2011 Seoul Trip Before & After thoughts~

My last post ended with my last day in Seoul last year as I didn’t want to drag it any later as I have my upcoming Seoul trip..
I had intended to have a pre-trip post before leaving for Seoul…
But… I ended up being caught up with some work problems and preparations for the trip… that I didn’t have the time to do so..

The work problems came unexpected and for a moment, I did thought of cancelling my trip as I was kind of troubled over it...
But after giving some thoughts and the fact that it’s hard to come by a chance where most of us are over in Seoul and I haven’t had a proper break for over 8 months? Lol..
So… I decided to just go ahead with it to have a break and get worried over my problems when I’m back.. ^^
So now..

I’m back!^^

Time to face reality and start worrying.. T_T

Totally worn out and tired from the trip..
Spent 11 days & 10 nights in Seoul.. yup.. only Seoul..
It’s a breakthrough for me.. since I normally don’t go anywhere else other than Tokyo for that long.. (^_^;)
I thought I could have some time to myself at some café or strolling slowly shopping around..

End up..

I was wrong… lol..

I know about the queuing for music shows, but I didn’t expect it would take up soooo much time..
It was like reliving my days back when I was living in Tokyo as a fangal again.. lol..
Though back then the conditions was much worse than now.. lol.. Then again, I was so much younger back then! lol..
Can’t really complain much cuz those who spent their time queuing will get rewarded with guaranteed entrance to the music show and sometimes, better view of the st★r ~ ^^
N I actually didn’t have any regrets at all.. ^^
It was tiring but when you have a bunch of frens with you, thinking back it was rather fun.. ^^
N every time when I think back about such times.. I always wonder how I managed to survive through it.. lol..
Oh well.. will go into details on that later…

Overall, I was glad that I made this trip..
I got to meet up with yuka who owns a doubles blog, haneul after 8 months! lol.. We met for the 1st time when I went over to attend the 1st love event in Tokyo last year. During that time, we only met 3 times but somehow, we clicked and have been in contact thereafter.. ^^ N of cuz meeting up with M too...my kaki from Taiwan .lol.. N not to forget meeting up with elley and mari too.. lol..
N I finally got to meet 슈리더★(リダ), most know her as miniquilt on her daum blog..^^ It’s a wonder how we managed to make a few conversation when I can’t speak korean and she can’t speak english.. lol.. Got to meet Sarah & Blue too! Though it was only a hi so they probably can’t remember mi anyway.. heh.. N I have a short and bad memory too.. so I doubt if I could recognise them again if we do meet.. XP

Alright.. gonna start sorting out the pics slowly…
Hope this trip account doesn’t drag and end up like my last one.. lol..
Then again, maybe I should start with FA... oh well.. lemme see how.. ^^

Seoul Trip 2010 - Day 4

I thought since there's only the last day left... might as well get it over and done with it.. ^^

2010.05.07 - Day4 : Myeong Dong ⇒ Gimpo ⇒ Haneda

I think my last brekkie in Seoul was the best out of the 3 mornings I had…
Kimbab again but this was freshly made by an ahjuma.. Alright.. it ain’t exactly fresh since it was bought the night before…heh..
But I didn’t wanna make my way down in the morning so I had decided to get it before I headed back to the guesthouse the night before..
I was worried that I won’t be able to communicate but the ahjuma just passed me this menu with pictures of what they had and there’s english beside the Korean words.. ^^
So I decided to settle with plain old tuna kimbab.. lol..

Nicely wrapped in aluminum foil~ ^^

After brekkie, I took a while more to finish packing my luggage before lugging it down to the owner’s place…
I have no idea what I have bought since I only spent around 3 days but I almost died dragging my luggage down the steps… not to forget I’m staying at the rooftop.. Orz..
After leaving my luggage with him.. I made my way down to Myeon Dong for some last minute shopping…

Visited Basic House as I decided to get some clothes for my brother.. Come to think of it, I seldom bought him anything.. ^^ But I thought the staff was a little unfriendly.. >_< I couldn’t find the sizes that I wanted so I decided to ask the staff.. Me: “Do you have M size?” (in English)
Staff: *giving me this I don’t care look* “없어요..” (which means no…)
I was surprised that she answered me in Korean, since I had asked in English.. N does she assume that any customer understands that?
Anyway, after making my purchase (they gave mi a poster and a catalogue!^^), I continued my shopping at skincare shops (again!)
I thought it would be quick but I was wrong as I was held up listening to the staff introducing their products…

and lastly.. I got this 돼지토끼 (pigrabbit) keychain for my friend.. ^^

I seemed to have forgotten to take a pic so I stole tis from the net.. keke..

I remembered she was crazy over the drama and thought of getting it for her since she’s always kind enough to let me bunk in with her whenever I visit Japan.. ^^

After shopping, I was already lugging a few bags and with the hot weather… I was sooo tired. Had wanted to lunch at the place where I bought the kimbab the night before but I realized I don’t have much time left. So I decided to find a café and rest for a short while…
I remembered this café which one would never missed whenever shopping in Myeong Dong. So I decided to give it a try! ^^

I never really trust such gimmicks.. lol..

Along the way walking up to the cafe, pictures of the boss on the walls.. lol..

Iced Chocolate is a bliss in the hot weather~ ^^

Sat facing the entrance and the postbox caught my attention! ^^

I suppose there are lotsa Japanese fans? since Japanese explanation was written on the board.. ^^
It's for fans to write letters and every month he will choose 1 to reply!~

After resting for a shortwhile,
N off I head to Sejong Hotel..

Sejong Hotel spotted! ^^

I could noticed my luggage from afar and there was a man standing beside it.. Collected my luggage and I told him I’m heading to Gimpo and he was nice to inform me which bus I’m supposed to take. As there were also buses heading to Incheon, he had told me not to get mixed up.. ^^
So while waiting for the bus, I was checking out my mobile when suddenly 3 guys stopped and asked me in Japanese where they could find Faceshop. lol..
I was a bit caught by surprised but I remembered I had a Faceshop paperbag with me..and they were walking off happily when I told them where it is.. ^^
Soon the bus came and off I go to Gimpo…

Random snap while on the bus.. this should be still at Myeong Dong.. ^^

Oooh.. I didn't know he is the endorser for Nikon in Korea! ^^
I only know the one in Japan.. kekeke..

Another random snap while waiting for the limo bus to move off~

I had arrived quite early and the airpot seemed to be quite empty..

the check-in counters~

Not to forget the familiar escalators that we have seen in most fancams.. lol..

After checking in, I decided to have a late lunch at Lotteria. At least I’m familiar with their menu.. lol.. as there was one beside my school back in Japan which I always frequent last time.. ^^

Ebi Katsu Burger~ my fav ♥

N I realized there’s free wifi at the airport! ^^
When it’s time for boarding…

once again, the familiar depature hall entrance~ lol..

I decide to snap a few pics of the boys before walking in…

A display right at the side of the departure hall~

another one right beside the standees above~

They are everywhere!! At each gate, there’s a pic of them… lol..

while walking past one of the boarding gates...
pardon for the poor pic.. there were too many people around~ (^_^;)

yesh! finally my gate~ ^^

while waiting for the gate to open.. music bank? was showing..
I have no idea who was singing.. heh..

while queuing to board... another pic of the boys!

Goodbye Gimpo, Goodbye Seoul!~ T_T

I was so impressed with the immigration card packed this way!
Usually it's without the plastic holder~ ^^
my in-flight meal which is Japanese food again!!! >_<

So that very much sums up my 4 days 3 nights short Seoul trip.. ^^

ps: pardon mi... I confessed that I practically can't remember offhand what had happened since it was a year ago...no note was taken either...so it's kind of messy and random..as I just wrote what I could recall~ (^_^;)

Seoul Trip 2010
Seoul Trip 2010 - Day 1
Seoul Trip 2010 - Day 2
Seoul Trip 2010 - Day 3

Seoul Trip 2010 - Day 3

Started out the day without any specific plan or route in mind.. except for dsp and the studio..
But turns out that all the places we visited for the day were related to celebrities.. so we named it... "fangal day" （●＾o＾●）

2010.05.06 - Day3 : Fangal Day

It was drizzling in the morning...and since I had turned in early the night before… had woke up early and decided to head out to get some brekkie.

wanted to take a view from the top but no idea why i took with the tree in the middle (ーー;)

My brekkie for the day... kimbab
Had wanted to have a kimbab but as my Korean was limited.. I could only make out kimchi and bulgogi…lol.. N since I didn’t wanna have beef, I had to settled with kimchi.. (@_@。

not to forget to grab a snack, green tea and yuzu tea! ^^

First stop of the day… DSP..
Had intend to visit DSP yesterday but as it was a public holiday, all offices were closed. My friend had only visited DSP once but she had cab there and doesn't remember the addy. So end up I had to do my “homework” and figure out how to get to the place by train and foot.. lol..
Well.. I suppose most of us have seen the pictures of the place but upon reaching, I’m still surprised at how “big” it was.. (^_^;)

da building with no indication of dsp... ^^;;

upon stepping out from the elevator... this is what welcomes us..
reminds mi of those warehouse offices? ^^

a whole stretch of awards displaying at the side of the meeting rooms?

awards shelf just by the entrance

Yahoo Asia Buzz Awards 2009 displayed at the front~

more awards... lol.. & signed poster displayed all near the entrance

Next, had wanted to visit Royal Avenue but as the offline shop was only announced after I left.. I didn’t have any map with me. N I couldn’t remember offhand how to walk over from the station. So after discussing with my friend, we decided to give it a miss.

Off we go to our next destination… ^^
When we arrived at this station, something caught our attention…

the train ain't moving and there's boxes and stuffs in it...

another sneak into another carriage...
there are sacks on the seats?

it's a train stopped at the station selling dry food and stuff.. lol..

Read More »

Seoul Trip 2010 - Day 2

It's already 2011 and since I was in the mood... decided to finished my 2nd day trip account as the draft has been chucked in my folder for the longest time.. (ーー;)
Basicaly it's all on food and since I'm not good in describing...
I'll let the food pics do the talking... lol..(sorry if the pics ain't delicious looking enuff..(^^ゞ)

2010.05.05 - Day2 : Myeong Dong ⇒ Sindang ⇒ Sinchon

For someone like me, it was surprising that I woke up pretty early at around 9plus when I had turned in rather late the night before. Then again, I’m supposed to meet my friend at 11am, so I ain’t that early anyway..lol..

For brekkie, had the Kripsy Kreme donut and banana milk I had bought last night.
Yesh...”da banana milk” which I had read about it in many blogs. Bought the strawberry one too since I have always been a strawberry person.. lol..

Took a sip of the banana milk and….
I guess I prob have a different tongue and taste bud.. lol..
Has never been a milk person or a banana person… so I guess I dun really fancy the strong banana taste. (；一_一)
Thinking that it must be the “banana” taste fault.. so I opened the strawberry one to try out..
Sad to say… I dun really fancy it either…(@_@)
the milk taste is overwhelming that turns me off.. guess I'm not fated to enjoy it... (^^ゞ

By the time I got ready and all… I realized I was going to be late for my appointment..
Thank god my meeting place is at Myeong Dong..lol.. so I made a dash out..
The weather was a lil cold in the morning and looking at the wet roads, it prob had rained during the night.

It was a public holiday in Korea so it was already pretty crowded in Myeong Dong. Met up with my friend and we decided to walk around Myeong Dong first. As my friend had to do some shopping, I had accompanied her visiting various skincare shops which I never have heard before… ^^;;

So after our skincare shopping… we headed down to Sindang dong for our late lunch.
Had read about the떡볶이(tteokbokki) street and of cuz Joong has mentioned before the spice from this particular famous store HERE.^^
We made our way there and at first, we couldn’t find the so called street insight. But after some asking around, we realized it was nearby and we would have seen it if we walked a lil further in.. (^_^;)


the empty street & nowhere insight of the tteokbokki street



whee! the shop is right at the start of the street! ^^

Surprisingly the shop was rather big and it was quite packed and there were people queuing to go in. But it was rather fast and we got a seat in around 5 mins. Order was pretty easy since they go by the number of people per pot.

a lil glimpse of the shop inside packed with people

interesting utensils all in steel and the old apron for use..lol..

We were actually surprised that it’s not piping red like what we see in other guest’s pot. But we kinda figure out that you have to let it boil dry to get it.



2 person share of tteokbokki!!
there's egg, dumplings, veges, noodles and of cuz tteokbokki! ^^



after boiling for a while.....



almost ready for dining! *slurp*

Half way through.. from the color of the red, we suspect that it ain’t spicy enuff that we got the ahjuma to add more chili powder..

Tasted a bit… and we looked around for one of the staff again...
"ahjuma, it’s not spicy.."

And finally, we are satisfied.

But I thought the portion was a lil too much for 2 people.... (^_^;)

Thereafter, off we go to 이대 (Ewha Womans) to do some shopping..^^



sorry...only took these 2 street pics.. (^^ゞ

Clothes sold there were rather cheap though you must dig through the piles of racks to browse the clothes.. As I wasn’t in the mood shopping for clothes.. So I only ended up getting 2 long cardi.. ^^

there's a reason for taking this...lol..

We met up with 2 more friends before we headed down to Sinchon for dinner.

at the station heading off to Sinchon...

After several twist and turns, walking around.. we finally reached this place..

Samgyeopsal for dinner!

check out the fresh and delicious looking samgyeopsal!!

cutting up the kimchi.. yeah.. we are bbqing it.. and surprisingly, it's delicious to have it barbequed!

cutting up the pork belly...

a lil more barbequing and we are ready to pig in! heh..

Throughout the whole day, I already had a throbbing headache.. but it was bearable and I didn’t wanna waste my time resting…
So half way through dinner.. the pain was so excruciating and also prob due to the oily samgyeopsal.. I was at the verge of throwing up too..

In fact, I was worried if I could withstand the long train journey back but thanx to my dear friend.. who offered to cab me back first before heading home. Come to think of it, I wouldn’t have survived without her sending me home.. lol..
Though at first I was assuring her that I’ll be fine and I could take the train home myself..
But I think she did thought of the fact that upon reaching my station, I still have a short walk and 2 long flight of stairs to climb… So she insisted on cabbing me back.. (^_^;)

When I reached back to the guesthouse, I practically sprawled onto the bed and not moved a single inch at all… lol..
I just couldn’t move as I felt that anymore movements and I would throw up immediately, After passing out, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling better to wash up before snuggling comfortably back into the bed… ^^

Seoul Trip 2010
Seoul Trip 2010 - Day 1
Seoul Trip 2010 - Day 3
Seoul Trip 2010 - Day 4