Myeongdong is the perfect starting point for someone's first time to Seoul, and I can now completely appreciate why it's one of the most popular tourist spots. The area is famous for its shopping with not one but two major departmental stores (Lotte and Shinsegae) and its myriad of clothing and cosmetics stores. To say that its bustling is an understatement. The place was practically swarming with tourists and locals whenever we were there.

On our first night in Seoul, after checking into our room at the Ibis Ambassador Seoul Myeongdong, my parents and I headed out to look for dinner and chanced upon the night market. To be honest, it was a "let's just head out and see what appeals to us" deal that night. I knew the night market was close by but I honestly didn't figure for it to be THAT close to the hotel. We exited the hotel lobby, turned left, barely walked for even a minute before we were hit by the hustle and bustle that is the  Myeongdong nigh
t market.

And the very first thing that we saw that got us all excited? Tornado potato! The minute my mom and I saw people holding that stick of potato in their hands, we immediately made a beeline for the first stall that we saw selling it. 

And it was just street food thereafter for dinner. And boy, there was just so much food to choose from! Seafood was plenty to be found; pan seared squid, grilled cheese lobster, abalone on sticks and my favourite seared prawns. OMG! The seared prawns from the stall called Shrimp King was so yummy, we went back for a second order. We had to wait quite a bit for our prawns but so damn worth it.

Not to worry if you have seafood allergies, there are other fun and yummy options as well. Heh. Yeah, you read that right. Fun. Primarily because I was so excited thinking of myself reprising K-drama characters having tteokbokki, gimbap, mandu or hotteok! My parents were actually impressed that I learnt and could identify and recite the Korean names of most foods just from my K-dramas alone. 

Ok, the one in the picture above, I didn't know the name until I came back and googled for it. Well, at least I think its the right one, a Korean egg bread called gyeranbbang. My dad bought one for himself as he thought it looked really interesting and he declared it good. My mom and I opted to forgo the carbo as we were almost full by then. Plus, we still had a bag of japchae and fresh orange juice with us to bring back to the hotel room. Oh and strawberry-red bean mochi.

Seriously good strawberry-red bean mochi. The seared squid, prawns and this mochi are my absolute favourites from the night market. I highly recommend those if you're visiting. On that note, if there was something I would dissuade you from, it would be the roasted chestnuts. The bag I bought, was completely dry and hard. We couldn't even finish the small bag that we bought.

Food aside, there was also tons to shop for. I bought a lot of pretty earrings and other accessories for myself and friends, mobile phone accessories too. My mom browsed a couple of stalls selling scarves but couldn't really find one she liked while my dad and I bought so many pairs of cheap, gimmicky socks. 

And its not just the night market stalls that would capture your attention. All your Korean cosmetics brands have outlets there, Innisfree, Nature Republic, Tony Moly, The Face Shop, etc. And at the promotional rates being offered for all those face masks, I can see why everyone I know returned from Seoul with packs of them. Even my mom and I caved and bought some.

International brands like Vans, H&M also have outlets there. I skipped those though and focused more on the local brands. And you know the bubble tea craze is indeed a huge trend when you spot boba from Gong Cha around. 

There are also a couple of stores selling local snacks. Great if you need to do some last minute shopping for souvenirs to bring back for people. Else, I would recommend buying from Gwang Jang market if that's on your itinerary.

Unfortunately, I only had a short time in Seoul, else I would have loved to visit the other night markets like the Dongdaemun night market. Well, at least it's excuse for me to find another time to return to Seoul again!

Tourist Information

Myeongdong Night Market

Address: Jung-gu, Seoul

Use the Ibis Ambassador Seoul Myeongdong hotel or Lotte store as a landmark if unable to locate.

Week in Seoul: KAL Limousine Bus

My parents and I were on the 8 am Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to Seoul. The flight was uneventful and in spite of a poor night's sleep, I managed to get through 3 in-flight movies. Hence by the time we arrived in Incheon Airport, I was so glad I had settled our transport to the hotel as I was exhausted.

There are several options available from Incheon Airport to Seoul; the obvious taxi to various airport buses and private car hires. If specifically from Incheon to my hotel, Ibis Ambassador Seoul Myeongdong, which I reviewed in the earlier post, the following are your options:

1. Bus no 6015 - Stop at Ibis Myeongdong. Click here for more information on how to get tickets for bus no 6015
2. Subway to Euljiro 1(IL) Ga station. Click here for details about the train route. An alternative is to stop at Myeongdong station, that's the subway line line 4 (blue) 6.
3.  KAL Limousine Bus: City Hall Line 1 to Sogongdong.

I eventually decided to go for the KAL Limousine Bus. The bus timing suited my estimated arrival time at Incheon, plus I found I could purchase discounted tickets from Klook at just about $15 per pax.

As planned, our SQ flight arrived promptly at Incheon Terminal 1 and after collecting our luggage, my parents followed me at a leisurely pace to the KAL kiosk located near Gate 4. I was too tired and hence forgot to take a picture of the kiosk but honestly, its not difficult to locate it. Easy matter thereafter to exchange my vouchers for the bus tickets. We were also given clear instructions in English as to where to wait and what time our bus is, which was a less than 10-minute wait for us. Like I mentioned earlier, the scheduled bus timing suited our needs.

By the way, printed vouchers is A MUST if you purchase from Klook! So please remember to print them out before your flight. I've read online that they do not accept mobile versions. 

Our bus rolled around promptly at about 4:37 pm as indicated and after tickets were checked, the staff assisted us in loading our luggage before we boarded. The interior of the bus was clean and the seats were comfortable with sufficient leg space. In fact, good enough that I fell asleep mid-way through the journey. However, I was surprised the journey took a while though. On one travel planning site, it indicated that my ride should take about 50 minutes. However, by the time we reached our destination, it was slightly past 6 pm.

To get to Ibis Ambassador Seoul Myeongdong, we alighted at Westin Chosun hotel. From there it was a short 3-minute walk; facing out from the Westin Chosun's lobby, turn to the left and round the corner of the building. Continue straight until the main intersection and you should be able to see the Lotte departmental stores. The Ibis hotel is directly across the street from the Lotte stores. 

The only unfortunate thing during this short walk, was that we had to use the underpass to get to our hotel. And in Korea, elevators and lifts ain't a common thing with the underpasses. Dear daughter (me) ended up having to carry 3 bulky pieces of luggage up and down the flights of stairs to get through the underpass. Thankfully on the last flight up, there were 2 kind oppas who took pity and helped us with the luggage. Thank you kind souls!

All in, apart from the weight exercise through the underpass, the KAL Limousine bus transfer was fuss-free, budget friendly and comfortable. Definitely something I would reconsider in future if I only had my own luggage to deal with.

Tourist Information

KAL Limousine

Website: https://www.kallimousine.com/eng/main/

Week in Seoul: Ibis Ambassador Seoul Myeongdong 이비스 앰배서더 서울 명동

I just returned from a short break to Seoul, South Korea with my parents. Given how often I travelled and how much I enjoyed my K-dramas, it's actually amazing that I waited this long to visit Seoul. Not surprisingly, when I asked around for suggestions as to what I should do, the most common reply I got was to go shopping. Heh. And some were even quite specific, that I should go and get my year's supply of face masks or Korean cosmetics.

Unfortunately, shopping isn't just the only one I wanted. So I did my research and here's documenting what my parents and I did during our R&R in wonderful Seoul, starting with a review of 1 of the 2 hotels we stayed in: the Ibis Ambassador Seoul Myeongdong.

The main deciding factor in choosing Ibis was its accessibility. There were other factors as well, such as its mid-point price range and the consistent good reviews on various platforms, but nothing beats its location. Right in front of the hotel is a subway station and the airport bus also stops here. If you choose the KAL Limousine bus as I did, it stops at another hotel (the Westin Chosun) just across the street, about a 3 min walk away. Ibis is surrounded by a myriad of eateries, the Myeongdong shopping streets just a corner's turn and the Lotte departmental stores across the street. Several attractions are also located nearby. Basically, even with their old-age mobility issues, my parents and I were able to move around to and fro the hotel with relative ease.

Hence, I booked us a triple room for 4 nights. The main reception and lobby is located on the 19th floor, same level as where the hotel's breakfast is located. Nevertheless, there is an express counter on the first floor for easy check out. There was also a gym but I didn't go check out so I'm unable to comment on that. Some would also be glad to know that laundry can be easily taken care of since there are coin washing machines available on the guest floors. We also found a ice machine tucked away at a corner on our floor. It probably would have seen a lot of action in the summer.

As advertised by reviewers, our room was clean and well-maintained. Although on our first night checking in, there was a stale cigarette smoke smell, which was surprising given that ours was a non-smoking room. It was promptly rectified and we had no further issues thereafter. Wi-Fi was also readily available and didn't require a password either. Signal was strong enough that I could easily surf the Internet and even watch a couple of shows on my phone.

Space was a luxury though; just enough for 3 beds, a wardrobe, a table and chair by the window plus a corridor of a walkway enough for us to unpack from our luggage. Toilet was a compact, efficient affair as well. Having said that, it was still good enough that I didn't bang myself as I would have been prone to if I was in a tiny Tokyo version.

The view from our window was that of the Lotte departmental store opposite the road, a constant reminder of how easy it was for shopping. Heh. Not that I minded the reminder.

Our nights' rest was taken care of and having our breakfast at the hotel was convenient and allowed us to complete the recharging needed for each day. Granted there probably were many alternative breakfast options around the hotel for us, but there were a couple of days where I had planned for early itineraries, hence it would just have been easier for us to settle the meal within the hotel. 

The spread at Ibis was decent, although I must admit, after the 3rd day, I got a little tired of it since the menu didn't change much. There was the usual local and international spreads such as the usual cereal bar, an egg station, breads and pastries plus local porridges and side dishes. 

But I have to say, what I really missed most was the breakfast view we had every morning. On one side was an impressive cityscape while the other wall featured Namsam and the Seoul Tower. Forgot to take the mountain pic though.

All considered, I would say I enjoyed staying at Ibis Ambassador Seoul Myeongdong and would definitely recommend this. Its location is just awesome. Just note that if you're travelling by taxi, some drivers may confuse it with another Ibis hotel located nearby. 

Tourist Information

Ibis Ambassador Seoul Myeongdong 이비스 앰배서더 서울 명동

Website: https://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-6317-ibis-ambassador-seoul-myeongdong/index.shtml?adults=&children=&nights=&dateIn=

Address: 78, Namdaemun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul 04534 South Korea

Local address: (우) 04534중구 남대문로 78

DID: +82263618888