A N N Y E O N G H A S E Y O ! ! !
Last June, I was able to book Cebu Pac's promo for South Korea for #micki3. I supposed not to schedule international flight anymore this year since I have already booked August for Ilocos, September for Boracay & December for Baguio. However, Nikko chatted me that night that there was a promo on the same schedule as theirs (#TeamAirAsia), I just cant resist, and so I did!
For less than a month from our flight, we started to get our visa requirements. That was my (& Babaks) first time to apply for visa & I never thought it was so stressful! We have overlooked Babak's expiring passport, almost 2 weeks release of COE & all other odds, in the end, he didn't make it! T.T And I felt so guilty about it! Coz I thought for as long as we have all the complete requirements then everything will be okay, but, lesson learned, I should've separated our bank account, requested for the annual income and not monthly since bonuses will not be reflected, or if possible and as some blogs made mentioned, it would be easier for visa to be approved in Manila compared here in Cebu. But anyway, as our flight gets nearer, we accepted the fact that we'll not be able to travel South Korea together this time! huhuhu On the lighter note, he was the one who did the favor to convert my peso to won, fetched me at the airport from my Dipolog trip and eventually, sent me off to airport the next day for South Korea, and even picked me up when I was back! (jeopardyatitspeak)
Airfare:
#TeamCebuPac: PHP 5,558.65 roundtrip with 15 kls baggage for return flight,
Plus, terminal fee Php750 travel fee and travel tax Php1,620
#TeamAirAsia: PHP 3,100 roundtrip
I converted Php18,000 to 410,000 KRW; excluding entrance fees for online reservations:
* N Seoul Tower (original price Php308, got it with discount to Php133)
* Everland (Php1,394).
Tip: Just divide won amount to Php20 - 22 for you to have an idea on how much the price in our peso.
We booked via Klook application. For you to get discounted prices, you should use different email add upon bookings!
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| #TeamCebuPac |
DAY 1. 21 October 2016, Friday. flight 5J 128 departed at 03:40PM and arrived at Incheon International Airport at 09:15PM (Korean time) for #TeamCebuPac. We were all 13 namely, (Me) Michelle, Rolly, Mark, Nikko, Sab, Justine, Elaine, Neekoy, Mark, Shane, and Doc Edsel, Jasper, Blanche (1 day ahead of us). 11 of which were from DOHRO7. Travel time 3 hrs and 45 mins. South Korea is 1 hr ahead from pinas.
ANNYEONGHASEYO, Land of the Morning Calm!
* Others changed their USD to KRW at the airport
(good move: change your PHP to USD in PH and USD to KRW in Seoul ; In Myeong dong, USD-KRW is sold at a higher value!)
* Purchased 4,000 KRW T-Money + 34,000 KRW load for the entire journey
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| Cutiepatootie T Money! |
* We directly went to our hostel (via Airport Railway Express ~ Hongik Univ. Station, fare: 4,050 KRW)
TIP: Download "Seoul Subway" app in Google Play or Play Store for easy navigation of the Seoul Metro Subway. Their subway was so confusing to look but through typing your plan of destination, it will give you an idea of what route/railways to take you easier or faster.
* HEYBACKPACKERS in Hongdae (near Hongik University), heart of nightlife and clubs in Seoul, (visit their website here http://heybackpackers.com/). Room is very affordable booked at 58,000 KRW (Php2,400) for 4 nights (1 room good for 5 persons). You can cook food, wash and iron clothes, utensils are available, WIFI ready, super fast internet speed. Highly recommended!
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| HEYBACKPACKERS, our home in Korea for 4 nights. |
* First night we had our dinner on the streets of Hongdae with their delicious korean streetfoods at 2,500-5,000 KRW.
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| My fist taste of korean chicken bbq streetfood in Hongdae, Seoul, SK! |
DAY 2. 22 October 2016, Saturday.
* NAMI ISLAND. Left the hostel by 08:00 AM then subway all the way to Gapyeong Station. Estimated 2 hours travel time with 29 stops. From Gapyeong Station, rode a bus going to Nami Island Pier for 10 minutes. Nami Island entrance fee is 10,000 KRW but 8,000 KRW (Php400) for foreigners. Don't forget to bring your passport. This is inclusive of ferry roundtrip ticket. A dream come true for me for I'm always dreaming of going Autumn season in SoKor because of its beautiful and colorful leaves! Plus, it is where the very known Endless Love: Winter Sonata was shoot! I was in highschool when it was featured in pinas but appreciated Autumn more during Endless Love: Autumn in my Heart!
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| Dear Babaks, I wish we could go back together someday. #micki3 |
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| Maple leaves in various colors! |
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| AUTUMN is the best season to visit Nami Island! |
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| Vivid colors everywhere. I could live here like forever! |
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| It would've been a perfect view with #micki3 |
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Nami Island is where the Endless Love: Winter Sonata was shoot.
I was around in 3rd year highschool that time! |
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| The spot wherein the beautiful trees wrapped with ice during winter. #teamkorya |
* PETITE FRANCE, Gapyeong. By 2pm, we left Nami Island and waited for almost an hour for the Shuttle Bus at GS25 bus stop for 6,000 KRW going to Petite France and 8,000 KRW entrance fee. By 3:30 PM, we left Petite France and headed back to Seoul.
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| Petite Eiffel Tower at Petite France! |
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| A taste of France in South Korea. |
* Dinner with an eat-all-you-can Samgyeopsal near our hostel for 9,900 KRW (Php500/head)
* Rolly, Blanche, Jasper & I, strolled around Hongdae. Parties were all over! We tried to eat icecream for 2,000 KRW. :D Others tried the public bathhouse for sauna. Ask them their wild experienced! lolz
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| Dare to eat 2,000 KRW icecream despite the cold weather! Perfeeeect! |
DAY 3. 23 October 2016, Sunday.
* GYEONGBUKGONG PALACE. Left hostel by 9AM to catch the 1st changing of guards in the Palace at 10AM. Ticket for the palace is 3,000 KRW (Php120). They told us that the changing of guards was cancelled due to an event but surprisingly, it was pushed through so yeah dagaaaaan para makakita lang! hahaha : Changing of guardsD
TIP: 5 minutes after changing of guards ceremony, head to the small building left part after the gate for the free experience of putting on Hanbok, a korean traditional costume (for 5 minutes). Only male costume is available in the area and maximum of 6 people per batch when you're in group. They open hourly from 10AM except for lunch time. We waited for the next hour for us to experience it too, since we were a big group!
FYI! The palace is closed during Tuesday. Entrance fee is free for those wearing Hanbok costumes. There were some stores renting it.
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| The traditional costume for male called Hanbok. |
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| Hanbok traditional costume for free is a must! Better to rent female hanbok outside too! |
* BUKCHON HANOK VILLAGE. Just one station away from Gyeongbokgung (Anguk Station, Line 4). We explored the village full of traditional Korean houses where some korean movies were filmed.
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| These are residential houses turned tourist spot for its artistry in Hanok Village. |
* Attended Holy Mass in Cathedral Church of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception (Myeongdong Cathedral) at 04:00PM. This is the Church for Archdiocese of Seoul and was also the birthplace for the Roman Catholic Church community in Korea. First time to attend mass outside pinas and it was in korean language but everything is just of the same sequence. That was a great experienced! It was also outside the cathedral where we felt the coldest temperature dropped because it rained from time to time.
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| Myeongdong Cathedral where I attended my first ever international mass. Feel so blessed! |
* N SEOUL TOWER. After mass, we headed straight to the N Seoul Tower, walked thru the cable car terminal for almost 20 minutes. Patangas sa Namsan Mountain. TIP: Naay elevator daplin sa hi-way unahan sa street pa katkat sa mountain. Rode 8,500 KRW cable car to top, good for 2-way. Booked our ticket via Klook so we just presented the voucher. The letter ‘N’ stands for the tower’s ‘new’ look, which resulted from a 15 billion won remodeling project in December 2005. You can find here the famous Korean Lovelocks (8,000 KRW each) and the Observatory, a 360-degree view of the Seoul City.
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| N Seoul Tower, a 360-degree view of the Seoul City. |
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| Bright lights, Christmas is just around the corner! |
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| Christmas trees of Lovelocks. |
* DONGDAEMON PLAZA. By night, it's a great time to visit Dongdaemun. With a magnificent architecture,we witnessed the modern era of Korea. We found here the famous 25,000 LED roses.
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| 25,000 LED Roses shining all throughout. |
* CHEONGGYECHON STREAM. The so called Alay Lakad 2016 of this trip! Hahahaha Wrong direction so we walked farther only to find out nga nanubay rami sa stream, we just have to cross 2 blocks away diay! hahaha. Still in Dongdaemun area, this is an 11 km long stream flowing through downtown Seoul. This stream is very popular during their festival of floating lanterns.
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Cheonggyecheon Stream was clear that we were able to see small and big fishes even at night time!
That's how clean their stream is! |
* On our way back, we had our dinner in Dak Galbi (Korean spicy chicken stir fry). It is a popular Korean dish generally made by stir-frying marinated diced chicken in a gochujang based sauce, and sliced cabbage, sweet potato, scallions, onions, perilla leaves, and tteok together on a hot plate. At a price of 5,500-6,000 KRW, finally, with RICE!:D
DAY 4. 24 October 2016, Monday.
* EVERLAND. Located in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, it is an almost 2-hour travel by train (43 stations, 3 line transfers, oh yeah!) Spent the whole day in Everland. We opted to go on a Monday because they said that going there on a weekend is competing all children during queuing. We booked our tickets via Klook for only Php1,394 from the original price of Php2,900 (52,000 KRW). Unluckily, the famous world's longest wooden roller coaster (T express) was on maintenance that day. So sayang! But the other rides (Let's Twist, Colombus Adventure, Rolling X-train, Racing Coaster) were damn good especially the last one (Double Rock Spin, a must try!) We also witnessed the parade, beautiful garden and saw 2 real pandas in Panda World :D. I wish my pamangkins were there to see them, too! Left Everland by 6:30PM.
* BANPO BRIDGE RAINBOW FOUNTAIN. We arrived on time, just before the last 09:00 PM show for the famous Banpo fountain show which lasted for 20 minutes. This is the world's longest bridge fountain. The fountain is programmed to play different shows during the day and night. 200 lights illuminate the fountain as it sends up dancing, rainbow-colored jets of water in the air in synchronization with music. We had an option to go to Banpo bridge with a bicycle from Express Bus Terminal Station but sadly, only 10 bikes were available. Palakwon nalang unta ang tulo. HAHAHA wai musugot molakaw...so lakaw para tabla!!! So kapooooooooy!:D
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Just in time for Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain last show.
The moment we arrived, Titanic's My heart Will Go on was being played. |
* Ended our last night in Seoul getting drunk with different flavors of Soju (Korean alcohol drink), korean rice wine and alovera juice. Ang target nga hubgon, wa jud nadutli! Off the record, water ra geinom sa ubang rounds! lolz! :D Slept at 02:30 AM.
DAY 5. 25 October 2016, Tuesday.
Kapaspas sa panahon! Last day nalang namo and uli nami by night. T_T
5J 129 departed at 10:15 PM arrived at 26 October 2016, Wednesday at 01:40 AM. Fetched again by my ever supportive Babaks!
So that sums up our whole South Korea experience. No goodbyes! SOUTH KOREA, You are truly amazing!
I wish I could visit again with the same Autumn season with my family or with Babaks and Superfriends someday!
PS. Squad pose, 13 Seoul Squad! 
:)
Video link:
Youtube (background music is being muted) - https://youtu.be/SWIiCcUzehc
K A M S A H A M N I D A !
SEOULsearching,
#iamdreamichelle
Credit to Nikko for making my life easier with all the details in this journey.
