Korea 2014 Seoul Part 1

Yeouido

We went back to Seoul and after putting our things down, decided to head to Yeouido Park for the Cherry blossoms festival. We initially wanted to go to Jinhae in Busan for the festival but this year, the cherry blossoms earlier than expected so it was almost over when we are in Busan. Thinking of trying our luck, we head to Yeouido. We exited the National Assembly Station by exit 1 and start following the crowd to walk to the area. 

It was not as beautiful as the sight we saw in Yeongdeok and Gyeongju. I guess the season is also ending soon in Seoul too. Yeouido Hangang Park is good place for locals for some exercise. I saw people cycling and joggers around the park. 

Ewha, Hongdae Sinchon, Sindangdong

The next day, we decided to venture line 2. Those are the Hongdae, Sinchon and Ewha shopping areas. There are a few nice places with unique designs for shopping but costly too. That day was a Sunday, very crowded with youngsters and tourists.

After that we walked from Sinchon to Hongdae and decided to check out a cafe called Table A. There was this big fluffy cat in the cafe which is supposed to be the draw for customers. It is a nice and cozy place for a break from all the walking.

After that, we decided to go to Sindangdong Tteokbokki town. The whole town has numerous cafes selling tteokbokki. When we reach Sindang station, we were told to exit by 8, after that we have no idea to go left or right. GPS and maps are really useful. We went to the left and after seeing the Jungbu fire station, we turn left. The whole stretch has people asking you to try their tteokbokki, we went into the one with the picture of a granny as logo. Prices are almost the same for all. The whole pot for 2 person servings is pretty filling enough.

Bukchon Hanok Village, Insadong, Naksan Park

The next day is a trip to Bukchon Hanok village. It is situated at exit 3 of Anguk Station and have to walk about 10minutes to get there. The old houses are the homes of those big officials during the Joseon dynasty. You can see very unique hanok buildings and some looks exceptionally big.

Forgot to mention, that day was 14th April and it was supposed to be Korea's Black singles day, so the people there would eat Jajang noodles to sort of "commemorate" that day. We decided to go for the black noodles too! As that area is a residential area, visitors are advised to keep their volume down. There is even this ajuma, sitting there with a signboard to remind us to keep quiet ..."shhhh"...We keep walking up and up till we see the whole overview of samcheongdong.

Next, we went to Insadong, which is on the other side of Anguk station, all within walking distance. There is this big shopping mall which turns round and round to the top. Another pretty arty place with shops that offer unique items which may not be often seen in other shops.

That night, we ventured into Naksan Park. There are two ways to get there, either by Dongdaemun or Hyehwa. As we exited by Dongdaemun, we went to exit 1 and walked to the right, you will see this pavilion and the path along the Seoul fortress. Just walked along the left side of the fortress and go up, you will reach Naksan Park. The views are fantastic and from our location up there, we can even capture the Namsan tower. 

It is a good exercise after dinner definitely. :)

Bukhansan National Park

The next day, putting on some adventurous streak, we went on a hiking trip to Bukhansan National Park. We read up and discovered that this is one of the best hiking place for locals. We take the subway to Gireum and take exit 3. After that, we took bus 143 and exit at the last bus stop. The bus journey is very fast, think just 15mins at most. We walked up the road to the Bukhansan National Park visitor centre. The lady there can speak English and passed us a map, she looked at our shoes and recommended that we take an easy course. To play safe, we listened. The start of the hike seemed easy, just some sandy steps and along the way, you can spot beautiful flowers. We also saw this big hairy animal, think it is a big dog that is in need of a haircut.

The top of the park has very nice views! 
As we go up, the trails get more and more challenging. There are certain steep and sandy pathways which you can just sit and slide down. 

And there are certain trails that need you to bend low and climb up. This is really a good body workout manz!

The exciting thing about this hike is that you would not expect what are the trails that are coming next. You need to be constantly thinking how you gonna get through all these. And it is supposed to be the beginner trail!!!

The locals love hiking, and they would be dressed in their full gear with sticks and proper shoes. The uncles and aunties are very fast!

They can even bring food and have picnic somwhere among the rocks and trees!!

We came across this Hyeongjebong peak and decided to give it a miss. It is all the rocky paths and we are not very sure if our shoes can do it.

We followed the trail back to another part of the park and exit into the Pyeongchangdong area. At the exit, the yellow flowers are another sign of spring!

Pyeongchangdong area is a very rich area. We observed that the houses there were exceptionally big and when we went back to read up, yes it is the "Beverley hills" of Seoul.

We went back to Myeongdong for a short shopping trip. Myeongdong is very very touristy now. The face masks sold are all in bulk, i experienced very bad attitude and service from the staff over there. They look as if i owe them  money if i never buy the super expensive eye mask that is supposingly made from snail... The locals give better service though. Myeongdong is not a place i would like to be back for facial products shopping now...