I decided to hire a driver and a car for Day 3's itinerary as the locations were all a distance away from our hotel in Myeongdong. Of course, these attractions on the day's itinerary can all be reached via public transport, but I figured it would just be easier on my parents with a car.

I ended up on a private tour with KTourStory. I will probably write a short post about my experience with them later.

Day 3 in Seoul: Garden of Morning Calm --> Nami Island --> Petite France

We started Day 3 really early! Out driver-cum-guide, a young, strapping Korean fella named Seo, was prompt in picking us up at 7:30 am as agreed on. Haha, mom thought he was handsome enough to become an actor! But eye-candy or not, off we went with him on a chilly morning to out first destination of the day, the Garden of Morning Calm.

Mom and I love our flowers and hence I would often include a garden or a flower festival into the itinerary whenever I travel with her. I guess its no surprise then that the Garden of Morning Calm ranks as one of my favourites in this Seoul trip. Plus, I did say that I was chasing K-drama locations right?

Can you figure out which popular K-drama was shot in the location in the photo below?
Hint: It stars Park Bo-gum!

If you guessed "Love in the Moonlight", BINGO! 

In all honesty, I didn't recognise it at first. Seo, who found out about my love for K-drama (and hence how I picked up some really basic Korean phrases), was the one who pointed the Pond Garden location out to me. I think he was amused when I squealed Park Bo-gum's name out loud. Yeah, I know. Embarrassing 40-year old auntie moment.

The Garden of the Morning Calm is an arboretum designed by professor Han San-kyung and opened in 1996 as a private garden. Apparently its name originated from an Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore who declared Korea the "Land of Morning Calm". This private garden that's now opened to the public is pretty impressive, housing an estimated 5,000 species of plants, some of which are rare or endangered! Just like how scared this Millennium Juniper tree (pictured below) is! It is about 1,000 years old and is apparently the representative tree of the garden.

We were fortunate enough that there was a chrysanthemum exhibition going on during the time we visited. My colleagues often laugh at how much I love chrysanthemums which are often seen as prayer flowers here in Singapore. It’s just that chrysanthemums are so sturdy and hardy while looking pretty at the same time! Pretty much how I would like to be.

There are several sections to the garden and you should be able to allocate a good 2 to 3 hours for this attraction if walking at a healthy pace. I’ve included an iPhone shot of a map of the garden for your reference. Alternatively you may wish to check out the website. I’ve included the link below. My elderly parents ain’t the fastest walkers but we managed to cover most of the grounds in about 3 hours. And that included taking photos and exploring the herb and gift shops.



I highly recommend dropping into the shops, especially if you are into plant-based products. We bought quite a lot of things for ourselves and friends, including hand-crafted soaps, essential oils, hand creams, etc. Mom and I also got ourselves a bag of pine nuts each! Seriously love it! Pine nuts do not come cheap in Singapore and this packet I got was very yummy! I've been happily adding them to my salads.

The Garden of the Morning Calm is definitely one place in Seoul that I wouldn't mind returning to in future. Not just for a different festival, but also to pop into those stores to get my pine nuts and stuff!

Tourist Information

Garden of Morning Calm

Website: http://www.morningcalm.co.kr/_ENG/html/main.php
Address: 432 Sumogwon-ro, Sang-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Entrance fees:

	Adult	Youth *Japan’s middle to high school aged youths	Child *36 months to Japan’s elementary school aged children	Adult with discount *Aged 65 years and older	Child and Youth with discount *Those with disabilities
Individual	9,500	7,000	6,000	7,500	5,000
Group *Weekdays only	8,500	6,000	5,000	6,500	4,500

Prices reflected are in Korean Won.

For your reference, I've listed some of the exhibitions and festivals over the 4 seasons that the Garden of the Morning Calm hosts. Please check the opening hours for each season.

Spring	March	Wild Flowers Exhibition
	April to May	Spring Flower Festival
Summer	June to July	Hydrangea Exhibition
	August	Rose of Sharon Exhibition
Autumn	September	Wild Chrysanthemum Exhibition
	October to November	Chrysanthemum Exhibition
Winter	December to March	The Starlight Garden Festival

Week in Seoul: Bukchon Hanok Village

My apologies for the hiatus. Yes, again. I know. I apologise. But with a change in jobs (again), CNY and an upcoming trip to plan for (amidst all this Covid-19!), I didn't have the time to sit down and write. Back now, and hopfully, I'd clear some more posts about Seoul before I fly off!

Day 2 in Seoul: Gyeongbokgung Palace --> Tosokchon Samgyetang --> Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을)

Bukchon Hanok Village, the last touristy spot on my Day 2 Seoul itinerary. And haha! We cabbed here from our lunch place at Tosokchon Samgyetang. Like I said (in previous post) if you have at least 3 persons or have someone in your group who's less mobile, you may wish to consider taking the cabs in Seoul if the distance between destinations is short. My rides were mostly around the SGD$5 range. Well, technically it is really walkable from Tosokchon Samgyetang to Bukchon Hanok Village, but mom just wanted to hail that cab.

Anyway, Bukchon Hanok Village is another spot that's totally for the gram. Even my mom who doesn't always enjoy taking pictures, suddenly got so game to try all sorts of poses. All because she fell in love with the quaint estate. Those of you who intend to rent the traditional hanbok costume, should definitely make your way here in them! There were so many hanbok-wearing groups doing selfies, wefies, single or group shots!

In fact, if you can only choose your hanbok wearing time between Gyeongbokgung Palace or Bukchon Hanok Village, I'd suggest that you choose the latter. Sure, the palace may suit the ancient vibes of the costume more, but at Bukchon Hanok Village, even if it's crowded, you'd have much better chances of getting better pictures with less photo-bombers. 

The village itself is an actual residential neighbourhood. Hence, do be respectful when you visit. And I don’t mean just not being loud and rowdy. It includes being respectful of the properties and belongings of the residents there. Hell, don’t go knocking on doors for videos, pulling down branches or flowers for photos or clamber up and down their stairs! I saw a group who was being angrily shoo-ed away because they were resting their butts on the stairway and blocking the lady’s exit from her own house!

Instead, feel free to pop into any of the shops, tea houses, restaurants, etc. in the area! Many of these traditional houses, also known as hanoks, have been converted and commercialised to take advantage of the tourist trade. When we weren’t taking photos, my parents and I had a good time exploring the different shops. I definitely dropped some cash buying accessories and souvenirs. Thrifty mom approved too! Heck she even helped in choosing! We also popped into a teahouse for a quick break where mom was suddenly adventurous enough to try their traditional Korean coffee. She pronounced that it tasted somewhat like Milo! We spent a good 45 mins here at the teahouse just chatting and enjoying the quaint vibes.

I admit, I was initially a little worried that given her weak knees, mom wouldn’t be able to deal with the walking around, especially since the area was full of slopes. However, my fears were unfounded and my parents thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I think because we took enough breaks in-between exploring the shops and resting in the teahouse.

While doing my research, I found that there is an organised walking tour. If you think you're up for some walking, do consider that! I'd include the details below. However, if you have young children or elderly, please consider if they are able to walk for 3.5 hours. The walking tour is held in 4 languages, so choose your preference of English, Mandarin, Korean or Japanese. Online reservations need to be made at least 3 working days before the date of your intended tour.

Otherwise, just do what we did, just walk and duck into random alleys or shops!

By late afternoon we were done with the day's itinerary, so we headed back to the hotel for a short break before we hit the Lotte stores across the road for shopping. We hit the supermarket that night and honestly didn't leave until store closing time. I forgot to grab any pictures at all while shopping, so you'd just have to take my word for it that we bought quite a lot. And that ended our second day in Seoul!

Tourist Information

Bukchon Hanok Village

Website: https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=561382

Address: 37, Gyedong-gil, Jong-gu, Seoul

Local Address: 서울특별시 종로구 계동길 37 (계동)

Walking tour:

Online Reservation: http://english.visitseoul.net/walking-tour/BukchonHanokVillage_/622

Please book at least 3 days prior your intended date

Week in Seoul: Tosokchon Samgyetang

Day 2 in Seoul: Gyeongbokgung Palace --> Tosokchon Samgyetang --> Bukchon Hanok Village

This is another one where practically almost everyone (in person and online) tells you that it is a MUST-GO. Legit. EVERY SINGLE PERSON. Even if they couldn't recall the name of the restaurant, its "You MUST GO to this famous ginseng chicken place!"

Ok, got the message. And since it is only a walking distance from Gyeongbokgung Palace, that's where we headed for lunch after touring the palace. I had initially wanted to visit the museums within Gyeongbokgung but mom said she was way too hungry for museums.

Less than 10 minutes later, we arrived at the famous Tosokchon Samgyetang restaurant. I was actually quite surprised that there was no queue even though we arrived during lunch hour. Yay! Hurry for us!

We were very promptly ushered into the spacious Hanok-styled restaurant. There are options for the traditional sit-on-floor or table-and-chair arrangement. I believe the staff's usual habit is to sit people on the floor, so do make the request upfront if you want the table-and-chairs option. Else you might get the same annoyed face we got when we later realised that there were chairs which my mom preferred for her mobility issues.

Excuse my less than stellar shots of the menu. We were shoved into a pretty tight corner and this was the best I could manage in that cramped space with the iPhone.

My parents and I ordered 2 versions, their signature Ginseng Chicken Soup and the other one with the Wild Ginseng Adventitious Roots. My advice, just stick to the signature one. The roots added a slight punch to the herbal taste but otherwise, there really isn't much difference in taste between the two.

We also added the Haemul Pajeon when we realised that almost every other table also had a plate of it. Unfortunately, we couldn't finish it. Not because it was awful. On the contrary, I enjoyed the savory pancake thoroughly. However, we were just too full from our individual bowls of the ginseng chicken soup.

You know those situations where you anticipate something so much, or the hype has been built so high, that when you actually get to it, you come off slightly disappointed?

Well, that's what happened to us at Tosokchon.

And here's the second "Don't get me wrong". It's not that the food was terrible. Each bowl came with a whole chicken stuffed with a ginseng root, glutinous rice, chestnuts, jujube and ginko nuts. The chicken was tender and the meat easily fell off the bones with each tug of our chopsticks. The milky broth was piping hot and soothed our tummies on a chilly day. The soup also had just the right amount of oil from boiling the chicken that leaves you with that lip smacking feel of a well-boiled soup. I also enjoyed the small cup of Insamju (ginseng liquor) provided and (as my mom has an alcohol allergy) gladly poured my mom's cup into my soup to enhance the taste.

The kimchi was also one of the best I had during my time in Seoul. I considered hauling some of the ginseng liquor and kimchi home but eventually decided against it.

But that's about it. With all that hype, I had actually anticipated something earth-shattering, you know, food so yummy it sends a punch to your gut. Well, the food is good but not the gut-punching good I was looking for. I think I probably would have enjoyed it more if I didn't learn of the hype around it. But it really just wasn't the same unlike when I visited Ichiran or Ippudo in Japan. 

Yummy, worth a visit. But go without expectations. Oh and don't expect great service.

Tourist Information

Tosokchon Samgyetang

Website: www.tosokchon.co.kr/

Address: 5, Jahamun-ro 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03041

DID: +82 2-737-7444

Week in Seoul: Gyeongbokgung Palace

Sometimes, even the best-laid plans can come to naught. And, to be honest, my original Seoul itinerary wasn't the most detailed in plan, but had just enough research done prior that when adjustments had to be made, it was simple enough. That said, I really had to make quite a bit of adjustments since something came up almost every other day. 

So, where I can, I'd indicate the day's itinerary, else I'd just write about the places that we visited.

Day 2 in Seoul: Gyeongbokgung Palace (경복궁; Han: 景福宮) --> Tosokchon Samgyetang --> Bukchon Hanok Village

Gyeongbokgung Palace seemed a MUST when almost all travel sites online listed or wrote about it. And with everyone also indicating that the changing of the guards parade was not to be missed, it was highlighted on my itinerary as well. Unfortunately, therein marked the start of my itinerary that went awry.

All because I forgot to change the time on my watch. Neither did I tell my parents about the time, just that we needed to be there for a parade. And we completely missed it. Sigh. A completely silly and avoidable mistake.

By the way, we were on time having taken a local taxi there. Just thought that we had too much time to spare and wasted the opportunity. And I know quite a number of sites write that they took the subway to Gyeongbokgung. However, if you are travelling in a group of about 3 to 4 pax, you may wish to consider taking the local taxi at times. Our trip from Ibis Myeongdong to Gyeongbokgung Palace was just under 5000 Korean won. I understand using T-money on the subway helps you save, but given that the price difference isn't huge, we chose to save on time instead.

Sigh. The irony of it all.

Ok, we did manage to catch a mini version of the guard change when we left, but that's all. I guess I'd just have to include this part again when I return to Seoul in future.

Heh. That is, if I ever want to come back again to Gyeongbokgung Palace. Don't get me wrong. The palace can provide for some Instagram-worthy shots and is worth a good 2 to 3 hour stroll (depending on how fast you walk and how interested you are). But man, the place was just super packed with people, hanbok wearing and non-hanbok wearing. With the main halls and gates, there was absolutely no way I could get any shots in that didn't feature at least a person.

Entrance to Gyeongbokgung Palace is free if you enter wearing the Korean traditional costume. Given that there's an entire line of hanbok-rental stores from across the road, it makes sense to play dress-up, gain free entry, pretend you're in some historical K-drama and get some period era Insta-worthy shots in a palace. I think that's basically what almost everyone thought. Makes economic sense for the operator too if you're in a tour group, which I guess is why most tour agencies would advertise the hanbok experience if their itinerary includes Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Gyeongbokgung Palace is reputed to be the first and largest of the 5 Grand Palaces built in the Joseon dynasty, hence it should not surprise that Gyeongbokgung was designated as the main royal palace then. However, it was destroyed twice in Japanese invasions and restoration efforts have been ongoing since 1990.

Gotta say this, whatever that's been done is pretty darn awesome. My parents and I stopped many times for pictures as we marvelled at the reconstruction.

There are free guided tours at various timings for different languages (English, Mandarin, Japanese and Korean). Unfortunately, I don't think some of the slots work well if you intend to also catch the morning changing of guards parade (which starts at 10 am). You'd definitely need to work out your schedule as to how you want to deal with this if the guided tour is what you are gunning for. 

I think the guided tours probably would have provided additional interesting, detailed snippets of history (we happened to overhear a couple on our stroll), but personally, I think you can still get by without. There were enough signages around to provide a short explanation as to where you are and what you are looking at. Or else pick up a brochure at the ticketing booths.

I've included my quick iPhone shot of the tickets as advertised at the booth (if you don't intend to wear the hanbok). There is an option for a combination ticket if you're intending to go for 4 palaces and Jongmyo Shrine. You may also wish to check Klook or KKday for discounted tickets or hanbok rental deals.

In addition, the National Folk Museum of Korea and the National Palace Museum of Korea are both sited within Gyeongbokgung Palace. If you purchase tickets, it grants you free entry to the museum.

Please do note that the Gyeongbokgung Palace is is closed on Tuedays.

Tourist Information

Gyeongbokgung Palace
Website: http://www.royalpalace.go.kr:8080/html/eng_gbg/main/main.jsp
Address: 161 Sajik-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Week in Seoul: Myeongdong Night Market and Shopping Street

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/