Winter (again!) in South Korea – Last Day

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I have to admit, I never got to follow through the promised review of Namsan Guesthouse from 2012. So before it escaped my mind, let me give my quick thoughts on Star Hostel.

Star Hostel in Chungmuro at night

Star Hostel in Chungmuro at night

We got Star Hostel Myeongdong Ing from Booking.com, and it cost us KRW 220,000 for a 5-night stay. We had looked for a place very late, and spaces were running out already. We got this in November 24, and the staff usually respond within a couple of hours whenever we have a question.

Reception area

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Winter (again!) in South Korea – Nami Island (again) — or should I say autumn in December

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For our last full day in Korea, the last thing to visit was Nami Island. For days, we have been checking Instagram with #NamiIsland to see if it is snowing there. But unfortunately, until the morning that we had to go, there was none. We actually had nothing else to do, so we might as well continue there.

Unlike 2012’s Nami, we woke up quite late for the day. We were confident not to get lost or anything as it would be our second time. Quite uneventful if you ask me — no earmuffs left in the hostel or anything like that. No need for it actually as, at our fourth day, we already got used to the cold. #thecoldneverbotheredmeanyway

Waiting for the train - Hermes astres et soleils silk scarf, Jil Sander tan hobo bag, Gianne Versace double-breasted wool coat

Waiting for the train

This Train to Busan stampeding zombies realness

For those who dropped by here looking for directions to Nami Island, you can always visit the post from 2012. Everything was pretty much the same. Time flew by so quickly, non? =)

But one thing that has not changed was the sleeping/waking match during the trip. Mon, of course, can nap once he takes a seat. Meanwhile, I had to stay awake unless we want to miss our stop.

We arrived around lunch time, thus we had to eat first because we did not fancy eating anything in Nami. There was this restaurant near the parking lot, and it was surprisingly not packed with tourists. While having lunch, though, I have been receiving messages from work due to some “office emergency”.

I could not believe what was happening. I very well knew that I had work stuff settled before going to vacation. I was in the phone for around 20 mins, trying to explain something I could not see. I should not have turned on the Wi-Fi. ^O^

Lunch first before taking the ferry

After lunch, we went straight ahead to the wharf along with the others. It only took around 3 minutes before the next ferry arrived. From the glass window, I was looking eagle-eye at Nami Island to see if there was snow. Yup, there was really none. It was going to be an autumn in December, then.

In a sea of black

Upon arriving at Nami Island, tourists usually turn right, straight to where most sights were. We, on the other hand, took a left turn, so that we can avoid the other tourists. We never managed to visit this side of the island because Mon had been freezing, even before reaching the metasequoia tree lane. Out of all the tourists who disembarked, there were about eight of us who went the other way.

Hello from the other side

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Winter (again!) in South Korea – Ski Day at Bearstown Ski Resort!

 

Perfect day for skiing

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For this day, it was dedicated solely for Bearstown Ski Resort. I badly needed to see snow, as a couple of days had already passed without seeing a whole bunch of them.

To go to Bearstown in Gyeonggi-do, you have to take a bus departing from Seoul. To reserve a seat for the bus, I had sent an email to the bus company on the Thursday before leaving to Korea. You can email them at good-bus@naver.com. They usually reply within 24 hours. The roundtrip fare was KRW 5,000, which you pay once inside the bus.

We thought we would be picked up at Insadong, but they asked us to be at City Hall station instead. Without even eating breakfast, we left the hostel at around 6:30 AM. It was raining a bit and the moment we got out of the train, it only took less than a minute before the bus arrived. It left at exactly 07:10 AM.

Shuttle bus to Bearstown Ski Resort

Mon was a bit grumpy throughout the ride. He was extremely hungry the whole time and we did not arrive not until half past 9. >_< So when going to Bearstown, buy at least something for the ride, especially if you will be running late. Not a single convenience store was in sight around the exit at City Hall station where the bus stops.

Upon arriving at Bearstown, I forgot how mad Mon was. There was finally snow, so #byefelicia. Just kidding!

Winter Sky at Bearstown

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Winter (again!) in South Korea – Chill Walking around Seoul

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As it was a Sunday, we decided to drop by Myeongdong Cathedral. As the guesthouse was located only at Chungmuro, we only walked rather than take the train.

Weirdly, we got lost and we ended up at a Presbyterian at the other side of the road! We got confused with the spires, even though it was not our first time to go to the cathedral. We spent a good ten minutes looking for it.

When we finally arrived, the mass just ended and the people were filtering out. A bunch of them were getting free calendars from a tent. Mon tried to get one and he was given.

When I tried doing the same, an ajumma said “Give calendar after you attend mass”. T_T I am always unfortunate with free stuff.

Winter sun in Myeongdong Cathedral

They also have LED roses in Myeongdong Cathedral

They also have LED roses in Myeongdong Cathedral

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Winter (again!) in South Korea – The Temple Less Traveled (Doseonsa Temple) and DDP

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Waking up, I can’t help but feel giddy with what’s ahead of our first full day in Korea. Of course, I was still feeling very sick. But there is really something about adrenaline that makes you forget your sore throat.

The good thing about the hostel was the free breakfast. It is not much (e.g. coffee, bread, butter, jam and cereals), but compounding the amount we will pay outside for food, it is still something.

Seoul Tower silhouetted against the winter sun

Our hostel was a station away from Myeongdong, thus we just walked for 5 minutes before reaching the busy intersection. Was it cold? Yes. But cold enough to wear gloves? Not really. So what we felt in the airport last night still rang true the day after. We also were able to rent a Wi-Fi egg from the hostel for the whole duration of our trip. We just had to pay KRW 50,000 deposit, which will be returned when we leave.

However, I still have to buy a pair of earmuffs. Like mentioned back in 2012, I have lost it somewhere in COEX mall on our last day.

First foray at Myeongdong

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Winter (again!) in South Korea – the arrival

After four years, I can’t believe that we are traveling again to South Korea! Especially after the passport and visa drama from a week ago!

Mon and I have a soft spot for Seoul. We have been twice there before (summer of 2011 and winter of 2012), and we look forward to see what changes there might be. The country is to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, and it will be interesting to note of any preparations that they have (if there is).

Before anything else, I will be traveling with a very sore throat. Just imagine my horror waking up on Thursday barely able to speak. But this has been planned already and I packed a bottle of Bactidol for extra measure.

Sore throat!

Our flight left the Philippines at around 3:00 pm. We will be arriving four hours after in Incheon International Airport. I was feeling a bit feverish during the flight, but somehow, my excitement to be back eclipsed my predicament.

It is no secret that I love winter so much. However, I was anxious that I might not even see snow when we arrive. Global warming is real. I have been monitoring the weather for days before we arrive and not a single snowfall took place in Seoul. Sure we can go to Seoraksan just to see snow, but we do not have time for that.

Night about to fall

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Winter in South Korea: Food, food and food (on the cheap)!

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Before we visited Seoul in 2011, I was really worried over our food, as well as the amount of money we had to allocate just for it. However, we were surprised that we were able to survive that first time without having to tighten our belts and pinch the penny, and we were actually very liberal with the food we ate. So for 2012’s vacation, I did my best to take note of every food we had, as well as their prices, especially for those who might be worried about surviving in Seoul and not having to eat from convenience stores every single meal.

DAY 1

Arriving in Incheon International Airport, we had our first meal of the day from McDonald’s, right next to the heavily-decorated fountain. KFC was located on the other side BUT wow, their menu was really expensive. An average meal costs at almost KRW 10,000 for an all-chicken meal. But in McDonald’s, you can have a good breakfast in less than KRW 4,000 and that will include a cup of coffee. Yey!

Day 1 - Bacon McMuffin, hashbrown and coffee from McDonald's Incheon International Airport

Bacon McMuffin, hashbrown and coffee from McDonald’s of Incheon International Airport

Day 1 - Coffee from McDonald's Incheon International Airport

Brewed coffee from McDonald’s

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Winter in South Korea – Day 4: Lotte World and leaving Seoul

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It has been three weeks since I last wrote a post regarding our trip to Seoul, and it did not help that this post concerned two things that made me unenthusiastic: Lotte World and leaving South Korea. From Simone Handbag Museum, we took the traingfrom Sinsa Station going to Jamsil station, which is connected directly to Lotte World.

BK Hospital plastic surgery advertisement in Sinsa Station

BK Hospital plastic surgery advertisement at Sinsa Station

BK Hospital plastic surgery advertisement in Sinsa Station 2

Another plastic surgery advertisement

 

Fountain with people sitting around it - Lotte World, Seoul, South Korea

Fountain with people sitting around it

 

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Winter in South Korea – Day 4: Simone Handbag Museum

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For our last day in Seoul, we already have our itinerary in set and it was non-negotiable for us not to go to one of my must-see places. Back in October 2012, I previously expressed my anticipation of visiting Simone Handbag Museum and I could not believe that I finally had the chance to go and visit it. It was very uncommon for tourists to include a bag museum to their travel itineraries but I consider it a sin for sort-of bag lovers like myself not to drop by when in Seoul. So from Myeongdong Station, we travelled all the way to Sinsa station in the upscale Gangnam-gu to visit the museum (directions to this place can be found at the end of this post).

Simone Handbag Museum's building in Gangnam-gu - Simone Handbag Museum, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Simone Handbag Museum’s building in Gangnam-gu

Rainy winter - me on the bright side, while Mon in his neutral ensemble ---- and I love out transparent umbrellas we bought for only KRW 3,500!

Rainy winter – me on the bright side, while Mon in his neutral ensemble —- and I love our transparent umbrellas we bought for only KRW 3,500!

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Winter in South Korea – Day 3: War Memorial of Korea

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It took me a long while to continue with my Winter in Seoul series because a lot has already happened even before reaching half of January.

I do hope to document the remaining ones more frequently as I am now beginning to forget the finer details of our trip. LOL Looking back, it has been exactly a month already since our third day trip to Korea.

So, following our eventful trip to Nami Island in December 13, we had a quick lunch back in Myeongdong (it was quite a disaster, truth be told) before heading out to the War Memorial of Korea. I would not allow our trip to finish without visiting this place because it was after all, the first place we should have visited on our first day right after checking in the guesthouse had we not taken more time resting.

We had a knack for visiting war and history-related areas right off the bat, the same way we went straight to the Joint Security Area trip last year. But unfortunately, it did not materialize on our second visit.

The Sanctuary of National Defense, The War Memorial of Korea

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