Hey guys!
So I just returned from my trip to Korea. I went on a tour with my mum and my brother and it was actually better than I expected. The tour guide gave us quite a lot of free time so we could go shopping. I got like A LOT of Korean cosmetics. I will talk about them in my hauls after this (I will probably be splitting up my cosmetic and clothing haul.) It will take some time because school is starting and I want to try out every single one of them before I do reviews on them. Overall, it was pretty good and I didn't get stuck in Shanghai for a week doing nothing/studying all day.
Day 1:
We arrived in Seoul at night and it was pretty late already. We had a steamboat dinner even after the airplane gave us food, so I was really full and I didn't eat much. This was one of the first times I ever ate Kimchi. I'm not the type of person that likes spicy food. I used to like it a lot until my skin got really prone to pimples. Miraculously, I didn't have any MAJOR outbreaks. Can someone tell me why? I ate a lot of chili...
After dinner, we went to Dongdaemon. It's a shopping place with buildings but I didn't get anything from the buildings. I got stuff from the small stalls on the road. Those are the best place to shop. Honestly, the stuff in the building are so expensive and the things inside don't really suit my style. Most of them were too girly for me. I got some stuff there but I couldn't find any shoes that fit me. I have huge feet. Like really huge feet. The only place where I can buy shoes are from the US, Australia, Europe, and sometimes Singapore. It's so hard for me to find shoes. It's so unfair.
We reached the hotel pretty late, around 11pm. And I went to sleep at around 11.45.
Day 2:
Breakfast was horrible.
We went to take a look at the President's house. It looks so small compared to the White House! I guess the interior is really big? There is this mountain behind it. The tour guide explained that the North Koreans dug a hole in the mountain and tried to invade South Korea but they got found out.
And then we went to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. I think this was where the Emperor and Empress used to live in?
We walked to the National Folk Museum of Korea. It showcases Korea's heritage, culture and history.
We then went to another palace. I'm not sure what the name is in Korean or English.
You see the contrast between the ancient stuff and the modern stuff in the background?
The Emperor's throne.
Mum, Henry and I. Dad's in the US at work. Wished he could join us!
There were these people standing outside and they were really still. Are they soldiers? I don't know.
Streets.
We ate Ginseng chicken for lunch. Not a fan of Ginseng but I love chicken soup. My grandma cooks the best chicken soup EVER!
After lunch, the tour guide gave us free time to go shopping! YAY SHOPPING! But before we (I) go on a massive haul, we went to the Cheonggyecheon Stream. I feel that it's location is pretty unique. It's in the middle of like a shopping and office district. I know that it's very near Myeongdong and the Lotte Duty Free mall. We walked there and it took us about 5-10 minutes.
And then it's time to shop.
There was this Star Avenue at the first floor when I was entering the Lotte Duty Free mall where they had photos of Kpop celebs and their handprints. I'm not a Kpop fan though.
SO MANY PEOPLE. And 90% of them were Chinese. It's like everywhere I go, I see Chinese. The staff weren't very friendly either. I feel like they didn't want us to bother them or something. Like they give you the "go away" face and voice. When I speak to them in English, it's only slightly better since they may think that you are not from China.
And then I went to Myeongdong. Myeongdong is sooooooo awesome. Okay I see 3-4 Etude House, Tony Moly, The Face Shop, Skin Food etc stores when I was shopping here. This is a must go when you're in Seoul. Plus, they have a lot of little stalls and stores and the stuff they sell there are pretty inexpensive. But, I do feel that some of the stuff are overpriced, especially the stores that are not from Korea like H&M, Forever21, so I didn't get anything from there.
You may think that there's only 2 bags but there are a hell lotta stuff in there.
We ate dinner at a restaurant and we had some BBQ chicken. However, I didn't expect them to put so much chili in it. I was so afraid I was gonna have a breakout.
Oh btw, this is my second favorite thing in Seoul, right after shopping. This banana milk is AWESOME. I have no idea how to read the stuff on the bottle and I have no idea what brand this is, but this is really, really good. If you go to Korea and you don't drink this, you are missing out. There's also a strawberry milk from this same brand and it's pretty nice too. But I love this banana milk. It's the best banana milk I ever had in my entire 16 years of existence.
We got back to our hotel at around 8 and my mum and I used two of the facial masks they gave us as samples. I feel that the Korean stores gave me a lot of samples. We were watching some CSI show on this channel called TruTV. Honestly, I have never watched CSI shows until that night. It's pretty good I guess. I hate bloody, violent stuff but I think most CSIs aren't that bloody or horrifying. Just slightly creepy.
Day 3:
We were supposed to have a tour around the Namsangol Traditional Garden but it was Army Day. The place was closed down for a commemoration for the soldiers who died in the Korean War, so we took a quick 10 minute walk around the entrance area.
There were some cool... what do you call these?
I love this one ^
I saw some cute little kids!
Afterwards, we went to the Teddy Bear Museum. I loved this! I think this is one of the cutest museums that I have ever been to. It's somewhere on a mountain.
Hi Mr Teddy, I love your mustache.
There are two exhibitions. One of them showcases the ancient stuff and the other showcases the modern stuff.
Many of these models are electronically powered and they move too!
Here comes the modern exhibit:
Gangnam Style bear! I look very different here I don't know why. Maybe it's the lighting.
Outside, there are these locks which you throw the key away and your wish will come true? I don't know what you call them but there were a lot of these.
I had a Cold Stone Creamery ice cream there! I think I ate milkchococookies. It's been too long since I had Cold Stone.
Oh my love.
We ate some BBQ pork for lunch and headed to the Kimchischool. Basically, they teach you how to make Kimchi. I recorded the lesson but just so you know, it's in Chinese. I'll try uploading it.
At the same place, they had Korean costumes that you could wear and take photos of.
My bro took this. It's blurry but I think I look ok.
I think these costumes are really pretty!
That concluded our stay in Seoul and we took a plane to Jeju Island. We managed to get onto business class. I think my mum has this privilege card.
We went to a hotspring and sauna. Everyone had to go naked into the hotspring so I wasn't used to that. Of course, the ladies and the men were in separate places. I would prefer not to go since I have a hotspring in my compound. I think the place we went to is called the Jimjilbangs and Saunas.
We ate nearby.
We got back to our hotel. Sleep.
Day 4:
We went to the Jeju Island volcano called Hallasan. I'm don't think it's active anymore, perhaps dormant. The scenery is really pretty. This is the first time I saw a volcano. But you won't see lava or anything flowing.
Just me doing nostalgic/deep poses.
As you can see, it's all grass on the top of the volcano.
A nice view of the island.
The way down.
Those dots in the sea are the fishnets belonging to the haenyo, meaning "sea women". Most of them are around 60-80 years old and they catch seafood for their family.
These are some volcanic rocks a store was selling.
Next, we went to Mt. Seopjikoji. I feel like it isn't really on a mountain, but it's on a high hill.
These were some squids the sea women caught.
These are two unique rocks at the sea.
At Seopjikoji, there is a church where a lot of Korean dramas were filmed. The church is just a prop because the location is really beautiful. It's not a real church.
We ate lunch somewhere.
And went to a Folk Village. It's a place where tourists can take a look at the traditional life of the Jeju Island people.
This place was also a setting for a very famous Korean drama.
There were two statues. The hands are placed differently. This one below is the female statue. They say if you want a baby girl, you touch this statue's nose.
This is the male statue. So if you want a baby boy, you touch this guy's nose.
To be honest, I think this setting is a great place for modeling. I'm not skinny and not stunningly beautiful so I'm just messing around.
We then went to the Trick Art Museum. This is one of my favorites in Jeju Island! Basically, you think of how you can make the pictures on the wall look really real. I have a lot of pics I like here.
I really like this one ^
This one below is actually had a wooden frame that I could sit on.
Cat!
I'm officially a Victoria's Secret Angel.
LOL JK.
LOL Henry.
Afterwards, we went to the Jeongbang Waterfall. I think after looking at the Niagara Falls, nothing is ever comparable to it. It seems pretty small and redundant to me. What do you think?
Bought this at a convenience store that and IT'S AWESOME. This is my first time eating ice cream drops? Is that what you call it. It's so good.
This thing is so cool.
Amazing isn't it?
At night, we had free time to go SHOPPING! Yay!
Henry returned to the hotel since he's not a shopper at all. So my mum and I went to this duty free shop called Shilla Duty Free. We got some Tonymoly stuff there. But. I couldn't find something I really wanted from Etude House so we went on the streets looking for it.
*I will talk about that in my haul post.
We got back to our hotel by taking a taxi. Sleep.
Day 5:
It was the last day of the tour. Nooooo. :(
In the morning, we went to the seaside. I'm not sure what this particular bridge and place is called but it's really close to the Yongduam Rock. They are located at the same area.
I haven't seen the sea for so long.
I just want to sit here all day.
And then we went to the Yongduam Rock. It looks like a dragon. I find that Jeju Island has some really unique coasts.
Yup and that's pretty much the end of the trip. We went to the airport but we had to fly back to Seoul first and then back to Shanghai again. I think the airplane tickets are cheaper this way but it's such a waste of time! But there's this pretty big duty free shop in Seoul.
Overall, the trip was really good. I think Seoul is really more for shopping cos I got like so much stuff there. Jeju Island is a really nice place. It has so many cool places to go to. And it's scenery is just wow. My October break went pretty well this year! (:
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