[Travelogue] South Korea: Seoul, Day 9 | Muksi Myeongdong (Mukshidonna), Namsan Tower, Namdaemun, and Leaving Seoul
By Lasmarya Hadi Purwanto - September 25, 2017
30th March 2017 - Final Day
Our flight back to Singapore departed on 00:35 Seoul time, which left us full daytime to enjoy Seoul for one last time.
There's another must-visit site when you are in Seoul, besides Nami Island, which will justify that you have officially visited Seoul, and we definitely needed to tick that off our "to-go" list before we boarded the plane leaving Seoul. Could you guess what it is? XD
I'm pretty sure you're smirking right now, as you won't need to put any extra effort to think about the answer. It's really simple, as simple as scrolling down the blog entry. It doesn't even burn any calories. Hahaha
So, let's start our final day!
Well, again, we started the day quite late, almost noon, ehmm, we had other reasons (read:excuses) for that actually. First, we had to do the packing the night before, and since we went nuts shopping like there's no tomorrow that night, (hell, yeah, obviously, there's no tomorrow that we'd get to spend in Lotte Mart, we're going home the next day!!). It's the only time we got to spend our last remaining Korean Won in the wallet, (with last day's budget put aside), and since nothing's holding us anymore, (we went there on day 6, but we're holding ourselves so much, to avoid being broke on other days, but day 8? No more saving up for another day, the trip was reaching the end, baby! Shop till drop!), we kinda lost our mind there. XD Who wouldn't? With all the snacks being stacked so temptingly before your eyes, attracting you with the enticing, mouth-watering packaging, and calling you with the sweet sweet whistle, asking you to approach them, take them and put them in your trolley? (Wait! Was I hallucinating? Was it only me? Or is it happening to all of you when you're in the middle of the snack heaven?) Whatever the answer is, I don't really bother, haha, I guess that's what makes me the "silly" one here, and I'm totally satisfied that I spent most of my money on snacks, (yes, another "gluttony" here), it's a really pleasant guilty pleasure. #dietwhatdiet #dietcanwait #snackscantwait
Ah, here I am, blabbering so much about snacks (we should talk much more about the joy (read: snacks) in life, rather than long rants of negativity right? *another excuse alert!)
Back to the topic, we shopped a lot and it left us with a huge pile of things to pack, which made us spend hours figuring out how to fit the result of our shopping frenzy in our luggage. Squeezing here and there, vacuuming the air out of the vacuum bag filled with our clothes (the vacuum bag is another great invention of the century!), making more spaces, making sure nothing got left behind, and sitting on top of the suitcase to zip it. Sure need much effort for packing! Phew! And that's how we slept late that night.
Second, since our flight was late at night, and we had to check out from our airbnb before noon, so we planned to bring all our luggage and put them in the lockers in Seoul Station, go out for the day, then when the time comes, we head back to the station, take our luggage out, ride the subway to Incheon Airport, and board the flight. That's the initial plan. But there's no fun without any glitch on the trip, yes? Turned out, things didn't happen the way we wanted it to.
We arrived at Seoul Station as planned at around 10 something, looking for vacant self-serve lockers on the ground floor, but we were quite unlucky, there's only few spots left, especially the large size ones that could fit our big luggage. Stella first tried to rent a large size locker through the machine there, (which worked like a vending machine, you insert money in, tap tap tap and you're good to go) but it somehow didn't work well, it opened but when we tried to lock it, it didn't work. We tried it several times, but it just wouldn't work. Fiona tried renting another one, this time, it's the size that mattered. It couldn't fit the luggage. Having spent so much time and frustrated, Stella searched through the internet to find alternative, and found out that there's a luggage storage and delivery service in Seoul Station called Safex. It can be found in Incheon Airport, Seoul Station and Hongik University Station, and it even has the service for picking up your luggage from the hotel and deliver to Incheon Airport. Check the link for more info, the website has everything you need, including the way to find them, which makes it a lot easier for the desperate us to locate them.
Without further ado, we chose the delivery service, no more fuss. It's really convenient, no more dealing with lockers. All we needed to do was to pick the luggage in the airport!
While browsing for Safex, I found another luggage storage and delivery service available in Seoul Station, namely Premium Travel Center, which is also available in Myeongdong, instead of Hongdae.
I'm pretty sure you're smirking right now, as you won't need to put any extra effort to think about the answer. It's really simple, as simple as scrolling down the blog entry. It doesn't even burn any calories. Hahaha
So, let's start our final day!
Well, again, we started the day quite late, almost noon, ehmm, we had other reasons (read:excuses) for that actually. First, we had to do the packing the night before, and since we went nuts shopping like there's no tomorrow that night, (hell, yeah, obviously, there's no tomorrow that we'd get to spend in Lotte Mart, we're going home the next day!!). It's the only time we got to spend our last remaining Korean Won in the wallet, (with last day's budget put aside), and since nothing's holding us anymore, (we went there on day 6, but we're holding ourselves so much, to avoid being broke on other days, but day 8? No more saving up for another day, the trip was reaching the end, baby! Shop till drop!), we kinda lost our mind there. XD Who wouldn't? With all the snacks being stacked so temptingly before your eyes, attracting you with the enticing, mouth-watering packaging, and calling you with the sweet sweet whistle, asking you to approach them, take them and put them in your trolley? (Wait! Was I hallucinating? Was it only me? Or is it happening to all of you when you're in the middle of the snack heaven?) Whatever the answer is, I don't really bother, haha, I guess that's what makes me the "silly" one here, and I'm totally satisfied that I spent most of my money on snacks, (yes, another "gluttony" here), it's a really pleasant guilty pleasure. #dietwhatdiet #dietcanwait #snackscantwait
Ah, here I am, blabbering so much about snacks (we should talk much more about the joy (read: snacks) in life, rather than long rants of negativity right? *another excuse alert!)
Back to the topic, we shopped a lot and it left us with a huge pile of things to pack, which made us spend hours figuring out how to fit the result of our shopping frenzy in our luggage. Squeezing here and there, vacuuming the air out of the vacuum bag filled with our clothes (the vacuum bag is another great invention of the century!), making more spaces, making sure nothing got left behind, and sitting on top of the suitcase to zip it. Sure need much effort for packing! Phew! And that's how we slept late that night.
Second, since our flight was late at night, and we had to check out from our airbnb before noon, so we planned to bring all our luggage and put them in the lockers in Seoul Station, go out for the day, then when the time comes, we head back to the station, take our luggage out, ride the subway to Incheon Airport, and board the flight. That's the initial plan. But there's no fun without any glitch on the trip, yes? Turned out, things didn't happen the way we wanted it to.
We arrived at Seoul Station as planned at around 10 something, looking for vacant self-serve lockers on the ground floor, but we were quite unlucky, there's only few spots left, especially the large size ones that could fit our big luggage. Stella first tried to rent a large size locker through the machine there, (which worked like a vending machine, you insert money in, tap tap tap and you're good to go) but it somehow didn't work well, it opened but when we tried to lock it, it didn't work. We tried it several times, but it just wouldn't work. Fiona tried renting another one, this time, it's the size that mattered. It couldn't fit the luggage. Having spent so much time and frustrated, Stella searched through the internet to find alternative, and found out that there's a luggage storage and delivery service in Seoul Station called Safex. It can be found in Incheon Airport, Seoul Station and Hongik University Station, and it even has the service for picking up your luggage from the hotel and deliver to Incheon Airport. Check the link for more info, the website has everything you need, including the way to find them, which makes it a lot easier for the desperate us to locate them.
Without further ado, we chose the delivery service, no more fuss. It's really convenient, no more dealing with lockers. All we needed to do was to pick the luggage in the airport!
While browsing for Safex, I found another luggage storage and delivery service available in Seoul Station, namely Premium Travel Center, which is also available in Myeongdong, instead of Hongdae.
Then, after we cleared all the headaches off our mind, we set out for some lunch in Myeongdong, which happened to be around the area of the "must-visit" place we're heading to later that day.
and based on the popular reviews in the internet, we set our feet in this famous Ddeokbokki house in Myeongdong, which goes by the name Muksi Myeongdong, or some call it as Muksi-donna.
12, Myeongdong 3-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul 04534, South Korea
+82 2-754-0405
It is located on the second floor of a building, so try to look for the moving billboard like the one down here to make sure you find the right one.
And I just found out that they have opened their first franchise outlet in Singapore!
Mukshidonna Singapore
Market Square @ Downtown East 1 Pasir Ris Close, E!Avenue #02-324 Singapore 519599
Tel: +65 63868562
Opening Hours: 11:30 am – 10:00pm Daily
We ordered their "Ddeokbokki Ramyeon", KRW 36,000 for 4 people, and it lives its name!
The gravy was so rich of flavor, the ddeokbokki's texture was perfect, the odeng or fishcake definitely the best, chewy and soft, and really best eaten while sharing with others, such a heart-warming meal of an authentic Korean cuisine before we said goodbye.
We can also ask the restaurant to use the leftover gravy to make an additional fried rice dish, and it tasted just as good. It makes me wonder sometimes how Korean can always mix rice with any sauce, either ramyeon gravy, or chicken galbi sauce/seasonings like the one in Yoogane, and make it tastes so goooddd! Yuuummm!
Hitting the road in Myeongdong after our tummy's filled, we walked our way to the "place".
Did you get it right?
I bet you scrolled down and cheated, right? Hahaha
No offense, you're free to do so! :P
The answer is : *drumroll, please*
NAMSAN SEOUL TOWER
*drumroll starts fading
*followed by applauding
*well, okay, my imagination has started consuming me XD XD
There are a lot of ways to reach the tower:
You can walk up, go by bus, by cable car, or by car.
Find all the info in details in its website, click here.
Our choice?
Walking up is definitely a big NO.
Bus service is really confusing in Seoul, so NO.
We don't have a car, and not planning to rent one too, so another NO.
And so, the choice went to cable car.
*drumroll again *okay, okay, I'll stop
To take the cable car from Myeongdong Subway Station, you need to walk from exit 5 towards Hoehyeon Intersection and turn left. After that, go straight for about 300-400 meters, and you'll spot the Namsan Outdoor Escalator that will take you to the cable car platform, buy the ticket and ride the cable car to the Namsan Seoul Tower.
All the ticket prices and operational hours are listed in the website.
There's also alternative ways to reach the tower from Myeongdong Subway Station in this blog :
From Myeongdong Subway Station to Namsan Tower / Namsan Park / N Seoul Tower
(based on this blog, we followed way no 3)
but it is an old blog entry, so better check for outdated information.
(The plate reads Namsan Oreumi, which means Namsan Elevator,
if you see this, you're heading the right way!)
ⒸFiona Kasim
(spot me right there holding the camera? I was taking the photo down here⇓)
(spot me right there holding the camera? I was taking the photo down here⇓)
#thestorybehind
So, when we arrived, we saw this tree with the flowers blooming beautifully, (something we had been seeking quite frantically! If you've been reading the travel diaries from the first day, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about :P, if you don't know a thing, well, you might want to check them all, it won't hurt, I promise :P) and we're so ecstatic, you can see our reactions in the bloopers part in the video at the end of the post, we wanted to take pictures there too, but while we're waiting for them (the two girls in the photo) to finish taking the pictures, the elevator was coming down too, and when it stopped, they were still there, so we made a promise to ourselves that we gonna have the pictures taken when we were on our way back.
So, we got into the elevator, and here were the views from the tinted glass. Nope, not filter.
Buying the ticket at the platform↓
ⒸFiona Kasim
Cable car (round trip KRW 8,500/adult, KRW 6,000 for one way)
Namsan Tower, we're coming!
ⒸFiona Kasim
I really like these two photos below, I can't help posting it!
in frame: Erlyna Koesman
by: Erlyna
another Erlyna in frame↑
↑in frame: Fiona Kasim
↑our "Guide Cetar" : Stella Jocelyn
all three pics below credit to Erlyna <3
(I'm not missing one leg, guys, don't worry! wkwk)
ⒸFiona Kasim
ⒸFiona Kasim
(Have to borrow this pic from Fiona, since it's looking so good!)
Warning for the photos below, I can't decide which one to post, so I just upload all, please don't be sick of my face, okay? XD
by: Stella Jocelyn
(don't throw up on this one ↑)
by: Fiona Kasim
ⒸFiona's
ⒸFiona Kasim
Going up to the observatory deck ↑ (KRW 10,000 / adult)
The escalator only takes 25 seconds to reach the deck!
ⒸFiona Kasim
another not-ready pose wkwk
When we finished playing around in Namsan Tower, we realized that we had spent hours there (as always, right? I guess that's the beauty of travelling? Indulging ourselves too much? Haha), and we didn't have much time left to go to the airport, and there're two different places that we still wanted to go. So, we parted ways, Stella and Erlyna went back to Myeongdong to look for the make-up or skincare things they needed to buy, while Fiona and I went to Namdaemun Market to buy some souvenirs; and we'd see each other again in the airport.
You're asking about the promise that we had before? To take pictures under the blooming tree? NO, we ain't got time for that. T.T
Namdaemun Market is actually not far from Namsan Tower, it is within reach by walking, as you can see from the picture below, it's written down that we can reach the market by 23-minute walk.
Based on the information from the internet, we had to walk to Hoehyeon Subway Station (subway line 4), walked out through exit 5, and walked another three minutes from Sungnyemun Five-way Crossing towards Hoehyeon Intersection.
BUT, the guide-less and clueless us, (who were still crazy enough daring ourselves to go separate ways, although we doubted ourselves too), spent quite some time too looking for the market. We found the Hoehyeon Station, and came out through the correct exit, but we just couldn't find the Namdaemun Market building like the one ever described to us. We tried to ask around, and the person we ask said,"This whole area is Namdaemun." We could only look at each other and laughed.
Have I told you about the unique wall-arts in every subway station in Seoul? This one below, if my memory is right, belongs to the Hoehyeon station.
And, lucky for us, we found another tree with blooming pink flowers while we're in the middle of frustration looking for the market, though it's not cherry blossom, we're still very excited! Of course, stopped by to snap some pictures, before we got back to our "lost in Seoul" reality. It's okay, the market can wait, they were not going to move while we're having fun *another excuse alert :P
by: Fiona
(had to borrow another great photo by Fiona, proud to have such a talented friend! :D)
Finally, eventually,
after some more walking, we made the right turn thanks to Waze or Google Map, and here we were!
*another drumroll
Here's a tips that I got from my brother who had visited Seoul two years before me:
"Buy your souvenirs in Namdaemun, not Dongdaemun!"
From what I see, Namdaemun is like the more traditional, wholesale, local-targeted version of Dongdaemun, while Dongdaemun is more to the modern, retail, youngster & tourist-targeted kinda market, which is why the price in Dongdaemun seems to be higher than Namdaemun.
The reason why my brother gave a tips like that, is because when we're buying souvenirs, we tend to buy them in bulk, which made them a lot cheaper (we can bargain, too!) if we purchase it in wholesale market like Namdaemun, so I can't really say which one you should go to, it really depends on what and how much you're planning to buy. If you're like us, then maybe Namdaemun can be a good choice.
To give you more reference, I looked up some links to help you made better decision:
You know what?
After we had done shopping, we were smiling brightly, thinking that we had managed to accomplish some kind of mission ourselves, though it's only a simple thing as looking for some market and buying souvenirs, but we were so proud of ourselves. We thought we would be fine on our way back.
BUT, it didn't end there.
Nope, not even a chance.
We, once again, lost in Seoul.
We rode subway back from Hoehyeon station to Seoul station, and we're stuck there. We didn't know how to reach Incheon Airport from there. *sigh
We took the brochure with the map in it, squeezing our brains tracking the subway that would bring us to the airport, but the silly me could only find a very long route, with more than 20 stops, and three times transfer. I started panicking, I was like,"We won't make it on time!" I did remember that there's another subway line that we took on the day we arrived in Incheon Airport, heading to Hongdae Station, and it's not as complicated as this one. We didn't even need to transfer. We tried contacting Stella, but the reception was not that good, and we couldn't hear her well. We also tried asking around, asked one very kind and friendly Korean woman sitting there, she helped us search through her phone, through a Korean app, trying to look for the shortest route for us, and she even went to the information desk to ask. But the result was just the same. She felt really bad to us because she couldn't help much. She's really nice. We couldn't thank her enough.
We were almost desperate, then I decided to go to the information desk myself, trying our luck for one more time, and ask the way to Incheon Airport. The information told me, "There's an All-stop train that ends in Incheon Airport, you can go inside the platform there (she pointed at the gate with the light blue sign on it with the "All-Stop Train" printed clearly), follow the sign, go down several levels, and you'll find the subway. It's only 11 stops away, and no transfer."
I was relieved. Yes, that's the one that we took. It's the All-Stop Train 공항철도 / 일반열차 or in Korean, they call it "Airport Train" or "Airport Railway Track", it costs more than the usual subway ride, KRW 4,150 from Seoul Station (the start of the line) to Incheon Airport (the end of the line). That's what Stella had been trying to tell us too, through the phone call.
Oh my God, I was so so STUPID. We passed through the same gate that morning, when we looked for the luggage delivery service. How could I not think of it? *hit my forehead*
Oh my God, I was so so STUPID. We passed through the same gate that morning, when we looked for the luggage delivery service. How could I not think of it? *hit my forehead*
Look for this kind of sign, guys!
This was the look of our faces when we finally rode on the "All-Stop Train", tired but relieved *phew
When we got down at Incheon Airport, Stella and Erlyna were waiting anxiously for us with our luggage (they arrived first and picked up the luggage to save time), and we're greeted with this photo ↓ Kyaaaa, she got her photo taken under that tree in Namsan, so luckyy! O.O
So, we spent the rest of the night in the airport, checking in, claiming tax refund, *psst the guy working in the tax refund was a young Korean man, who is fluent in English and also quite good-looking *muahaha, don't bother, I was tired from the shock and hungry because we didn't have time to buy anything to eat, so he looked attractive, (he probably won't look that appealing if there's food around there, wkwk), and head to our gate's waiting area.
The shocking thing is, for a big airport like Incheon, most of the stores are not open for 24 hours, including Starbucks , some restaurants and the duty free shops. We were starving at around 11 at night waiting for our flight, and we hardly find any food outlets that were still open. We had to walk quite far or even go to different floor and thank God, we found Lotteria. \^o^/
Long live, Lotteria!
This time trying their Shrimp Burger, for KRW 3,300/3,400. 
Quite okay, but the bulgogi one tastes better!
After the almost 6-hour flight, we made it to Singapore at 6.05 in the morning.
Flight back to Medan would be at 7 p.m., so we went strolling around Singapore. :)
by: Fiona
to MBS
and ION Orchard
by: Fiona Kasim
Tried the famous Bake Cheese Tart...
lunch at the Food Opera...
and ended with (not) One Dollar (anymore) Ice-Cream as dessert.
ⒸFiona Kasim
ⒸFiona Kasim
ⒸFiona Kasim
ⒸFiona Kasim
Waving goodbye to Singapore's dusk, home we go!
Phew, what a long post!
Thank you for staying with me till the end of this blog entry!
Thank you too for accompanying me from the first day travel diary till the final day!
I thought I would finish this post within hours, in fact, I spent my whole Sunday, and now Monday morning, haha to complete this travel journal! Wuihh, when do I become so talkative? Why do I suddenly have so much things to talk about?
Thank you for setting aside some of your precious time to read my ridiculously lengthy post!
South Korea has been in one of my travel bucket list since I knew K-pop, and I must say, I enjoy this trip so much, it lives up to the expectation. I love exploring the cities, it has so many things to offer, to see, to savour, to experience, and it's really convenient for tourists, not to mention the shopping heaven! Hahaha I'm looking forward to coming back here and trying out so many other things that I hadn't had the chance too, or maybe I should try coming in another season? Hmm. Interesting.
After all, I sincerely want to thank my great companions for this whole trip:
Stella Jocelyn - for being the "cetar" guide, who created the itinerary with great planning, looked for all the important info, who took these three "know-nothing" girls to the cool places that you have visited before, introduced us to great Korean food, and even patiently waited for us taking pictures and videos while losing track of time, on top of that, she managed to do all of those without scolding us. Haha
Erlyna Koesman - our beloved hair-stylist, who willingly styled our hair to perfect curl, like we just came out from a beauty salon, and made all of us looking perfect in photos with our hair on point, haha, and someone who in fact has hidden talent in taking pictures with great angle, thanks to you we had so many photos to post in the instagram.
Fiona Kasim - maybe, as the visual of our group, cieee, haha,; my "lost-in-Seoul" partner, with whom even in the "lost" condition, we both still somehow enjoyed ourselves, who trusted me during that short period of time, haha; and especially, as my photographer/videographer partner-in-crime, and for letting me borrow a lot of your photos and videos.
Huge huge THANK YOU girls!
I know I might not be the best person to travel with, I can get annoying sometimes, can be impulsive and also demanding at times, thank you so much for bearing with me. I'm really glad I had a chance travelling with you guys, it's really fun, and it's been nice knowing you all a lot better thru travelling :)
Should we plan another girl-trip? :E
Fin
xoxo
