things did not start off right with Seoul.
insadong did not impress me much.
neither was I in love when I visited myeongdong for the first time.
but i slowly develop a genuine love for this city.
well.. I like it enough to make me feel like going back there as soon as spring.
or maybe I just can't believe that I did not get to see Park Shin Hye :D
thanks to rimbun and bombie who got us through with their survival korean language skill.
as well as the sim card with unlimited data. plus GOOGLE MAP.
the trinity that ensure that we will never be lost.
so here are the things about Seoul that left memorable impression:
1) stairs: #@$@#%%^@
seriously.. my eternal enemy.
they are everywhere. most subway stations are on B3 or even B4.
and you either take stairs or the rarely seen lifts. no escalator.
but seeing how only the elderly take lifts, pride took over and I took stairs.
2) cafe
just like the stairs.. they are everywhere!
love the fact that instead of the boring starbucks & coffee beans that we see in most Singapore's malls, Seoul has some chains that are uniquely theirs.
and they are usually very spacious as well as well designed.
Even more amazing thing is this- some open for 24 hours on weekdays!
imagine taking a stroll at midnight in winter and go for a cup of hot latte for your writing inspiration.
Coffine Gurunaru and Mango Six are two chains that go into my checklist for next trip.
plus all the other outstanding cafes!
my personal favorite this visit: o'sulloc tea house
3) one direction
you can easily recognise how like-minded they are when it comes to trend.
their make up, their lipstick color, the guys' bags.
this bag thing is amazing. there are only two types of bags that the guys are using now.
no matter how old they are.
I use sling bag for safety purpose as a tourist.
and i find myself the only guy with sling back even in the most crowded places there.
ah but i LOVE their bags!
4) taxi
the good: they are VERY AFFORDABLE! so if you travel in group of three or four, most of the times you can rely on taxi when you are fed up with the stairs.
the bad: many only understand address written in hangul. we were beyond frustrated in our first few days there. Showed the driver a complete address written in latin alphabets and they just had no idea what it was. as if they never learned how to read latin alphabets!
BUT.. you can look for taxi with 'Free Interpretation' sticker. it means the driver understand English. How helpful!
this article helps too: using taxi in korea
REMEMBER THIS: driver who tries not to use meter will be penalised heavily if you report this to the authority.
5) the gates
this is one of the trivial things that I love about this city.
it is not uncommon to suddenly see an ancient city gate standing in the middle of some major road junctions.
the 'mun' in dongdaemun and namdaemun means door/gate.
so I suppose it refers to the city gates in the old times?
unlike their fashion trend, Seoul has very interesting and diverse urban landscape imo.
my personal favorite area is samcheong dong.
the bukchon village (traditional korean houses) blend well with modern cafes and stores.
the atmosphere is right. not too touristy too.
special mention for Ewha Women University.
that place's landscape is fantastic. tasted the best bread in Seoul there at Richemont.
this guy seems to agree with me!
personal unfinished business: Gangnam and checking out street gig at Hongdae
insadong did not impress me much.
neither was I in love when I visited myeongdong for the first time.
but i slowly develop a genuine love for this city.
well.. I like it enough to make me feel like going back there as soon as spring.
or maybe I just can't believe that I did not get to see Park Shin Hye :D
thanks to rimbun and bombie who got us through with their survival korean language skill.
as well as the sim card with unlimited data. plus GOOGLE MAP.
the trinity that ensure that we will never be lost.
so here are the things about Seoul that left memorable impression:
1) stairs: #@$@#%%^@
seriously.. my eternal enemy.
they are everywhere. most subway stations are on B3 or even B4.
and you either take stairs or the rarely seen lifts. no escalator.
but seeing how only the elderly take lifts, pride took over and I took stairs.
2) cafe
just like the stairs.. they are everywhere!
love the fact that instead of the boring starbucks & coffee beans that we see in most Singapore's malls, Seoul has some chains that are uniquely theirs.
and they are usually very spacious as well as well designed.
Even more amazing thing is this- some open for 24 hours on weekdays!
imagine taking a stroll at midnight in winter and go for a cup of hot latte for your writing inspiration.
Coffine Gurunaru and Mango Six are two chains that go into my checklist for next trip.
plus all the other outstanding cafes!
my personal favorite this visit: o'sulloc tea house
3) one direction
you can easily recognise how like-minded they are when it comes to trend.
their make up, their lipstick color, the guys' bags.
this bag thing is amazing. there are only two types of bags that the guys are using now.
no matter how old they are.
I use sling bag for safety purpose as a tourist.
and i find myself the only guy with sling back even in the most crowded places there.
ah but i LOVE their bags!
4) taxi
the good: they are VERY AFFORDABLE! so if you travel in group of three or four, most of the times you can rely on taxi when you are fed up with the stairs.
the bad: many only understand address written in hangul. we were beyond frustrated in our first few days there. Showed the driver a complete address written in latin alphabets and they just had no idea what it was. as if they never learned how to read latin alphabets!
BUT.. you can look for taxi with 'Free Interpretation' sticker. it means the driver understand English. How helpful!
this article helps too: using taxi in korea
REMEMBER THIS: driver who tries not to use meter will be penalised heavily if you report this to the authority.
5) the gates
this is one of the trivial things that I love about this city.
it is not uncommon to suddenly see an ancient city gate standing in the middle of some major road junctions.
the 'mun' in dongdaemun and namdaemun means door/gate.
so I suppose it refers to the city gates in the old times?
unlike their fashion trend, Seoul has very interesting and diverse urban landscape imo.
my personal favorite area is samcheong dong.
the bukchon village (traditional korean houses) blend well with modern cafes and stores.
the atmosphere is right. not too touristy too.
special mention for Ewha Women University.
that place's landscape is fantastic. tasted the best bread in Seoul there at Richemont.
this guy seems to agree with me!
personal unfinished business: Gangnam and checking out street gig at Hongdae
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