Busan & Seoul (Part 2)
They say fried chicken is best coupled with beer, but I've never liked the taste of alcohol. Yeah I did try beer and hard liquor during army days in the name of socializing but still didn't acquire the taste. Anyway, I flush red easily, so my body is really not made for alcohol. We were presented with a plate laden with chicken wings, drumlets, and some fries. There were 3 different sauces but it could have been better if there was chili sauce to suit my Singaporean taste buds. The chicken still retained some moisture despite being fried and the batter was done perfectly, giving the chicken a crispy coating and yet not too thick. After that, we just roamed around the Hongdae shopping area, and came across (probably) university students busking. It was pretty early so there were only 2 groups - a female duo dancing to some kpop/western pop mix, and a lone male dancer. Almost all eyes were on the girls and I felt sorry for that guy. He still completed his entire dance though, which was praiseworthy. We stumbled upon a cheese gopchang restaurant which seemed popular among the locals. Although we weren't hungry, we still went in for a meal because the food was so enticing. And it was indeed satisfying. Last stop of the day was walking around Myeongdong, and eating street food (again), before making our way back to the AirBnB.
The next morning, we were headed to Everland. We grabbed breakfast at Isaac Toast along the way before taking the metro to Gangnam, where we switched to bus. We were one of the first in line, and sat ourselves down for the relaxing bus journey. I rarely go on thrill rides so I didn't know what my limits were. The highlight of Everland was the T-express, a heart-stopping roller-coaster, but my sister and her friend chickened out, so I did not have sufficient confidence boost as well... But I went on some others and they were within what I could handle. Do note that not all rides would be open. Some open at 1300 hours and we even saw one that opens at 1800 hours. We went on a safari tour but the guide spoke in Korean so we understood nothing. The animals were inactive and the giraffes just stayed put nonchalantly when the guide called out their names while waving food in her hand. We took the same bus back to Gangnam and had gamjatang for dinner. Normally we would eat the rice and drink the soup separately but it was at that restaurant where we realized the locals put rice into the soup and then eat it. We followed suit. It was a better idea too, since every grain of rice became soaked with the soup's goodness. We walked around and stepped into a Kakao Friends store. Oh god, the merchandise were absolutely adorable. However, I didn't buy any since I had no real need for those things. If I had my own apartment, I would've bought the cushions. As we were about to leave Gangnam, we again stumbled upon a restaurant selling loach soup. It looked like one of those places where the locals flock to and doesn't appear in travel guides. Despite feeling full from dinner, we did not want to leave any regrets, so we ate there. The broth was super rich and the sliced loach had the texture of mushrooms. Maybe it was a psychological effect but I felt vitalized after drinking that nutritious soup.
We woke up feeling fresh and made our way to Gyeongbokgung. We wanted to try the famous samgyetang but it opens at 10, so we went to the palace first to catch the guard changing ceremony. Then, we had the chicken and returned to the palace. The chicken was tender no doubt, since they had boiled it for so long, but the taste was just unimpressive. I'd prefer my Chinese herbal chicken soup anyday. And it was expensive. I'd rather go for last night's loach soup for health-giving effects.
Admission to the palace is free if you enter in a hanbok. We were debating whether to wear hanbok in the palace or in the Bukchon Hanok Village. In the end we chose the latter and paid admission fees for the palace. The palace is pretty big, but having been to the Palace Museum in Beijing, this immediately pales in comparison. Still, it is a great place to take photos. After much choosing, the ladies finally decided on their place for hanbok rental. There were guides stationed along Bukchon-ro to give directions. There are 2 areas where you can find the most traditional houses, and the residents there are sure pissed by the increasing number of visitors and the noise they generate. There was a banner protesting against tourists as they had disrupted the life of those staying there. Generally speaking, the westerners were much quieter than the asians. It was a disgrace. I originally planned for everything up till then to end around 6, but we were done by 3. It was bloody hot and we randomly found a place to have bingsu. It was fucking expensive for that miserable bowl of bingsu. Not saying the size was small, but there was only some chocolate powder, chocolate sauce, and chocolate bits on top, and the rest were all plain ice. And it was around 16 SGD. Undoubtedly a fucking scam, no wonder they didn't dare to put the price tags on the images plastered all over the store front. After that, we returned to the accommodation for a short rest.
Dinner was sundubu jigae, pajeon, and bibimbap. It was a satisfying, satisfying meal and totally made up for the dumb bingsu. It was also the one and only restaurant we went to that served egg rolls as appetizer, and you could have unlimited fills. The rest of the night was spent at Dongdaemun. We learnt that the cheap clothing stores only opened at 2200 hours, so we were limited to only the fancier malls. I wanted a le coq sportif pole tee but found none to my liking. Dongdaemun Design Plaza has an interesting architecture but it seemed like a boring place. Shopping wasn't my thing since I had nothing else I particularly wanted, so I went back first as the ladies continued their spree. True enough, they returned with hauls of clothes and cosmetics.
The next morning, we were headed to Everland. We grabbed breakfast at Isaac Toast along the way before taking the metro to Gangnam, where we switched to bus. We were one of the first in line, and sat ourselves down for the relaxing bus journey. I rarely go on thrill rides so I didn't know what my limits were. The highlight of Everland was the T-express, a heart-stopping roller-coaster, but my sister and her friend chickened out, so I did not have sufficient confidence boost as well... But I went on some others and they were within what I could handle. Do note that not all rides would be open. Some open at 1300 hours and we even saw one that opens at 1800 hours. We went on a safari tour but the guide spoke in Korean so we understood nothing. The animals were inactive and the giraffes just stayed put nonchalantly when the guide called out their names while waving food in her hand. We took the same bus back to Gangnam and had gamjatang for dinner. Normally we would eat the rice and drink the soup separately but it was at that restaurant where we realized the locals put rice into the soup and then eat it. We followed suit. It was a better idea too, since every grain of rice became soaked with the soup's goodness. We walked around and stepped into a Kakao Friends store. Oh god, the merchandise were absolutely adorable. However, I didn't buy any since I had no real need for those things. If I had my own apartment, I would've bought the cushions. As we were about to leave Gangnam, we again stumbled upon a restaurant selling loach soup. It looked like one of those places where the locals flock to and doesn't appear in travel guides. Despite feeling full from dinner, we did not want to leave any regrets, so we ate there. The broth was super rich and the sliced loach had the texture of mushrooms. Maybe it was a psychological effect but I felt vitalized after drinking that nutritious soup.
We woke up feeling fresh and made our way to Gyeongbokgung. We wanted to try the famous samgyetang but it opens at 10, so we went to the palace first to catch the guard changing ceremony. Then, we had the chicken and returned to the palace. The chicken was tender no doubt, since they had boiled it for so long, but the taste was just unimpressive. I'd prefer my Chinese herbal chicken soup anyday. And it was expensive. I'd rather go for last night's loach soup for health-giving effects.
Admission to the palace is free if you enter in a hanbok. We were debating whether to wear hanbok in the palace or in the Bukchon Hanok Village. In the end we chose the latter and paid admission fees for the palace. The palace is pretty big, but having been to the Palace Museum in Beijing, this immediately pales in comparison. Still, it is a great place to take photos. After much choosing, the ladies finally decided on their place for hanbok rental. There were guides stationed along Bukchon-ro to give directions. There are 2 areas where you can find the most traditional houses, and the residents there are sure pissed by the increasing number of visitors and the noise they generate. There was a banner protesting against tourists as they had disrupted the life of those staying there. Generally speaking, the westerners were much quieter than the asians. It was a disgrace. I originally planned for everything up till then to end around 6, but we were done by 3. It was bloody hot and we randomly found a place to have bingsu. It was fucking expensive for that miserable bowl of bingsu. Not saying the size was small, but there was only some chocolate powder, chocolate sauce, and chocolate bits on top, and the rest were all plain ice. And it was around 16 SGD. Undoubtedly a fucking scam, no wonder they didn't dare to put the price tags on the images plastered all over the store front. After that, we returned to the accommodation for a short rest.
Dinner was sundubu jigae, pajeon, and bibimbap. It was a satisfying, satisfying meal and totally made up for the dumb bingsu. It was also the one and only restaurant we went to that served egg rolls as appetizer, and you could have unlimited fills. The rest of the night was spent at Dongdaemun. We learnt that the cheap clothing stores only opened at 2200 hours, so we were limited to only the fancier malls. I wanted a le coq sportif pole tee but found none to my liking. Dongdaemun Design Plaza has an interesting architecture but it seemed like a boring place. Shopping wasn't my thing since I had nothing else I particularly wanted, so I went back first as the ladies continued their spree. True enough, they returned with hauls of clothes and cosmetics.
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