WARNING: This is a looooong post...
My second trip to Korea was every bit as (if not more) exciting as my first one. Although we only stayed for 3 nights, the places we went to were all freaking awesome!! Huuge thanks to Ayang and Aza for letting me join them and may we have another trip again soon!!
29th April 2010 (Thursday)
Abah had a farewell party that night organized by JLN, so he couldn't send me. Huda was on her way back after her two week course and the rest joined Abah for his special night. Ayang and Aza reached KLIA a bit later than me and after I checked in, we decided to have something to eat at KFC. I regaled the girls about my first experience seeing the boys and we shared stories about them. We boarded the plane without much drama. I got a window seat while the other two sat just in front of me. I spent most of the flight sleeping, but when morning came, the sunrise was soo beautiful that Aza kept shrieking Rising Sun!! Haha..
30th April 2010 (Friday)
Our flight landed at Incheon International Airport at about 6.00am. When we got out of the plane, we got a full blast of the below 10 degree air. After we collected our bags, we headed straight for the train. We bought tickets for Seoul Station, but we still had to transit a couple of times to get to Line 1. We could've reached there sooner, but we got stuck in Yongsan, which is like one station away from Seoul Station. Yikes! We also had to rush alongside the officegoers who are practically running to get into the train. Guided with the map Ayang got online, we proceeded to our hotel. It was a bit of a walk, and thanks to an ahjusshi there we managed to find it without any difficulties.
Seoul Backpackers was nestled in between the hilly steep areas of Seoul with its almost miniscule alleyways. Chua!! Since we could only check in after three, we put down our bags, took out our jackets and went for a walk to Namsan. The cool air took a bit of getting used to but the weather is just like when I was in Swiss last year. When we got to Namsan Park, we tried to find the cable car, where the famous scene for JunPyo and JanDi was filmed. So, we decided to walk up the steps. After a while, we realized that we don't really know where we were hiking up to and had no other choice but to continue our way up. We had just ran out of breath when we saw that we were actually near the Namsan Tower. Yes, we freaking walked all the way to Namsan Tower!! And, I was wearing my boots with freaking 2 inches heel. Till this day, we will always be amazed how we climbed our way up there. We are practically goddesses. Huuuh!
We saw the padlocks surrounding the tower. Some of the old ones have started to rust and there were a few cute ones that stood out. The benches around the area was pretty funky. It slopes toward the middle, which I heard a Japanese tourist say makes it easier to cuddle. We haven't had anything to eat, so we ordered hot drinks (caramel machiatto for me!) and brownies. While looking for a place to sit, Ayang spotted an ice cream place (Cold Stone) which was recommended by one of her friends. So we got one German chokolat which is chocolate (obviously), pecan, brownies and some other stuff. Delicious!! Then, we went to the souvenir shop and bought a few mementos. I got a new purple note book and Ayang bought postcards. Turned out, she asked us to write in one of the card to truly let the effort and the memories remain. It was after noon by then, so we went back down, by cable car. It wasn't as high up as the one in Langkawi, but the view was absolutely amazing.
At the base we took another elevator down. We spotted a place where Yunho filmed for Heading To The Ground and got so excited. After taking pictures we made our way back to the hotel. We were a bit early than promised, so the room was not ready by the time we arrived. So we sat outside waiting. For thirty minutes!!! Hm, there's just something to be said for Koreans and room service. Anyway, thankfully our room's nice. We got TV, a queen bed, toilet and heater.
So, we unpacked and freshened up for the night's activities. Ayang wanted to buy glue so we stopped at a nearby Family Mart. And from there we walked all the way to Cheonggyoengchun, the stream running near downtown Seoul, and very near the Gwanghwamun. We walked about three quarters of the stream before deciding that we need to eat. After much deliberation, we went in The Place where Ayang and Aza had Shrimp Pasta and I had a (freakishly huge but delicious) fruit waffle. After we had our fill, we continued walking. We wanted to go to Dongdaemun but for some reason, couldn't find it. When we asked for directions, they told us to get the train. We ended up walking around Insadong where Ayang and Aza bought a few stuff a walking and then walked home.
We got ready for bed and watched We Got Married. They were showing a sort of compilation for the Adam (GaIn and JoKwon) couple, which is too cute! We saw the Hong Kong trip where JoKwon refuses to leave GaIn's room and then where SeoHyun met the other CNBLue members. We fell asleep watching that.
1st May 2010 (Saturday)
The day started quite late as we woke up around 9am, when we were supposed to head out at 8.. Thee~ When we turned on the TV, We Got Married again!! So we watched a little while preparing for the day's jaunt. We were going to Apgujeong today. We took the train there and I taught the girls how to get the 500won refund. We bought coffee at a nearby vending machine and made our way.
Just a short walk, we found Yoochun's Time Out Gelato. We took pictures and decided to come again a bit later for desserts. We continued on our way and the weather seemed to be cooperating because it wasn't as cold as yesterday, so I took off my jacket. We walked along the main road, lined with apartments and beautiful blooming flowers. I like! About thirty minutes of , and a couple of times consulting Ayang's map, we found it. THE SM BUILDING!!!! At first we weren't so sure because there was absolutely nothing on the building but as we got a bit further up, we recognized a few paparazzi spots. There were even three girls at the corner, practically chasing down every car that came by, clutching a little book. We still can't figure out whose fans they were.
After hanging out a few minutes there and Ayang had scratched the building, we attempted to find the Angel Coffee shop where Jaejoong was supposed to shoot for Heaven's Postman. A few rounds around the area, and we still came up empty handed. Ayang asked a local and the directions led us to nowhere. We ended up walking all the way to Cheongdam, going GAGA over all the branded buildings. Haha, sounds weird, but all the famous brands each has their own building on this street and the displays are like WHOA!! We settled at a nearby coffee shop (Tom N Toms) for our meal of the day. I had cinnamon pretzel and... caramel machiatto!! We took our time waiting and I tried my Facebook Mobile to update my status and it worked!! Yeay!! On our way bak to the station, we stopped by a STARBUCKS said to be frequented by Yunho, which is quite near Eversing. But we didn't go in, just stood outside and took pictures.
It was already about 3pm by then, so we headed back, stopping by Yoochun's Time Out Gelato. There was a place dedicated for him and every corner had his face. It was pure Cassie heaven. We ordered our icecream (Chocolate Mint and Snickers for me) and sat near the display area, having the time of our lives while at the same time processing the fact that we were actually eating gelato at Yoochun's!! We were just about to leave when they played Balloons! So we promptly sat back down again and enjoyed the fact that we are listening to a TVXQ song in public. What more, at Yochun's place!! Heaven, I tell you.. We left a little note to Yoochun and stuck it on the notice board.
We got back to the hotel, changed and headed out again. We stopped by Namdaemun to get ourselves gloves to prepare for the cold chill of the night. The next activity is... The Han River Cruise!! We slowly made our way to the ticket place and purchased the round way ticket each. We had about 20 minutes left, so we took our time getting to the pier. When the boat arrived, we quickly took a spot on the upper deck, which is practically open space. So, combine that with the fact that we are moving at quite a speed on top of a freaking huge river, it was freaking cold!!!! Yes, I put 5 exclamation marks because it was THAT cold. But I resolved to stay there till the end of the ride, just to prove especially to the Koreans that I could. So there!
At one point, all three of us were so cold that we started to talk rubbish and just giggled and laughed. The Koreans must've thought that we were mad. Oh, and there was a little boy by the name of Changmin there, so that spazzed Aza out for a while. When we couldn't take the cold, we took out our gloves and found ourselves near a little light just to get some sort of heat. Finally, we arrived at the pier and we hurriedly got back inside the boat and out to the pier. We cooked ramen and bought Starbucks' coffee at a nearby convenience store and sat down on the grass, just enjoying the ambience. I put on some music and we sang along. We found out that it was after ten then, so we got up, cleaned ourselves off and headed home. Upon reaching home, I fell asleep almost immedialtely, only to be woken up by Ayang asking me whether I've seen her thumb drive. After that, I couldn't go to sleep and found Birth of The Rich while switchng channels, so I decided to watch that and then zzzzzz.....
2nd May 2010 (Sunday)
We woke up at about 7 and got ready to go to Ilsan by 8.30am. The train ride took quite a while as we are going somewhat to the outskirts of Seoul. We met a nice halmeoni there who kept on talking to us even though we can barely understand what she's chattering about. She waved us bye bye as she got off to her station. I noticed that most people are wearing some sort of training suit so I guessed that there must be a hiking spot along the way. When we got to our destination, Ayang confessed that she forgot to print the map to the place. Luckily, I had the address and we used that to ask some people. Ayang told us that it was at the second floor of a building, so we kept our eyes upward and scrutinized every sign. On the way, we saw a Mozart banner and couldn't resist taking a picture with it.
Ayang finally spotted the shop just as Aza and I were asking the girl at the nearby coffee shop. And then we saw it.. MISARANG IMSHIL CHEESE PIZZA... Junsu's dad's pizza place!! We took pictures of the entrance when lo and behold, his father was right at the top, smiling.. "Malaysia?" He asked.. "YES!!", we screamed.. Then we shook hands with him and each took a picture with him with Junsu's picture. He was so friendly, finding us a place to sit, right in front of a life size Junsu poster, which made me and Aza think that Junsu was actually looking at us while eating, thee hee.. Anyway, since we didn't have a decent meal yesterday, we ordered one large Laut Bali pizza, fries and shrimp salad.
There were a lot of Japanese fans that came to the restaurant, not just ladies. There were fathers bringing their teenage daughters. Large families and the usual ahjumma fans. They kept playing Tohoshinki songs which was just like icing on a super duper tasty cake!! Oh, and the pizza was sooo cheesy. And they had squid and shrimp on it. The girls made me finish it.. Humph.. After we finished eating, I wanted to take a picture of the lifesize Junsu with his dad. Which I got to do, thanks to Ayang!! And I even got his autograph!! Freaking Effing YEAY!! Although we don't actually understand what he's saying, I could make out a saranghae at the end.. (thumps to the ground)... It was pure luck that we got to meet his dad that day, as we heard he does not really stay a lot there. We also saw him doing the accounting near the corner, which is absolutely cute!! As with Yoochun's place, we also left a little note there, just in case.. You never know, rite? He sent us off, and all of us were practically on cloud nine. I mean, we actually met Junsu's dad!! Freaking seriuosly!!?? (calms down...)
Ayang got a business card for Crebeau in another building, so we guessed it must've been Junsu's mom's shop or Changmin's mom. We decided to just go there and take a peek. Turned out it was Junsu's mom's because of the huuge Mozart poster there. But we didn't go in. Just took a brief look and left. We took the train to Seoul and headed for the palace. It was nearly the same as the Gyeokbukgung I visited last year, and we just walked around taking pictures. There were some sort of procession when we walked in, with a hanbok stand near the entrance. But when we got out, all of the guard and the hanbok stand vanished.
Inside the palace we bought coffee from a vending machine and sat facing the fountain, enjoying the breeze and view. Then we began our brief shopping trip. First we went to Dongdaemun. I couldn't find the shop I went to last year but we got a few shirts and souvenirs. We stopped by our hotel to drop off our stuff and continued on to Namdaemun. Imagine our disappointment when we found out that some shops actually closed (including the brooch shops) on Sundays. So we made do with what we could.
We found a souvenirs shop, Ayang went crazy at the FACE shop (I think), and the girls went berserk at a shop selling stuffs showing Hallyu (including TXVQ, of course).. I bought a red bag and some roasted seaweed. Then, we stopped by Shinsaege to buy an original Korean version Tohoshinki (and also Arashi for me).. And we couldn't find the shop.. Disappointed.. The girls suggested we go to Seoul Station because they saw a Lotte Mart there so we stopped at our hotel to drop off our stuff (again) and headed back out to Seoul Station.
By this time, we were practically dragging our feet because of all the walking that we've done. We couldn't find a record store at the Digital Mart, so we went to Lotte Mart. At last we finally did find a music section there, but only singles for local artists. MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT. But I did buy a TVXQ card collection by SME. We went to the supermarket then, and the girls had a frenzy buying foodstuffs, like Pepero and brownies. We decided to buy kimchi to eat with rice and our recently purchased seaweed. But there was a slight misunderstanding between the ahjumma and I, which resulted in her wrapping up a whole head of kimchi. 1 kilogram worth. OMG! So I decided to just take it back home with me.
After we paid, we stopped at a nearby convenience shop, where we bought a smaller kimchi and then on the way we stopped at HOLLY's for a late night cap. I bought a tiramisu cake and Belgian chocolate latte.. Yum! Finally, we headed home where we would soon perform the miracle of stuffing all that we've bought into our bags. We had our last meal in Seoul outside the hotel, where we had the rice, kimchi and seaweed with my tiramisu and Ayang's mudcake. We felt a bit reluctant to end the night but we still have to start packing sooner or later. Not long after the meal, we found ourselves and our stuff spread out across the room. In the end, we actually did manage to pack everything, me being the first one. So that means I was also the first one to sleep that night.
3rd May 2010 (Monday)
We reluctantly woke up at about 7 that morning. The plan was to leave at 8 because our flight will be at 11.30am.. Our bad, because the flight was actually at 11am and we only managed to check out at 8.30am.. It was only when we were on our way to Gimpo that we realized that we might be late for the flight. For my part, I spent most of the time praying and just hoping that we won't miss our flight..
We were practically running at the transit from Gimpo to Incheon and from the Incheon station to the check in counter.. Thankfully the staff was still there and he kinda berated us, saying that we should've been there earlier. We apologized and he quickly processed our boarding passes. We breezed through the immigration, but I was held up at the scanning (my pencil box, again..) We ran to the Aero train and when we got to the terminal, I had a brief urge to go buy Mama's clutch. But I continued on my dash to the plane. The girls got there before me, and they got Business class seats, so we sat separately.
I slept the first two hours of the flight and then watched Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Interesting story. The last hour was just me looking around and minding my own business. We landed at about 4.00pm KL time. When we were collecting our bags, mine came towards the very end but Ayang's and Aza's were nowhere to be found. Later they found it at another plane's bag conveyor thingy.. They said I could go home first, so we bade our goodbye and I headed to the taxi counter. I texted a few people and slept in the taxi (very dangerous!). I reached home at about 6.30pm. And the journey ends....
