~ Nervousssssssssssss!!!

The first flight was pretty okay because it’s only like less than an hour to reach KL~ But I sat beside this huge man and I could barely move =/

Reached KLCC airport and I finally understand why my brother said it’s pretty lok-kok (rundown) -.- I thought there might be a possibility that I will die there before reaching Korea.

Managed to collect my luggage and check in for the next flight without much hiccup, thanks to the longggggg instruction from Siew Eng, who flew there 2 days before me! Haha!

Camped in McDonalds to read and use free wifi because I gotta wait 3 hours before my next flight~
Enjoying my macarons at the same time! 😀

Put on my shades because I know I’ll look damn cui after the 5-6 hours flight :S
Also because I just wanna act all nonchalant (my usual trying-to-be-low-profile mode whenever I’m alone!), so much that the girl beside me kept staring at me and finally asked, “Are you Korean???” Hahaha!

Mad sleepyyyyyy and tried very hard to catch some sleep but to little avail x.x
I just find it sooooo uncomfortable to sleep in coach or flight! My neck and back were aching after a while…Zzzzz.

Come to think of it, I do love travelling, but I dislike taking long-hour coach/flight! Air pressure + can’t sleep + dry skin and lips + boring + a long list to go~

Finally reached Incheon Airport at 5+ am Singapore timing! (Korea is 1 hour ahead of Singapore by the way)

Taking the train to collect luggage~

Was rather excited to be finally reuniting with Siew Eng, who promised that she would definitely pick me up from the airport. But it turned out that she mixed up the timing and was still in her hostel! D:

I kinda expected that the girl will be doing her usual super last minute packing though. Sigh~ I was telling D during my paranoid moments like what if my friend overslept or forgot to pick me up?! And it really happened x.x

First item that I bought in Korea because stupid KLCC doesn’t allow people to refill water bottle! 渴死我了！-.-“

So after much discussion with Siew Eng via WhatsApp, I decided to travel down to the nearest train station of our hostel on my own, since she is still in her own hostel after our long discussion! T.T

Gotten my bus ticket under the guide of Miss Teng!

Waiting for the bus~

Everyone was like staring at me in cardigan because they are all in thick clothing! Haha! So I decided to put on my jacket and gloves too (:

Had a good nap during the 1-hour bus ride to Chungjeong-no station but Siew Eng was not there yet. So I waited at the bus-stop as instructed~

It was really cold after the rain and I was like shivering at the bus-stop, hoping to see the familiar face with each bus that stops in front or opposite me, but it was disappointment after disappointment D:

Seriously felt like crying because I was soooo cold and hungry and tired!!! Felt like some drama 流浪街边 person x.x

Siew Siew! Where are you?! T.T

There was no wifi around so I couldn’t WhatsApp with her. So after waiting for like 45 minutes, I told myself I will leave and find the hostel on my own after the next 10 buses stop by! Seriously couldn’t stand the coldness any longer!

So after another 10 buses of disappointment, I dropped her a message and made my way down to the train station to find the right exit to the hostel. A young train station staff happened to see me lugging my luggage around and offered help, so I showed him the address of the hostel…

I was actually just asking which exit should I take, but due to some language barrier, he decided to take me there instead! He just suddenly carried my luggage and even carried it up this long flight of stairs (their stations are full of stairs instead of escalators!) and told me to follow him =O

For a moment I was like, “Omg! Is this some kind of scam?! Will he rob my luggage away?!” LOL. Then he got me out of the station and even used his own handphone to call the hostel to ask for direction! MAD NICE CAN?! Is this world class service or what?! Truly impressed and touched!!!

So he really carried my luggage all the way and brought me safely to my hostel, which is luckily not too far from the station! Reached Bangrang Hostel and was warmly welcomed by yet another super nice Korean guy – Ji!

This is the common area and it’s such a nice and comfy place! More importantly, finally somewhere that is warmer!

After some administrative stuff, Ji showed me the way to our room up the slope and since our check-in time is only at 2.30pm, which is 5 hours plus away, I thought I have to go out and wait in the cold again D:

But nope! He allowed me to wait for Siew Eng at the common area and was even damn hospitable, closing the window when he noticed that I am still feeling damn cold! Mad nice! x.x

Started chatting a little and realised that he is the same age as us! Haha!
Then Miss Teng FINALLY arrived!!!

Left our luggage there before heading to our first location in the itinerary! (:
Got our fare card aka our EZ-link card~

Waiting for the train! Oh you know, they play this cute music whenever the train is arriving! Nope, definitely not the Love Your Ride song =/

And they have vending machines at each station because eating IS ALLOWED in the train! =O

I wish there are such vending machines at our MRT stations =/

In the train with Siew Siew~!

First (and last) stop of the day – Hongik University area! Because according to Siew Eng, the university areas have cheap shopping! Hehe!

Definitely feels different from Singapore!

Even the Coffee Bean feels different! Haha!

Walked around and most of the shops were not open yet even though it was already late morning~ I bought my first top in one of the opened shops though! 😀

Tried their famous-and-can-be-found-everywhere banana milk that Joanjoan raved about!

I’m not a fan of milk at all except chocolate milk, but this banana milk is really niceeeeeeeeeeeee~! The fragrant of the banana overpowers the milky smell (which I hate) and makes it real nice!

Sharing our first bottle because we weren’t confident that we will like it. But after our first bottle, we were both addicted! Hahaha!

Spotted a shirt…haha!

Dogs seem to be popular amongst the people there because we kept seeing cute doggies around! (:

With the Wall of Love~!

Spotted this amongst all the other paintings! Haha! Indeed, I love to edit! xD

We were looking for the famous Coffee Prince Cafe at the same time and while we roamed around, we happened to spot it! But sadly, it’s not opened yet as well =/

Asked for the opening time and walked around a little more before coming back to it again~ I wanted to be the first customer but failed to! Haha!

Anyhow, the interior is so nice!

I haven’t watched the drama but I have definitely heard of it (:

I must say that one thing I love most about Seoul is their cafes! All really cozy and unique!

Even the menu is so nice! (:

So is the drink! Pretty, isn’t it!

A cup of hot chocolate – perfect for such freezingggggg weather!

Opened our cute biscuits which we bought earlier on…hehe.

Someone snapping unglam pictures of me~

Hmmmmmm~

Strawberry!

*kiss kiss!*

xD

There were some drawings on the wall beside us and we were tempted to leave our 痕迹 there as well, but we weren’t allowed to actually =/

So we drew them secretly and my first attempt looked like some cockroach! LOL.

Finally a proper one 😀

As much as we would love to stay in the cozy cafe a while more, it’s time to catch up with our itinerary! Out to search for the flea market this time round! (:

Oh not only does the cafe there looks pretty, the bakery too! That’s why I was always tempted to go in whenever I see one! Hahaha!

Had a funny encounter while we were in 1 of the bakeries. There was this group of Taiwanese chatting away inside and in the midst of the conversation, 1 of the men happened to see me and replied to his female friend, “我讲你美我倒不如讲这位小姐美～“, thinking that I won’t get it.

So I walked to his back and said, “我听得懂中文，谢啦～！😀 “
And he was shocked by it…hahahahahaha!!!

So the group of them got intrigued and started talking to us, asking us to visit them in Taiwan one day…haha! Very friendly people (:

Then when we got out of the bakery, the man even passed me his namecard and asked for my Facebook! They just kept insisting that if we visit Taiwan one day, they can take us around…haha!

Anyhow, take a look at my pretty brownie!

Continued our journey to search for the flea market, which is supposed to be near the university itself. Climbed a longgggggggg flight of stairs (now you know why Korean women are so slim…haha!) into some park area and there was still no sign of any flea market nearby~

Finally asked some students for help, but they have no idea about the place either =/

So we continued walking aimlessly up slopes after slopes~

The third rabbit! xD

The kind of scene that you can’t really find here (:

Finally got out of the park and asked for help again before we finally found the flea market! We seriously could have spent the whole day just trying to find it =/

After so much stairs and slopes, time to recharge first!

Korean chicken kebab!

The flea market mostly showcases more designer and unique kind of items, but I did not really buy much because some are too “designer” for me…hahaha!

Shirts and bags drawn on the spot!

And this guy gathered lots of people for his skill to draw your face in 30 seconds or something~

Finished the flea market and continued the Hongik area…
They have many of these mascots to attract people to their restaurants or shops!

*Hiak hiak hiak!*

This is probably only like 6pm, can you believe it?! The sky there turns dark upon 5 plus and by 6pm, it’s already like 8pm in Singapore! So not used to it because I will keep thinking that it’s getting late already =/

Another cafe that I die die wanna visit is the Hello Kitty Cafe! Actually I had almost forgotten about it (Too tired! Jet lag!) until Siew Eng happened to spot it! So pink and prettyyyyyyyy!!!

Matches my pink outfit! Aiyah too dark =/

Xuannie gonna hate this place because everything is basically pink inside! It’s Hello Kitty, what do you expect?! Haha!

Pretty environment to enjoy a cup of hot latte! (:

Nice and comfy sofas too!

I’m not like a big fan of Hello Kitty but it’s more of because it’s always associated with pink…hehe.

Even the table has Hello Kitty!

The big Hello Kitty plush toy~ But the lashes make it look kinda weird =/

Even the cakes are so pretty and I was so tempted to try this Hello Kitty head! But it’s mousse cake and I probably won’t enjoy/finish it D:

Placed our order and settled in a cozy seat! 😀

Waiting for the bell to ring before we collect our food and drinks~

Getting obsessed with Hello Kitty xD

Cam-whore while waiting!

Someone is caught cam-whoring too…hahahah! In fact throughout this trip, she is like 3987598273958 times more of a cam-whore than me can?! LOL!

Look at my pretty green tea latte!!! Really can’t bear to stir it until I was almost finishing! Hahaha!

Not only does it look pretty, it tastes good too! (:
(I look so damn tired and cui~)

And then the pretty cake! 😀

Went up to take Polaroid shots before we left! Hehe.

Continued shopping for a while but I still did not really buy anything because they are mostly selling winter wears there~ All super thick hoodies and even the skirts are the thick kind, which are not what I will wear =/

After work hangout~

Superman selling sausages or something! Haha!

Bigggggg dog alert!

Was on our way to the station when we saw these gaming booths and Siew Eng decided to try the water balloon one which I played in Taiwan!

She did a pretty good job and won a small plushie~ Then she decided to try again to exchange for the big plushie! Haha!

Happy girl with her newly added collection! 😀

Was tempted to try this but I’m afraid that I might not be able to go for training after that…haha!

Customised cocktails! (:

Oh it was their Halloween night that night so it was pretty crowded and many of them were dressed up in funny costumes. Yea it may be fun, but it’s kinda scary as well because some of them will try to disturb you and so on.

Then there are these angmohs who dressed up as pandas and 1 of them said to us, “I’m supposed to be panda…” Hahahaha! Another wore a bear mascot, which attracted lots of attention and photo-taking sessions! So the pandas were like, “But we are cuter right?!” LOL.

The pandas VS the bear! xD

(Sorry Siew Siew! Your photo with the cute bear is the 1 and only photo that is corrupted!!!)

I am dressed up for Halloween too! As a bunny! Haha!

Went back at 11 plus and cam-whored at the station first! Hehe.

The 好命 bear and her owner~

Seriously tired after barely catching any sleep the previous night and all I wanna do is finally shower and have a good rest! Yet we spent a great deal of time trying to fix the socket problem…Zzzzz!

Our converters could not fit it or rather, stay plugged because they are either too heavy or the overall shape is not right! So we even went down to steal scotch tape and so on, but did not help at all! In the end we finally put our luggage against it to hold on -.-“

Finally time for a good rest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mad tired!