Graduation Trip: Seoul

Sorry for the lack of updates as I've been going on graduation trips and I didn't bring my laptop with me. And yes, results were out and I can graduate!! The best thing is, I managed to maintain my class of honours!! YAY :D

Anyway, I'm here to update on my first graduation trip to Korea. I'll be writing about my second trip to Europe when I'm done with the photos. So do keep checking back :)


The four of us managed to get ourselves tickets to Korea by Singapore Airlines during their promotion in January this year. It was around $705 per person; minimum of two pax. It's a long story on how we managed to get the tickets and why the four of us traveled together, so I shall skip it.

It was already dinner time when we reached Seoul, so we had Korean BBQ just beside our hostel (Sinchon Hostel near Ehwa Womens' University).


For those who did not follow me on instagram, this meal cost us around $6 SGD each, and I don't think we are able to get such price in Singapore! Love how fresh their kimchi are, and also the steamed egg and fermented soy soup. Yummy!
Headed over to Myeong Dong the next morning for shopping! Before that, we had gimbabs for breakfast just opposite our hostel.

None of us liked the tuna gimbab as it has a weird after taste. Also, don't look at how they made it or else you might not have the appetite to eat it :P

And that's us happy with our skincare and cosmetics purchases and of course, the super long ice-cream on a cold day! Things are really cheap I must say, so you can imagine how much we bought. By the way, that bag I'm carrying weighed about 5kg! I had to lug it around the whole day and by the end of the day, my arms were red :( Don't be mistaken though, 95% of the purchases were from my mum's shopping list (I didn't buy everything on the list because it would be too heavy!) And I have to complain about Laneige though. Not that their products were no good but because after we bought everything from there, they had sale at every Laneige store the next day. HALF PRICE! We could have bought twice the number with the same amount! Furthermore, we got paper fans from them after purchasing instead of free samples. Grr! Even buying at Watsons would be cheaper because they included quite a bit of free samples in the package.

All of us were so tired of shopping and walking in the rain so we did something for a change - taking neoprints! Reliving our secondary school days when neoprints was the 'in' thing. It costs only $6 back then! And how we always choose the machine with the longest time for us to decorate the pictures. Love this spontaneous bunch haha!
Settled dinner at Myeong Dong at this famous restaurant which I forgot the name. Supposedly famous for whatever we ordered in the picture below.

Notice every meal comes with free flow kimchi? Anyway, the cold noodles in the center is tasteless! So we ate it with the cucumber. We didn't finish the dish because there wasn't anymore cucumber left. I like the rest of the dishes though. It's nice to have hot soup indoors after suffering from the rain, wind and cold outdoors.

On the way home from Myeong Dong station, we chanced upon this interesting eat. It's like a ball of biscuit coated with icing. And you have to hit it hard with a wooden hammer before eating it. To me, it doesn't taste exceptionally good, but it doesn't taste bad either.
All of us had our hair done the next day at Hair Cortile salon, which is also just a few meters away from our hostel. I did soft rebonding, hair waxing and trimming of hair for about $220 SGD. I'm pretty satisfied with the results :)

YAY to smooth, shiny and tidy hair! :D Carmen's not done with her hair haha.

Stealing this picture from Cheryl's instagram because I really love her hair but my hair is too damaged for this treatment :(

Having our favourite banana milk after a long day at the salon! :D It cost $1.20 SGD if you buy it from 7-11 but only $1 SGD if you get it from a supermarket.
Met up with Jielin boyfriend's friends, who were on exchange in Korea, and made our way to a dog cafe, Bau House. We got lost for around an hour at the area trying to find the place! But it was all worth it because the dogs were all uber cute!

We nicknamed the dog that Cheryl was holding as Nua Nua, because when you carry it, it just nua and sinks itself onto you.

HUSKYYY!! <3 It's so huge it's taller than me if it stands on its two legs. A pity it was too busy trying to get treats from other customers to have a picture with me :(

And this hyperactive dog which I had difficulty trying to get a good picture of it looks like it has a carpet draped over it. So cute!

Dinner was sumptuous and we couldn't finish everything. By then, we were also kind of sick of kimchi, and it was only the third day. 
The guys booked the same hostel as us so that they could bring us around, how nice right.

Banana milk again, before heading for some ginseng chicken!

We had the choice of the normal chicken or the black chicken and we were served one whole chicken each! Of course I couldn't finish my share.

It was then shopping again! This time at Express Bus Terminal. The place is so huge we couldn't finish walking even half of it despite having gone there twice.

We were in the center and couldn't see both ends of the one lane. There are two of such lanes each on the east and west wings. Insane! However, this is the place I bought most of my clothes. I find clothes at Ehwa and Myeong Dong were of poorer quality and repetitive. There was less or maybe no working clothes. The dresses and skirts were too short for me or they were so thin and had no lining. Nonetheless, they are really cheap, like $5 to 10 SGD. The nicer and better quality stuff that are comparable to blogshops cost at least $40 SGD, which is actually more expensive than what blogshops are selling. To be honest, I was very disappointed with the shopping in Korea till I came to this place. I was regretting not buying the dresses I like online and saving up the money to buy them in Korea.

Dong Dae Mun midnight shopping was also another disappointing one. I think the prices in the malls were too high and the clothes were not worth the price. Refused to pay so much for something which doesn't even have a brand. The shops on the streets refused to entertain us once they knew we were shopping because they sell wholesale. Their wholesale is nothing like Bangkok's - 2 pieces equal wholesale. People come in lorries and pulled luggage to do their wholesale shopping. So you can imagine the quantity. Some just ignored our presence because they were all too busy packing bulks of clothings and loading them on trolleys and pushing the trolleys out of the shops.

Enough said; these are all my hauls from Korea. By the way, the Korean guys selling shoes like to flatter and flirt with Singaporean girls. So buy from a guy and bargain for better prices ;) Also, ask the prices from a few shops before buying the shoes. Take my heels for example, I was quoted $68 SGD, $45 SGD and $40 SGD at three different shops. I managed to get mine for $38 SGD in the end because of my nationality. They like Singaporeans! Wahaha! 
Oh right, Etude House is so cheap! Already half the price in Singapore but they are having one for one for some items like the nail polish. So we only got each bottle of nail polish for quarter of the price! :D Highly recommended shop to go!
It was also quite cheap to make spectacles in Korea. As both my degree and astigmatism are rather high, I would have to take the ultra thin lenses which would usually cost me around $200 in Singapore without discount. Make a guess how much is it in Korea. $60 SGD! I chose a lower end frame because it was the only one that suit me best, and it was only $10 SGD. 

  There, our new identical glasses! And that's one of the owners of the hostel. Do we look like Koreans now? The owners were all very friendly and helpful :D Most importantly, they help with our luggage whenever we have to use the stairs!
Nearing the end of the trip, we also met up with our Pharmacy classmate, Alfred, who was also in Seoul at that time. 

Posing in style while waiting for us at Dong Dae Mun station's exit. Caught up over dinner and he recommended Rilakkuma Cafe. Or rather, we asked him about it after seeing his post on instagram. And that's where we went the next day!

With that, I conclude our stay in Seoul. Check back for updates on Nami and Jeju Islands next! :)