Travel Blog: South Korea Trip 2014 Day 5, 韩国之旅第五天, 13 Feb 14

South Korea Trip Day 5: 13 February 2014, Thursday - Two Theme Parks!
韩国之旅第五天：2月13日2014年, 星期四 - 两个主题乐园!

Attractions for the day:
Everland 爱宝乐园 [Google Maps Link]
Lotte World 乐天世界 [Google Maps Link]

Accommodation for the day:
Koreana Hotel 韩国志酒店 [Google Maps Link]

We gathered at the hotel lobby where our guide would lead us to breakfast early in the morning. Took the chance to take a few pictures of the hotel lobby area and the reception of Dragon Valley Hotel.

We were then brought to one of the ballrooms in the hotel by our tour guide, where breakfast was prepared in the form of buffet over some long tables. There was quite a variety to choose from, like pastries, bread, salad, eggs, ham, sausages, cereals, porridge, rice etc.

The reception of Dragon Valley Hotel.

A cafe at the hotel lobby.

This shows the scenery of Yong Pyong in all four seasons.

 Pastries and bread.

Salad for the health conscious.

Scrambled eggs and sausages never go wrong.

Some fried finger food and boiled eggs.

After breakfast, we took a stroll out in the open. It was freezing but it was also the last chance to immerse ourselves in the snowy atmosphere of Korea. When will we ever see snow again?

Who made those footprints?

Our last chance for a picture with the beautiful snow.

Our next stop was...Everland!

Find out about our experience in Everland.

After the excitement at Everland, it was of course time to treat our empty stomachs to the awesome food of Korea! Our tour guide suggested that we top up our lunch to some BBQ beef lunch. It was KRW 20,000 per person. We had a choice not to top up, but would have to settle lunch ourselves, but at the same time could spend more time in Everland. Dear and I decided to top up our lunch since we did not intend to stay on at Everland. Hence our tour guide picked us up and the coach ferried the group of us who decided to go for the BBQ beef lunch to the restaurant.

By this time, we were all quite tired and famished from all the walking in Everland. Adding that to the aroma of BBQ beef certainly made the meal all the more enjoyable. The huge chunks of beef was cut up by Andy, our tour guide, and the young photographer, who acted as a helper throughout the trip. All we did was to relax in our seats and wait for the pieces of succulent beef to be cooked. Another awesome meal. Quite worth the top up, I'd say.

Can you finish all these?

Lots of side dishes to complement the meat.

Don't you wish you could gobble all these up right now?

Next up, we were brought to a place for some kimchi-making! Yes I love kimchi, and it was a very nice experience to be able to learn how to do it. It was like a small classroom, where the ingredients were prepared for us, all laid out on tables. We were given aprons and plastic gloves. Then the teacher, who conducted the class in Mandarin, taught us how to make kimchi. Making kimchi seems pretty easy, since it only involves having the right ingredients, which is the chili paste, and smearing the the paste onto the veggies on both sides of the leaves.

At the end of the class, what else would you expect but the teacher making some sales pitch to make us buy some local kimchi products? Hardly anyone bought anything, however.

All you need to make mouth-watering kimchi.

Andy also giving some tips on kimchi-making.

Our trainer, a Korean who speaks fluent Mandarin.

My masterpiece.

No...Can't eat them. The kimchi made by us would be sent to children's home or some old folks' home.

We were treated to some exotic kimchis.

The trainer is playing Indian Poker with kimchi.

Round the corner, was a place for some Hanbok photo shoot. Hanbok literally means Korean clothing. We all grabbed some hanbok and took some pictures with the various Korean backdrops. There was plenty of hanbok to choose from, of various colours, design and sizes. There were also hats and other accessories to go with the hanbok. Everyone had lots of fun trying to be Koreans of the past.

Dear became a Korean princess.

I'm not sure what this male Korean costume is for. An official?

Korean Momorange.

Taste my blade if you come any closer to my pots of wine!

The next activity on our agenda was to visit Lotte World, the next and final theme park for our trip.

Find out about our experience in Lotte World!

With the two hours at Lotte World, we approached dinnertime. We were taken to a restaurant somewhere in Seoul. Dinner was Chicken Broth with Korean Ginseng, or Samgyetang (参鸡汤).

Name: 高丽参鸡汤 / 高麗蔘雞湯 / 고려삼계탕
Address: 1 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
Website: www.koreasamkyetang.com (Korean only)

We found a Paris Baguette outlet just beside that restaurant. We were kind of fascinated by the number of Paris Baguette outlets all over South Korea. The chain of bakery/cafe is as common as Subway joints are in Singapore it seems.

We then entered the building, climbed up a flight of stairs to level two, where the main restaurant area was situated.

Such a common sight in South Korea.

The very prominent signboard outside the restaurant.

I took a picture of the menu. I believe we were given the cheapest item on the menu. 14,000 KRW. Ok can't expect them to serve us the most expensive item on the menu either. We got the basic Chicken Broth with Korean Ginseng. The hot broth tasted pretty good. Having such a nutritious meal after a long day of walking, and especially during such cold weather, was really quite an indulgence. The chicken broth came with a whole chicken, sprinkled with some veggies, inside a claypot. There was rice and some side dishes to go along with it. Definitely recommend trying this out if you're in Korea.

The various items on their menu.

Looks can be deceiving. It's actually quite good.

Dear can't wait to tuck into this healthy meal.

With our stomachs full of chicken and chicken soup, we proceeded to check in to our next hotel, Koreana Hotel. It is a 4-star hotel located along the main road of Sejong-daero.

Name: Koreana Hotel
Address: 135, Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Namdaemun / Seoul Station, Seoul, South Korea

From the outer looks and the interior such as the lobby and corridors, we could tell that it was a pretty old hotel. In fact, it was built in 1972, but having last renovated in 2008, I guess it looked better than before it was renovated. The room was spacious and looked cosy enough for a good night's stay.

The corridor looks...very normal.

Some pretty old school-looking furniture found in the room.

Well-lit with lamps, giving this room a cosy feel.

When checking in was complete, it was free and easy time. A few of us gathered to venture out into the streets of Seoul for some exploration. There were many high-rise buildings in the area, since it was the city centre. We went past buildings such as the Seoul Finance Center, the Seoul Metropolitan Library, which was once the City Hall, as well as a gate called Daehanmun, which would lead to the Deoksugung Palace.

We ventured underground, where a maze of underground streets and shops gave us plenty to explore. One such underground shopping center was the Sogong Underground Shopping Center, which was connected to the Myeong-dong Underground Shopping Center. We then found ourselves going to ground level at Myeongdong, where all the latest fashion and shops could be found.

Situated along a main road, and opposite some prominent buildings such as the Seoul Finance Center.

Daehanmun 大漢門, the main gate to Deoksugung 德壽宮.

The Seoul Metropolitan Library, with some graffiti walls in front of it.

Many other hotels around the area.

These could be found all along the underground street, to provide directions.

We didn't have time to visit all the malls, such as the Lotte Young Plaza.

We tried various the street food since there were plenty of food stalls lining along the streets of Myeongdong. And of course, there were plenty of cosmetics and beauty shops. Truly a girl's paradise. Koreans really take good care of their looks, whether guy or girl.

Fancy some Korean street food?

Bustling with activity.

Spoiled for choices when it comes to beauty and grooming.

Found Singapore's very own Bee Cheng Hiang outlet.

One such street food we found were these Schneeballen, which is German for snowball. The colourful snowballs look tasty, so I went to buy some to try. Didn't expect them to be pretty hard to bite. Nevertheless, it was something interesting to try.

Visit their website here: http://www.changbawi.co.kr

These snowballs look soft but were actually quite hard to bite.

There was a cat cafe in the area as well. Looks like it's not just a trend happening in Japan, but in Korea as well. Dear couldn't resist taking a picture with the mascot walking around promoting the cafe.

Cat cafe nearby.

Found this mascot walking around.

Then we came across a roadside stall selling jajangmyeon or 韩式炸酱面, Korean-style zhajiangmian. The stall owner could speak many languages. He asked where we were from and then started speaking in English with us. With other tourists, he would then speak Mandarin, Japanese etc. Pretty cool guy. Dear loves jajangmyeon and therefore we bought a bowl at 3,000 KRW. Dear simply loved it. She said it was one of the nicest jajangmyeon she ever tasted. No one else in our group bought it to try though. What a waste.

Cool jajangmyeon stall-owner who knows many languages.

Can't really see clearly how it looks like but it was one of the best jajangmyeon Dear has tasted.

A Coca-cola poster of Running Man's Yoo Jae-suk at a bus-stop.

Back to our hotel.

We ended the night by walking back to our hotel via the underground shopping areas. It was cold and freezing, but well worth the walk to experience the nightlife in Seoul.

Koreana Hotel

Address: 135 Sejong-daero, Taepyeongno 1(il)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Tel: +82 2-2711-7000
Website: http://www.koreanahotel.com/en/



For a list of the hotels/resorts available for booking in Seoul via Agoda.com, click here.
To make a booking at Koreana Hotel, click here.

Links to our South Korea Trip 2014
Day 1 - Jeju Island 济州岛
Day 2 - Jeju Island 济州岛
Day 2 - Jeju Island - Trick Art Museum 济州岛 - 幻觉艺术博物馆
Day 2 - Jeju Island - Jeju Glass Castle 济州岛 - 玻璃城堡
Day 2 - Jeju Island - Teddy Bear Museum 济州岛 - 泰迪熊博物馆
Day 3 - Nami Island 南怡岛, Seorak Waterpia 韩华温泉水上乐园
Day 4 - Yongpyong Resort 龙平豪华度假村
Day 5 - Everland 爱宝乐园
Day 5 - Lotte World 乐天世界
Day 6 - Ice Gallery 冰雕艺术体验馆, Myeondong 明洞, Namdaemun 南大门, Jump Show JUMP 演出
Day 7 - Mapo Agricultural and Marine Products Market 麻浦农水产物市场
Souvenirs