Day 4- KTX Train, Dongdaemun, N Seoul Tower & Myeongdong

We went to Seoul on our next day. After checking out of Cloud 9 hotel, we took the subway to Busan Station to take KTX Train to Seoul. We opted for a more economical way by taking korail train which costs around Won 114,000 (RM342/pax) for a two way trip. It took us 2.5 hours to reach Seoul and we reached timely in the afternoon. I managed to grab some Dunkin doughnuts and latte, before rushing for our next train Xxxx ❤

As we had already collected our return tickets on Day 1, so we don’t have to queue to get our return tickets from Busan KTX Station. We just need to take note of the track no of our train.

Hubby with his favourite “yong tau fu” alike breakfast… With glass noodles fillings *yummssss*

Selfie in the train ^^v

Finally after almost 3 hrs, we arrived at Seoul Station, we made our way to the subway station to take a train down to Dongdaemun.

Upon stepping out of Seoul Station, we immediately noticed the difference as there was no friendly Busan neighbourhood but shining silver skyscrapers greeted us. The weather in Seoul was slightly lower, being 12 degree.

We were impressed by the architectural and modernity of the bustling city

Seoul, one of the busiest and fast paced cities in Korea. 

Seoul has the most complicated subway line with lots of criss-crossings at various points, one of the most extensive subway system. However, the fares were reasonably priced Won 1,200 (RM3++/per destination) regardless of the distance of the routes. The fares in Busan were slightly more expensive and to our disappointment, there was no tourist information counter unlike in Taiwan. 

We arrived at the hotel, CMS Inn Seoul which is located at Dongdaemun station after 10mins walking distance from the subway station. Once i unpacked my luggage, we were starving and start hunting for food!!

Our smaller hotel room, start to miss our hotel in Busan -____-"

Instax photos and testimonials from guests were displayed near the window 

Walking around town looking at the goods sold at the market

Hubby overlooking one of the many palace in Seoul 

Dongdaemun is one of the popular area for young people and tourists, featuring luxurious upscale departmental stores. Several large shopping centers and department stores are in the district including Doota, Migliore, A/PM, and Good Morning City.

Thank God the sun was out to keep us warm 

Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), featuring a shapely façade.

There was on going Seoul Fashion Week in Dongdaemun. Koreans are fashionably dressed, tall and skinny, incredibly good looking ★~★ Aspiring models posing along the street, hoping to be discovered *@_@*

Too bad we missed "My Love from the Stars" special exhibition =.=

Models walking the catwalk at the big arena in Designer Plaza 

We took our chance to strike a pose but no one noticed ^_^"

Picturesque view from below

We left to eat lunch in the exhibition center, next to Designer Plaza. We ordered Japanese food instead. My all-time-favourite udon with sushi set and hubby’s Japanese curry with chicken cutlet  (❁´◡`❁)*

Didn’t get anything in Dongdaemun as the clothes there were just too expensive! Had manicure instead @Doota shopping mall <3>

Discovered an automated bidet-style toilet with additional functions (E.g: front & back wash, “massage” wash, seat temperature, warm water etc) Cool huh?

Relaxing walk along the stream 

Many flags being swung about~

Skyliners at dawn

At night, we just stopped by at a rundown restaurant to have a simple dinner.

Kimchi sushi & soup, noodles with Korean gyoza. 

We then made our way to Namsan Park and N Seoul Tower. Finally, we’ve successfully reached the place after 10 minutes walk~

Long queue at Namsan Cable Car Station

The illuminating city skyline on our way up

We reached the place but we found out that there’s no more Teddy Bear Museum ︸_︸

Loving the Korean's creativity

Got confused between Busan Tower and Seoul tower as both had“locks of love” hanging around.

360-degree view of Seoul from the observatory deck

Magnets galore

We, then headed straight to shop in Myeongdong. Shopping in Myeongdong was highly recommended and I can’t wait to stash all those masks ∩__∩y

If you're shopping for skincare and cosmetics, the best bargains can still be found here.

Myriad of cosmetics stores like Nature Republic, Etude House, Skin Food, Holika Holika, Enprani, The Saem, Innisfree, Missha, The Face Shop etc

Abundance of city lights <3>

Cosmetics stores left and right ⊙.⊙

Alley lined with so many food carts. Can't resist the temptation of late night snacking ^_^"

Best egg mcmuffin (literally) in Korea! The egg was stuff in a muffin~

My favourite idol, Gong Hyo-jin ambassador for HAT'S ON ★~★

Uniqlo flagship store @ Myeongdong

That’s all for a tiring day in Seoul!

XOXO

sassycat 

Day 3- Busan station, Damalji Hill & Spaland

On our 3^rd day, we took off to Busan Station where the Damalji Hill is located. We took Line 1 from Haeundae to interchange at Seomyeon Station before reaching our final destination at Busan Station.

We stopped at the famous Paris Baguette while waiting for our train at Busan Station to have our light brunch. We ordered some custard buns, doughnuts, tarts, 3-in-1 hotdog+cheese+corn, curry doughnut puff? And not-to-be-missed every morning, coffee. 

Clean, modern and elegant interior (Suitable as hang out place for young peeps)

Loving their cute take away coffee cup ∩__∩y

Raining all day long ︸_︸

We took a bus and realised how silly we were when we realised that the actual location is near where we were staying which is Haeundae beach *palm-slap on the forehead* And the bus driver just stopped us at a random bus stop when we told him that we wanted to get to Damalji Hill as both of us couldn’t understand each other. So, we were left aimless at the bus stop and in the end, we just took a cab to the place as it was just 10-15 mins away. What an adventure!

Upon reaching Damalji Hill, we immediately spotted the beautiful gingko trees.

Coffee really makes the world goes around in Korea. There’s literally one on every corner and all in between along the street! We stopped by at “Angel In Us” café which is famous for their pastries and coffee, of course. In fact, it is one of the most franchised cafés in Korea, aside from the Paris Baguette as it is more focus toward the high-end district. 

Me posing in front of the coffee and beans ^_^;

The cosy environment suitable for catch-up with friends and colleagues ^^

Overlooked the nice view points and cafes on the way down

Walked down to enjoy the view  (❁´◡`❁)*

Posing with the 600 year old gingko trees ^^v

Hubby's classic throw leaves act =.=

Stumbled across a temple (When spiritual meets nature)

The buildings in Damalji Hill were aesthetically pleasing as they resembled the artistic street of Busan. Most of the buildings were modernist architectural and consist of wedding studios, art studios and etc. Some of the buildings were blending modernist European style architecture with plenty of open-concept cafes. 

A hint of autumn (❁´◡`❁)*

Overlooking the breathtaking Haeundae beach

Panaromic view of the beach

Tree branches along the street

We managed to queue up for free Shrimp burgers when we stopped by at McD along our way. 

Hubby just can’t get over the new “toy”!~

After the exhaustive Damalji Hill, we wanted to look our for some relaxing place and headed over to our first trip to Korean spa, one of Busan’s biggest and most modern “jjimjilbangs” (Also know as public bath here). In fact, it’s called the Spaland and is located in Shinsegae department store. We were greeted by smiley customer service at the entrance and paid Won 35,000 (RM105) for 2 pax which is considered cheap given the facilities and variety of rooms. I guess it’ quite common for the Koreans to have public bath here.

When we went separately to the public bath house (gender-separated), I was perplexed to look at the nudity roaming around the room. O.o And we were given two mini towels to cover. I was just completely taken off by the people walking in front of others. It’s just funny to get looks from the peering eyes and the "ahjumas" had no issues with that as it was a norm to them.

The first room had around eight separate baths and claimed to be good for both the skin and blood, heated to various degrees. The temperature for the baths was averaging between 37 degree to 40 degree. Some pools were still and serene while others had bubble effects for “water massage” feeling.

After showering off, we met at the gender-mixed area and were intrigued to try the variety of saunas which were waiting for us. We tried the 52 degree of “Pyramid Room” which is the so-called “angle of energy collection from the universe”. After few minutes, as we were unable to stand the heat, we moved forward to the “Hamam Room” which resembles the Turkish bath house and “Body Sound Room” which was good for the bones, I think. But, my personal favourite was the “Green Room” where serene and peaceful music surrounded the room which claimed to be good for mental stability.

After the relaxing saunas, we were ushered towards the “Relaxation Zone” with massage chairs and guests were enjoying the chairs with their own personal TVs. But, that didn’t fancy us too much as we were more intrigued with the massage chairs. The chairs were placed as same level with the capsule machines which claimed to burn Xxx calories upon sleeping in it for an hour along with some facial and hair parlours.

We enjoyed the massage chair so much and it was so different compared to those massage chairs in Malaysia. Every touch gave us the “oomph” sensation and we were so looking forward to the chairs when we were back in Malaysia.

We only stayed for four hours in Spa Land as it is one of their restrictions unlike most of the other “jjimjilbangs”. We had our light dinner in their food court and enjoyed our makgeolli before making our way back to the hotel. We really enjoy the Shinsegae “jjimijilbangs” and thought it will be great if they have Thai/ Balinese massage as well. It will be a perfect complement! Overall, we are looking forward our next trip to other “jjimijilbangs” in Busan if we were to re-visit Korea in the future.

That’s all for the day before we took off to Seoul the next day ^^v

XOXO
sassycat