Life like Chocolate... tastes Sweet and Bitter: Seoul: The Soul of Asia

Hihi, I'm back from Seoul... Well, 1st off, I wanna give a shout out to Jong Hyun, Lina and Min; our hosts. Thanks for hosting us for 6 days and 5 nights. Although its my 1st experience in couching, but thanks to you guys, this experience was a not only great but a memorable one. This is the building I lived in while vacationing in Seoul; Gangnam-Gu

*This explicit sculpture helps me to find

this building everytime ^^*

*The out look of the whole building. On the floor that I lived in

I saw this door with a sign "Shinee World" in Korean.

Only know about it when my friend came

and she is a big fan of Shinee; well

of MinHo actually. Thus, on the next day, she wanted to

ring the door bell but was hesitating so, I just pressed it for her...

but no one answered... Then on the last day, she decided to

give it another try... and she noticed that the door was not fully closed thus she rang the bell again.

This time, we heard a man saying "Nugu saeyeo" and I got excited thinking that maybe its not the fan club

but rather the star themselves.... Unfortunately it wasn't, but then again if it isn't

why would u put up such sign? We speculate maybe its the manager... *

*2nd floor; more like an attic. But it is comfortable*

*The office area; so during the day, this place is our hosts'

office but when it comes to night...

Its our place to sleep...*

Seoul.... Hmmm, what can I say? Well, No. 1) the subway is so so crowded!!! Especially during peak hours, its like the sheep's are out for a walk.... whenever the train's door opens! If ur travelling in a group, it is possible that some of ur friends will get left behind, thus I suggest that everyone shud know the route to whatever places that u wanna go and make sure everyone have the Seoul Metro Map... and if ur not sure where u are, ask! It's Seoul, the number of people who are able to speak English is high... Thus, just go ahead and ask... Seoul Metro have I think about 12 lines... U might wanna highlight the stops and the interchange stations that will get u to ur destinations... Its less confusing and more convenient this way... Oh, and be aware or rather alert when ur taking Line 2 (green line) as it moves in a circle and also it has two lines outside the circle... so u really have to pay attention to the screen...

No. 2) Don't be surprise when ur being bumped by people; as if ur like a wind or something... cause its very normal that some will not apologise; so juts let it go... I have no idea how many times they have bumped into me as if I'm not a being =,=

No. 3) If ur goin during winter season, make sure ur wrapped up and also have ur moisturiser or ur mist ready... cause ur skin will dry really fast and will be really dry!

Now... where I visit???

Day 1: 24/12

a) Gupo Station, Busan

Now, to all who wanna travel to Seoul using Mugunghwa... My advise is, go to the station and purchase a ticket in advance, so u'll be guaranteed a seat especially during festive seasons or public holidays... If u go one that day itself; like my friend and I, u'll end up standing the whole 5 hrs journey... and it will definitely kill ur back and legs! Well, u can steal someone's seat once in awhile but if the owner is there, u will have to get up and stand. So do purchase the ticket in advance and ticket price differs on weekends and weekdays. Generally, standing is cheaper than seating but u are only allow to purchase standing after all seating are sold. Ur last stop will be Seoul Station from there u can get on Seoul Metro to go everywhere ur heading.

*Gupo Station*

*Mugunghwa train ticket; standing*

Day 2: 25/12

a) Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung

Both of these palaces are next to one another... As in Changgyeongung is in Changdeokgung. In Changdeokgung you will also get to tour Secret Garden of the palace... Its scenery is superb and you will also get to see the places that King during that period spent for leisure...

*The entrance to Changdeokgung*

*The entrance to the palace*

*1st building u'll see when u enter

Secret Garden... Its a tour so, for Secret Garden there will be a tour guide,

available in English, Chinese and Japanese*

*The pond next to it. Its frozen, but not

hard enuf to be walked on ^^*

Entrance to Changgyeonggung is just right next to the entrance of Secret Garden...

*This tree is said to be 700 years old and u can see it on

your way out of Secret Garden*

b) Dongdaemun

All girls will enjoy this place... One of the shoppin haven in Seoul. Here you can find branded goods and there are lots of shopping malls... So I think u'll need a few days, if u really wanna go to all the malls... but goods here are expensive and cannot nego as its fixed price. On the way to the shopping area, we came across something amazing...