Self discover Seoul over 4N5D!

We walked on day II all the way to Lotte Mall next to Avenue L and Young Plaza in Myeongdong. We enjoyed the walk

After a good night's sleep in our room 405, at the Staz I in Myeongdong, we decided to complete out Dzuhr prayers first before leaving for our first destination that Tuesday morning. We ate a light meal in our twin bedded and quite spacious room. Then we washed our utensils away in its comfy bathroom and complete with bidet toilet before making our way out to see Seoul that lovely morning.
We got down to the lobby of the hotel and got directions from the receptionists. They were helpful and they could speak English.  Of course we greeted them generously with 'Anyeong Haseyo' and ended all conversations with 'Kamsah Hamneda.'

We walked to the Lotte Mall area. It was a nice walk from our hotel, maybe for about a short 10 minutes and the weather was so kind to enable our walk to be tremendously comfortable.
We did some window shopping at the Lotte malls.  They were very modern and indeed the Made-in Korea goods were well stitched and the price tags on them were accordingly placed; based on their quality and material.
In addition to that we took loads of photographs. There were many scenic photographs to capture and keep as remembrance of this first trip to Seoul.

There was time to appreciate parks and sculptures on the way as well

A view on a street in Myeongdong, Seoul.  It was a good day to walk.

We walked without any worry of time as we had all the time we would need to walk around Seoul, as it was a free and easy holiday for my 15 year old daughter and myself.

We stopped to buy whatever attracted us and whenever necessary we stopped to ask for directions. We bought cute socks at W1,000 each (approximately USD1) in the underground opposite the Lotte Youth Plaza.

From there we walked to the Namdemun Market. Before reaching the infamous marketplace, we passed by the Chinese Embassy and the 4N5 shopping complex. Again we took photographs.
The market was not only filled with stalls outside buildings of different products eg handbags, brooches and clothes, but there were so many people; both pedlars and shoppers

(Left Pix)  The scenery was superb.  There was a palace gate near the Namdaemun market.
(Right Oix) Later we walked on to a nearby university after the market and a historical palace gate garderns,; the Yonsei University located not far and across the Seoul Station. There are many universities in and around Seoul. we were motivated to take many photographs all the way

    

This is another mall near Seoul Station. Its Christmas decor were already set up. Road signs and location directions are easily detected near parks and markets as well as at road junctions to ease tourists looking for places to visit

Before nightfall, which was pretty early in Seoul, we walked to the Seoul Station to walk in the Lotte Mart as my daughter was looking for KPop albums. We found them and they were priced quite reasonably and affordable indeed. We learned that plastic and paper bags were charged a nominal fee but boxes were free. So we sat to observe what shoppers did in Seoul and we joined them; we loaded all our stuff collected from mid-day till evening into a box before taking a public transport back to the hotel.  Our day II was well filled and enjoyable indeed. We went back by cab to the hotel and rested well; packing all our collected goodies after self-cooked dinner in the room, before turning in for the night. We got ourselves ready for day III; another discovery adventure in South Korea.

Travelling to Seoul via books and eKnowledge obtained - I

Incheon Airport, South Korea is always busy with lots of flights in and out

The planning took a couple of months, not because it was difficult to finalise the tentative plans but more because of the uncertainties of the most perfect choices to make; they included the airline to choose to fly out on, the exact dates, the hotel, the budget needed and whether a travel agent for ground arrangements was necessary.

The view from our room window: The Namsan Tower, Seoul. A beautiful sight indeed

Finally, two weeks before flying out, the tickets were bought. A day later the hotels were finalised after browsing through so many websites including that of Air Asia, Booking.com and Agoda, just to name a few.

Then came the currency exchange matters...how much to bring if not on a booked package? Well it all depended on where we were going to visit and the transportation costs involved.  However, not many knew the actual costs involved if we were to travel by train or taxi to the places my 15 year old teenage daughter had her head and heart sat on visiting, especially when we would be visiting on our own, at our own pleasure and leisure.

Next came the 'what-to-bring' and 'what-to-wear' during the trip. Was a 'beanie' hat necessary? Should we be wearing sneakers or just flat shoes? What about an umbrella to give shelter from the sun and rain, or a 'poncho' would be better? All that needed to be researched on.

How?  Well by asking friends, referring to eBooks and purchasing them as well as getting some ex-students who used to study in Korea to give their tips; after all most of them would have recorded their experiences in some form of writings. Well depending on guidebooks as well as these valuable and interestingly shared experiences, getting around Seoul would not be too difficult and indeed a pleasant moment to experiment out with the earlier obtained guides.

So alas, what did we decide on? Air Asia X flights complete with meals and checked in baggage paid for, both ways to and fro. Less hassles and headaches.  All in for tickets bought almost two weeks before the trip, the price for tickets were RM1,350 per pax. Quite high comparing it to someone who had bought tickets about eight months earlier; they paid RM800+ per pax.

Hotels searched on saw a three star hotel at Myeongdong picked out as the place to spend out four nights. The Staz I Myeongdong had a clean room, quite spacious for prayers (we are Muslims) and the bathroom was up to our expectations.

From the airport to the hotel, we took the airport bus straight to an airport bus stop near Euljiro 2.  The Staz I was at Euljiro 3. We had to pull our luggages to the hotel. It was not too far and bearable.

The costs? Well it was priced at 14,000 Korean Won per passenger on this comfortable airport bus ride which lasted for close to 120 minutes. The roads were a little busy as it was the Monday evening, after work congestion we had to sit in upon arriving at the airport around 4 pm that first day of the week.

The good thing was we had a bun each and we shared a cold chocolate drink at the airport before taking the bus. We also bought a T Money card from a convenience store for 2,500 Korean Won.(10,000 Korean Won is equivalent to almost RM40.00 or USD10.00)

What did we have in our bags? Some may want to know. We had a suitcase and a hand luggage each. We walked about 200 metres to our hotel and checked in.  The first day experience was an interesting one. 

Some good guides to use as guidelines

Upon checking in at the hotel, we started to freshen up and unpack the  necessary.  We needed our coats as the weather was quite cold and windy. Upon checking out packed stuff, we had some 3-in-1 beverage sachets, packet noodles, 'serunding' and some tid-bits which we knew would come in handy, to avoid consuming non-halal food stuff.

We then embarked on our first journey in Seoul. Where to first? The time was almost 8 pm. It was already nightfall. We decided to try out the train service in Seoul and we walked to the nearest train station which was the Euljiro-Sam (3) Ga. We then took the subway to Seoul Station from the Green Circle line to the Blue line. Before getting past the gates of the subway, we headed for the ticket machines to top our T Money cards with credit.  We started with 10,000 Won.

We then looked at the metro train map and charted our way to the Lotte Mall at Seoul Station to enjoy whatever we can see and enjoy first.

It sure was an interesting ride although we had to ask many people of the right directions; our first and most carefully decided upon walk and ride around Seoul for the first time.