Escapism

Seoul-ful shopping!

From the high-street vibe of Myeong-dong, to the boutiques in Hongdae and Samcheong-dong, and to the fashion district of Dongdaemun, Seoul is simply a shopper’s paradise. Be prepared to shell out some cash, however. Shopping here is not as cheap as we thought it would be, even in Dongdaemun which is like the Korean equivalent of Greenhills. It was tiangge-like minus the tiangge prices. 

One thing that’s cheap here, though, is the make-up. Beauty stores are literally everywhere. In Myeong-dong, there’s practically one of each brand in every street. So if you’re a fan of Korean brands such as The Face Shop, Skinfood, Missha, Etude House, and the rest, you cannot miss splurging on these items because the price difference from the ones in they sell in the Philippines is huge. Case in point: the Missha perfect cover BB cream sold for 15,800 won there, which is roughly around 600 pesos. In the Missha store here in Manila, they sell the same product at a whopping 1,600 pesos! See what I mean? 

So there, I think this will be my last post based on my little trip. I think I’ve milked it out for what it’s worth :)) So back to regular programming, folks (and by that I mean Downton Abbey reblogs).

Seoul-ful food!

2 things about Korean food: 1) massive servings of side dishes and 2) SPICY. Good thing I’m a fan of spicy food, so I pretty much enjoyed the sweat and runny nose that came with it. My friends, however, were not able to tolerate some of the dishes, especially the Kimchi soup! Even I had to visit the bathroom a couple of times after that one. Whew.

Another thing: cafes. One can find them basically in every street corner. From commercialized ones, to themed ones, to little hole-in-the-walls, they are just everywhere. They’re great places for dessert and after-meal cup of coffees. We especially enjoyed this little cafe we found in the Samcheong-dong area. My mouth just waters everytime I think of the waffle with ice cream they served there. 

Also worth mentioning is the street food. My favorite is the tteokbokki, which just tastes 100x better from the street vendors in Seoul as compared to the ones I’ve tried in some Korean restaurants here.

Okay, so after reminiscing about all that food, this is me right now:

Last day in Seoul

All photos c/o my friend Mabs, cause I was too lazy to lug my huge camera around. Didn’t do much this day. We basically stayed in the Hongdae area and did our last minute shopping, had lunch, and dessert at the Charlie Brown Cafe there. After that it was off to the airport :(

Seoul day 4

Hongdae - Hello Kitty Cafe - Dongdaemun - Banpo bridge - back to Hongdae to drink to our last night in Seoul! Got to try soju straight up and mixed :)

Seoul day 3 - EVERLAND!

Got here late, so we weren’t able to maximize the place, but at least we got to ride this:

The T-Express! If you’re going to Everland this is the ride to ride. Don’t be fooled by the fact that it’s made of wood and has no loops. This is a hardcore roller coaster, man. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

Seoul day 2

Bukchon - Samcheong-dong - Myeong-dong - Nam San - Teddy Bear Museum

Seoul day 1

Insadong - Gyeongbokgung - Gwanghwamun - Cheonggyecheon

Photos from my friend Mabs’ camera, cause I couldn’t figure out how to use mine my camera was malfunctioning on the first day.