Landing right into Myeongdong

Before our plane landed, a Korean stewardess was handing immigration cards and her first response to me answered the aged question some friends have asked previously; you look more Korean or Japanese ?

When the stewardess asked whether I would need an immigration card naturally in Korean, my guess is my first impression to her was that I’m Korean. And since a Japanese stewardess didn’t ask me this question while in Japan, it concludes I’m more Korean looking. Moving on.

Hotel check-in time was only at 2pm. With time to stray, missus and I walked around the area for the hunt of our first meal. Passing several small shops along the alleys, we digressed to a skincare shop. And very surely, customers who purchased were rewarded handsomely with freebies – they even gave a can of coffee. *sweat* As I observed the cashier person, she was digging out almost anything she could find from her freebie drawer and giving it to us. I guess this was one of the perks shopping skincare in Korea.

When we were back on the food track, we finally settled at probably the most unlikely place – a food stall. Lol.

With chilly winds penetrating through our layers, warm food like deokbukki, omuk and some soup was a fine choice to chow down. The price of 3 fish cake sticks, a stick of some meat and a bowl of deokbukki totaled 8000 won (approx. MYR 25) – a little pricey, we thought.

Once we refueled, we decided to walk along the road to explore nearby areas. The sight was pretty plain, so we opted to step into a nearby Lotte mall. Clothes and shoes from what I consider indie brands were priced between 40,000-100,000+ won. *gulp* After using up the time, we headed back to the hotel to check-in and rest a bit before heading to Myeongdong.

At Myeongdong, we were looking for NANTA theater because hearing the recommendation of a friend, it was to be worthwhile. And dear readers, it was a good amount invested in the VIP seats to experience an awesome performance of music with kitchen utensils.

The thumping sounds thundered through the floor and you could’ve really seen how much heart and effort the cast put into their performance. If you’re into musicals and creativity, this is an act you’ve to experience.

After we were done here, we waked around the area, had some 32cm tall ice cream and looked for a cat cafe we wanted to visit. While we weren’t sure whether it was the Lilly cat cafe, we still really liked it because the variety of cats were aplenty and they looked quite big.

When we started feeling hungry, we explored the streets of Myeongdong further. By this time, food stalls had opened along the walkways and we passed various eateries too. However, food stalls weren’t really attracting us and most eateries seemed like their prices were a little on the high side. Thankfully, we discovered a local eatery and paid 5,500 won for kimchi fried rice.

Myeongdong was a really excellent place for NANTA, buying clothes and skincare (again) due to variety and competing promotions. At night, it transformed into a similar scene like Japan’s Shinsaibashi – maybe narrower walkways. But if you’re not into the shopping, you’d probably not want to spend too much time walking around there.

Here’s to tomorrow, more blue skies and chilly winds!

Seoul Searching

The missus and I are doing some Seoul searching – that’s what she wants to call it. To be honest, I’ve not the slightest clue what to expect in this country; all I know is it’s only probably filled with k-pop madness, korean food and crazy fans. But I suppose getting away from the current heatwave and being distracted in a foreign land from the inevitable GST would be a good thing.

It’s funny having thought to myself, I’m writing in my blog again because I’m traveling. Maybe that’s what I could do, maybe it’s a phase. Whatever it is, I’m adding new entries again into this space. That is a good thing.

Here’s to some Seoul searching. And if we’re lucky, bump into some celebrity or get picked to be on Running Man. Fighting!

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