Flight
bought our tickets from Cathay Pacific this time, for $707.10 including taxes, on Expedia. however, this is not a direct flight, we had to transit at Hong Kong for about 3 hours.
us after checking-in. pardon all the bare faces since it's a night flight. that's Jielin on the left and Yiling on the right. so excited to travel with these girls again, the last time girlfriends had a trip together was in 2008 to Genting after we graduated from JC.
neck pillow, passport, air tickets checked!
Accommodation
we stayed at AMASS Hotel at Insadong. it costs about SGD $50 per person per night. it's a very basic hotel, i like that it's clean and there's enough space for us girls to spread our luggage out on the floor and pack, and there's still walking space around. would recommend to get the twin room instead of the double room because i feel that the twin room is bigger. the bed for the double room is smaller than a queen size, if that matters to you.
this is the exact room we stayed in for our last two nights, the double room. image taken from Agoda. one of us took the corner to pack while the other took the space underneath the TV.
and this is similar to the twin room that we stayed in, just that the toilet was on the other side. image taken form Agoda as well. it doesn't look as big in this picture but there's really more space in front of the beds and we can spread our luggage out side by side and pack. the mirror is also longer though not shown in the picture, so it allows two of us to do our make-up at the same time (important because this saves time). i wouldn't be surprised also if you combined the 2 single beds and it's bigger than the bed in the double room.
it's just opposite Changdeokgung and it's also walking distance (about 5 to 10 minutes) to the subway - Anguk station, so it's really easy to get around. there's also an airport bus nearby so it saves you the hassle of lugging your luggage up and down the stairs (yes, there are no elevators at some stations, and the number of stairs is crazy, trust me) and it's also cheaper (can't remember if it's 10K or 15K). the hotel's staffs speak really good english so there wasn't a problem with communication, and they're all very helpful! if you did not bring your universal charger, the hotel provides you with one for a deposit of 10, 000 KRW (divide by 800 to get SGD). return it at the end of your stay and you'll get the money back!
SIM Card
we bought the 1Gb EG SIM card online at their website. you need to pay additional if you need the nano SIM :( would recommend to get it before your trip because it takes a few days to activate. we bought it online a week before we fly. we chose to collect it at the AREX desk at the airport. it's actually just outside the arrival hall. funny thing is that you have to restart your phone 4 to 5 times before it gets a signal, and this is stated in the instructions manual. there's actually free wifi around seoul, if you don't use the internet that often, you may prefer not to get a data card. there are actually many options for staying connected, you can get a wifi card or a wifi egg. just google and there are a few posts comparing the different options and you can pick one that suits your needs. we chose to get the data card because we were prepared to separate so you can't use your wifi egg unless you stay together, and it's less dependent on whether the place has wifi for you to use your wifi card. of course, there are other considerations like the price, number of people travelling and the number of days you're staying in korea.
you can also choose to buy the direct non-stop train to seoul station from this counter (the journey takes about 50 minutes) because it's cheaper than buying from the airport train station. you can also book a transport to your hotel at this counter, they have a few sizes of cars to choose from. but note that they have a list of hotels that the cars would be able to send you to. if your hotel is not on that list, you can check with the counter staff if your accommodation is nearby any of their listed hotels.
Day 1 (15 October 2016): Dongdaemun Night Market
met up with Lois who arrived earlier, and we're off to dinner!
but we came across Isaac Toast, and everyone online was recommending it, so we had to try! moreover, there wasn't a queue so we thought we'd better get it now. conclusion: it's not too bad, but i wouldn't queue for it. it looks like something i can whip up as well.
dinner was at this restaurant, though it says myeongdong but we're really at dongdaemun, perhaps it's a branch or something.
the waiter helped to mix our dipping sauce and it tastes really superb! he added chopped garlic, vinegar, chilli, mustard, light soy sauce, and is that leek? and i can't remember what else. the chicken soup was clear to begin with but we were supposed to add the condiments and kimchi into the soup and adjust it according to our likings.
think we were way too early at dongdaemun because the shops on the streets were not opened yet. then again, from previous experience, they wouldn't entertain you because you're not purchasing in bulk. it's not like wholesale is considered 2 pieces like in bangkok, but you really need to buy trolleys of the same item. people come pulling luggage, trolleys and loading their buys on lorries.
the things selling at the malls aren't cheap either, but i guess their quality would be better. most of the items are form their own local brand i guess. think the prices start from around $30? a shoe can cost about $80.
our main objective wasn't to shop actually, but to visit the pretty lights at the dongdaemun design plaza.
walked around the food trucks and the small flea market that was there. it was quite interesting that all the store owners were very young, and they sell food that looks really good (not sure if they taste good too because we were too full from dinner). the food trucks were also very well decorated and were playing really hip music. and that concludes our night. myeongdong for some serious shopping next!
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