Sunday, Seoul Tower and Shopping!

Day 4. La Cathedral, Myeongdong Shopping Center and Seoul Tower

It was a sunny Sunday morning. First on our list was to hear mass at La Cathedral. It was one of the largest Catholic churches in Seoul located just along Myeongdong.

The cathedral from afar. Started the day right with a prayer.

After church a stroll along Myeongdong streets seemed appropriate before we head off to the much anticipated Seoul Tower. Shops just started to open as it was still 10am. We passed by stalls, cosmetic shops and  then H&M came to view, with a big red SALE sign at the window. A short stroll then turned into 2 hours of shopping. Haha.

Nagpanic sa h&m!

Myeongdong streets were not so busy at this time. When it starts to get dark this place gets jam-packed!

WARNING: This ice cream should be shard by 2 or 3 people. We passed by an ice cream corner and it looked enticing! We didn't realize it was too much for each of us. The ice cream started melting and we had to hastily eat them all at once! It was literally dripping everywhere! That's what you get from being too greedy. Lol!

It was 12nn when we started off to Seoul Tower-- a 236-meter tower sitting on top of Mt. Namsan. We opted for the cable car going there. From the streets of Myeongdong we walked our way to an outdoor elevator leading to the cable car station. It was an inclined elevator, which amazed all of us. From the station we paid the admission fees (7,000 KRW round trip per person). After tickets were distributed we had to wait in line for our turn to ride the cable cars. The cable car was similar to Hongkong's (the one going to Ngong Ping). Everything but the floor was made of glass, except this time it was so big it can accommodate a maximum of 48 people. We got a better view of the mountains below us. You can actually see everything, and that moment when I looked at the ground and saw the distance from it going farther and farther and us going higher to the mountains sent chills to my spine. Haha!
 

Inclined outdoor elevator going to the cable car rides.

We were amazed. Haha!

Even from the elevator you can see the beautiful city view.

The Seoul Tower was just the right place to relax. It had an open ground at the center where there was sort of a little show going on. Korean dance and martial arts were showcased. Surrounding it were benches under shades of trees, where people can sit or lie down, chat, laugh, sleep, read, run around and even eat. The fresh mid afternoon breeze from the mountains can lull you to sleep. Souvenir, food and coffee shops also surround the area. My favorite part of the place was the roof terrace where the "locks of love" can be found. People who go there hang padlocks at the tower fence with their names or little notes on them, as a symbol of eternal love.

After getting off the cable car we still had to use the stairs to get to the second level. We passed by a cafe with a good view of the city which looked like a really nice place to chill.

This greeted us. Not really sure what they were doing, though. Haha.

You can go to the top of the tower with another admission fee. We opted not to since we would get to see the same thing anyway. Hehehe.

Lunch. Gavin seemed not to like his lunch. Haha. This place has an al fresco area but all tables were full. It was the perfect spot because you get to see the entire city while munching on your fries and cheeseburger.

City view. This somewhat reminded me of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

After lunch we decided to sit back and relax at the benches nearby. We spent the entire afternoon at Namsan tower, just talking, taking photos, walking around and simply doing nothing. It was a prefectly relaxing afternoon for everyone.

Gavin and Yanna mimicking the famous Korean pose.

Korean dancers.

Breathtaking view. Such a romantic place.

Love locks for the hopeless romantic.

 

It was almost dark when we decided to head home. My sister highly recommended for us to try that delicious authentic Korean food near our place. This made us all sprung up from our lazy state. Haha.

Too exhausted to go out again, we decided to take the food home instead. Indeed it was yummy! The best I must say!

A Day at Lotte World (Seoul, Korea)

Day 3. Lotte World

Thankfully this time my brother-in-law can accompany us. He knew more about going around Seoul especially the tourist destinations. The easiest and fastest way to Lotte World from our place was the subway. The train station was just a walking distance from where we stayed (approximately 5-10minutes). Taking the subway meant a lot of walking and climbing up and down the stairs.

Having fun on our way to the train station

We arrived at lunch time. We decided to try the famous Lotteria--the so-called "Jollibee" of Korea. After lunch I decided it was my favorite fast food restaurant. No, it was THE BEST. The chicken and cheeseburger were so yummy I wish I could bring them with me in the Philippines!

Yanna taking a selfie while waiting for out food to arrive. Haha!

The first thing that came to mind upon seeing Lotte World was Disneyland. They were so much alike except for the indoor and outdoor theme parks showcased by the former. The good thing was that you get to avoid getting sweaty and smelly by going for the indoor rides first. We went there on a weekend and as expected queues were quite long. Such a shame my cowardice got the better of me, I did not risk taking the scary rides (which I immensely regret up until now).

Entrance to Lotte World. It looked so big from the outside that we actually got confused for awhile where the entrance was. You will pass through a shopping center going to another entrance for the theme park and it took us a little while to find it.

Adventure theme park entrance. I forgot the exact entrance fee that time but if I remembered it right it was around 2,000-3,000php per head for adults. 

Indoor theme park. At the center (not included in the photo) is a hug skating rink with another entrance fee if you want to skate.

 Panoramic view of the indoor theme park

I forgot the name of this ride but from the look of it and the sound of people screaming I knew I could not ride this one! Haha!

My mirror image. Haha. They also have this impressive art museum featuring 3D paintings.

Hand over the tissue, please.

Gavin and Yanna on a magic carpet ride!

That is a lot of cash!

Haha I found this funny with Yanna grabbing the bird!

The outdoor theme park.

Like other theme parks, You must spend an entire day to be able to go about the whole place, see all of their attractions and try all the fun rides. There's nothing more frustrating than waiting in queue for almost an hour and missing out most of the rides because it's closing time (this was what happened to us). Lotte World closes at 10pm, but every 8pm everything will be stopped temporarily to give way to the night parade which will be held at the indoor theme park.

The night parade. Kids line up at the side just to see their favorite cartoon characters.

After taking a glimpse of what a night parade was about, I just sat and watched the lights from afar. I can't relate much on the cartoon characters anyway. If they were winnie the pooh, mickey or the disney princesses you would never see me sitting down. LOL.

Reminded me of Disneyland's fireworks show before closing time.

After the parade we decided to go home (our feet hurt a lot at this time). We also did not want to get caught up with the overwhelming crowd at the subway. It was another exhausting yet fun day!

For more information about Lotte World (fees and rides) you can check their website www.lotteworld.com.

Keeping up with Korea (Part 2)

Day 2. Gyeongbokgung Palace and Myeongdong

As expected everyone woke up late. The best thing about DIY travels is that you don't always have to do things in a hurry. You can move at your own pace without a tour guide badgering you all the time, telling you to "hurry up" or "be here in 30 minutes."

Breakfast.

Grocery stores were nearby so we bought a week's supply of food for breakfast. Hence, lesser food expenses. Korean rice was excellent! This was the reason why I gained so much weight after the trip!

My brother-in-law had to work that day so we were on our own. We started out by changing our money from USD to Won (we changed our Php to USD back in Cebu). You cannot find money changers around contrary to other countries where you can see them everywhere along the streets. There was no problem changing our cash though since there were banks everywhere (1USD= approx 1,070 KRW). Next stop was at 7 eleven where we bought T-money cards to make easier and cheaper transfers from one place to the next. For me taking the bus is more convenient than the subway. The Korean subway system is way more confusing with all routes written in Korean (not a single one in English), plus you have to walk up and down a number of staircases at an interchange (unlike Singapore's railway system which is very organized).

  

The moment I stepped out of the building we were staying, first thing I noticed was how Koreans dressed themselves. They were so laid back but elegant looking. Everyone seemed so decent and in fashion. I never saw a single person on ugly clothes. Haha. Second, was how clean and organized my surroundings were. Everything was in order, pedestrian lanes and roads were so wide, no bad smelling food, no filthy sidewalks, everything looked impressive and high end.  

A nice place for a quick lunch. Average meal cost 5,000-10,00KRW.
Will try to make a different blog post for Korean food and costs.

After a quick lunch, we then headed to the bus station right across our building. That was when our relationship with Google maps started. It was our one and only source of helpful navigation. Haha. Communication was seriously difficult especially when asking for directions. Very few understood and spoke English, ALL signs were in Korean, even at bus stations. No translations whatsoever. The only familiar looking figures were the numbers, thank God they left those out.

With the help of Google maps we were able to know which buses (through bus numbers) to take, how many stops before our desired destination and how long the travel time approximately will be. Luckily we arrived at our first destination: Gyeongbokgung Palace. You have to really read beforehand about the places you plan to visit in Korea because some of them close on certain days and there are schedules for some events such as the changing of guards at the palace (every 10am, 1pm, 3pm). Luckily we were able to witness it as it was about to end and got to take photos with the guards. Note: they are very strict with the guards. NO SELFIES, no touching, no joking around. Just take photos of them or with them.

Guards of the palace standing like statues at the gates. I was amazed how tall they were.

The entrance to the palace. Admission fees: 3,000KRW for adults; 1000KRW for kids.

The palace from afar. It was scorching hot at this time.

Nothing is more fun than traveling with people who always see the funny side of things. Makes everything seem lighter and stress-free.

Family selfie. Haha. I always love traveling with this group. They are the best travel buddies! 

It was interesting to see where the king used to live. But my favorite part of this place was the wide landscape surrounding the palace, with a river alongside and the breathtaking mountains as backdrop. We stayed at a shaded area for hours just relaxing and enjoying the view.

The original plan was to visit the palace then go up the famous Seoul Tower. Turned out Korea was so difficult to navigate and so we got lost on our way to the tower. We asked around 5 to 6 people and all of them pointed at different directions. Not even Google maps could help us. After almost 2 hours of going back and forth, frustrated and starving, we gave up and decided to proceed to Myeongdong instead. Myeongdong is the busiest and most famous shopping destination located at the heart of Seoul--and it did not fail us. We had fun walking along the busy streets and trying out a variety of street foods.

The busy streets of Myeongdong. If you love shopping then this is the place to be! And If you love makeup then this will be your home! Cosmetics were the cheapest finds.

Exhausted, we all decided to call it a day but our adventure did not end there. We got lost AGAIN on our way home! We jumped on the wrong bus and ended up in the middle of nowhere. It was already 12 midnight and thankfully the bus driver got out of his way to help us. He drove us back to the bus stop and pointed the correct bus number for us. Take note, from the time we asked for assistance until he left us at the bus stop, he never spoke English. We communicated through hand gestures and pointing at things, and if I remembered it right the only English words he knew were yes/no. It was amazing how we understood each other. Haha. 

I always laugh every time I see this photo. I found getting lost really funny and exciting but the kids thought otherwise. Haha! I captured this moment while we were at the bus stop waiting for our ride home. It was almost 1am. Getting lost in a beautiful city with great people is never a bad thing! You will always find a way out, trust me. 

Thankfully we arrived home, and because of the stress brought by getting lost twice, we decided to binge on ice cream! Yey!

Yanna showing off her bubble gum flavored ice cream.

Baskin robbins was just outside our building. Now who wouldn't get fat with that?

Everyone then decided to spend the entire day  next day at Lotte World. A little reading and researching again (internet connection was fast as lightning. Haha) and we called it a night.