Saturday 23 November 2013

Korea (Seoul) Trip Part IV (Gyeongbukong Palace, Tosokchon, Namdaemun, N Seoul Tower, Teddy Bear Museum)

Day 4 (28 Oct 2013, Wednesday)

OOTD:
Two-toned dress - F21
Long cardigan - Dongdaemun
Ribbon prints stocking - Japan
Leopard prints boots - H&M (kids)

Doing what tourists do 1 - Take photo at the subway station
 
 Doing what tourists do 2 - Take photo inside the subway
 
We alighted at Gyeongbukong station to visit Gyeongbukong Palace. A trip to Seoul isn't complete without visiting at least 1 palace.

Gyeongbokgung Palace
Add: 1-1 Sejongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Line 3 Gyeongbokgung Stn. Exit 5 and walk 5 minutes
 
Operating hours*:  09:00 to 18:00 (Sep & Oct)
*Closed on Tuesdays

Fee: 3,000 (adult)
 
We were rushing to reach there before 11am to be in time for the English guided tour at 11am. Thank god we made it in time else we have to wait till 1.30pm for the next tour.

The excited Tans

We gathered outside the information center which is located inside Heungnyemun (Gate) to wait for the tour to start.

This is our English speaking tour guide for the 1 hour tour.
She can speak decent English but not too friendly 
(she specifically told us not to take pictures of her while she is talking as she might get distracted).

I would encourage everyone to join the tour instead of walking around yourselves. The tour guide did a great job of sharing with us the history and culture of the old Korea. I've learnt some interesting facts (e,g the king's boring daily routine).


Love these not-that-autumn leaves

Love in Autumn




With the 2 guards at the front gate 

The guard in red has 90% resemblance to Jay Chou. I kid you not.
Left: Jay Chou
Right: Guard


Both of us were famished by the time we left the palace and we headed for our lunch at Tosokchon which is within walking distance from the palace.

Tosokchon (토속촌) 
Add: 5, Jahamun-ro 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul 
서울 종로구 자하문로5길 5 (체부동)
 
Gyeongbokgung Station (Seoul Subway Line 3), Exit 2.
Go straight about 170m and turn left onto Jahamun-ro 5-gil Road.
Tosokchon (토속촌) is located 10m ahead on the left.
 
Opening Hours: 10:00-22:00
Tel: +82-2-737-7444
 
If you are looking for somewhere to indulge in authentic Korean ginseng chicken soup (samgyetang), Tosokchon is a place that you should be going.

Thanks to the prepaid card with 3G + google map, it didn't take us long to find the restaurant. 

I knew that we had arrived at the correct restaurant when I saw this long queue.

Despite the long queue, we waited for about 15mins only. Koreans are efficient workers I guess?

Wear something comfortable when you are heading to Tosokchon as you will be eating from a low table and sitting on a cushion on the floor


The inside of the restaurant

We chose no.2 (the basic)

The mister waiting for lunch to be served
 
 The complimentary appetizer

We ordered 1 ginseng chicken soup to share which I thought its good enough. Some of the Koreans ordered 1 each and wonder how are they going to finish it.

We waited very long for this seafood pancake, it didn't arrive even after we finish the ginseng chicken soup. Good things are always worth waiting for though.

Both of us left the place with cramped legs, thank god Chinese culture doesn't require us to sit on the floor to dine. We went to Namduemn Market next.

Namdaemun Market 
Near Exit #5, 6, or 7 of Hoehyeon Station (Subway Line 4)

Namdaemum Market reminds me of Pratunam Market at Bangkok. All the stores are selling similar things. I wish it was spring so that I could buy some cheap apparels back.


We hung around at Namdaemum Market for an hour or so and went to N Seoul Tower

There are a few ways to get up to N Seoul Tower:
1) by foot (its a no-no for me)
2) by bus
3) by cable car (my preferred choice)

N Seoul Tower (N 서울타워)

Cable car: runs every 10 mins, travel for 3mins
Operating Hours: 10:00 to 23:00
Fee: ₩ 8,500  (return ticket)
        ₩6.000  (1 way ticket)


Yay! We are approaching N Seoul Tower!

I was extremely tired when I got down from the cable car and requested to rest my feet at the open space café before we climb up to N Seoul Tower.

Please buy the twisted potato when you pass by this café.

The twisted potato is nicer than those that I tried at Myeongdong street stalls. It is  freshly prepared on the spot so its hot and crispy when u sink your teeth in. AWESOME.

The steps leading to N Seoul Tower.

We headed straight to the souvenir/gift shop to buy a love lock. Other than lock lock, message tag is also available for sale.

Breathtaking view from the Roof Terrace

The Tans with their love lock


We joined in the fun and did what lovers will do at N Seoul Tower - locking their love

 Sunset view never fail to take my heart away

There is a story behind this bench that we sat on
(a story about bringing 2 strangers together)

We decided to skip the observatory tower and went to the Teddy Bear Museum (also located at N Seoul Tower) next . I'm a big fan of cutesy stuff :p

Paid ₩8,000 to get in

We spent about 40 mins inside. I was too tired to enjoy all the exhibitions inside whereas Jeff was happily snapping away.

The Gangam style bear

We met up with my cousin and his gf for dinner at Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market. It's a wholesale market that you can buy fresh seafood from the stalls and go to a restaurant of your choice to ask the chef  to cook the seafood in your preferred method (with a small fee of cos). 
 
Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market (노량진수산시장)
Add: 13-8 Noryangjin-dong, Dongjak-gu
 동작구 노량진동 13-8
Subway: Noryangjin station, Line 1 or 9. Exit 1 and walk 100m over the bridge

Too many stalls to choose from and we have no clue which stall is better. We were worried that we will be ripped off as we are tourists. We ended up picking a stall randomly though.

This is the restaurant that we chose (see name card  below).
I guess its sort of tied up with the seafood stall as a mandarin speaking staff from the restaurant was the one who helped us to pick the seafood.

In total, we paid ₩127,000 for the seafood and ₩52,000 at the restaurant (for the cooking fee + fried rice + beer).
 
Fresh salmon sashimi for only ₩10,000.
I love sashimi!

8 scallops for ₩20,000
Cooking method: BBQ (recommended by the restaurant)
 
8 prawns for ₩20,000
Cooking method: BBQ (the restaurant recommended to steam them though)

King Crab for ₩39,000
Cooking method: Steam (recommended by the restaurant)

Flat fish for ₩38,000
Cooking method: cook the fish in the spicy soup (taste a little like tom yum but less sour)

Fried rice cooked with the eggs from the King crab that we ordered
 
It was a great dining experience at Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market. I will definitely go back there again for the fresh and quality seafood.
 
Stay tuned to part V of my Korea Trip! :)

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