8D7N Seoul & Jeju - Sept 2008: Part II

Day 4
We left for Jeju airport at around 7.45am. Our departure flight was at 11.05am and you only need to be there 1 hour earlier for domestic flight. We left much earlier as we had to return the car at the Avis Office and refill the petrol. It costs us about S$50 to fill about 3/4 of the tank which we have used for the past 2 days. We took the Avis shuttle bus back to the Jeju airport.


We reached the airport at 9.10am and asked the check-in counter if they have any empty seats for earlier flights and whether we can change to an earlier flight for free. Surprisingly, he placed us on the 9.30am flight without any extra fees. By the time he is finished with all the boarding passes, it was already 9.25am. Luckily the Jeju Air staffs were very helpful and quick to assist us. They led us through the emergency lane with "priority attention" all the way to the gate. Fortunately the gate was not too far away and needless to say, we were the last to board the plane and it took off quite soon after we were seated. Wow, I have never run that fast in my life before.



Going back in Jeju Air was another surprise for us. They actually presented us, and I think some other children and teenagers with small souvenirs like balloons. Hmm, I think that is a real compliment for us....haha...

Inside Jeju Air

Upon arrival at Gimpo Airport, we took the subway line 5 from Gimpo airport direct to the city center, right at the station where our hostel is located without having to change any train. That cost us 1,200 won each. The subway stations in Seoul are large and have many staircases. It is not very 'user friendly' to tourists, children or old people. We had to carry our luggage up and down the staircase and we saw many old people climbing up and down the stairs too. One thing for sure, the Korean men are not as gentleman as the Americans. They do not help even when they see ladies struggling to climb the stairs with their luggage.

Subway Station

We checked in at Travelers A Hostel smoothly. Do check out the hostel reviews in my blog for more information.

After we checked in, we went looking around for a place to have lunch. In Seoul city, you will see people carrying the dishes on their head to deliver to the shops. This is a common sight especially if the surrounding streets have many shops. We had seafood fried rice in one of the shops. The serving in Seoul is quite big so most of the time we shared our food.

Lunch in city

Our first visit was Buchon Hanok Village. We could not find the place even though we followed the direction given by the tourist information center. In Seoul, it is difficult to find proper signboards that will lead you to the touristy places unlike Hong Kong and many times when you asked the locals, they would not know the place or could not give direction in proper English. That was our frustrations initially. We gave up after spending about 1.5 hours looking for the place and decided to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace instead.

While looking for Bukchon Hanok Village

Gyeongbokgung Palace is quite deserted. The place is very empty and not many people there. Maybe it's because of the time that we arrived which is about 5pm. We walked around for a while, took some pictures at some scenic spots and we left. Do walk to the right of the palace from the entrance as the area where the small pond is located is quite beautiful.

Gyeongbukgong Palace

Our next stop was Myeongdong...shopping shopping shopping.... Myeongdong has plenty of shops and we really enjoyed our shopping here. The cheapest price that we can find for a piece of blouse is 9,999 won. You can buy cothes here for around 20,000 won.

Myeongdong

Day 5

The next morning, we were excited as we wanted to visit Wolmido Island. We took the subway to Incheon station which is like towards the end of the world because it was so far away. It is the last stop at Line 1. We then hop on to bus 23 just outside the Incheon station. Bus 2, 15 and 45 also goes to Wolmido. If you are unsure, there is a tourist information center just outside the Incheon subway station (to the left as you exit the station). You can ask them for direction. The bus station is outside the Incheon station on your left. The bus ticket cost 900won and we used the T-money cardt to pay. The ride is about 10min.

We followed everybody as they got down the bus at the last stop. We were kind of expecting a ferry ride to cross to the island. We went to the ferry counter, wanted to buy a ticket to Wolmido Island but the counter staff could not speak any English. A kind gentleman came by with his mountain bike asking if we need help and if we can speak English. He told us that we are already at Wolmido Island....LOL! We were so shocked at that time because that is not an island that we had expected. There are not many people and most of them are senior citizens. Many of them went there for fishing. There are also many seafood restaurants there but most of them do not look like they are open for business. Perhaps we were too early or are we??? It was only about 11am. We left shortly after taking a few shots of that place and remind each other to advice others not to waste time visiting this place....KTO (Korea Tourism Office), please forgive us. We have to be honest...kekeke....

Wolmido Island

We visited Itaewon next, the much talked about must see place, being a renowned shopping district, vibrant ambience with shops, restaurants, bars and street vendors, many English speaking people etc etc etc. We of course went there with high expectations only to be so disappointed that we left quite soon after a meal in KFC, loss for words. Sis managed to buy two T shirts from Hard Rock. Yes, there were many street vendors but most of them are selling the same goods or Petaling Street (in KL) kind of goods. The shops do not meet our "shopping appetite" (after having visited Myeongdong) and yes, many foreigners here. Maybe we were not at the right spot in Itaewon but we did follow the exact direction provided in the KTO book. Myeongdong is so much better than Itaewon. The meal at KFC was also unsatisfactory. It wasn't as good as back home and they charge for chilly sauce.

Itaewon

Our next stop was Ewha Women University. This area has many university students as the largest women university is here. The moment we exited the station, we were greeted with many young people and many attractive vendors and shops all along the streets and alleys. We finally hit the right place. Yes, this is where we want to be. Prices are reasonable and shops are interesting. We didn't managed to cover some areas and will be back again if we have the time.

Shopping @ Ewha Women University

We proceeded to Dongdaemun Market for late night shopping since it is opened till 5am in the morning. The moment we came out of the station, the market was right in front of us. There were several shopping complexes there as well such as Migliore and Doota and it was quite crowded. Cost of accessories here ranges from 2,000won to 5,000won. The prices differ from stalls to stalls and you can't bargain for it. So you need to shop around to find the best deal. Doota has better quality clothings compared to Migloire. There are several floors in Doota and some floors are more upmarket than the others so you need to walk around as well. We do enjoy our shopping in the market and Doota but not Migloire.

Shopping @ Dongdaemun

Before we left for the hostel, we had a late dinner at one of the restaurants.

Day 6
We followed our travel plan and head to Deoksugung Palace in the morning. It is the only palace that has western buildings beside it. This is a more beautiful and interesting palace than Gyeongbukgung. There were many groups of kindergarten students visiting Deoksugung Palace and we managed to take some pictures with one of the groups. We spent quite some time there admiring the place. There is a changing of guard ceremoney at 11am. Many tourists were taking picures of the colourful guards and ceremony. Some of the 'so called guards" (they are not real guards, I believe the ceremony is just for show) are very friendly and offered to pose and take pictures with us.

Deoksugung Palace

After the palace, we visited Namsangol Hanok Village. This is another place that we do not enjoy visiting. To us there is nothing much to see except for blocks and blocks of empty buildings. There are also a number of school field trips there. We left very soon after for another quick unsatisfying lunch, beef soup with rice and then back to hostel for a short nap.

We continued our journey to Namdaemun Market in the evening with another high expectation but sad to say we didn't enjoy our shopping at Namdaemun Market at all. Even though many of them are wholesalers, the items are not cheap. They quoted us 5,000 won for a pair of earrings. Necklace, hair clips are all 5,000 won per piece. I think I can buy it at a lower rate in the flea market back home or maybe go back to Dongdaemun Market to buy for 2,000 won per piece. There are also many shops selling a variety flavour of seaweeds. Make sure you check around first as different shops will quote different prices. Try your luck to bargain also. We bought at the first shop for 10,000 won for 18 packets. The next shop that we enquired quoted 20,000 won and the 3rd shop that we enquired quoted us 8,000 won. We left disappointed and went back to Myeongdong to continue with our shopping.

Namdaemun Market

Day 7

We were deciding whether to continue with more shopping, a trip to Suwon to view Hwaseong fortress, a trip to visit the Daejageum museum or Nami Island. We finally decided to visit Nami Island.

We took the subway to Cheongnangyi station and then bought a ticket from the Cheongnangyi train station to Gapyeong station. There were a few stops before we reached Gapyeong. Upon arrival at Gapyeong station, we took a cab to the ferry wharf. There were many taxis outside the Gapyeong train station and the ride is only about 10 minutes and cost 3,500 won. At the ferry wharf we had to buy the return ferry ticket which includes the Nami Island entrance fee and cost 8,000 won.

From Cheongnangyi Station in Seoul to Nami Island

We didn't regret our decision. We enjoyed every minute at Nami Island, the place is very scenic for photo taking and strolling. There were many art students around and many types of bicycles for rent as well.

It was drizzling at first and we stopped by a BBQ chicken restaurant to have lunch. It was the best lunch that we had in Korea, not because we were personally served by the restaurant owner's son who speaks fluent English (as he just came back from NZ) but it was really delicious. He taught us how to eat the BBQ chicken and he actually BBQ the chicken and cut into small pieces for us....hmm...delicious....and we were so honoured to be treated with free coke.

We took lots of pictures at the filming spots of Winter Sonata, the gallery and the trees. Actually neither of us have watched the Winter Sonata show but the island is quite scenic and good for picture taking.

A little more of nature on the island.

More of Winter Sonata....

We also took pictures of their Art Toilet. It's just a normal toilet decorated with some books.

We didn't have enough time to pay a visit to Chuncheon town so we decided to return to Seoul before it gets dark. We took the ferry back and walked to the family mart from the ticketing office to catch a taxi back to Gapyeong station. After buying our ticket back to Seoul, we went across the street to buy some coffee and sandwiches while waiting for our train. The weather was getting colder. I guess autumn has finally arrived!

We reached Seoul around 7pm and proceeded to Ewha Women University to continue shopping. After that we went back to Dongdaemun for last minute souvenir hunting. We found a place that sell good quality with varieties of souvenirs at reasonable prices. It's at Level 5 of Doota shopping complex. For those who wish to get some good quality and nice Korea T-Shirts, key chains, varieties of seaweeds and lots more of other "Made in Korea" stuffs, do pay a visit here. We went back to hostel at 11pm.

Well, that was our Korea trip. The next morning is Bye Korea and Hello Singapore....

Day 8

We paid 9,000 won and took the airport bus direct from city center to Incheon Airport. The airport bus does provide change so don't worry if you do not have exactly 9,000 won. As it was still early in the morning at around 7am, we reached the airport in 50 minutes instead of 1.5 hours. Sayonara.....