Tuesday, June 23, 2015

#crystaltravelsagain: Seoul (Days 11 - 15)

This post should've came more than a month ago but my Macbook was taking tooooooooo damn long to upload the picture so I gave up halfway. I'd wanted to rush this post before my Bangkok trip but I failed, haha. But since I've got a few days off work, I shall do it. Everything here feels so... yesterday.

Day 11

Feeling very excited because it was Everland day and also because our host told us that Everland is more suitable for grown ups but all that died down when we reached the place because we travelled for................. 4 hrs. Haha took the subway there because we didn't know if there was any shorter route but apparently there is because we took a bus when we left the place and the journey back to apartment took only an hr and a half??


Entrance fees: 38,000₩ = SGD$47 (after discount)

Was supposed to meet a friend there but didn't manage to because we reach at different timings and there was no wifi.. haha.

Totally my kind of place! Anyway that day was super cold (under 20 degrees throughout the day).


So we walked around hoping that we would be able to play some rides but it was mad crowded even tho we chose a weekday (Monday). Lol I think they don't need to experience any Monday blues la because Monday all of them go Everland. So we walked to the end first and found a viking ship. Mad long la the queue but one round can carry a lot of people so the queue moved quite fast but even so, we queued for 40 mins.


Also I realised they don't emphasise on filling up all the seats thats why the queue dam long. We chose the last row because viking ship already extinct in Singapore, 要玩就爽快一点. Walked around the park first to explore a little bit and the place is super big. One day is not enough to complete the place. The next time I go I gonna go for 2 days.

Then we proceeded to our second and........... last ride of the day, T-express. Seriously travelled 4 hours to play 2 rides. But then I still damn excited because you see that 90 degree dip???


Then walk closer to see, its all made of wood, which makes it 100000x scarier.


Queued 3 hrs for this 3 min ride. But haha damn exciting la the 90 degree dip damn awesome but at the same time I thought I was going to die.


Mandatory shot of Everland.

It was 7pm already so we decided to leave the place already cus we were estimating it would take some time for us to get back too..

Selfie on the way out.

Before we left I remembered we haven't watched the KPop Hologram concert. So I checked the time and YAAAASSSSS 7.30pm is Big Bang's time!!

No photos allowed during the concert so yup no photos but it was super real!! Like they're just standing in front of you. Although it was only 20mins, it made my 4 hr trip worthwhile cus I saw the fake-real Ji Yong.

Super hungry after the whole day (cus only had breakfast) so we went to KyoChon near our place to have supper/dinner. We just munched on the food allllllllll the way and didn't even talk because we were THAT hungry.

So yup that you for reading how we waste so much of our time travelling.

Day 12

Its gangnam style day. Haha no la but as our stay gets longer and longer, we have nothing much to do.  

But anyway went to Garosu-gil first but we it was mostly filled with boutiques and cafes so there wasn't anything much we could do. But we passed by the LINE store (very crowded) an
d its pretty amazing how they could develop a store (with cafe) out of a mobile app.


With a super Big Brown. While I was taking a pic for Pris, this thick skin woman just cut across the picture. Then I was super pissed off because like...... i mean you cannot see meh, so many people keeping off that area that you walked through.

Lol so I just diao her very hard and show her a bitch face. She still tell me sorry sorry but still walk slowly. Sorry your head. She's not Korean btw. I leave it up to you to guess where she is from HAHAHA. 


Priscilla say this is the famous Garosu-gil trees.

Sinsa-dong after that to have a meal. Passed by LeeSsang's eatery which I did not take a picture of because it wasn't opened yet.

Then went to express bus terminal to shop because a lot of people say that place is pretty good to shop. Hahah really meh. There wasn't a lot of stores plus all the shoes that are nice is selling at the same price as outside.

No picture also because I forget plus stomach wasn't feeling very well haha oops.

Gangnam after that and we were sooooo lazy already we just went to Milkcow to grab a treat. Had gelato only and not the usual cotton candy stuff because its a bad stomach day. And steal free wifi. Think we sat down for quite some time haha.

Then we went on to look for the gangnam style stage because it is so popular. But lol when we reached there nobody bothered about the stage. 


Finally found it after walking round and round and round and round and round.

Although we were still quite full, we decided it was dinner time and went on to look for Gary's restaurant since we were in that area. After damn long, we finally found it.................................... barricaded. Lol that means Gary must have joined forces with Gil to form that LeeSsang restaurant we saw in the morning laaaaa!!!!! How come nobody update online?!????

So we went to a random eatery to have a meal and I ate Kimbap only. But the kimbap is cheese kimbap. Not bad.
After that wanted to head back to rest but we remembered Coex mall was around that area (and got Lotte Star Avenue) so we headed there. Saw SMTown @ Coexatrium so we went in to take a look first!



Goddess (inserts many heart shapes)


OnStyle Krystal & Crystal (Pun intended)


Lol its like a gallery of SM artists lor. Not all of them though, 50% of the place was Exo, and I am very yucked by the fact that they removed Jessica from everything.

Went on to look for Lotte Star Avenue so we walked and walked to find that it was an exhibition that has been over. LOL waste time again.


Day 13

Went to Edae again because contrary to popular beliefs, Edae is literally my favourite shopping place out of all the places I went. 

Went to visit the Ewha Womens Uni first because we didn't get to visit it the other day cus it was raining. It is just very big and beautiful.


Went for crazy shopping after that and then headed to Namdaemun which I totally didn't take a single picture because it was mad crowded and squeeze with a lot of ahjummas. But Namdaemun sells a lot of kids clothing's and they even have stylenanda kind of kids shoes. But they cost at least 20,000₩ so I didn't buy them for the kiddos.

Walked over to Myeongdong after that to find the Seoul Cultural Centre because we researched on it and it says FREE hanbok experience. FREE. So die die must find. We spent a good 20 mins (or 30) finding the place and then when we found it, we found out that we were just circling around our destination the whole time (in the process getting freaked out by HUGE dogs wtf)

Free rental of hanbok for 10 mins. Of course the choices weren't a lot but its free.




Me and my unnie. HAHA Swaggers in Hanbok.




After that we wanted to leave already but since got free (and fast wifi), we decided to laze around first while Pris went to the restroom. While she was away I looked around, and around and around and saw that they are having a Kpop dance class at 3.30pm (it was 3 when I saw it) so I psycho-ed Pris to join it with me. She only agreed after I told her the song for the day was Miss A's Only You (she siao over that song at that time). Plus it was only 5000₩ = SGD$6.30 LOL WHY NOT right. Super fun experience and one tick off my bucket list because I've always wanted to take a Korean-Pop class in Korea.

Went for some treats after that along the streets of Myeongdong and we both got the famous Myeongdong ice cream cus...... its the MyeongDong ice-cream for 3000₩ = SGD$3.80. (When I came back to SG food fare at expo also got sell, cheaper some more, $3.50 only but the cracker sucked).


My mother say I look damn aunty in this pic but don't care la. I ALWAYS look damn messy and shag after a dance class.

Then I got twist potato too which I haven't tried in my life even when it was launched in SG a few years ago. VERY NICE its my kind of food but it was damn salty.

Then we went over to Lotte Department store to check out the star avenue and we finally found it but guess what, KHJ is not even part of Lotte anymore. Just very recently, Lotte launched a contest between KHJ, LMH and KSH because these 3 were the top models of Lotte and after voting, KHJ got the first place, LMH second and KSH third. Even with KHJ winning, his picture wasn't used as the cover photo of their page. And now, they even removed him from the group. Even Jang Keun Suk (maybe number 5 on my list) isn't part of them anymore because both KHJ and JKS has some scandals. Like wtf right its like the Jessica thing but without notice.

VERY DISAPPOINTED LOTTE.

But Lotte, I forgive you because you have a freaking awesome Lotte Mart!!!!

yup, we headed to Lotte Mart right after but not before we TOOK THE WRONG BUS (forever and ever and ever and ever getting lost).

Yup I didn't buy a lot of things (yet) because I don't like to spend money on food.

Day 14

Itaewon today because and it is like Garosu-gil/Sinsa-dong, mainly boutiques and cafes. Wasn;t expecting anything much but we came across this shop selling super nice shoes at 10,000₩ = SGD$12.50. So I bought a pair. Walked around and Priscilla went to change money and the eomeoni had a little chat with us and she say the both of us are very pretty. Yeah very pretty in Korea cus we have natural nose bridge, natural eyes, natural everything. In short, we look different from the Koreans. So in conclusion, we are only pretty in Korea. Become ugly duckling instantly when back in SG because very hot = very messy = very ugly + singaporean face is meh.

Then we headed to K-star road just to try our luck to see if we can see any idols or not........ walk and walk and walk and walk walk walk walk until I wana die. Hands down I salute Priscilla cus she can walk until the Earth ends. 



Gangnam Bear???


The only idol bear I took because I not interested in the others. But I forgot why I didn't take the Miss A one.

Then we walked and walked before we found Cube Entertainment which houses 4Minute, B2ST. Sat down at the Cafe for a drink because I was god damn tired and thirsty. 


Did I mention before I love this kind of colour beverages cus it looks very appealing to me. Although my fave colour is pink, I prefer blue drinks cus my instinct tells me red/pink beverages tastes and smells like fever medicine. But the Barista service very bad so ya not going back again.

Walked a street down and reached JYP. 


Saw it on the Net, saw it on TV but now I am seeing it with my own eyes!!!! Sat down at Dunkin' Donuts just below the building (amongst all the damn devoted fans who can sit there ALL DAY LONG just to meet the idols) and had a snack first cus both of us damn famished. Then we left after finishing the food. Before that I saw somebody do a heart shape to us (I AM SURE SHE'S AN IDOL) but all the cars tinted legit BLACK so I could see no shit.

Then we walked back again to the street of bears, wanting to head to the subway station but opposite the street we saw many people crowding around so we also kpo want to go over to see. Turns out there is an event and celebrities are invited. Out of all the celebrities that turned up, I only knew Min from Miss A. HAHA super lucky cus she's my bias from Miss A and woah getting to see an international star (without any hope) is just luckyyyyyy. 


Paparazzi shot cus she walk so fast for what?!!?!?!??!

After that everybody who turned up were like..... I also don't know who they were. We left because half of the crowd and half of the reporters left.

Headed to Noryangjin Fish Market.... our last dinner in Korea :'(

Ahhhhhhh-mazed at how much seafood they sell.






TOOOO MUCH for us to handle but we ordered. Walked one round first before deciding on which stall we should buy from and there were sooooooo many ahjummas talking to us in Chinese thinking we're from China. Can speak Chinese doesn't mean from China, OKAY?!?!?!?!?!?! So I told Pris that we should just talk in English so they'll stop bothering us. Then I overheard one ahjumma saying something like where we're from lolol. English wins. English always wins.

Anyway we settled for this Korean Ahjumma store because she seems very nice. Bought Abalone (3 for 10,000₩ = SGD$12.50), super big cockles (I LOVE LOVE LOVE Cockles unlike most of the people my age) (6 for 10,000₩), super big clams (6 for 10,000₩) and live octopus (2 for 5000₩ = SGD$6.25).

But the ahjumma being super nice, she gave us another abalone for free because she say we 2 person, 4 abalones is easier to split. Super niceeeee. I make sure I'll go back to her the next time I go back there. Hopefully I remember where haha.

Anyway dinner starts!

When the live octopus (Sannakji) was served, I was pretty freaked out by it.


But it turned out to be the best dish out of all the dishes.


Abalone BBQ style.


Clams stir-fried with Chilli


Cockles steamed.

We could actually choose how we want our seafood to be cooked.

Then Priscilla ordered Soju cus both of us didn't try it before then since we're in Korea already might as well give it a try. Yucks. Suckiest drink in the whole wide world. Pris took a sip and she was like "Can pour everything back and return him or not?" Lol. Then I had my share, hust a sip. The taste and the smell..... really sucked. I took 3 sips for one shot.

I CANNOT drink for nuts (not even 0.5% alcohol) but I thought I was still going strong.. yes... yes.. until my body started to heat up.

......
......
......
......
......
......

Worst 3 hours of my life.

I puked at the subway station. Not a lot, just the amount that I drank. But it is also cus the stupid idiot train took damn bloody long to arrive. Went back to the apartment alone while Pris went to the nearby stores to look for duct tape to prepare for our homecoming the next day. Couldn't find any wtf.

So when I reached the apartment I knocked out for 2 hours haha. 2 hours later. Best time of my life. Woke up to eat ramen because I didm't want to bring home any leftover ramen hahaha.

Day 15

Last day in Korea. I am so sad. Went to have Samgyetang at Tosokchon first because we haven't had any since we were there. Was busy trying to look for an ATM machine because I had zero dollars left. I mean zero won. Took super long to find Tosokchon. Couldn't find it even after we followed the instructions carefully because why? Alighted at the wrong stop. Really is 2 retarded girls. #2retardedgirls #forevergettinglost #becausewontlearnourlesson



Passed by Gyeongbokgung while on the way there! 

Finally reached there after walking and walking and walking.


The outside looks like a traditional Korean house!


Ordered a Korean ginseng chicken soup and a seafood pancake. Cannot even finish them please.  15000₩ each = SGD$18.90 freaking expensive hor!!! 

Spot the two little cups on the left of the picture beside the Kimchi. We were wondering why that is and Pris said it premium Korean Ginseng tea so I was like okay leave it for the last. Then Pris took a sip of it and she was like "YUCKS, ITS SOJU LA". Heng sai I haven't took it. I will remember the smell of Soju forever and ever and ever.



(Unexpected) Last meal in Korea. Shag faces cus no make-up hahaha.

Nowhere to go so we went back to Edae to spend all our money again. Then we went to Lotte Mart again and I bought more food this time cus I very addicted to the Tokppokki cracker. And also get some things for the kiddos because em kids love food. 

Went back to the apartment and on the way back WE FINALLY FOUND DUCT TAPE (have been looking for it for dayssssssssssss to the point that we even wanted to steal some from Lotte Mart (those they provide for customers to pack on the spot).

Spend half an hour packing and then we were ready to set off!!!!!!!! Counted the number of bags we have...... Lol both of us had 10 bags + 1 seaweed parcel (Including our handbags). Initial plan was to take the subway to the airport cus airport subway take quite fast to reach but we couldn't even move a meter without stopping HAHA.

Then saw our room mate coming back home and he helped us carry a bit, and flagged a cab for us. Taxi drivers in Korea don't like fetching people with luggage so quite a few cabs rejected us but our room mate managed to persuade (Thank god he is fluent in Korean. He is Taiwanese, not sure if I mentioned already) one kind-hearted ahjusshi to fetch us. OMG BEST AHJUSSHI IN THE WORLD.

Then another problem came............................ both of us only had 10,000₩ left each. But the cab fare was around 60,000₩ so upon reaching there I told the ahjusshi to wait a while, I go withdraw money and come back ASAP (Thank god I know a bit of Korean cus the ahjusshis and ahjummas there don't know english AT ALL). But the ahjusshi was super nice and he said "okok, no problem, I'll wait here at door 10" in this very patient and friendly manner. Lol 吓死我。I thought he'll be like "帮你载酱多 luggage then 现在你跟我讲你没有钱还还要我等?!?!?!?!"

Ok la so I ran to go change money and came back. THANK YOU AHJUSSHI you are the best ahjusshi in the whole wide world god bless you very very very very many.


A very random picture of G-Dragon in case you're too bored with so many words.........

After that we thought after we check in and get the tax refund we can go eat dinner already. But the tax refund was damn troublesome?! We had to get the custom stamp, check in ourselves, get the check-in luggage tag, go back to the tax refund counter to check in our luggage, pass the immigration then can get our money. Okay so we did everything until the immigration. 

Before we went in, this stupid airport staff stopped me (there was this distance that we needed to walked to the entrance). I was already at the end of the distance (her counter was at the start of the distance) when she stopped me. Why didn't she stop me when I was at the start of the distance, right at her counter? BECAUSE SHE WAS PLAYING GAME ON HER PHONE STUPID. You just wasted my energy walking to and fro you fat mama. So yup, she stopped the both of us saying that we have too many hand carry items. 

So we spent another 15 mins repacking it for check in, prepared to pay overweight charges. But when we went to check in, the unnie said it was okay to hand carry, there isn't a need to check in. So we told her the fat mama asked us to check in. She asked her sunbae (senior) if it is okay for us to hand carry and even her sunbae said it is totally fine. In the end she helped us check in one baggage without any overweight charge (WAH THANK YOU) and asked us to carry the rest by hand, her sundae will talk to the fat mama and bring us in. HAHA fat mama's face turned to fear immediately when she saw us with the sunbae. Yup managed to go in successfully with the help of the best unnie and sunbae in the whole wide world.

But thanks to the fat mama we can't have our dinner.

It was a helluva night thanks to the super complicated tax refund system and the fat woman but thankfully we managed to come home successfully. Thank god and thank you to the people who helped us get home successfully.


But before that.... Taipei for 15 mins!


Thank you for the 15 days in Korea my Korea buddy, thank you to all the nice people I saw on the way and to all the rude people who knocked my bag over and squeezed and push me at the subway station, snatched my seats, I hope you trip over a rock. Karma's a bitch y'know.

Till next time.