South Korea Trip Day 6: 14 February 2014, Friday - A Taste of Korea
韩国之旅第六天：2月14日2014年, 星期五 - 韩国特色
Attractions for the day:
Ice Gallery 冰雕艺术体验馆 [Google Maps Link]
Myeong-Dong 明洞 [Google Maps Link]
Namdaemun Market 南大門市場 [Google Maps Link]
Jump Show JUMP 演出 [Google Maps Link]
Accommodation for the day:
InterContinental Seoul Coex 首尔世贸中心洲际酒店 [Google Maps Link]
It's the last day of our 7D6N trip to South Korea. Not much of sightseeing for the itinerary for the day, since we would be spending the day in the metropolitan city of Seoul. We were brought to a restaurant selling many different kinds of congee for breakfast. This should be one of the healthier meals we had for the trip. There were four types of congee to choose from - seaweed, pumpkin, kimchi, abalone. There's also soya bean milk, buns and eggs, as well as the usual side dishes.
I believe the restaurant is more famous for grilled food.
Don't you think it's Very colourful?
Not buffet style nor with plenty of meat, but a healthy combination.
I tried to place all four types of congee into one bowl. Looks really messy.
Seaweed - It's like normal plain congee mixed with seaweed. You can even do it yourself.
Pumpkin - The smell and taste of pumpkin makes it really aromatic and tasty.
Kimchi - Definitely the most "exciting" congee since it gives a spicy kick to your senses. Of course, you can also add in the popular kimchi yourself since it's so readily available.
Abalone - The specialty of Korean congee. The fresh oceanic taste of abalone certainly makes this congee a must-eat.
Pumpkin - The smell and taste of pumpkin makes it really aromatic and tasty.
Kimchi - Definitely the most "exciting" congee since it gives a spicy kick to your senses. Of course, you can also add in the popular kimchi yourself since it's so readily available.
Abalone - The specialty of Korean congee. The fresh oceanic taste of abalone certainly makes this congee a must-eat.
Next was a local specialty visit. The Korean Ginseng is one of the most prized item on any tourist must-buy list. We were brought to this shop selling various products made from the famous ginseng. We had a nice little tour of the place, but we were not really interested in these products and hence quickly exited the place and waited on our coach for the rest of the tour group members.
The shop that sells Korean Ginseng.
Some of the products they sell are displayed here.
Our next stop was the Ice Gallery, where we would be doing some ice carving. The teacher from the ice gallery gave a demonstration of how to do ice carving. Using a chisel, she skilfully carved out an ice mug from a huge block of ice within a few minutes. We were then given the same tools and a block of ice each to begin our ice carving. The three best ice mugs chosen by the teacher would get some prizes. Dear and I tried our best to carve an ice mug out of the blocks of ice, but it seemed way off the standard from the teacher's. Eventually three members of the tour group were chosen as the top three carvers and they were given bouquets, and the winner even got an ice crown. What an interesting way to finish the session.
We visit the Ice Gallery.
Dear wears the same as the cartoon character.
Our tour guide gives us some tips on ice sculpturing.
The teacher showed us the result of her work.
Momo Dear tries to do an ice sculpture for the first time.
Momo dear's masterpiece on the left. Mine on the right.
The top 3 ice sculptors as chosen by the teacher.
After getting our hands all tired from the carving, we entered the actual gallery where huge ice sculptures were displayed. There were many interesting pieces such as famous landmarks, an ice bed, ice computer, ice bar and even an ice toilet! It was indeed a unique experience visiting this ice gallery. We wouldn't get the chance to do this if we weren't on a tour package. Awesome!
That's an ice cake. Not good to sink your teeth into.
The toilet bowl is freezing my butt!
Now I know how the Little Dragon Girl felt.
Ice computer. Won't have to worry about the CPU and monitor being overheated.
Ice-fel tower.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Momo becomes an Eskimomo.
Welcome to my ice bar.
With all that freezing inside the ice gallery, it was time to heat up our bellies and fill it up with wonderful Korean food. Lunch for the day was gamjatang. The look of it reminded us of Bak Kut Teh, one of our favourite Singapore local dishes. The taste was also quite similar to bak kut teh except that it did not contain as much herbs and spices. Still it was an interesting dish to try. Quite loved the taste too.
Hotpot here we come!
Looks like bak kut teh.
With all the food in our stomachs, we had to do some walking to digest them. Next on the itinerary was to visit one of the most popular shopping districts in Seoul - Namdaemun and Myeongdong. It was mainly window-shopping since Dear and I weren't interested in getting any cosmetics. As expected of a popular shopping district, there were tonnes of tourists and locals swarming the streets of Myeongdong. There were really a myriad of shops, but mostly cater to teenagers and young adults and because Koreans emphasize a lot on appearance, I believed more than 50% of the stores were selling cosmetics.
The New World.
Rows of stalls selling various kinds of items.
This seems to be a fountain, and there are many interesting sculptures around it.
It's a woman's paradise with all these cosmetics stalls lining both sides of the street.
Not sure what product this giraffe is promoting.
32cm long ice-cream? Must try!
Was hoping it does not topple and feed the ground instead.
Dinner time was around the corner, and after all that window-shopping, we were famished and couldn't wait for dinner. Dinner for the day was bibimbap and pork and cabbage steamboat. The sweet aroma and taste of the broth after putting in all the pork and cabbage was so tempting that we wanted to finish every single drop of it. A nice meal to fill up our stomachs before we head off to watch the martial arts comedy performance JUMP.
It's dinner time!
Some bibimbap to kick off the dinner.
Steamboat with lots of pork and cabbage.
Had to get some thirst-quenching dessert after the steamboat dinner.
Another interesting item on our itinerary was the JUMP martial arts comedy performance. They had been to Singapore many times but we had never thought of watching it. This was a nice opportunity to witness the high-flying and fast-paced action comedic performance of these skilled individuals. It was a really entertaining show, with plenty of slap-stick humour and gravity-defying stunts. Lots of backflips, somersaults and high-flying action. This is REAL martial arts. A really nice item to be on our itinerary.
The theatre where we would be watching the "JUMP" performance.
The cast of JUMP.
Finally get to watch it. Never watched it even though they've been to Singapore several times.
Tickets to the performance.
This "old man" was actual a young man very skilled in martial arts.
After the show, the night was still young, and therefore we were brought to a stretch of shopping malls and had some free time to roam around. Dear and I opted to just walk along the streets to soak in the Korean atmosphere and enjoy the scenery. The shopping malls were pretty unique in their architecture and lighting. We then checked out one of the millions of coffee joints we see everywhere in Seoul, called Holly's Coffee. Couldn't really tell the difference between that and Starbucks lol. I guess they all were about the same. Dear then wanted to try some street food and went to get some sausages. And with that, we returned to the coach where we were brought back to our hotel.
Huge shopping malls waiting for us to visit them.
Nice architecture.
The fanciful lights of the shopping malls, a nice sight to behold.
Another building with beautiful lighting.
Had to try at least one of the many cafes found all over Seoul.
Dear had to try some street food at all costs.
Back at our hotel, we took a first glimpse of what InterContinental Seoul Coex had to offer. A cool backdrop of some trees behind the bed and wooden furnishings all around the room. It gave a very relaxing feel due to the 'nature' elements found in the room. The ambient lighting also gave the room a touch of elegance. As expected from a 6-star hotel. It was the most luxurious hotel of our whole trip.
Back to our comfy hotel room.
Nice decor. Has a very relaxing feel to it.
A nice little corner to chill and relax by the huge glass window.
Clean bathroom and facilities.
Warm lighting along the corridor.
The hotel room that we stayed in at InterContinent Seoul Coex was really comfortable and we had no complaints about its amenities. The warm lighting in the room and corridors made it a really nice place to stay in. Definitely a good choice for a hotel stay.
InterContinental Seoul Coex
InterContinental Seoul Coex
Address:
Tel: +82-2-3452-2500
Website: https://www.iccoex.com/eng/index.do
For a list of the hotels/resorts available for booking in Seoul via Agoda.com, click here.
To make a booking at InterContinental Seoul Coex, 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, Lotte World 乐天世界
Day 5 - Everland 爱宝乐园
Day 5 - Lotte World 乐天世界
Day 7 - Mapo Agricultural and Marine Products Market 麻浦农水产物市场
Souvenirs
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