- Bus Limousine Services. Runs about 15,000Won per pax
- Train (All-Stop/Express)
Getting
from Incheon International Airport to Seoul station is dead simple. There's the
option of an all stop-train service which charges 5,000Won one way or the
express service which we elected for, which goes for 8,000Won a journey.
However, during time of travel, flying with Singapore Airlines gives a
discounted price of 6,800Won. Very simple and it takes about 45mins to get to
Seoul station.
Part of
the Hotel Accor Group, the place offers corporate rates! Located right at exit
4 of Dongdaemun History and Culture Park and having a 7-11 right beside, offers
extreme convenience. The bus limousine service also stop opposite to the hotel.
Hotel
Ibis is also a short 10min walk from the Dongdaemun shopping district for all
of your late night shopping needs.
There's
an array of dining facilities located a street down, fulfilling all varieties
of Korean eats from hot pots, barbecues, seafoods and of course fried chicken
and beer. In fact we probably had two meals from that alley.
ABBA Details
- Free
Wifi available for multiple devices. Wifi does gets a little slow at night
thou.
Click here for ABBA location of Gwangjang Market South Korea, Seoul, Jongno-gu, Changgyeonggung-ro, 88 廣藏市場 광장시장 The place
definitely lives up to the name. A cross junction of various food, with each
lane specializing in something. One lane having mostly dumpling and soup,
whilst another lane has a mix of seafood and animal innards. The other two
deals with hot pots and a range of preserved foods, whilst another serving up
nothing more than their iconic fried pancakes and other fried items.
There are
loads of stalls on the sides as well offering BBQ eats and more hot pot dishes.
Ordered On:
25thMarch2016
Cockles
10,000Won
BBQ Pork and Eel
from side shop 23,000Won
*The Eel the one to try! It's got a textural bite at the
center of it similar to tendon. Really good! There's a very light fishy after
taste to it was pleasant*
Mussel Soup
7,000Won
*Theres not that much flavor to the mussels themselves, but
the broth is superb. Great flavor, relatively light and perfect on a cold day*
SmallRaw Crab Free Sampling
*There are two varieties. The small cooked ones which are
great to have. Sweet and crunchy.For
the more adventurous, they have the raw ones to try. You have them whole but
you don't really eat the shell, just squeeze the good stuff out.*
Large Blue
Swimmer Raw Crab 13,000Won
*Drowned in soy sauce, garlic and chillies, the raw crab is
'cooked'. The meat taste sweet and you pretty much suck the meat out from its
shell. Warning for the uninitiated or those with food allergies. Like Thai raw
prawn salad, some may have a reaction to this style of cuisine*
White Sweet
something 3,000Won
*Its like a rice cake exterior. Chewy and stretchy, filled
with a sweet white bean interior. Didn't finish it thou. The brown one is the
savory version*
Cup of fruit as
is or blended as a drink 5,000Won each
Click here for Cheonggyecheon river An off
the beaten track attraction, the Cheonggyecheon river has been revitalized and
beautified to offer an escape away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The
stepping stone offer an alternative to crossing the river. Looks pretty-ish,
but that's about it. There are some large fishes swimming in the stream thou. Click here for Cheonggyecheon river
Dogmyo Flea
Market
(Sells antiques
surrounding the temple)
Another
one of those off the beaten track attractions. Specializing largely in
antiques, I'd say this place is more of a thieves markets. Old junk that's on
sale for the right price and closes shop at about 6pm.
Dongdaemun
(Fashion shopping district till late)
Click here for ABBA location of Dongdaemun Market, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea I can now
see the attraction for this place. Buildings and buildings of shopping fashion
accessories, clothing and much more. Tons of shopping options from wholesale
dailies, to high end fashion. There's just too much and so much to choose from.
Prices at a glance are very reasonable and can be bargained.
Up to 8%
tax back are offered at some of the malls that makes tax refunds much easier.
Passport and a credit card are needed for the processing.
The
entrance to the secret gardens is allowable only through ticketed guided tour.
Don't expect a botanic gardens sort of showing of flowers but rather enjoy the
place as it would have been during its era.
The secret gardens as the grounds
for the king or prince to enjoy on his off days or run special events. Perhaps
visiting in the peaks of other season would be better as reflected by the tour
guide cue cards of some amazing shots of the place during the seasons. I
wouldn't mind a revisit during a change of season. Click here for ABBA location of South Korea, 서울특별시 종로구 율곡로 99 (권농동) Changdeokgung Palace and Huwon
Bukchon Hanok
Village
(Traditional
Korean homes located beside Changdeokgung Palace)
I thought
the whole uphill street was lined with traditional Korean homes, but it turns
out, as quite a pleasant surprise, to be more of a hipster stretch, selling
cool stuff and trendy cafes. The traditional homes are still there tucked
around the corner and up the side alleys.
Residents
still reside within the traditional compounds but some have had the homes
retrofitted to have them rented out to tourist. It's sad to see that due to the
ugly side of tourism, there's been a rising problem of littering and noise at
Bukchon Village, affecting the local residence. Click here for ABBA location of Bukchon Hanok Village, Gye-dong, Seoul, South Korea
The entire
street is lined with various trinkets and supposedly famous (cause of the loads
of pictures which line the shop) street eats. Checkout the individual shopping
malls which offer a great range of products and on the weekends home crafted
items for sale. It's quite interesting to visit and do some souvenir shopping.
Variety is not a problem.
As said
in the one liner tag line, that pretty much sums up Itaewon. Bought a large
foldable bag for 15,000Won. I was curious about the metal embroidery services
they had but those too were closed on Sunday's. Click here for Bag Buying ABBA joint.
It's
really more of a place to visit in the night for an international selection of
eats.
The
antique stalls were quite interesting but it was unfortunate most of those
stalls were closed on Sundays. The few that were open, the items for sale
weren't cheap. A magnifying glass we saw going for 150,000Won.
ABBATip:
Visit
after 11am when most of the shops both dining and retail open.
Click here for ABBA location of museum near War Memorial of Korea, Seoul, South Korea Definitely
for war historical buffs. There are sufficient static displays both on the
outside and inside of the place with loads of plaques giving a good write up.
The tour is definitely worth going as it tells the story of how much South
Korea had loss and hard they had to fight back in order to hold onto its
democracy.
The
displays on the inside were really good too, with some 4D shows as well.
However, the real restriction was that each show was limited to 15pax, with
each show lasting 7mins and spaced 30mins intervals apart. You can imagine the
long queue.
There are
no trash bins on site. All trash needs to be bagged and taken back with you to
dispose of properly.
The way
the place is setup, it's like the base camp of mount everest. The place has got
some serious gear being sold from major brands. They've got loads of eats
there, for your 'last meal' or available for packeting away to enjoy as a
picnic whilst on hike.
Not sure
where to walk from the station? Just follow the large crowds of aged over 50,
seasoned hikers. Watch as they put you to shame when they overtakes and conquer
you along the hiking.
The
trails aren't that hard, and relatively clear and easy stepping stones.
Signages are plenty and easy to follow with distances and difficulty level
clearly illustrated.
The
highlighted track brings you to the very peak, Jaunbong Peak (740m) and it's
reported to be 3 hour round journey to complete. One can stop at other train
stops and pick another entry way to try other hiking tracks and scenery. The
place, like Changdeokgung's secret gardens would be completely different and a
different enjoyable experience in other seasons. Click here for ABBA location of Bukhansan National Park, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Namdaemun Market
(Know for being
Seoul's largest and oldest street Market)
An
assault on the senses for sure. Loads of shopping on all sides. Accessories
galore, military wear, clothes, shoes, kitchen wear. You name it, they've
probably got it.
The
shopping malls are really impressive. Being able to squeeze so much in the
space, with each level selling different items. Some of the malls are connected
via bridges, keeping you above the chaos below, but keeping you within the
mayhem of the malls. So much chaos to sift through.
(Largest
wholesale market that supplies to many restaurant in Seoul)
Huge
structures that sell the freshest produce. The seafood section. The place to
see, I'd say is setup very similar to Noryangjin Market. Fresh foods maybe
purchased and can be cooked onsite at a fee. Some of the stalls have
arrangements with diners. They give a phone call to have the Restaurant staff
come down to fetch you to their restaurants.
Ordered On:
29thMarch2016
Fresh Eel about 600g (20,000Won)
1kg Scallops (15,000Won)
2 Medium-Small Abalone (10,000Won)
Paid 16,000Won for cooking services
Cooking fees payment guide
Per individual sit down fee is 2000Won/pax
Cooking Fees
Boil 5,000Won/kg
BBQ 7,000Won
Sukiyaki 12,000Won
Don't
expect elaborate cooking here but rather homestyle simple cooking at these
establishments and enjoy the freshness of the seafood. The Eel was BBQ nicely
and was fantastic with a bowl of rice. Click here for ABBA location of Garak Market
Common Ground
Click here for ABBA location of Common Ground Common
Ground was another one of those of the grid attractions. It has a unique
concept but the products it housed didn't quite match up. One could probably
get the same items at Dongdaemun.
However,
it's very trendy offering great photo ops. It is a cool place to grab trendy
tastes meals on the upper decks or at the various food trucks located on the
ground floor. I had the grilled cheese which was simple and fantastic on the
roof top.
It may
mot be worth to travel all the way out to visit the place, but it's worth while
for a meal if along the way to/from Garack Market or Lotte World.
