My hotel shuttle dropped me off at the KAL bus stop to catch the bus to the airport. I forgot to ask the Tourist Information Center last night where the cheaper generic airport bus stop was in Myeongdong so I had to cough up W14,000 for this ride (W5,000 more). At the airport, it was another Dunkin' Donuts breakfast to finish off the last of my wons. I actually had to use my credit card because their darn egg, cheese, bacon biscuit was almost $4...without a drink!
I got to Narita with no problems and as instructed by former co-worker Kei, whom I'll be visiting in Tokyo, I took the airport limousine bus to The New Sanno Hotel in Minato-ku. $30 for a bus ride! And to think I was whining about the $14 KAL bus ride in Seoul! Tsk. After two hours, I got to The New Sanno Hotel which was supposedly "very near" Kei's work. However, I wasn't familiar at all with the area so I wasn't about to drag my luggage around the city, trying to figure this out. Luckily, the guard was quite nice and called Kei for me who wasn't expecting me today. She thought I was arriving tomorrow! And this was after I've given her my complete flight itinerary and everything a whole month ago! After a $7 taxi ride to her work, I found Kei who was still in shock that I'm in Tokyo. In return, I was in shock about her. LoL.
We rode a taxi to her grandma's condo where I'll be staying at for four nights before I head off to Kansai. Maybe it's because I'm in a posh neighborhood, but I didn't think the condos/apartments in Tokyo were small as I've heard about over and over before. Hmm, it's all relative, I guess.
Since Kei didn't know that I was arriving today, she didn't have her stuff at her grandma's place, so we headed over to her mom's place via the subway and this was the start of my "Oh my God, I can't live in Tokyo" mentality.
Tokyo's subway is very much like Seoul's except that there aren't any manned ticket booths. Instead, you have to look at the subway map and find your intended stop where it'll say how much your ticket is. Using the ticket machine, you insert the coins, press the price for your ticket and voila, you now have your subway ticket. This is actually a longer process than having a manned ticket booth. In Seoul, I just tell the ajussis my subway stop, and they would give me the ticket which had the price already stamped on it. Easy peasy, fo' sheezy.
As we walked down to the platform, Kei was telling me how dirty Tokyo is and that's why I should wear a mask every day and gargle some antiseptic every night. I kept laughing because coming from Seoul where people talk highly about their city/country, Kei sounded so anti-Tokyo for someone Japanese. I was like, "Are you an American trapped in a Japanese body?!" LoL. Tokyo's subway seats were covered in fabric, hence looked dirtier compared to Seoul's. I found that Tokyo-ites were more casually dressed than Seoul-ites: I actually found lots of fellow jean-wearers and not all suit-wearers were wearing ties. This finally silenced my self-image problems that surfaced while in Seoul. HeHe. Regardless, Tokyo subways are chaotic: people running up and down the stairs, people pushing themselves in an already-packed train, and well, drunk people on the subways. Bleh.
I told Kei that I wanted Yoshinoya for dinner, but she couldn't remember where a Yoshinoya was (Seriously?! First level by Red Ribbon at SM Megamall, Kei. HaHa!). When we got out of the station, we saw a Matsuya so we opted for Yoshinoya's competitor instead. Wow, a vending machine to order your dinner. Thankfully, Kei was with me, because the whole thing was in Japanese and the pictures were so tiny that they weren't helpful at all. Kei didn't know that water came with the meal so I ended up paying for bottled water. Pooh!
Afterwards, we made it to their own apartment and again, hello, this place isn't small! After checking e-mail and Kei gathering her stuff, we made it back to her grandma's condo where I went straight to my Japanese bed for the night (umm, after I gargled the antiseptic. LoL). It was uneventful, but very long day for this traveler.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Annyeong, Seoul
Oh no. It's my last full day in Seoul. Say it ain't so!
After mailing a couple of postcards at the Seoul Central Post Office (again, only five minutes away from my hotel!), I walked over to Namdaemun Market, another Divisoria if you will. I found myself inside the accessories arcade, but it seemed very early and not all the tinderas were around. Walking further to Seoul Station, I caught the train to go to the World Cup Stadium.
I haven't had breakfast so I went to the mall's foodcourt. I knew how to order at a foodcourt since that's what I did in the AK Mall in Suwon, but since all the restaurant names were in Hangul at this mall, I didn't know which one had my bulgogi dolsot bibimbap. The cashier, who was quite nice and seemed to be familiar with confused tourists, walked me over to my counter and told the cooking ajummas to look after me. HeHe. The ajummas were all smiling at me and seemed to be quite amused. They kept talking to me, but I had no idea what they were saying. For the first round, I figured they asked me where I was from so I said, "Miguk saram." They all smiled and repeated what I said and then they started talking away again like I understood them. Eventually, one of the ajummas spoke up and addressed me directly and I'm like, "Uhh, I don't understand." No, really, ajummas, I don't understand. LoL. But eventually the light bulb turned on, and I eventually got that she was telling me to sit down while they cook my food. Score!
When the food was ready, they hollered from five feet away that my food was ready. Funny, but I was quite appreciative that they were looking out for me because I probably would've just sat there while my food was getting cold. Since my tongue almost fell off from all the spiciness of my last dolsot bibimbap at Insadong, I made sure to sit next to the water dispenser this time around in case I need to chug down lots of water again. HeHe. While finishing up my huge stone pot of rice goodness, a mother and daughter pair sat at a table next to me. As always, the baby was looking at me and I was making funny faces at her to make her laugh. Why do babies love me? Before I left, I said "Annyeong!" to the baby while the mother happily looked on. Ha! I swear, there's hope for my Korean language skills! HaHa!
I went back outside and walked around the World Cup Stadium. I was hoping to see the grass, but all the gates seemed to be locked without anyone around. However, I eventually saw some ajummas cleaning up outside and sure enough, a few more steps further led me to an opened gate. Bingo! I just went in and walked down to the seats. Ahhhhhhh! The location for KimRaeWon's "What Planet Are You From?". Mission completed. HaHa! Actually, a couple of nights back, there was a soccer game between NKorea and SKorea, but I didn't think it would be fun for me to go alone so I decided against it. But this is good enough.
I had to be in Yeouido for an appointment at 1:30 so I took the train to Yeouinaru Station. Before leaving the station, an ajussi asked me if the train was going to Yeouido and I said yes. I kept on thinking, "Out of everyone he saw, how unfortunate of him to pick a tourist to ask this question." HeHe. Good thing I knew the correct answer. He then asked me if I was American and I said yes. Hmm, must be the jeans, sweater, and sneakers ensemble that gave it away. He later told me that his brother was studying at University of Michigan. I wanted to ask him more about the job market here in Seoul, but the language barrier couldn't handle it. When we got out of Yeouinaru, he pointed me to the 63 Building, but I knew there was a free shuttle that I can take so instead of heading over there, I made a detour instead. I bid him goodbye and looked for the shuttle stop.
I couldn't find it. How far is 40 meters? This American doesn't know. And I should've downloaded an Apple app for metrics conversion before I left Seattle! After going up and down the street, I found the shuttle, but it didn't stop when I flagged it down. It turned out that the shuttle stop was further down the street. When I got there, everything was in Korean and if I assumed correctly, the shuttle arrives every hour. If I were to wait for the next one, I'd be late for my appointment, so I started heading over to the National Assembly Building, which I soon realized was quite a walk from where I was.
Since I didn't have internet anymore at my hotel, I didn't have the phone number nor the map of the KBS Building that I was supposed to go to. All I knew was it was the one near the National Assembly. I passed by the very packed Yeouido Park where Cathy was at a couple of days ago, hoping to catch the sakuras in full bloom. The park was full of office workers at their lunch hour...not sure why they were there since I didn't see any restaurants nearby. Eventually, I found the KBS Building. Woot!
Walking inside, it reminded of those couple of times I had to go to the ABS-CBN Building for my pointless interviews at Star Cinema. When I got to the receptionist, it took another fifteen minutes for them to figure out where I was supposed to go since I didn't have the phone number of who I was supposed to see. Eventually, they managed to figure it out and off I went to see Sarah and Chris tape their K-Pop Connection show on KBS World Radio. What friendly people in the English section of KBS World Radio! Free plug! HaHa! I was telling them of my unemployment and how I want to find a job in Seoul, but all of them kept telling me that the easiest route is to be an English teacher since all of them started as such. Aigoo!
So that's how radio shows are made. Cool stuff. And I really love how one's voice comes off really nice on radio waves. I wonder if my squeaky, high-pitched voice can be improved via those mics. HaHa!
After bidding them adieu, I headed over to Yeouinaru Station to do this shuttle thing again. Luckily, it arrived shortly after I got there. Ahh, 63 Building. Unfortunately, there were some people with me at the elevator, so I couldn't raise my fist, look up, and shout "Supermaaaaaan" as the elevator went up. Oh come on, you know you want to try it, too. The view was still quite hazy, but it was a little better than yesterday's Seoul Tower view. As I looked out the windows, I really kept wishing that a job will turn up for me in this crazy, but fun city. All the KBS World Radio folks kept telling me that it's all about connections, similar to how I eventually found a job in Manila. Let's see, there's Cathy...and there's Cathy. HaHa!
I was hoping to go on a Hanggang Cruise and go to Olympic Park, but I'm just way too pooped to walk and I wanted to be back at Myeongdong before the stores closed. Instead, I headed back to catch the train. At my hotel, I asked if Break-Out had a show tonight and it did, but watching it would be another W50,000 and the stores would be closed by the time the show let out. So instead, I just walked around Myeongdong and relished my last moments there. I bought some carmelized sweet potatoes (grub!), but refrained from another hotteok. After awhile, my feet started aching so I headed back to my hotel at 8:30pm, the earliest I've been back in all of my six days in this city.
While doing my laundry on the 10th floor and watching CNN report about Barack being in London to meet the Queen, it finally set in that I'll be leaving tomorrow. *Sniff.
After mailing a couple of postcards at the Seoul Central Post Office (again, only five minutes away from my hotel!), I walked over to Namdaemun Market, another Divisoria if you will. I found myself inside the accessories arcade, but it seemed very early and not all the tinderas were around. Walking further to Seoul Station, I caught the train to go to the World Cup Stadium.
I haven't had breakfast so I went to the mall's foodcourt. I knew how to order at a foodcourt since that's what I did in the AK Mall in Suwon, but since all the restaurant names were in Hangul at this mall, I didn't know which one had my bulgogi dolsot bibimbap. The cashier, who was quite nice and seemed to be familiar with confused tourists, walked me over to my counter and told the cooking ajummas to look after me. HeHe. The ajummas were all smiling at me and seemed to be quite amused. They kept talking to me, but I had no idea what they were saying. For the first round, I figured they asked me where I was from so I said, "Miguk saram." They all smiled and repeated what I said and then they started talking away again like I understood them. Eventually, one of the ajummas spoke up and addressed me directly and I'm like, "Uhh, I don't understand." No, really, ajummas, I don't understand. LoL. But eventually the light bulb turned on, and I eventually got that she was telling me to sit down while they cook my food. Score!
When the food was ready, they hollered from five feet away that my food was ready. Funny, but I was quite appreciative that they were looking out for me because I probably would've just sat there while my food was getting cold. Since my tongue almost fell off from all the spiciness of my last dolsot bibimbap at Insadong, I made sure to sit next to the water dispenser this time around in case I need to chug down lots of water again. HeHe. While finishing up my huge stone pot of rice goodness, a mother and daughter pair sat at a table next to me. As always, the baby was looking at me and I was making funny faces at her to make her laugh. Why do babies love me? Before I left, I said "Annyeong!" to the baby while the mother happily looked on. Ha! I swear, there's hope for my Korean language skills! HaHa!
I went back outside and walked around the World Cup Stadium. I was hoping to see the grass, but all the gates seemed to be locked without anyone around. However, I eventually saw some ajummas cleaning up outside and sure enough, a few more steps further led me to an opened gate. Bingo! I just went in and walked down to the seats. Ahhhhhhh! The location for KimRaeWon's "What Planet Are You From?". Mission completed. HaHa! Actually, a couple of nights back, there was a soccer game between NKorea and SKorea, but I didn't think it would be fun for me to go alone so I decided against it. But this is good enough.
I had to be in Yeouido for an appointment at 1:30 so I took the train to Yeouinaru Station. Before leaving the station, an ajussi asked me if the train was going to Yeouido and I said yes. I kept on thinking, "Out of everyone he saw, how unfortunate of him to pick a tourist to ask this question." HeHe. Good thing I knew the correct answer. He then asked me if I was American and I said yes. Hmm, must be the jeans, sweater, and sneakers ensemble that gave it away. He later told me that his brother was studying at University of Michigan. I wanted to ask him more about the job market here in Seoul, but the language barrier couldn't handle it. When we got out of Yeouinaru, he pointed me to the 63 Building, but I knew there was a free shuttle that I can take so instead of heading over there, I made a detour instead. I bid him goodbye and looked for the shuttle stop.
I couldn't find it. How far is 40 meters? This American doesn't know. And I should've downloaded an Apple app for metrics conversion before I left Seattle! After going up and down the street, I found the shuttle, but it didn't stop when I flagged it down. It turned out that the shuttle stop was further down the street. When I got there, everything was in Korean and if I assumed correctly, the shuttle arrives every hour. If I were to wait for the next one, I'd be late for my appointment, so I started heading over to the National Assembly Building, which I soon realized was quite a walk from where I was.
Since I didn't have internet anymore at my hotel, I didn't have the phone number nor the map of the KBS Building that I was supposed to go to. All I knew was it was the one near the National Assembly. I passed by the very packed Yeouido Park where Cathy was at a couple of days ago, hoping to catch the sakuras in full bloom. The park was full of office workers at their lunch hour...not sure why they were there since I didn't see any restaurants nearby. Eventually, I found the KBS Building. Woot!
Walking inside, it reminded of those couple of times I had to go to the ABS-CBN Building for my pointless interviews at Star Cinema. When I got to the receptionist, it took another fifteen minutes for them to figure out where I was supposed to go since I didn't have the phone number of who I was supposed to see. Eventually, they managed to figure it out and off I went to see Sarah and Chris tape their K-Pop Connection show on KBS World Radio. What friendly people in the English section of KBS World Radio! Free plug! HaHa! I was telling them of my unemployment and how I want to find a job in Seoul, but all of them kept telling me that the easiest route is to be an English teacher since all of them started as such. Aigoo!
So that's how radio shows are made. Cool stuff. And I really love how one's voice comes off really nice on radio waves. I wonder if my squeaky, high-pitched voice can be improved via those mics. HaHa!
After bidding them adieu, I headed over to Yeouinaru Station to do this shuttle thing again. Luckily, it arrived shortly after I got there. Ahh, 63 Building. Unfortunately, there were some people with me at the elevator, so I couldn't raise my fist, look up, and shout "Supermaaaaaan" as the elevator went up. Oh come on, you know you want to try it, too. The view was still quite hazy, but it was a little better than yesterday's Seoul Tower view. As I looked out the windows, I really kept wishing that a job will turn up for me in this crazy, but fun city. All the KBS World Radio folks kept telling me that it's all about connections, similar to how I eventually found a job in Manila. Let's see, there's Cathy...and there's Cathy. HaHa!
I was hoping to go on a Hanggang Cruise and go to Olympic Park, but I'm just way too pooped to walk and I wanted to be back at Myeongdong before the stores closed. Instead, I headed back to catch the train. At my hotel, I asked if Break-Out had a show tonight and it did, but watching it would be another W50,000 and the stores would be closed by the time the show let out. So instead, I just walked around Myeongdong and relished my last moments there. I bought some carmelized sweet potatoes (grub!), but refrained from another hotteok. After awhile, my feet started aching so I headed back to my hotel at 8:30pm, the earliest I've been back in all of my six days in this city.
While doing my laundry on the 10th floor and watching CNN report about Barack being in London to meet the Queen, it finally set in that I'll be leaving tomorrow. *Sniff.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Seoul Sunday
What's a Catholic girl supposed to do when it's Palm Sunday and a cathedral is just up the street from her hotel? Why go to mass, of course. I actually brought a dress with me specifically for this occasion. Hindi naman prepared, no? HaHa!
While walking there, a group of Filipino men were behind me chatting away about the prices of shoes at ABC Mart and once inside the Myeongdong Cathedral, I spotted more Filipinos; even a couple of the readers were pinoys. Cathy had asked me if I made chika, but I kept to myself. I think I started putting away my PR self after my Macau experience; I just don't feel comfy telling people that I'm a tourist while they're working hard for their money in that very city to provide bare necessities to their families back in the Philippines. Parang hindi tama. Also, I don't want Friendster requests from their single male siblings a few weeks later. LoL. True story yan after my Macau experience. HaHa!
Anyway, after taking pictures of the Cathedral after the mass (apparently, I wasn't the only tourist around), I proceeded to Dunkin' Donuts to finally have breakfast. Who was sitting next to me? LeeMinHo...uhh, in poster form, you fangirls out there. LoL. I find it amusing that there are soooo many DDs in Seoul while there isn't a single one that I know of in Seattle. The brand is totally extinct in Seattle while it seems to be thriving in Asia (DD next to SM Supermarket in Megamall always provided me with my Bavarian donut fix). I grabbed a window seat on the second floor and watched people pass by while I stuffed myself with a chocolate mocha donut or whatever the heck that yummy flavor was called.
With all the caffeine and sugar power, I started heading over to the Namsan Cable Car station. Dammit, it was another hike and a half. If I had known about all these uphill battles in Seoul, I would've brought my cross-trainers and workout clothes instead.
It was way too hazy to see a clear view of Seoul, but I can now add Seoul Tower to my list of towers I've visited in Asia: Macau and Kuala Lumpur. All around the base of the tower are chain-linked fences with padlocks, a ritual that couples do to show that their love will last foreverrrrrr. Being the maldita girl that I am, I was going to buy a padlock and dedicate it to my future husband, but it was too sawi that I eventually decided against it. LoL. Saka na lang kapag together forever na kami ni LeeDongWook.
While walking down Namsan, I found out another kdrama spot. You know in the end of My Lovely Sam-Soon, there's that long flight of stairs where they kiss? I always wondered where the hell that was shot and voila, I found it at the bottom of Namsan where you take the winding road back to the cable car station.
Since I was in the area already, I walked over to the Seoul Animation Center. Supposedly, this was the location for the rooftop house in Coffee Prince. After going up the flight of stairs to the rooftop, the doors were closed so I went back down to talk to someone before I got arrested for trespassing.
Me: Yongo haseyo?
Girl: No. (And then she asked me if I spoke Japanese.)
Me: No. Uhhh, can...I...go...upstairs...and...see...Coffee...Prince...house?
Girl: (She asks someone else and says something "Coffee Prince"). Yes. Uhh...door...might...lock. Maybe.
Me: Okay. Thank you!
With a smile on my face, I hurried back up to the semi-locked door, opened it, and...what the ef?! It looked nothing like it did in the drama! I'm like, "Are my eyes deceiving me?!" I propped the outside bench to keep the door from locking me out, and even went up these steep, steel ladder, thinking that maybe, the house is up there. But nothing. Ugh! Didn't I say "Coffee Prince" and didn't the girl say "Coffee Prince"? If I was in the wrong place, I would think the girl would've said something. Boo. Remind me to watch Coffee Prince as soon as I get back to Seattle!
After making my way down to Myeongdong Station, I spotted the Delimanjoo stand that I kept telling Cathy that I couldn't find. A whole bag is only W2,000. I bit into one and almost burnt my tongue from the very hot custard inside. My eyes were watering heavily as I waited for my train to arrive. Realizing that I wasn't exactly sure which stop I was going to, I asked a guy, "Yongo haseyo?" and miraculously, he said yes. I asked him if COEX Mall is at the Samseong Station and he said yes. Woot! Unfortunately, he wasn't cute so I just went back to stuffing my mouth with Delimanjoos. HaHa!
Ahh, COEX Mall. Its sign reminded me of Suria KLCC's in Kuala Lumpur, but KLCC is a much posher mall. When I went to McDonalds yesterday, I saw that they had a Shrimp Burger and I was curious what that tasted like so I made another trip to McDonalds and tried it. Gross. I prefer the Bulgogi Burger over this one. I spotted a couple of cute guys, but I later found them smoking outside so I had to put my cougar self away.
Across from the COEX Aquarium was a souvenir shop so I finally bought a few little things to bring back. I thought the prices there were much cheaper than those in Insadong, but same goods. After stopping by Bandi & Luni's Bookstore to buy a couple of cutesy cards (one of which depicted a cartoonish image of a KoreanVirgin. I'm not kidding, that's what it says!), I headed back to the subway station to meet up with Cathy in Apgujeong.
So really, I have no business to be at Apgujeong since I don't have the money nor the interest in buying luxury items, but since they named this place the "Rodeo Drive of Seoul", I was curious to see if it actually lived up to its name. Uhhh, the place looked like any other friggen street in Seoul, complete with uneven sidewalks; I must've rolled my ankle at least twice every day since I've been here from all the uneven pavement in this city. I kept thinking, "If this was America, someone would've sued the city already."
Further down the street, more high-end stores abound. And you can tell because there's barely anyone walking along this end. While Cathy was taking pictures of all the artsy things on the street, I was just looking forward, making muni-muni and that's where I saw (drumroll please!) LeeDongGun coming out of a store. I was so taken aback that it took me a couple of seconds to say to Cathy in a whisper, "Cathy, hindi ba si...si...LeeDongGun yun?!" I had my camera in my hand, but I swear, hindi ako makagalaw. I just couldn't believe my eyes. Grabe talaga ang showbiz radar ko. Kahit saan gumagana!
LeeDongGun eventually left our sight without us taking a single picture. So let me just say my piece about celebrities: I actually do feel sorry for them. Imagine not being able to walk down the street in peace or eating somewhere and people are taking pictures of you. I'd hate that. So, I do make it a point to not harass any of them for pictures whenever I run into them randomly. Imagine all those missed picture opportunities at Shangri-La Mall with Piolo and John Lloyd! HeHe.
All that excitement burned enough calories to warrant another kalbi dinner, but this time at Itaewon. Yum, yum, yum. I swear, I can live off of kalbi, bulgogi, and dolsot bibimbap everyday. I really don't know how Koreans can stay so thin with all these foods around!
With some time left before stores closed, Cathy brought me to Kyobo bookstore in Gwanghamun to browse. I had no intention of buying anything since my kpop stash at home is quite up to date, but I eventually gave in and bought legit copies of Big Bang's first and second concert DVDs. They're so much cheaper than at YesAsia! Grabe! I had wanted to buy a copy of My Mighty Princess, but it was too expensive and coded Region 3. Tsk!
Cathy and I ended the night at Twosome Place for coffee and cake, and very many "How can I find work here?" whinings from me. The former is such a Filipino thing to do; the latter is so me. HaHa!
While walking there, a group of Filipino men were behind me chatting away about the prices of shoes at ABC Mart and once inside the Myeongdong Cathedral, I spotted more Filipinos; even a couple of the readers were pinoys. Cathy had asked me if I made chika, but I kept to myself. I think I started putting away my PR self after my Macau experience; I just don't feel comfy telling people that I'm a tourist while they're working hard for their money in that very city to provide bare necessities to their families back in the Philippines. Parang hindi tama. Also, I don't want Friendster requests from their single male siblings a few weeks later. LoL. True story yan after my Macau experience. HaHa!
Anyway, after taking pictures of the Cathedral after the mass (apparently, I wasn't the only tourist around), I proceeded to Dunkin' Donuts to finally have breakfast. Who was sitting next to me? LeeMinHo...uhh, in poster form, you fangirls out there. LoL. I find it amusing that there are soooo many DDs in Seoul while there isn't a single one that I know of in Seattle. The brand is totally extinct in Seattle while it seems to be thriving in Asia (DD next to SM Supermarket in Megamall always provided me with my Bavarian donut fix). I grabbed a window seat on the second floor and watched people pass by while I stuffed myself with a chocolate mocha donut or whatever the heck that yummy flavor was called.
With all the caffeine and sugar power, I started heading over to the Namsan Cable Car station. Dammit, it was another hike and a half. If I had known about all these uphill battles in Seoul, I would've brought my cross-trainers and workout clothes instead.
It was way too hazy to see a clear view of Seoul, but I can now add Seoul Tower to my list of towers I've visited in Asia: Macau and Kuala Lumpur. All around the base of the tower are chain-linked fences with padlocks, a ritual that couples do to show that their love will last foreverrrrrr. Being the maldita girl that I am, I was going to buy a padlock and dedicate it to my future husband, but it was too sawi that I eventually decided against it. LoL. Saka na lang kapag together forever na kami ni LeeDongWook.
While walking down Namsan, I found out another kdrama spot. You know in the end of My Lovely Sam-Soon, there's that long flight of stairs where they kiss? I always wondered where the hell that was shot and voila, I found it at the bottom of Namsan where you take the winding road back to the cable car station.
Since I was in the area already, I walked over to the Seoul Animation Center. Supposedly, this was the location for the rooftop house in Coffee Prince. After going up the flight of stairs to the rooftop, the doors were closed so I went back down to talk to someone before I got arrested for trespassing.
Me: Yongo haseyo?
Girl: No. (And then she asked me if I spoke Japanese.)
Me: No. Uhhh, can...I...go...upstairs...and...see...Coffee...Prince...house?
Girl: (She asks someone else and says something "Coffee Prince"). Yes. Uhh...door...might...lock. Maybe.
Me: Okay. Thank you!
With a smile on my face, I hurried back up to the semi-locked door, opened it, and...what the ef?! It looked nothing like it did in the drama! I'm like, "Are my eyes deceiving me?!" I propped the outside bench to keep the door from locking me out, and even went up these steep, steel ladder, thinking that maybe, the house is up there. But nothing. Ugh! Didn't I say "Coffee Prince" and didn't the girl say "Coffee Prince"? If I was in the wrong place, I would think the girl would've said something. Boo. Remind me to watch Coffee Prince as soon as I get back to Seattle!
After making my way down to Myeongdong Station, I spotted the Delimanjoo stand that I kept telling Cathy that I couldn't find. A whole bag is only W2,000. I bit into one and almost burnt my tongue from the very hot custard inside. My eyes were watering heavily as I waited for my train to arrive. Realizing that I wasn't exactly sure which stop I was going to, I asked a guy, "Yongo haseyo?" and miraculously, he said yes. I asked him if COEX Mall is at the Samseong Station and he said yes. Woot! Unfortunately, he wasn't cute so I just went back to stuffing my mouth with Delimanjoos. HaHa!
Ahh, COEX Mall. Its sign reminded me of Suria KLCC's in Kuala Lumpur, but KLCC is a much posher mall. When I went to McDonalds yesterday, I saw that they had a Shrimp Burger and I was curious what that tasted like so I made another trip to McDonalds and tried it. Gross. I prefer the Bulgogi Burger over this one. I spotted a couple of cute guys, but I later found them smoking outside so I had to put my cougar self away.
Across from the COEX Aquarium was a souvenir shop so I finally bought a few little things to bring back. I thought the prices there were much cheaper than those in Insadong, but same goods. After stopping by Bandi & Luni's Bookstore to buy a couple of cutesy cards (one of which depicted a cartoonish image of a KoreanVirgin. I'm not kidding, that's what it says!), I headed back to the subway station to meet up with Cathy in Apgujeong.
So really, I have no business to be at Apgujeong since I don't have the money nor the interest in buying luxury items, but since they named this place the "Rodeo Drive of Seoul", I was curious to see if it actually lived up to its name. Uhhh, the place looked like any other friggen street in Seoul, complete with uneven sidewalks; I must've rolled my ankle at least twice every day since I've been here from all the uneven pavement in this city. I kept thinking, "If this was America, someone would've sued the city already."
Further down the street, more high-end stores abound. And you can tell because there's barely anyone walking along this end. While Cathy was taking pictures of all the artsy things on the street, I was just looking forward, making muni-muni and that's where I saw (drumroll please!) LeeDongGun coming out of a store. I was so taken aback that it took me a couple of seconds to say to Cathy in a whisper, "Cathy, hindi ba si...si...LeeDongGun yun?!" I had my camera in my hand, but I swear, hindi ako makagalaw. I just couldn't believe my eyes. Grabe talaga ang showbiz radar ko. Kahit saan gumagana!
LeeDongGun eventually left our sight without us taking a single picture. So let me just say my piece about celebrities: I actually do feel sorry for them. Imagine not being able to walk down the street in peace or eating somewhere and people are taking pictures of you. I'd hate that. So, I do make it a point to not harass any of them for pictures whenever I run into them randomly. Imagine all those missed picture opportunities at Shangri-La Mall with Piolo and John Lloyd! HeHe.
All that excitement burned enough calories to warrant another kalbi dinner, but this time at Itaewon. Yum, yum, yum. I swear, I can live off of kalbi, bulgogi, and dolsot bibimbap everyday. I really don't know how Koreans can stay so thin with all these foods around!
With some time left before stores closed, Cathy brought me to Kyobo bookstore in Gwanghamun to browse. I had no intention of buying anything since my kpop stash at home is quite up to date, but I eventually gave in and bought legit copies of Big Bang's first and second concert DVDs. They're so much cheaper than at YesAsia! Grabe! I had wanted to buy a copy of My Mighty Princess, but it was too expensive and coded Region 3. Tsk!
Cathy and I ended the night at Twosome Place for coffee and cake, and very many "How can I find work here?" whinings from me. The former is such a Filipino thing to do; the latter is so me. HaHa!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Seoul-Full
When I was planning my trip, I had initially settled on three nights in a hostel and four nights in a hotel to accommodate my maarte self. I had booked the hotel nights right away, but kept putting off reserving the hostel nights. After all of that mental/monetary debate, I ended up booking all my rooms at hotels, three different hotels to be exact.
Today, I left my very lovely hotel in Insadong and moved to another hotel to a supposedly more central location in Myeongdong. Though, they're not very far from each other if you're a walker like me. After getting up in the morning, I walked around Insadong and the Gwanghamun area to finish off any tourist destinations that I've left off.
I dropped by Jogyesa Temple and saw the very many lanterns in preparation for Buddha's birthday. Right outside the temple is a smiling buddha which I just wanted to carry home with me. I also found the Hammering Man statue in Gwanghamun, which is similar to what we have outside the Seattle Art Museum. Walking around in the morning in any city is quite nice. No crowds, cool temperatures, just perfect for some peace and exercise.
After returning back to my homebase of Jonggak Station, I went inside Jongno Tower to find out if there was an observatory of some sort in the building. Being that it was Saturday, it was dead quiet in there and I spoke to the security guard. As always, I started with "Yongo haseyo?" and he said no, but I kept talking to him anyway. HaHa! For the first time I had to be a mime and act out what "observatory" meant. He eventually got what I meant and he said there's no observatory, but only a restaurant which didn't open until 11am. Darn, I'm way too early.
Disappointed, I took the train to Dongdaemun Market, or as I quickly found out, the Divisoria of Seoul. Seoul is really a shopper's paradise if you have the luggage space and body type that fits into these small-sized clothes. Unfortunately, I had neither so I ended up trying to find Dongdaemun Stadium. I kept walking around trying to find it, but duh, it was torn down. You know, it's really hard to find something that doesn't exist anymore. ;P
I took the train back to Jonggak, but still was too early to see the guard changing ceremony at Bosingak so I headed over to McDonalds. So, I decided to stay at this particular hotel because it was near food and there's a 24-hour McDonalds right at the street corner should I ever get hungry in the middle of the night (you know, you always gotta think like a Girl Scout!). However, I've never eaten there because I've opted for Korean food. Well, I decided that it was time to find out what a Mickey D's Bulgogi Burger tasted like. Surprisingly, it was actually edible. It was tasty, but weird that bulgogi came in a patty form...with mayo. The restaurant was full of teenagers dressed in their school uniforms and I kept thinking whether they'd grow up obese as I happily ate my french fries.
After checking out a couple minutes of the guard changing ceremony at Bosingak, which I already saw in 2007, I left my Insadong hotel and hauled my luggage all the way to Myeongdong. The problem? Those darn underpasses full of stairs. Dammit. It was also noontime so the sun didn't help with the situation. I only noticed that there were elevators in the subway stations after I exited Euljiro Il-ga. Ugh!
I managed to get to Ibis Myeongdong in one piece, but all sweaty and gross. I stayed in to cool down and analyzed my new hotel room. I liked my Insadong hotel better. There, I had a water cooler, computer with internet, plus 100 channels to choose from in my room, not to mention a very spacious bathroom. Here, think tiny. And this is more expensive. Tsk! Plus, unlike Insadong, there's not a bakery nearby where I can get my breakfast every morning. Bad move, girlfriend. I guess the only perks are being able to say that I got to stay in Myeongdong and the view from my window.
By 2pm, I met up with Cathy and Tess at Hongik University station. They wanted to shop at the flea market while I wanted to visit the 1st Coffee Prince shop. First stop: onomiyaki for lunch. Yum! Something to look forward to once I get to Japan. Second stop: flea market where I got pushed around by ajummas and every one else. I wouldn't mind it if people actually said "Excuse me" or "Sorry", but that's not done around here. Third stop: Coffee Prince shop. Yes, I made the pilgrimage. HaHa! Coffee is quite expensive over there, more expensive than at Starbucks! Cathy was all game for ordering and going all out with "experiencing" the place, but after being ignored by the waiters, I took the pictures that I went there for and told Cathy and Tess that I have no shame in leaving if they wanted to right now. Hey, no customer service for customers? And you want how much for the coffee?! No thanks.
Fourth stop: Ballerina Who Fell in Love with a BBoy show. This is actually the sequel to the popular original version. Unfortunately, the original version isn't playing right now because its new stage is still being constructed. Ugh. But since I can't wait for that, I decided to watch the sequel. Ehh, I shouldn't have; at least not for the W50,000 I paid. The plot dealt with death so it wasn't as fun as JUMP or NANTA which were more on the comedic side. Plus, the darn English explanations on the screen were all screwy so I couldn't really follow the story. People, please, contact me and I'd gladly clean up those English translations for free to avoid people experiencing the same frustration I had. Anyway, I came there to check out the bboys: they're actually good. Granted that I think there are way better bboys here in the States, but the poplockers of the Korea All-Stars were really good. I think the whole crew just lacked swag which is needed if you want people to think you're the shiznit (wow, I went hella old school on that word. HaHa!).
Fifth stop: noraebang. Okay, I may listen to music a lot from varying genres, but regardless of how many times I hear a song, I never ever remember the words and most often than not, I don't remember how songs start off. With those kind of problems and a horrible singing voice, I'm really the worst person to take to karaoke. I always need someone to back me up to keep me in line. HeHe. Regardless, it was a pleasure to say that I went to a noraebang while in Seoul. :)
Afterwards, I got to eat some more streetfood: those fish-shaped bread thingies stuffed with red beans/custard. I love these $1-$2 food options! They're so awesome!
Oh, another day down.
Today, I left my very lovely hotel in Insadong and moved to another hotel to a supposedly more central location in Myeongdong. Though, they're not very far from each other if you're a walker like me. After getting up in the morning, I walked around Insadong and the Gwanghamun area to finish off any tourist destinations that I've left off.
I dropped by Jogyesa Temple and saw the very many lanterns in preparation for Buddha's birthday. Right outside the temple is a smiling buddha which I just wanted to carry home with me. I also found the Hammering Man statue in Gwanghamun, which is similar to what we have outside the Seattle Art Museum. Walking around in the morning in any city is quite nice. No crowds, cool temperatures, just perfect for some peace and exercise.
After returning back to my homebase of Jonggak Station, I went inside Jongno Tower to find out if there was an observatory of some sort in the building. Being that it was Saturday, it was dead quiet in there and I spoke to the security guard. As always, I started with "Yongo haseyo?" and he said no, but I kept talking to him anyway. HaHa! For the first time I had to be a mime and act out what "observatory" meant. He eventually got what I meant and he said there's no observatory, but only a restaurant which didn't open until 11am. Darn, I'm way too early.
Disappointed, I took the train to Dongdaemun Market, or as I quickly found out, the Divisoria of Seoul. Seoul is really a shopper's paradise if you have the luggage space and body type that fits into these small-sized clothes. Unfortunately, I had neither so I ended up trying to find Dongdaemun Stadium. I kept walking around trying to find it, but duh, it was torn down. You know, it's really hard to find something that doesn't exist anymore. ;P
I took the train back to Jonggak, but still was too early to see the guard changing ceremony at Bosingak so I headed over to McDonalds. So, I decided to stay at this particular hotel because it was near food and there's a 24-hour McDonalds right at the street corner should I ever get hungry in the middle of the night (you know, you always gotta think like a Girl Scout!). However, I've never eaten there because I've opted for Korean food. Well, I decided that it was time to find out what a Mickey D's Bulgogi Burger tasted like. Surprisingly, it was actually edible. It was tasty, but weird that bulgogi came in a patty form...with mayo. The restaurant was full of teenagers dressed in their school uniforms and I kept thinking whether they'd grow up obese as I happily ate my french fries.
After checking out a couple minutes of the guard changing ceremony at Bosingak, which I already saw in 2007, I left my Insadong hotel and hauled my luggage all the way to Myeongdong. The problem? Those darn underpasses full of stairs. Dammit. It was also noontime so the sun didn't help with the situation. I only noticed that there were elevators in the subway stations after I exited Euljiro Il-ga. Ugh!
I managed to get to Ibis Myeongdong in one piece, but all sweaty and gross. I stayed in to cool down and analyzed my new hotel room. I liked my Insadong hotel better. There, I had a water cooler, computer with internet, plus 100 channels to choose from in my room, not to mention a very spacious bathroom. Here, think tiny. And this is more expensive. Tsk! Plus, unlike Insadong, there's not a bakery nearby where I can get my breakfast every morning. Bad move, girlfriend. I guess the only perks are being able to say that I got to stay in Myeongdong and the view from my window.
By 2pm, I met up with Cathy and Tess at Hongik University station. They wanted to shop at the flea market while I wanted to visit the 1st Coffee Prince shop. First stop: onomiyaki for lunch. Yum! Something to look forward to once I get to Japan. Second stop: flea market where I got pushed around by ajummas and every one else. I wouldn't mind it if people actually said "Excuse me" or "Sorry", but that's not done around here. Third stop: Coffee Prince shop. Yes, I made the pilgrimage. HaHa! Coffee is quite expensive over there, more expensive than at Starbucks! Cathy was all game for ordering and going all out with "experiencing" the place, but after being ignored by the waiters, I took the pictures that I went there for and told Cathy and Tess that I have no shame in leaving if they wanted to right now. Hey, no customer service for customers? And you want how much for the coffee?! No thanks.
Fourth stop: Ballerina Who Fell in Love with a BBoy show. This is actually the sequel to the popular original version. Unfortunately, the original version isn't playing right now because its new stage is still being constructed. Ugh. But since I can't wait for that, I decided to watch the sequel. Ehh, I shouldn't have; at least not for the W50,000 I paid. The plot dealt with death so it wasn't as fun as JUMP or NANTA which were more on the comedic side. Plus, the darn English explanations on the screen were all screwy so I couldn't really follow the story. People, please, contact me and I'd gladly clean up those English translations for free to avoid people experiencing the same frustration I had. Anyway, I came there to check out the bboys: they're actually good. Granted that I think there are way better bboys here in the States, but the poplockers of the Korea All-Stars were really good. I think the whole crew just lacked swag which is needed if you want people to think you're the shiznit (wow, I went hella old school on that word. HaHa!).
Fifth stop: noraebang. Okay, I may listen to music a lot from varying genres, but regardless of how many times I hear a song, I never ever remember the words and most often than not, I don't remember how songs start off. With those kind of problems and a horrible singing voice, I'm really the worst person to take to karaoke. I always need someone to back me up to keep me in line. HeHe. Regardless, it was a pleasure to say that I went to a noraebang while in Seoul. :)
Afterwards, I got to eat some more streetfood: those fish-shaped bread thingies stuffed with red beans/custard. I love these $1-$2 food options! They're so awesome!
Oh, another day down.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Walk With Me
As if yesterday's DMZ Third Tunnel wasn't enough, yours truly found another place that almost gave me a heart attack.
The city of Suwon is about 80 minutes by subway from Seoul. Yes, the subway system reaches that far! Coming from Seattle, I get giddy whenever I'm in Asia because every city in the continent seems to have an efficient rail public transportation (yes, even I'm calling Manila's MRT efficient).
First stop? Korean Folk Village. I was actually grumpy in the beginning because Woori Bank gave me the most horrible exchange rate ever (it was the only bank open at 9:15am) and I ended up missing the first run of the free shuttle bus by ten minutes so I had to wait another 50 minutes for the next one to come along. By the time I got there, it was noon already and I didn't even bother to eat lunch because I only had two hours to explore the village before the 2pm return shuttle. Yeah, I'm letting off steam). LoL.
Well, the highlight of the village was my seeing all the elementary school kids on their field trip. I swear, they're all so cute from the tiny tots to the grade schoolers. One of them actually chased me down and asked me a question. Oh little one, if only I knew more Korean, we could converse and I can ask you if you have a twenty-something uncle! Tsk! ;P The areas of the village all looked the same after a while (similar to when you go to Siem Reap, Cambodia and you get all templed out after two days). With a headache from not having eaten lunch, I took the shuttle bus back to Suwon Station at 2pm. I immediately ran to the AK Mall and had jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) at Golden Plate. Another item on my must-eats down!
By 3pm, I was on a public bus to Paldalmun of Hwaseong Fortress. I was actually scared to take the bus because I knew that none of the drivers spoke English, but hey, you can't get lost when your destination is a big ass fortress gate.
I first checked out Hwaseong Haenggung, "The Best of detached Palace Architecture in Joseon Dynasty" as written verbatim from their tourist map. If you watched Jewel in the Palace, you might dig this place since parts of the TV drama was filmed here and some of the costumes used are displayed. I, however, haven't seen an episode so it looked like any other palace that I've been to thus far in Seoul. This led me to hike up the hill to Mirohanjeong to see a bird's eye view of the palace. The view was awesome. But alas, that wasn't the last of my strenous exercises for the day.
The real tourist "spot" in this part of South Korea is Hwaseong Fortress, consisting of four main gates. Little did I know that the second gate after Paldalmun, Hwaseomun, was not the highest part of the fortress. In turned out that the highest part is actually Seojangdae, which I kept aiming for since I kept seeing it from Haenggung. If I had aimed for Hwaseomun correctly, it would've been a much easier climb. Thankfully, I bought water before the climb ("Ajussi...mul" was the successful broken Korean phrase of the day) because I might've passed out half-way up that darn mountain. By the time I got to the third gate, Janganmun, I decided to just return to Paldalmun by walking along Paldal Street instead of walking along the fortress wall. Afterall, each "destination" along the wall looked the same to me as Cathy forewarned me about.
By 6:15, I was on the subway back to Seoul. I got off at the City Hall subway stop and ran to the nearest fast food place which turned out to be KFC. I've had KFC in the Philippines and Thailand so I know there's a bit of a difference in each country from the usual fare we get in the States. What's the difference here in Korea? No gravy (Thailand gives you sweet chili sauce instead) and no sides (Philippines serves rice). Just two pieces of chicken and a drink. Bon appetit!
I finished my meal as quickly as possible so I can catch my 8pm NANTA show. It turned out that the Tourist Information Center yesterday reserved my ticket at the wrong branch! So I ended up paying W10,000 more for a VIP seat just so that I can watch it right there and then. It wouldn't have been bad (my seat was dead center in the fifth row) had the theater not been small. Hmph! But I quickly forgot all my money issues of the day when two of the actors, just like in JUMP, took their shirts off during the latter half of the show. They must really know their audience. HaHa! The show is fun and quite entertaining music-wise and I can see how this is one of the most watched shows in Seoul. Two thumbs up!
When I got back to the hotel, I realized that tomorrow is Saturday already. *SIGH. This trip is nearing its end. *Sniff!
The city of Suwon is about 80 minutes by subway from Seoul. Yes, the subway system reaches that far! Coming from Seattle, I get giddy whenever I'm in Asia because every city in the continent seems to have an efficient rail public transportation (yes, even I'm calling Manila's MRT efficient).
First stop? Korean Folk Village. I was actually grumpy in the beginning because Woori Bank gave me the most horrible exchange rate ever (it was the only bank open at 9:15am) and I ended up missing the first run of the free shuttle bus by ten minutes so I had to wait another 50 minutes for the next one to come along. By the time I got there, it was noon already and I didn't even bother to eat lunch because I only had two hours to explore the village before the 2pm return shuttle. Yeah, I'm letting off steam). LoL.
Well, the highlight of the village was my seeing all the elementary school kids on their field trip. I swear, they're all so cute from the tiny tots to the grade schoolers. One of them actually chased me down and asked me a question. Oh little one, if only I knew more Korean, we could converse and I can ask you if you have a twenty-something uncle! Tsk! ;P The areas of the village all looked the same after a while (similar to when you go to Siem Reap, Cambodia and you get all templed out after two days). With a headache from not having eaten lunch, I took the shuttle bus back to Suwon Station at 2pm. I immediately ran to the AK Mall and had jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) at Golden Plate. Another item on my must-eats down!
By 3pm, I was on a public bus to Paldalmun of Hwaseong Fortress. I was actually scared to take the bus because I knew that none of the drivers spoke English, but hey, you can't get lost when your destination is a big ass fortress gate.
I first checked out Hwaseong Haenggung, "The Best of detached Palace Architecture in Joseon Dynasty" as written verbatim from their tourist map. If you watched Jewel in the Palace, you might dig this place since parts of the TV drama was filmed here and some of the costumes used are displayed. I, however, haven't seen an episode so it looked like any other palace that I've been to thus far in Seoul. This led me to hike up the hill to Mirohanjeong to see a bird's eye view of the palace. The view was awesome. But alas, that wasn't the last of my strenous exercises for the day.
The real tourist "spot" in this part of South Korea is Hwaseong Fortress, consisting of four main gates. Little did I know that the second gate after Paldalmun, Hwaseomun, was not the highest part of the fortress. In turned out that the highest part is actually Seojangdae, which I kept aiming for since I kept seeing it from Haenggung. If I had aimed for Hwaseomun correctly, it would've been a much easier climb. Thankfully, I bought water before the climb ("Ajussi...mul" was the successful broken Korean phrase of the day) because I might've passed out half-way up that darn mountain. By the time I got to the third gate, Janganmun, I decided to just return to Paldalmun by walking along Paldal Street instead of walking along the fortress wall. Afterall, each "destination" along the wall looked the same to me as Cathy forewarned me about.
By 6:15, I was on the subway back to Seoul. I got off at the City Hall subway stop and ran to the nearest fast food place which turned out to be KFC. I've had KFC in the Philippines and Thailand so I know there's a bit of a difference in each country from the usual fare we get in the States. What's the difference here in Korea? No gravy (Thailand gives you sweet chili sauce instead) and no sides (Philippines serves rice). Just two pieces of chicken and a drink. Bon appetit!
I finished my meal as quickly as possible so I can catch my 8pm NANTA show. It turned out that the Tourist Information Center yesterday reserved my ticket at the wrong branch! So I ended up paying W10,000 more for a VIP seat just so that I can watch it right there and then. It wouldn't have been bad (my seat was dead center in the fifth row) had the theater not been small. Hmph! But I quickly forgot all my money issues of the day when two of the actors, just like in JUMP, took their shirts off during the latter half of the show. They must really know their audience. HaHa! The show is fun and quite entertaining music-wise and I can see how this is one of the most watched shows in Seoul. Two thumbs up!
When I got back to the hotel, I realized that tomorrow is Saturday already. *SIGH. This trip is nearing its end. *Sniff!
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