Vacation in Seoul, Korea (Part 3/3)

HOLY SHIT. I’ve actually forgotten about this third part already. For those of you who may not be aware, I had my first solo vacation in Korea last year and wrote two epic posts about it. The first is about getting lost and mistaken for a Japanese and the second is about stalking TOP and meeting DBSK’s Junsu’s dad. It had been four months since but I was reminded to finish the 3-part post because whoohoo I’m Korya-bound again, this time, with the 남자친구! So let’s finish this thing, shall we?

Day 5. November 29, Monday

I woke up early again to meet my friend, Cherish at the 혜화역 Hyehwa Station. As agreed, she brought me to 남대문 시장 Namdaemun Market where I bought pasalubong and such. It’s a bustling place, especially on a Monday morning and it has that Divi spirit, except it’s a lot more shala and doesn’t smell like estero. I really thank my friend not just for accompanying me but for haggling as well, as I bought quite a lot there. Including a fur coat for my mom, which she will never get to use in the Philippines. -_____-;; #kringyou’resosmart

I was pretty surprised that some stuff are really cheap there!

And according to Cheng, the best 찐빵 jjinbbang (steamed bun) in Korea can be found in Namdaemun. No, not this 찐빵! And seriously, they were tasty! Unfortunately, I forgot what the store’s name is…

After shopping at Namdaemun, we then headed to the COEX Mall at 강남구 Gangnam-gu to have lunch. It was only the second time that I went South of the Han River and I must say, you could really tell the difference – the Northern part is more “cultural” while the Southern is more “urban”. I don’t know the resto where we ate at but we tried their version of adobo (according to my friend).

찜닥 Jjimdak otherwise known as the Korean adobo.

It was delish though I would say it’s more like an adobo-pata tim hybrid. LOL. After our lunch, Cheng and I had to part ways as she had work and I had a date with my self. I know, it was kinda sad but I was excited like whoah! COEX Aquarium tiemzzz!

COEX Aquarium: Making Manila Ocean Park look puny, one fish tank at a time.

I highly enjoyed my experience at the COEX Aquarium even though I was alone and was surrounded by noisy kids with ADHD. I totally forgot that I was inside a freakin’ mall!!! Like WTF was that??? I’ve been to the one in Sentosa and of course, Manila but man, COEX Aquarium was purdddddy~ Totally a date venue!!!

They even have a bangin’ aquarium museum! This vendo actually has fishes inside.

They also have piranhas and deadly jellyfishes and great whites and shiiiit (not literally)!!!

It takes about 2 hours to go around (longer if you think fisheries is srs bzns) and I assure you, your 17500 won (about Php700) is super worth it! I wanna go back already!!!

After the aquarium, I went around the mall to yanno, window shop and check out what they have. And then I saw this:

AND I JUST HAD TO POST IT ON MY BLOG. Maeg-do-nal-deu FTW!!!

Paris Baguette is not from France. It’s one of the biggest bread and pastry chains in Korea. I had some while waiting for Cherish.

So we met up again to go back North and she invited me to join her in their rehearsals, as I had no other plans that night. You see, at that time, my friend was still a graduating student at the Korean National University of Arts, mastering in Theater Direction. She has since gotten her diploma and is gonna be the lead in a big-time play soon. Gosh, I’m really proud of her!!! You know, we were classmates since 1st grade and schoolmates until college! She was even my actress in both of my plays in high school and now she’s making her name in the Korean theater scene! GO GO GO, CHERISH MANINGAT-BAE (Yup, she’s married to a Koryan, too~)!!! I’ll see you next month!

Cheng, rehearsing for her finals with some good-looking students who majoring in Acting. It was kind of surreal watching them.

Day 6. November 30, Tuesday

My last day in Seoul was spent yet again with Cherish. I told her I wanted to check out some CDs and DVDs and buy Korean-language books so yup, our destination was none other than the 교보문고 Kyobo Book Center in 광화문  Gwanghwamun.

It’s like their National Bookstore, except it’s as big as a department store.

Didn’t even bother getting a Kpop CD there because I don’t really “listen” to Kpop so much and the concert DVDs were super expensive plus you can download them, right??? DON’T BE A HYPOCRITE!!! However, I got myself some movies and those were def worth my money! Further, I bought two Korean-English workbooks. One, I only studied for a month and the other, I haven’t even opened yet. Gawd, I hate my self now. T_____T

Just outside Kyobo is the statue of 대왕세종 King Sejong. You aren’t considered a tourist if you don’t go there to take selcas or camwhore. Just our luck, there was a free “photo booth” at the park where people can wear traditional Korean clothing of their choice, pose, and the images will be up on the huge screen for everyone to see. sjkadkagfkagk I WAS PWNED.

We’re hot 화랑 Hwarang! I felt like I was in a drama. And OMG look at the photo on the screen whoohoo!

Of course, the obligatory pose with the great king!

And I tell you, I was a super lucky tourist because on our way to have lunch, there was another free costume-wearing thingamajig! We got to be King Sejong, too! Apparently, it’s just Seoul’s treat for the tourists as a “thank you” for visiting their city. I SRSLY LOVE YOU, SEOUL!!!

I betcha King Sejong didn’t pose like that when he was still alive…

After trying on those costumes, we decided to have lunch already and I got to eat 돼지갈비 dwaeji galbi for the first time. I’ve been hooked ever since!

돼지갈비 dwaeji galbi or grilled sweet pork ribs.

It should also be interesting to note that I saw a protest rally (two actually) in that area, because apparently, Gwanghwamun is like their Mendiola. We saw some policemen running and people with placards and it made me realize that Seoul has its owns problems as well. But Cheng had to leave so we didn’t get to check what the commotion was about anymore. After we parted ways, I went back to Myeongdong for some last-minute shopping before I returned to my hostel.

One last snapshot of 대학로 Daehangno.

Before heading to Incheon International Airport.

Incheon International Airport is the 2nd best airport in the world (next to Sinagpore’s Changi, apprently) and my boyfriend likes to rub it in, especially when we wants to complain about NAIA 1. You know what, I can’t blame him! And oh, one last funny thing! While waiting at the check-in counter, I saw someone I know from Manila – Jan Gilbert Tan and his family! I met the kid in CSB when we gave a talk about Flippish. He’s barkada with Aya and their gang! Small world indeed!

Peace out!

Whew. And that concludes the EPIC, 3-PART CHRONICLES OF MY 2010 KOREA TRIP!!! I fell in love with Seoul and I can’t wait to go baaaack, especially that I’ll be with Jimmy this time around. I heard, however, that we’re going to different cities as well, not just Seoul. OMG BUSAN?! DAEGU?! GWANGJU?! LEZGOOOO~

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