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Month: November 2013

  • Seoul 2013 finale

    Last day in Seoul we decided to go to Hongdae. I really appreciate the effort of the  boys looking for Hello Kitty Cafe just to make the little girl happy. (Little did they know that they were doing me a favor too. hihi) Lia was about to complain, being tired of walking, when I showed her the hello kitty cafe. I saw how she smiled shyly recognizing the cafe that she used to see on the internet. It was priceless.

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    We hurriedly went inside, me and Lia, while the boys stayed outside. After we’ve seen what’s inside the cafe, to our heart’s content, I ordered yoghurt and waffle. The boys don’t want anything so while waiting for us to finish our order, they went around Hongdae.

    Few minutes later, they came back with good news, Hongdae is also a shopping area. Before we did our last minute shopping though, I asked them to look for a place to eat. Luckily, there is a place called Chef, literally a few steps away from Hello Kitty Cafe. Chef offers eat all you can grill and salad bar for 10k won. The little octopus was a hit!

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    That was our last meal in Seoul. We headed straight to Incheon Airport after a little pasalubong shopping. That was it.

    I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again… I will definitely go back to South Korea.

  • Seoul 2013 part 4

    When we reached the hostel, Gary and Lia were busy with the laptop. I mean, Gary was looking after Lia while she plays Disney Junior online games. I am glad to see Gary looking and feeling better.

    To cut the story short, he was ready for our next destination. We decided to, FINALLY, try Korean grilled meat. There’s this one restaurant just walking distance from where we were staying.

    Our table is similar to this (picture taken from the internet)… I KNOW! I need to take my own pictures if I really want to be a travel blogger. (Effort lang kasi)

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    Unfortunately, the menu doesn’t have English translation so we just pointed our order and have no idea what’s it called. Also, I was surprised when they put several side dishes on our table, around 6 side dishes per person. Punong-puno yung table namin. I was also a bit scared because I thought they misunderstood our order and gave us more than what we asked for. I haven’t tried Korean Restaurant before. But then I realized that they love side dishes as much as we Filipinos can’t eat without condiments (sawsawan).

    Verdict, the meat was so tender. I tried all the side dishes which turned out to be edible (even those spicy kimchi), and some even tastes good. Definitely, it was our first satisfying meal in Seoul.

    Then we headed to Dongdaemun market, a popular shopping destination and the fashion mecca daw of Korea. That’s where I bought my facial masks (The Faceshop) and some winter clothes for Lia. We also tried street food, sausages to be exact. Worth the try.

  • Seoul 2013 part 3

    Alarm woke me up on the second day. The night before, we agreed to leave around 10am so I have to wake up at 8. When I sat on the bed to turn off the alarm, Gary told me he needs to rest the whole day. He felt worse. I was thinking what to do. It’s actually ok with me if we didn’t go anywhere. Traveling made me realize that it’s not all about tourist spots. My kids and I could just walk along the streets, eat more korean (junk) food and just observe what Koreans do. I was worried about Gary at the same time thinking about Rex and Dexter and their effort of planning for itinerary. Of course they would understand Gary’s situation but I think they also deserve to enjoy the trip.

    Gary was pushing me to go with them and that he can take care of himself, he just needs more rest. After assuring me a million times that he’ll be ok, I agreed but told him we’ll be back after one tourist spot to check on him. Also I cannot bring the 3 kids with me, so I have to leave the little girl behind (good thing she slept very late the night before and was still sleeping when I left). Before we left for Seoul Tower, I made sure that Gary and Lia have food to eat in the room. I enjoyed that early morning walk to look for banana, bread and biscuit (as per request).

    We left and took a train to Myeong-dong Station (all along worried about Gary’s condition). As soon as we reached the top of the stairs, my kids saw McDonalds… and I obliged because I felt bad for the kids, especially Zach, who haven’t eaten a decent meal since we arrived South Korea. We ate brunch, then waited for bus number 5 at the Bus stop. While waiting, I saw this huge Uniqlo store and was planning to take a good look at it that night (which didn’t happen).

    Anyway, good thing we rode a bus than going to the station nearest Seoul Tower because it was a steep climb up.

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    We bought tickets to reach the top of Seoul Tower + see Teddy Bear Museum. Nasayang yata yung Teddy Bear Museum ticket namin kasi wala naman sa aming mahilig sa bear…

     

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    Wahahah!

    To be continued…