Bye-bye Seoul!

So much for my installments of our Korean adventure.

We loved Seoul so much that our flight home was kind of bittersweet---but we had to leave and pacified ourselves with the thought that we’ll surely be back.

Kamsahamnida Korea!

Seoul Street Scenes

I always had a thing for roads---may it be superhighways or beaten ones.

One of my old entries in my journal which I labeled as a “crazy” and a “way out there dream” is “to be able to have a road trip in Korea” . For who wouldn’t be smitten by their roads and highways in the countless Korean dramas and movies shown on 'pinoy television?

But what I know now is to NEVER ever label your dreams as “way out there”.

I am so giddy to share these photos of the Korean road system. So here it is!!!!!!

Another entry in my bucket list: crossed out.

SEOULFUL Trip, Day 3: 4th destination, Cheonggyecheon Stream

What is the most amazing thing in this big, sprawling city that is Seoul is that they don’t try hard to struggle with nature in order to give way to their uuuuberly modernized structures and well-planned city-scape.

Here’s another anecdote before I talk about this stream:

While we were riding on the taxi from the N-Seoul tower, Ahne and I instructed the cab driver that we wanted to go to the Cheonggyecheon Stream (That’s with less difficulty on our part since learning the Korean way of speaking is just like second to breathing---what with the hundreds of k-dramas and movies that we watched for these past years. Ahahaha!). We were so elated that the driver didn’t have any questions and he didn’t seem baffled by these two strange, trying-hard-to-speak-korean ladies, that were us. So, we assumed that he understood us (Yay!). 

After about 15 minutes, he stopped the cab in the middle of a busy highway and told us that we were on the stream. That immediately deflated our happy bubble. Seriously? But we didn’t come unprepared for situations like that--- just so you would know, we have about two years of practice how to make ourselves be understood when there’s a posing language barrier problem. So, with our Thailand-learned strategies, we tried to explain that we wanted to see the Cheonggyecheon stream and not a busy highway---and when I say explain, that actually meant making an exaggerated motion of flowing water coupled with uttering these words: “See, stream. Stream. Water. Water.” I know right?

The cab driver just scratched his head, as if almost unbelieving, that these two unassuming foreign ladies are actually close to being retarded, what with our one of a kind way of explaining our destination. So, he turned on his engine and drove the cab again and just after about 10 minutes, we were close to desperation when he stopped the cab in just the exact location the first time he told us that we were in our destination. Not wanting to ruin our night by arguing further that we wanted to see the stream and not cars in the middle of a busy highway, we just went off the cab and luckily, right in front of us was a tourist information center. We almost cringed of amused embarrassment when the tourism officer told us that we were actually in Cheonggyecheon stream---all we had to do was go down the stairs on one side of the highway and we will be at the stream! What could the taxi driver have thought about us?! But how are we supposed to know that? How are we supposed to know that a stream can be found in the middle of a highway?

Lesson learned? Put a little faith on the locals.

What a pity that because of the extremely cold temperature that night, we weren’t able to take photos of the stream. So we just ended up sitting on one side of the stream while people watching (it never fails) and half-hoping that the people that we dearly love could share that exact moment, including the happy buzz caused by Seoul’s energy, with us.

(photo credits: google images)

Cheonggyecheon is actually a creek in the midst of downtown Seoul that connects to the Han river, and finally empties into the Yellow Sea. During the rapid post-war economic development, when a lot of people migrated to downtown Seoul, shabby makeshift houses were built alongside it which resulted to the accumulated trash and waste. It was then required to cover it up with concrete and in 1968, an elevated highway was built over it.

In 2003, the Seoul mayor, Lee Myung-Bak initiated a restoration project of the stream. It was an ambitious project as it was not only the elevated highway that should be removed but also the years of neglect that left the stream almost totally dry. It was opened to the public in 2005 and was lauded as a major success in urban renewal and beautification.

We tried step-hopping on these stones too, to cross to the other side!

This was like the exact spot where Ahne and I sat to do Seoulite-watching.

…and this is proof why Korea is on my top list of the romance bustling cities of the world. This particular scene made us wish that there was actually some shoulders, no let me rephrase that, that there was actually THE shoulder beside us to lean our heads into.

A stretch of the Chenggyecheon stream amidst the bustling highways and towering buildings of Seoul---proof that nature can comfortably exist with development. If this city can do it in a mere stream which has actually a misplaced location city-planning-wise, why couldn’t we do it with our Pasig river, or with our own Manila Bay?

SEOULFUL Trip, Day 3:3rd Destination, N-Seoul Tower

Once darkness envelops all over Seoul, one will instantly notice a remarkable point jutting out of the city’s skyline. The N-Seoul tower is the highest point in Seoul. It is a communication and observation center, turned into an ultimate tourist destination, located at Seoul’s Namsan Mountain.

Once we got off the taxi, we paid for the cable car which brought us to the Namsan Mountain. It was about a 10-15 minute ride on the cable car and then we hiked up at the peak of the mountain where the tower is located. Imagine 2 pairs of unconditioned knees with 2 sets of tropical-reared lungs, add a more than a hundred steps of stairs going up the mountain with an 8-degree night chill and you’ll get a clear image of 2 females struggling for breath while going up to the tower. Surely, the Koreans who were walking up the tower with us were probably thinking, “Oh, these two are not locals. Hindi sanay sa autumn temperature namin eh.” Oh snap! Ahahaha.

The tower was opened to the public in 1980. Aside from its famous observatory, it also has some souvenir shops, restaurants, and a teddy bear museum (next post). At night, the tower in itself is a spectacular site for it is illuminated by a brilliant blue light which is visible all over Seoul. At around 10:00 pm, this blue light is turned off which is the signal of the start digital movie presentation which features the whole tower as the screen. While everyone was watching the 20-minute digital video presentation, I stood in awe and uttered a silent prayer of thanks for having given this opportunity to travel (and I hope that this was just a start).

A large display of the N Seoul Tower logo and a wall covered with tourist information in Korean is not just a promotion, but a creation of a digital media artist.

One of the most famous activities in the tower especially for lovers (ahem!) is to hang padlocks with love messages attached to them in an area on the Tower fence. According to legend, a couple who makes a wish in the Namsan mountain gets to be together forever. Now, this legend is definitely sensationalized, hence the line of padlock trees along the Tower fence. A pity, I didn’t have someone to lock the pads with. As a promise to myself, the next time I’m back to Korea with my one great love (ayeeeeee!) , I’ll surely bring a huge industrial padlock. Small padlocks are waaaaaay too passé in these times, don’t you think?… Ahahaha!

This is the observatory room where a 300° view of Seoul can be seen. This was certainly the most perfect way to spend our last night in Korea. And see, we’ve got Manila posted on one of its glass walls!

SEOULFUL Trip, Day 3: 2nd Destination, Coffee Prince Shop

Forgive me but I’m warning you beforehand that it’s the k-drama addict who will be typing the next ramblings. Remember Arthur and Andi? Oh, that’s an understatementquestion---if ever there is such term. How can anybody forget about them, much more, not even know about them, helloooooo? If that’s the case, then you’re missing a big, and I mean a BIG portion of your precious life---and I’m not even starting to exaggerate it yet.

Okay, okay, I’ll switch to normal mode because I can sense some rolling of eyeballs coupled with some “puhleeeaaase!”.

 At one point in your life for this past 6 years, you must have heard about the K-drama Coffee Prince which aired in the Philippines last 2007.Youn Eun Hye and Gong Yoon starred in the said drama and the story revolved in the life of a poor girl, Andi, who had to disguise as a man and be a part of the crew of the Coffee Prince Shop which was owned by Arthur. From thereon, love blossomed between the two lead characters in between so much confusion and bickering on their part as Arthur was unaware of Andi’s real gender for the most part of the drama, but was already head over heels in love with her. My heart was turned into pure slush and I was reduced into a cry-baby in a lot of scenes, especially with the idea that love can transcend everything, even with the looming possibility of being judged because of Arthur, being unaware that Andi was a girl, but loving her anyway. That’s mushy, I know. But you have to watch the drama in order to understand that I’m not just being “pa-cute” with that statement,okay? ;)

The coffee shop really does exist in one of the university streets in Seoul, although I must say that it wasn’t really well-maintained. But with just the mere idea that you are breathing the same air and traipsing the same path that Youn Eun Hye and Gong Yoon once breathed and traipsed is already too kilig-worthy. I clearly remember that I was even close to bawling tears when Jessica Soho (or was it Korina?) featured the shop during her show’s South Korea episode. At that time, if somebody told me that I would step foot in that same place a couple of years later, I would have just rolled my eyeballs too.

The fact that nothing and nobody could tell us a clear instruction as to the location of the coffee shop, Ahne and I found it by pure luck and with a big dose of being headstrong on the idea of finding it. Heard the famous adage that your heart would lead you when your feet cease to know where to go? That’s what happened to us------cheezyyyyy overload, it is. I know. *wink*

I could only smile my dopey-faced look from too much exhilaration!!!

I still believe that this as one of the best tv smooches, ever!

Buti pa ‘tong dalawa, nagka-coffee prince moment. Haaay!!!!

Ahne and I thought that we could get past this signage near the gate and take some photos without being noticed. But we forgot that this was South Korea---and CCTV’s are everywhere! After a couple of our photos were taken, the owner went out and politely asked us if we wanted some coffee or tea which actually translates to---“Order some drinks, or I’ll smash your camera and all your precious photos in it.” We didn’t have choice, did we? Strategy: epic fail!

SEOULFUL Trip, Day 3: 1st Destination, Trick Eye Museum

Ahne and I were quite proud to have been able to locate this museum with no map and with quite confusing instructions from the blogsites that we’ve opened and from strangers that we’ve asked on the streets.

A big bulk of our photos in the entire duration of the trip was from this place. But here’s a tip: Never enter the museum with an empty stomach or without gulping a bottleful of water or you’ll end up a dehydrated bag like I did. The photo taking in the whole place was too much fun but it was also energy draining (If you’re most likely the emotera poser. Ahem, ahem!).

We discovered something in this museum. Ahne and I had a considerably serious talk that if ever we decided that teaching isn’t really meant for us, then at least we have discovered that modeling can be our fallback. Cringe all you want but I’m the only one who has the editing rights to this blog! So that statement will definitely be posted! Ahahahaha!

So, before getting into this place, like I said, gulp a whole bottle of water and prepare a whole bag full of poses! 

SEOULful Trip, Day 2: Last Stop for the Day, Insadong

Still feeling giddy about our Han River Cruise experience, we hired a cab going to Insadong to cap off our night by buying some pasalubong and warming our (yet again) almost empty and cold stomachs.

Insadong is a large shopping and food area in Seoul. Unlike Myeongdong wherein most of the shops sell high-end products and labels, Insadong is the low-key version with its charming little stores offering trinkets and authentic Korean products. And since we were on a “trip-id”, this was such a perfect place to buy stuffs to bring home.

If you still don’t know by now, here’s a little trivia: Ahne is the ultimate (unpaid) model/endorser of Starbucks. And since that is the case, we didn’t pass the chance to drop in on the one and only SB store in Seoul in which the characters of the store’s name has been translated to Hangul, the official language and form of writing of South Korea. While the temperature caused my teeth to chatter everytime I spoke and had caused all my neck muscles to overly work from uncontrollable shivering, it definitely didn’t stop Ahne from enjoying her frapped coffee. Told yah’, ultimate (unpaid) model/endorser! 

A travel isn’t complete without eating on the streets. There is something about eating on the streets that appeals too much to me. Blame it on my SILAK days when we had to go to places on a tight (Take that literally!) budget---- that we had to look for places to eat at an affordable price without forgoing quantity and quality. And what better place to look for these ultimate food bargains but on the streets! Eating on the streets can teach you a lot of things that fine dining couldn’t. It is a great place and opportunity to interact with the locals, hunt for authentic local foods (at a very affordable rate), mingle with some other travelers (Make friends, if you’re lucky!), and just be still momentarily when the whole world is in full buzz all around you. Now who couldn’t be hooked?

Look at my dopey-faced look! That only means I was too happy to gobble up what was for dinner! We had a bowl each of yummy nori-seaweed noodles, some fried eggs, and spicy rice cakes. I can live eating these kinds of food every day, swear!

An ethyl -alcohol toast for the biology majors! Yes, soju smells like ethyl alcohol and probably tastes exactly the same had we been crazy enough to taste ethanol during one of our experiments. It was one thing to drink soju on the streets of Seoul that would make you nostalgic and giddy, but it would be another thing to let me drink it just for the sake of drinking. Now I can relate to the “aaaaaahhhh” sound everytime there are soju scenes in Korean dramas. Only that, mine is coupled with an unglamorous grimace. Definitely it was the first, and the last of my soju-tasting experience. Kombe!

Here are two bubbly and pretty Korean girls whom we made friends with while eating our dinner. When they overheard our conversation and realized that we are Filipinos, they did not hesitate to talk to us, telling us that some of their friends and family members have already went to the Philippines to study. The other girl, whom Ahne and I found to be so charming, kept on saying, “I love Philippines”. 

This man, was selling ice cream on an almost uncomfortable less than 10 degree chill. Just how cool is that, huh? 

SEOULFUL Trip, Day 2: 5th Destination, Han(gang) River

I don’t have much to say about this place. It’s not because it didn’t appeal to me but because words would definitely fail me if I even start to attempt describing it.

I was smitten by this place in the various k-movies and dramas that I watched. Being on it, and just letting my senses get drowned with the sights, and the chill, and the distinct smell of the autumn air, I was head over heels in love.

Before I went to Korea, I equated the Han river with the idea of love itself. And breathing its crisp autumn air, I wasn’t wrong. An emotion of great love about everything in life---what has come and gone, and what is yet to come---surged in me upon stepping on its grounds. Oh di ba bigla akong naging philosophical? Sabi na nga ba may kakaiba talaga sa hangin ng Korea.  Ahahaha! But seriously, if it was just possible to hug a place, I would have hugged it to death.

Ahne and I chose the magic show cruise because it was the most convenient for us since we decided to eat our dinner in a different place. The ticket costs 13,000 won---that’s about 400 pesos----and it’s good for 40 minutes length of cruising the Han river.  

Of course we didn’t get to watch the magic show. We stayed on the upper deck for the whole time, and after our photo taking session, we just stayed silent for the whole duration of the trip, occasionally dropping in some comments about what interests us along the way. Now I understand why the idea of a cruise is so appealing to a lot of people---it puts you in one of those moods in which you get to slow down even the clicking of your brain and just feel, really feel. And during those rare moments, you would feel that anything is possible.

Cruise with me, baby. ;)

Look at my teleserye scenes in the Han river! Tadaaaaah!

uppermost left photo: My bicycle skill is so painfully rusty but  it would be nice to have a bicycle session along the river. Endless love soundtrack, pasok! Ahahaha.

uppermost right photo: Forgive me but this photo doesn’t qualify to the theme of this photo collage. I know, I know. Here’s my piece of advice: Don’t attempt to do this pose when there are a lot of onlookers, in the middle of a cruise and you couldn’t see a piece of land anywhere. This Is such a bad joke, such a bad joke. Tsk, tsk.

lower photo, left: What’s missing? Siyempre ang taga-tulak. For this photo, nagsariling sikap na muna ako. Ahahaha!

lower photo, right: Another “What’s missing?” question for this one. This time, you guess the answer.

SEOULFUL Trip, Day 2: 4th Destination, Myeongdong Shopping District

We were so famished from walking the entire stretch of the Gyeongbukgong and the Changdeokgung Palaces that Ahne and I didn’t have the willpower left to start looking for the restaurant where we were supposed to eat our lunch.

Come to think of it, even the locals whom we asked from didn’t have the slightest idea about its location (Or probably,  blame it to my poor-but-oh-so-trying-hard-Korean-accent). So what was the chances of finding the place, most especially to two hungry-ready-to-snarl ladies?

K-drama fans FYI: Myeongdong is the set for various Korean drama scenes including the famous kiss in the middle of the street in Princess Hours.

So, we had to resort to plan B. We limply slumped ourselves inside the taxi that we stopped and asked the driver to bring us to Myeongdong. I didn’t bother to look at the map anymore because I felt that one more look at it would lead me to vomit instantly right inside the taxi, swear! But despite my exhaustion and hunger, I kept on glancing at the taxi meter, roughly estimating the conversion of our fare every time it ticked 200 won higher. Even food deprivation couldn’t stop a budget officer from worrying about and sticking to the budget. Ahaha!

Myeongdong is a shopping district filled with stores and shops of high-end products.  It’s like a big mall on the streets. All the stores that are lining up in the area have their own distinct character----making the whole place look like Wonderland for big-time shoppers and even just to window-shoppers (like us). And since I mentioned that most of the stores sell high-end products, naturally, hanggang tingin lang kami ni Ahne! We even tried to look for the cheapest flats that we could find since Ahne was complaining about the pain on her heels due to the friction with her boots (From too much walking!).  But she ended up buying a pair of socks instead! If she bought a pair of flats, baka naglakad na lang kami papunta ng airport kinabukasan!

We looked for restaurants where we can eat our lunch but much to our dismay, all that we saw offers only hotpot. Now, that was a big problem---we were too hungry for hotpots and the two of us don’t have much skills and patience for it. After much deliberation from what was left from our food-deprived brain cells, we decided to just enter one of the Korean restaurants and leave the rest to luck and our charm! Naks!

After a looooooooong walk, I found my oasis! Ahahaha!

We begged, not asked, but begged the attendant if they can just cook the food for us. There goes the proof for our charm because she agreed. Ahahaha! Since we observed that the common feature of almost all restaurants that we passed by are octopuses, we decided to order some. Then, we happily sat on one of the low tables, typical of Korean restaurants and waited for our food.

We were so mentally prepared for this---the metal spoon, the flattened metal chopsticks, and kimchi, lots and lots of kimchi! Ahne even had her pre-Korean meal in Bangkok as part of her preparation!!!

When our food was served, imagine our amusement/horror when everything was served cooked except for the wriggling octopuses! We can even see the tentacles squeezing in and out as if still struggling for its dear life. Thinking that there was some mistake, we called the attention of the attendant, explaining to her that we wanted everything cooked, even the just-fresh-out-of-water octopuses. She said something in Korean, which of course we didn’t understand, even though part of my hearing problem is because of the full blast Korean audio every time I watch Korean dramas.  The owner of the shop probably witnessed the conversation so he went to us and explained in English that we must try eating the octopus alive because that’s part of the typical Korean cuisine.

If this was Hogwarts photo, you would see those chopped octopus actually wriggling while squeezing in and out the suckers in their tentacles. In the rightmost photo, that’s the octopus which was dipped in bulgogi soup.

Ahne, I, and the octopuses had a staring contest for several minutes. We couldn’t just leave the poor wriggling octopuses untouched because out of the foods that we ordered, it was the most expensive! Coupled with an imaginary “ting!” sound, Ahne and I exhibited our pinoy resourcefulness when we one by one soaked the sliced, wriggling octopuses in our hot bulgogi and beef soup. And voila! After several minutes, the wriggling octopuses became half-boiled octopuses----very much ready for lunch.