korea, dec 2009 in photos
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i fell in love with korea. i love the place, the surroundings, the people especially, the food, but not so much the shopping, which then again is good, since i did not spend so much money buying things. i think if my sister, or obee, or mom, or mech would go there, they would but more things than me. i didn't get anything aside from touristy things actually.

i definitely want to go back to seoul, and explore other islands - nami, jeju, and all that, it was just so cold that it was so hard to travel. one highlight of my trip, was definitely seeing snow for the first time. i loved it, and i was like a kid playing with the snow, throwing to ryan, franco and cheryl. it was just like being a child again.


ryan and i travelled for 2 hours just to get to this UNESCO HERITAGE SITE, and it was freezing cold.


namsan traditional korean village, was actually just behind our hotel. i would think that it would be better to see it without the snow. but i love the look of the frozen lake.


ryan and franco insisted to visit the world cup stadium, but the thing is, it was closed, and we weren;t able to go inside anyway. so really, the highlight of that was eating bulgogi burger at LOTTERIA.


from the traditional village, you can see the tower. we visited the seoul tower that evening, it was freezing cold, cause its up on the hill, and you would need to walk up there. entrance cost is at USD 7.


we went to 2 palaces, and witnessed the change of guards, entrance at USD 3.


on the way to that UNESCO site, we had to switch train lines like 4 times. this wasn't even an underground train anymore, it was like going to tagaytay or laguna by train. it was a good experience though.


i just brought sneakers to seoul, but my feet were getting numb. i got these boots at the dongdaemun market for 13,000 WON or 13 USD.


myeongdong is very near our hotel, it would take you around 10 mins by foot. i think we were here for like 4x since it was so near, and if we need to eat or get something, we would just drop by. and the thing is, there are so many streets aside from the main street, that you could explore.


i was just taking photos of the food he sells, and then all of a sudden, he just pulled me inside the tent, and asked ryan to take our picture together. he even gave me his chopping knife. he was super nice, so i went to the coffee shop and bought him coffee, since it was really freezing. he was so grateful, and even wants to pay for ryan's order, but ryan refused.


entrance fee at USD 35, but it was so boring, and basically when we went it was a holiday, and there were just too much people/kids/family. queue would be around 30 to 45minutes for one ride, so much for wasting time.


we stayed at astoria hotel, it was a very nice hotel, near a lot of places, and clean. there's also 2 computers ready for your use. the staff are so helpful and friendly, i would go back and stay there, if i visit once more.


de xocolat cafe serves all their caffeine with chocolate. don't you love that?


we had to stop buy everytime, around 4x a day, since it was so cold outside, and one cup of coffee cost USD 5, you calculate.


i bought a lot of these, and its all in manila. hopefully, when i return to manila in feb, there are some more left, as i want to try some, especially the biscuits.

to sum it up, i enjoyed korea, and i recommend people to visit the country, it is so beautiful, and the people are the nicest i have ever met. one example would be, i asked these 2 local guys to help me locate the gangnam area, and they said, we could not walk, and its easier to take a cab. so i said, okay. i went to the cab stand, and was supposed to enter, when they stopped me, and told me that i should go on the other side of the road, since its the other way. you know what they did? they accompanied us to cross the street, spoke to our cab driver, and said goodbye. we even exchanged introductions, since they were so nice. i wish i could have korean friends, or i wish i left them my business card, so if ever they travel to singapore or manila, i could show it to them.

i have prepared another set of photos, but it would all be dedicated to food, and i adore them all. goodnight. ;)