I've been looking forward to this trip ever since we booked our flight tickets late last year. There was a Scoot sale and we got our tickets at $400SGD per pax, which is a damn good deal! However, Scoot's flight to Seoul has a stopover at Taipei, so that's a little troublesome, and the flight timing wasn't that good.
Anyway, we arrived in Seoul at around 11pm and by the time we reached at our accommodation in Hongdae, it was already midnight, so didn't do much, just showered and crashed. We tried Airbnb to book our accommodation for the first time, and it was a pretty good experience. I don't mind using it again!
Day 1- Hongdae & Ehwa
We figured we should be pretty tired from the flight, so we didn't want to go somewhere too far, and decided to explore Hongdae on our first full day in Seoul!
Hongdae (Hongik Univ. Station Line 2) is a very young and youthful area. There are also quite alot of cafes and bars, which mean it's usually bustling at night. It's a popular hangout for youths and university student since, well, it's located near Hongik University. I was torn between Myeongdong and Hongdae when we were choosing which area to stay, but we chose Hongdae in the end because it seems like a more hip and happening place.
If Myeongdong is Orchard Road, then Hongdae will be something Haji Lane and a cooler Bugis Street.
There are so many incredible artwork around the neighborhood, but these are just some I took. Cos I didn't want to appear like a suaku tourist lol.
I should've taken more pictures of the streets, but I was probably too distracted and we were trying to find our way around.
For our first meal in Korea, we decided that we wanted some authentic Korean food, and we found this quaint little restaurant along one of the shopping streets. The walls in the restaurant were plastered with post-it notes written by customers. We ordered a rice cake kimchi noodles and a bibimbap to share. They're okay, typical Korean meal.
After lunch, we walked around the shopping streets for awhile and headed for the Trick Eye Museum! You can also google online for coupon codes for tourists. I think I paid around 12000won!
The museum was running a 1-for-1 promo at that time. For every Trick Eye Museum ticket you buy, you're entitled to a free entry to the Ice Museum.
Hongik University Station (Seoul Subway Line 2), Exit 9.
Go straight 150m, cross the road, and turn left onto Hongik-ro Street.
Go straight 120m, and turn right down the second side street (in between TONYMOLY and Holika Holika). Continue going 100m to arrive at Trickeye Museum on the right.
We went to Cat Living Cafe at Hongdae. This cafe has alot of long-tail cats and a few scottish folds and munchkins. Scottish fold munchkins are my favorite! 8000won gets you a free drink and entry into the cafe. There's no time limit, so you can stay for as long as you like!
It's really easy to access the cafe. Just look for the infamous Hello Kitty Cafe and you'll be able to see the cat cafe banner.
I didn't succeed.
But it was fun. And while doing so, we attracted a small group of people, much to the delight of the stall owners (who were really sweet btw). Patronize them if you're around the area!
We didn't get anything from the market, although I saw this handmade kitty notebook that was lovely. But it was around 18000won for a small notebook? A little too expensive in my opinion and I'm pretty sure I'll never use it.
Anyway, after we left the market, we continued exploring Hongdae for awhile before heading over to Ehwa (Ehwa Women’s University station, exit 2). Similar to Hongdae, Ehwa has a really youthful vibe, but I think Hongdae is cooler?
We had dinner at this ddeokbokki and odeng place and they had really spicy and chewy ddeokbokki! i can safely say that this is the spiciest and the best ddeokbokki I've had in Korea.
So.good.
I don't have the exact address of the stall, but I took a picture!
The museum was running a 1-for-1 promo at that time. For every Trick Eye Museum ticket you buy, you're entitled to a free entry to the Ice Museum.
Hongdae Trick Eye Museum
Go straight 150m, cross the road, and turn left onto Hongik-ro Street.
Go straight 120m, and turn right down the second side street (in between TONYMOLY and Holika Holika). Continue going 100m to arrive at Trickeye Museum on the right.
I can haz long legs
The ice museum was quite interesting. The temperature was -10deg or something and it was so cold that we had to bail after about 5min inside. It was just a small room, and nothing much to see except for ice sculptures and a cool slide.
Next up, also the highlight of the day - CAT CAFE!
If you know me well, you will know that I freaking love cats. I don't care if they're non-responsive or proud, or evil, I will not and cannot stop my growing affection for cats.
We went to Cat Living Cafe at Hongdae. This cafe has alot of long-tail cats and a few scottish folds and munchkins. Scottish fold munchkins are my favorite! 8000won gets you a free drink and entry into the cafe. There's no time limit, so you can stay for as long as you like!
To be very honest, most of the cats were just lazing around, having their afternoon naps. Those awake were actively ignoring us, which is totally fine. That's just their personality.
Once in awhile, they will come near you or brush their tails against you to let you know that you're welcomed to pet them. DO SO.
We also went to the Hongdae Free Market which only opens every Saturday. It's like an artisan crafts market, so you will see alot of handmade items. A majority of the sellers are art students selling their work.
Hongdae Free Market
Hongik University Station (Subway Line 2), Exit 9.
Go 150m straight, and cross the street.
Turn left, and go 500m straight towards the Hongik University entrance.
Turn right to arrive at Hongik Children's Park.
Go 150m straight, and cross the street.
Turn left, and go 500m straight towards the Hongik University entrance.
Turn right to arrive at Hongik Children's Park.
There were a couple of food stalls near the market selling awesome street food like odeng and ddeokbokki.
We stopped by this little booth selling caramel candy which was manned by an old couple. They 'challenged' me to see if I can separate the little star from the rest of the candy without breaking it.
But it was fun. And while doing so, we attracted a small group of people, much to the delight of the stall owners (who were really sweet btw). Patronize them if you're around the area!
The main market is an open area and it's super crowded. It was quite hard to maneuver and the more popular stalls were always crowded with people.
Anyway, after we left the market, we continued exploring Hongdae for awhile before heading over to Ehwa (Ehwa Women’s University station, exit 2). Similar to Hongdae, Ehwa has a really youthful vibe, but I think Hongdae is cooler?
We had dinner at this ddeokbokki and odeng place and they had really spicy and chewy ddeokbokki! i can safely say that this is the spiciest and the best ddeokbokki I've had in Korea.
So.good.
I don't have the exact address of the stall, but I took a picture!
After dinner, we walked around Ewa for awhile, and I bought the cute little pens from Artbox as seen from my haul post.
And that's it for Day 1! A very fruitful day I would say, as we covered quite alot of places. I don't know when I'm going to finish blogging all 14 days of my trip. But I'll try!
To be continued~
p.s I noticed that the alignment and spacing of my pictures and paragraphs keep getting screwed up whenever I publish a post. It looks fine when I'm drafting the post, but when it gets published, everything just screws up! Anyone knows why or how to prevent this from happening?
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