DAY 2 (12 Nov): Insadong (Anguk, Gyeongbokgung)

Morning
- Bukchon Hanok Village
- Gyeongbokgung Palace
- National Folk Museum

Afternoon
- Samcheong-ro

Night
- Yulgok-ro
- Ssamziegil Complex

We started off the day with a light breakfast at Dunkin Donuts (near one of the exit at Anguk station), since breakfast wasn't included at Doo Guesthouse. On the way to Anguk station though, we stopped by the Bukchon Hanok Village since it was just on the way.

After breakfast, we headed off to Gyeongbokgung Palace, which according to Doo Guesthouse's map, was only 10-15 minutes away by walking. I think it was farther than we expected, but this was probably because we kinda got lost along the way lol. Nevermind, we saw some interesting things along the way, which made it worth getting lost.

Interesting architecutre. Apparently this was a French restaurant.

 

Finally we found ourselves at the end of the road and saw the National Folk Museum of Korea. Decided to make a stop there even though it wasn't really in our itinerary. Carpe diem eh. The museum itself was definitely worth going into. Beautiful presentation and wonderful artifacts.

For those wondering, yes, Running Man was recently shot here. Not during our visit sadly.

We still have no idea what these things are but it's cute!

After that we finally made our right way to Gyeongbokgung.

So this was part of a construction for Korea's Modern Art Museum if I'm not mistaken. Love the way they incorporated the "landscape" into their marketing billboard lol.

Look at the woman peeking behind the billboard. I love cheeky marketing.

Found one of the gates of Gyeongbokgung!

Finally.

The interior decor.

Panoramic view of the entrance area from the pavillion.

Once we were done touring the area, we were making our way out when we suddenly noticed this man standing near the drum - he wasn't there before. Shortly after this photo was taken, we were ushered to the main walkway - apparently the changing guard ceremony was about to start. It always happens throughout the day but we had no idea of the timing, so our being there was a happy happenstance.

  

We made our way back to Anguk in search for lunch and somehow got lost again. Happenstance occurred again and we found our way into Samcheong-ro, which had some stores and restaurants along the area. So we settled down for lunch and ate pasta just to be safe. Language barrier means we're staying clear of meat-based food, so we always had to specify we don't want any meat with our meals.

We walked quite far along Samcheong-ro and finally turned back to our previous route to go back to Anguk for a rest. My sister's friends were due to arrive that night, so we had to pick them up from Anguk station just to make sure they got here fine.

While waiting for their arrival, we decided to try on the hanbok at Doo Guesthouse since it was free :D Luckily there were no other patrons around so we camwhored for a bit lol.

After that, we walked along the road at Anguk station. Found a Starbucks and bought a tumbler - I love collecting Starbucks tumbler from different countries :] We somehow stumbled upon Ssamgiezil Complex along our walk and that was an interesting complex - cute items but too expensive for souvenirs. The complex itself had an interesting layout. It was too cold for us that night though so there were no pictures during our walk lol.

My sister's friends finally arrived almost two hours later than they should have - I suspect they got lost around the station or something. Let me tell you, I was tired and I had to get a new simcard for my phone just in hopes to contact her friends since I didn't activate my phone for roaming. Getting a simcard in Korea is a very time-consuming process, and I don't advise you to get it unless you plan to really use it extensively in Korea.

Late night supper

My haul for the day - at least I got food I guess

Just a word of caution: I went back to our hotel room first for a rest since I got tired after all that waiting and walking around. My sister and her friends went to buy some food at the convenience store nearby for tomorrow's breakfast, which was some rolled bibimbap.

I think it was tuna bibimbap from what my sister was saying, so I ate maybe 2 rolls. 

We later found out the next morning that the damned thing contained pork. DAMN YOU BIBIMBAP YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE TUNA. This must be how Will Graham feels when he finally found out Hannibal has been feeding him human steak all this time. EVEN THE TUNA IS PEOPLE, WILL. 

So yeah, be careful of what you bought and always always ask if there's meat in any meal! Had I been with them I would've asked the shopkeeper, however awful my Korean is. Asking about meat and meals has always been the first survival communication skill I would pick up precisely because of this.

So. Just be careful.

Go to Day 1 (Anguk, Myeongdong) | Go to Day 3 (Dongdaemun, Jeju)

South Korea 2012 Masterpost

DAY 1 (11 Nov): Anguk, Myeongdong

Morning

- Arrive in Incheon Airport

- Check in at Doo Guesthouse (Anguk Station)

Afternoon

- Myeongdong

Night
- Yulgok-ro
- Ssamziegil Complex

AirAsia X have been doing wonders with their international routes in 2011 - first they opened their route to Osaka and subsequently to Tokyo, then we found out that they would operate flights to Seoul!

When my sister and I found out that AirAsia will be operating in Seoul, we immediately booked our flight for November. Since we booked way in advance (almost a year in advance), it gave us ample time to plan on where to go. Initially it was just going to be the two of us, but her friends decided to join in and so the six of us Muslim girls planned our 8-day trip to Seoul. We also decided to visit Jeju for 3 days, as I've heard that Jeju is beautiful and have a lot of interesting places as well.

So after almost a year of waiting, we finally headed to Korea!

Upon arrival, we made our way to our first guesthouse of the trip, Doo Guesthouse. Doo Guesthouse is situated 5-10 minutes from Anguk Station. Let me tell you, the journey from the airport to Anguk station itself was pretty tiring, as we were bringing our luggage through the station which involves lots of walking and, the worst part, lots of stairs. Compared to Japan, Korea subway stations are less luggage-friendly than I would've thought. But then again, I recalled that Japan has their luggage delivery service, which I don't think Korea has.

Anyway, Doo Guesthouse is fashioned in a traditional Korean bukchon-styled house. We were supposed to be given the special room, which was separated from the main guesthouse and could house 6 people. But due to some mis-arrangement, we had to split up into 2 rooms. We weren't too happy with that, but the manager was so anxious to rectify the situation and the two rooms were fine for us.

Only thing is that this style of room really gives you almost no privacy. You can hear the people in adjoining room moving around, and one night two other guests came back to their room late at night and made so much noise that I was having trouble sleeping. Management finally told them to shut up (in more polite terms) so that we could all get a peace of mind. So yeah, we would've been more happy had we gotten the special room. But nevertheless, the place itself is beautiful, and quite strategic, since it was placed in Insadong and all the other attractions are within walking distance or at the very least, within subway distance.

Our room for the night

View from our room. The leftside is the living room, where guests can sit around and try their hanbok collection

After checking in and leaving our luggages in our room, we walked around the area in search for food since we haven't had breakfast just yet. Stopped by a cosy coffee shop nearby (the place could only house like 4 people at most) and had some drinks since it was drizzling and super cold for us.

After the pick-me-up coffee, we went in search of real food as the restaurants in the surrounding area were still closed (most were only opened for lunch, and it was still too early for that). So we headed off to Myeongdong for some sightseeing, shopping and food. 

Stopped by for a photo at the entrance of Bukchon Hanok Village

Arrived in Myeongdong! It was slightly drizzling

Had lunch at one of the restaurants in M Plaza and went window shopping in the area - nothing too exciting in the Plaza itself so we just walked around some more until we couldn't stand the cold and went into one of the Paris Baguette chains in Myeongdong.

Paris Baguette is everywhere in Seoul; there was one at Anguk station and there will always be one where there are shopping complexes. Personally I think their pastries weren't all that great, but the coffee is ace.

After tired of walking around, we made our way back to Anguk after a day of walking.

The alleyway we went through to go back to Doo Guesthouse

One of the more interesting store along the alleyway to look at

We're still not sure what it really is, but I'm guessing it's a photography service

That concludes our first night in Seoul, which was leisurely spent. The next day was about to get more tiring.

Go to Day 2 (Anguk, Gyeongbokgung) 

South Korea 2012 Masterpost