Singapore > Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur > Seoul

Best travel partner I can ever have – MOMMY!

Upon arrival in KL

It’s been quite a while since I had in-flight meals and I must say the breakfast wasn’t too bad.

I couldn’t sleep much through out the entire journey, so here I am up & awake in the wee hours of the morning. Catching the sunrise while on the plane was quite an event for me. Yes, I am very thankful!

While the skies were looking good in the above picture, Seoul wasn’t like that. It was all hazy & COLD (YAY!!), which I was very excited over!

6:38 AM – all groggy & dizzy from the very little sleep I had on board the plane! Couldn’t wait to get into central Seoul and check into our hotel!

Mommy was carrying the rose that was given out to ladies as it was Mother’s Day that got stares from an Ahjussi!! Hahaha!

Oddly, it wasn’t any Korean stars that greeted me upon arrival but it was Pierce Brosnan? Erm, what happen to RAIN? 2AM/2PM? Big Bang? Hmm…

Trying to accustomed oneself to Hangul while Mom waits patiently for luggage!

Another choice of transport to inner Seoul – the Airport Railroad (AREX) which proved to be quite wrong choice especially when carrying huge luggages, as there isn’t lifts/escalators to bring us up to street level at some MRT stations. I would definitely recommend taking the Airport Bus instead when we departed Korea which was a breeze! Check out KTO’s website for more details. Click on image to view it in a larger size.

Big Bang!! Yeap, now THIS is really Korea!

Mommy’s ‘boyfriend’, mind you, she has PLENTY of boyfriends all over Korea!! And Lee Seng Gi is just one of them!

Trains in Korea are definitely more spacious as compared to what we have in Singapore which I like because it makes moving around easier.

SEOUL STATION – Yay!

First meal of the trip was Kalguksu (칼국수) with clams aka Handmade Noodles. Kimchi and some other side dishes are always ‘FOC’ but trust me a meal like this would easily cost $8 SGD, which I think the eateries factorise in the cost of these additional small dishes. So I wouldn’t call it Free, if you know what I mean.

Our hotel is extremely near to Gwangjang Market which got us really excited as we knew that local food here was aplenty and the fact that it was right next to us! Located at Jongno 5-ga (종로5가역) Station, Exit #8, you’ll find yourself with a whole lot of local delights from snacks to main dishes. Even though we were too full from the Kalgaksu that we just ate, that didn’t stop us from a little food adventure!

I have learnt that a nicer way to address older ladies in Korea is NOT Ahjuma but rather call them I-Mo, which means older aunty!! Trust me, these ladies were impressed by how I knew to address them and food portion were always more than enough!! :D

Just in case, you would like to meet this I-Mo, here’s here stall number.

Ddeokbokki (떡볶이) and Gimbap (김밥) which was delicious!! Pre warning, the Ddeokbokki in Korea is way spicier than those served in those in Singapore, so don’t get a shock when you bite into these chewy babies! Though I’m a huge fan of spicy stuff, I think these are no sparing at times!!

Enjoying the Bindaeduk which is mung bean pancake dipped with onions in soy sauce.

At the back of Gwangjang Market is actually the stretch of Cheonggyecheon (청계천) which is a stream that last 8.4 km long! Well, if you are game enough to walk it, by all means, but yes, we took a lazy 10 minute walk up and down this. Read Insidemybackpack explanation of this stream.

Bossam (보쌈) which is steamed pork was awesome!! As introduced by Jim and Kellie whom were very nice to host us while we were in Korea, thankfully for them, if not we wouldn’t have had such chances to savor good food like this!

And I FINALLY had the chance to try out Makgeolli (막걸리) which I LOVE! It taste like carbonated soda with a tint of alcohol in it which complimented the food that we ate, especially with the meat overdose! Another pre warning, don’t drink the Makgeolli like as if it was Coke or something, it may look harmless but potent in some sense. On another night, thinking that it might be the last few chances to drink it, we bought back a bottle to the hotel and finished drinking it (shared with Mom and myself) in less than 10 minutes and ended up HIGH on alcohol! Yes, we were like laughing at ourselves for being greedy to drink it fast! You wouldn’t want to imagine Mom and myself being high!! *thinks giggles + giggles + moreeeeee giggling*

To end the night of Day 01 in Korea, nothing better than the infamous Banana/Strawberry Milk that is a MUST DRINK for all who comes to Korea!