Winter Trip with Family - Namsan Tower & Myeongdong

Assalamualaikum. 안녕!

Previous post (here).

It's our second last day in South Korea! Ureo! Hakikat walau pahit umpama telan paku, harus ditelan. Sobs. Ikut initial plan sepatutnya harini mau pi main ski di Yongpyeong Ski Resort. Tapi yang lain proposed untuk ronda Seoul jak sebab ndak larat mau jalan jauh sudah.

Kunun! Walhal masing² mau shopping. Pastu Angah & Aunty request last day pun diorang mau di Seoul jak. Although flight balik Malaysia adalah petang; kami memang ndak plan untuk keluar pi mana² takut nanti ndak sedar masa. Kalau solo, memang aku akan pulun jalan lagi before pi airport. After lunch baru aku gerak pi airport. Tapi sebab ni jalan secara jemaah, jadi kenalah beringat 'kelembapan' setiap orang.

Pagi tu aku bangun dengan super semangat. Tenaga sudah kembali! Semalam tidur super lena tu yang keluar segala bunyi enjin & musical box rosak. Lantak lah janji I am fully energized to start my day. Bukan selalu aku contribute bunyi sama 'orkestra tengah malam' dalam rumah tu.

So lepas breakfast, kami pun mulakan our first mission. Superwalkertapaki harus! Aku belum bawa diorang jejak Namsan Tower jadinya sebelum mula agenda bershopping, mari kita pi sana dulu. Rugilah kan datang Seoul tapi ndak jejak one of its most famous must-visit attraction. Sudahlah first time diorang datang. Aku ni lain ceritalah. N-Tower pun bosan sudah tengok aku. Asyiklah berjanji yang aku akan datang lagi. Dan lagi. Ngeks.

24 January 2015
Seoul

# Myeongdong Cathedral
Yang ni memang antara favourite filming location. Kami limpas church ni everytime berwalkertapaki pi or balik dari Myeongdong. 

# First time tengok street di Myeongdong lenggang.
Nampak sangat kan bersemangat keluar awal pagi. Second last day katanya!

# Because the store is pink!
Sebelum naik N-Tower, sempat lagi invest duit di Etude House. Macam lah ndak kan jumpa lagi kedai tu di petang hari. Pintar melantun. Sudahnya, aku mengangkut paper bag tu sepanjang hari. 

# My most favourite shop at Myeongdong Underground Arcade.
Nangis woo tengok album retis kesayangan. Murah pula tu. 

Macam biasa, mau pi Namsan Tower kenalah mendaki the uphill area dulu before sampai stesen cable car di atas tu. Aunty yang gayat terpaksa pasrah sama suara majoriti. 

"Kalau Aunty pengsan macamana?"

"Kami kasi tinggal jaklah Aunty. Nanti Aunty sedar juga tu."

Kejam kan suara anak² buahan. Tapi Alhamdulillah Aunty selamat sampai atas without rasa pening or worst; pengsan. Siap riak lagi ada. Suddenly hilang gayat bila di negara orang. Cis sangat.

# Before the Cable Car station.
Forced to do the Love-Pose by Yours Truly. Tapi semua pun ikut tanpa bantahan!

# Our tickets.
Macam biasa, budak sekolah dapat discount. Half price lagi.

# New locks-fence.
First yang kami nampak once keluar dari cable car. Makin meriah pula area di bawah tower ni. 

# Annyeong N-Tower!
It's been a while, right? Percayalah, hati memang rasa lain macam everytime jejak sini. Dupdapdupdap. *nah baldi*

Kebetulan ada festival apa ntah di atas tu, so boleh try hanbok for free! Melompat girang adalah the three sisters. Ezza & Girl langsung tiada perasaan. Me? Sebab memang sudah set dalam minda ndak kan pakai hanbok until the day 'I decided to finally wear it' so aku cuma jadi tukang gambar diorang. *muntah* 

Gigihlah diorang queued untuk jadi wanita Korea. Nasib baik masa ni awal lagi, so ndak lah ramai sangat orang. Ada 1 Chinese lady ni yang memang dulu kami, dia sudah posing macam dengan hanbok. Segala sudut dekat area pavilion tu dia bergambar. Tapi sampailah Bunda & her sisters returned their hanboks, that lady belum siap lagi berposing. Kesian betul aku tengok siapa yang jadi tukang gambar dia. Nasib juga dia ndak paksa her partner (a guy) to wear the hanbok as well. 

# Wanita Korea zaman Joseon yang sesat.
Kalau King Sejong nampak ni, mesti dia berteka teki dari mana wujud 'aksesori' atas kepala tu.

# The three sisters.

Bila aku cakap baju diorang tu inang yang pakai, laju ok diorang pi tanya Eonni di booth tu. Then dengan bangga cakap sama aku 

"Ni baju orang istana tau. Queen!". 

Ya, iyalah!

# The famous spot at Namsan Tower.
Kerusi senget.

# And yes! The most happiest was her.
"Ini tempat si Song Yi sama si Min-joon!"

Excited betul Bunda tu yang sampai ber-si bagai. Macamlah Song Yi tu kawan sekolah dia dulu kan. Well, seeing her happy means the world to me. So aku layankan jaklah bila dia request aku snap gambar dia. Di setiap sudut. Titik! 

One regret though, I didn't get to bring her to Petite France. Sana pun scene favourite Bunda juga dalam Kdrama My Love from Another Star. 

Nothing much kami buat atas tower ni. Teddy Bear Museum pun sudah tutup & diorang ndak minat mau masuk Alive Museum. So kami round jak lah area luar tower tu. Mula mau singgah ngeteh di cafe dekat Lock Tower tu tapi cancel bila ada orang bersuara mau makan kebab Namdaemun. Ok fine, kita mencekik kebab. Lepas explore lebih kurang, kami pun turun pi area bus stop. Sengaja bawa diorang keluar dari N-Tower guna bas pula. Bagi diorang rasa different type of transportation. Pastu dapat cut cost juga. Naik bas 800 KRW jak tambang compare to cable car (6,000 KRW). 

# Till we meet again Namsan Tower!
I doubt we won't see each other anymore. 

Tunggu bas dalam 10 minit jugalah. Masa ni memang ramai tourist. Weekend pun, padanlah juga. Pastu ada one group of teenagers bertudung jalan laju gila ke arah kami. Excited gitu muka diorang. Alkisah diorang gembira tengok orang senegara di negara orang. Kerlas! Dari jauh gigih melambai, and my family thought they're my friends. Lawak sungguh oi macamlah aku akan kenal every Malaysians kami jumpa di sana. Tapi best lah. Some of the girls are Sabahan. Apalagi, terus speaking bahasa Ibunda. Siap hi-five ngan aku. Motif? Sebab semua sudah sampai bumi Korea. Meriah betul lah budak² tu. Friendly & lively.

Lepas diorang blah, bas #003 pun datang. Masuk perut bas, aku sempat membuta kejap. Walhal journey ndak sampai pun 20 minit pi Namdaemun tu. Sudah habis tenaga guna panjat tangga di Namsan katanya.

# First thing first, isi perut.Alhamdulillah semua suka kebab Pacik Iran ni, including Angah & Adek yang fussy bab makan.

Belakang Ezza tu adalah few Malaysian boys. Masa queue beli kebab, diorang berdiri tepi aku. Pastu tengok aku atas bawah. Senyuma nan hado. Let alone say hi. Aku pun sekadar bagi senyuman Top-Oppa jaklah. Senyum senget sebelah, pencukup syarat. Aku tanya juga Ezza something wrong kah di muka aku sampai mamat tu semua tengok pelik semacam. But Ezza said nothing extraordinary; just the plain boring me. Sempat kan mengutuk aku?!! Hmm lantaklah. Malas layan. Maybe cara diorang gitu. Segan towards strangers. I tak kisah pung. That simple thing won't ruin my mood anyway. 

Habis mencekik, time untuk kempiskan poket. First gerai the three sisters masuk adalah kedai quilt. Dekat setengah jam kami tunggu di luar sebab kedai tu kecil jak. Gigil sejuk ok! Then masuk E-Lendong sebab Angah mau cari brooches yang officemates dia pesan. Walau cuma Angah yang shopping, dekat sejam jugalah kami menunggu. Nasiblah dalam building tu ada heater. 

# An alley in Namdaemun Market.

# Payung Hyun Joong Oppa.
Setakat mampu untuk snap gambar sebab tiada manfaat aku beli pun. Sudahlah paling jarang berpayung. Pastu harga benda alah ni boleh buat poket nangis darah lah juga.

Kami singgah kedai yang jual t-shirt Running Man. Cool gila t-shirt tu siap ada nametag zip-zap tu. Bolehlah feeling ala² join Running Man juga kan. Aku pun beli sebab bestie pesan for his boys. Angah bought quite lots from this shop. So did Aunty & Bunda. 

# Note that boy yang sengih meleret.
Sebab banyak kami borong souvenir di kedai dia. Memang marketing terbaik! They speak fluent Malay. Belajar dari internet jak. Daebak betul. 

From Namdaemun, we went to Myeongdong (again!). Macam biasa, walkertapaki jak. While Angah stop depan Migliore mall untuk beli beg 4-segi yang macam aku beli semalam...suddenly my cousins told me, macam ada filming depan Uniqlo. Aku pun apalagi, terus melompat kasi keluar camera. Bersungguh gila! 

# Camera atas crane as per the cousin told me.KBS logo at the camera. Even the staffs pun pakai jaket with same logo.

Aku pun gigih lah melilau mencari yang diorang tengah shoot tu. Dalam lautan manusia di Myeongdong somemore. Kenapalah perlu muncul time ramai orang ni, why not early in the morning? 

# Asa! Found him.
Tapi! Ndak kenal. Mianhae, anda ndak famous di mata gue. 

Ni pun Bunda punya eagle eyes yang spotted him first. Harap aku memang memanjang soalan "Mana, mana, mana?". Rasanya diorang tengah shoot drama (or iklan?). Sebab laki tu asyiklah patah balik from the same spot. Ada partner pompuan sama dia but I cannot see her face because she kept showing her back. Tengok scene tu macam lelaki tu tengah cari that lady dalam lautan manusia. And finally, terberjumpa. Tu jaklah diorang ulang cut-action. 

Tapi sporting jugalah orang² di Myeongdong haritu, semua pun buat macam biasa jak. Tiada serbu-menyerbu. Ka sebab diorang ndak famous? Or sebab tu bukan idols. Pfft! 

Sudah cuci mata, geng makcik² request mau balik rumah awal. Towards the few last days in Seoul, energy makin deteriorating nampak? Malam tu masak di rumah jak, jimat cermat as per Angah. Padahal dia tengah saving Won untuk shopping lagi esoknya. Permainan minda betul. 

After dinner, Ezza & I went out. Mau menikmati angin malam di Seoul di malam minggu keedahnya. Yang lain, bantai layan tv di rumah. Drama without subtitle! Mampu? 

eryantierdabdulkarim

South Korea Day 4 - Dongdaemun / N-Tower / Namdaemun / Ewha University

Assalamualaikum. 안녕!

Wah lama gila kau rehat cuti² CNY kan Bie. Lama gila ndak update cerita Winter Trip. Suddenly one of the friend threw a bomb. 

"I'm going to Seoul soon ok! Finish ur entries asap lah" 

Ngek, baru ingat aku stop kejap haritu. Sambil seru roh rajin, aku gagahkan lah diri. Next time sila bertangguh lagi. Pfft!

On our third day in Seoul, we purposely woke up a bit late. Itinerary harini hanya untuk round area Dongdaemun untuk cari boots & sport shoes, pastu mau naik N-Tower (again) because the cousin wrote Teddy Bear Museum in the to-go-list & later to Namdaemun Market for souvenir hunting. Initially I planned to go to Herbs Island later that evening. Kekunun we will depart to Soyosan from Seoul at 3p. But we cancelled the plan because according to the cousin...

"Alaaaa jauh. From the bus stop we have to walk some more to get to the place. Pastu, mau tengok the same light festival macam di Morning Calm kan. Ndak payahlah, kaki orang masih lenguh. Terlampau sejuk last night, banyak lagi berjalan"

Fine, next time jaklah aku jejak Herbs Island nampak gaya. Insha Allah. Memang tujuan untuk tengok light festival jak pun. For sure semua pokok & tanam²an togel. Next visit harus jejak during spring season, baru bunga semua kembang semangkuk.

Underground cafe. U will never starve in Seoul. Dalam subway station, hatta berapa tingkat ke bawah sekalipun...memang wujud cafe gini. Waffle pun waffle lah, janji perut terisi for breakfast. 

First destination, alley yang jual so many designs & fashions of boots. Boleh pakai for spring & fall sekali. Dari entrance, memang berpinar mata aku menengok boots sepanjang jalan. Yet, sampailah mau melintas jalan...nan hado hasil rembatan. 

Twice datang Doota were during midnight...so ni first time aku tengok Doota during the day & dari luar some more. 

Spotted Best Western Hotel (far right). The very first hotel I stayed at in Seoul. That is Dongdaemun Gate; it was still under renovation when I came to Seoul for the first time in 2012.

Headed to Myeongdong after Dongdaemun. Misi adalah untuk jejak Namsan Tower. First time menjejak di siang hari juga ni. Before ni menapak bukit & naik cable car...this time I opted to take the shuttle bus. Pusing² sikit area Myeongdong before ascending to Namsan during the day. Boleh cuci² mata.

More info about this bus (here).

Niat untuk naik bas bukan semata untuk cuci mata. Tapi juga sebab mau try naik the newly launched electric bus. Memang sangat menjaga environment lah transportation macam ni. The bus is recharged once it reaches its last stop.

Annyeong N-Tower. Before berjumpa, izinkan daku menapak bukit itu terlebih dahulu. Sob.

Dia jak lah yang sakan bergambar area Love Lock Trees ni. Barulah aku nampak jelas area N-Tower ni. Memang berbeza feeling siang & malam.

Anyways, angan² untuk masuk Teddy Bear Museum adalah ke laut as the museum is no longer there. It will be replaced by Trick Art Museum (the third one in Seoul after Hongik & Insadong). Nasiblah aku faham sikit Oppa Counter Ticket tu cakap with this one Chinese tourist. Else, harus buang masa queue panjang² & ended up dapat berita "Muzium sudah nggak ada". 

Fountain ni kalau malam memang cantik. Berwarna warni siap menari air yang mengalir.

Puas ronda² atas bukit Namsan, we boarded the shuttle bus & hop off at Namdaemun Market. Pencarian boots & sport shoes bermula lagi sekali. Also aku mau cari trench coat yang murah²; boleh guna untuk bergaya for any upcoming trip(s). 

As usual, market ni memang ndak pernah lenggang ngan manusia. Local ka tourist, sama ramai memeriahkan kawasan ni.

Pastu disapa Candy Booth Oppa ni. Banyak kali sudah aku tengok diorang demo macamana dari seketul honey yang super keras, lepas di putar² akan jadi candy ala-suun. Gitu kan aku describe candy ni.

I've tried the candy few times. Tapi aku stop juga, kasi chance cousin aku tu tengok the demo. Done with the demo, cousin aku pun termakan racun Candy Oppa ni. Memang ndak plan untuk bawa balik so aku belilah sekotak. With almond as inti. Dalam 10 ketul tu, aku cuma dapat sumbat seketul. The rest selamat dalam perut cousin aku before I even realized it. Sweet tooth melampau².

I stopped at this gerai & looked at my cousin "Ni, dia ndak mau rasa?". And she gave me this jelingan tajam while saying "Not funny enough. Try next time". 

Singgah beli kebab Abang Iraq at the market. Pastu kami zoom balik hostel. Mau rest kaki & minda since niat membeli terbelah tidak kesampaian. Asyiklah mata melilau ternampak benda lain; tersasar jauh pula tu dari barang aku aku aimed. 

Late that evening, tiba² idea untuk terjah area E-Dae timbul. At first, aku ingat mau lepak area Yeouido. Cuci² mata tengok orang dating dekat Han River tu. But the cousin rejected my idea straight away..."Sejuk beku gini mau lepak tepi river?" Aigooo aku pun sedapkan hati lah, next time jak aku lepak. Sob.

Gambar Ewha Uni aku dapat this time is slightly better than last time. Suppose datanglah awal sikit kan Bie baru boleh dapat different view. 

We decided to walked further up. 

Just untuk merasa turun tangga nan mencabar luas ni. Memang view lain kalau berdiri the opposite way.

Kalaulah ada cafe gini di uni aku dulu...hmm, memang aku paling rajin buat partime sini. Jalan kaki jak dari kolej as this is located inside the campus area. Dulu kala, terpaksa naik bas. Baris panjang pula tu. Alkisah, si Bibie dulu buat partime di Mid Valley. Motif mau gebang pasal tu tiba²?

While waiting for the train. Huh, terkedu lama bila Top Oppa seakan berbisik something sama aku. Too handsome lah renungan mata mu, tajam menikam jantung.

Itaewon Street

Alkisah, aku bawa instant pasta from Malaysia. Didn't even bother to read the 'how to make' section. Ingatkan boleh buat macam masak maggi. Turned out, I need to used butter & susu cair. So kami pun pegilah Itaewon that night. Demi perut yang ndak tau erti kenyang, gagahkan diri walau sejuk mengigit tulang. Tapi harga sebiji butter 250gm pun sudah cecah RM30+. Padahal kami cuma mau guna dalam 30gram jak. Butter kecil² macam style jenama Anchor tu pula ndak da. Timbang balik decision berulang kali sebab butter mahal tu jak. We decided to cancel beli butter & susu cair. Kami cuma beli maggi. 

I told my cousin I will improvised another recipe that night. Nasiblah kan, demi penjimatan maksima. Harga makanan di Seoul bukan alang². Boleh buat aku sawan.

And so improvisation berjalan lancar. Or adakah sebab lapar, semua kami bedal. 

Tu kuah hasil instant pasta yang aku boil with water & tambah Secukup Rasa. Import khas from Malaysia. Memang berbaloi bawa perencah tu. Tiba² iklan ndak berbayar. And the pasta, aku buat ala maggi-goreng. Campur telur; harus. Ahjussi di kedai runcit depan hostel hafal muka aku, each time masuk mesti cari dalgyal a.k.a telur. Siap dapat free 2 biji gitu. 

Malam tu lepas melantak, kami spent time menonton We Got Married. Poyo gila ketawa padahal subtitle nan ado. Kunun² faham sikitlah apa yang dikarutkan. Gitu. Tidur lewat juga sebab esoknya plan kami pi Apgujeong jak. Ndak dapat jumpa orang, building tempat diorang practice pun jadilah. Haru.

eryantierdabdulkarim

CutiCuti: South Korea Day 2 - Namsan Tower / Teddy Bear Museum / Myeongdong

Assalamualaikum. 안녕!

Previous:

Day 1

Everland Resort

Was too busy chasing deadline of the photobook's voucher I bought months ago made me forgot about this blog. P to the Yo! Fortunately I have submitted my order last night which the expiry date is today. Lain kali sila bertangguh bernanti² lagi ah Bie! 

Ok lets continue where I last stopped. After Everland Resort, we went back to the hostel. Refreshed. Part ni the most crucial as to avoid mood untuk ke laut. Sudah penat berjalan, muka pun berminyak, kusam...badan melekit² macam covered with dust hence decision untuk balik hostel & mandi adalah paling bijak.

Namsan Tower is located up the hill. We walked from the hostel to the cable car station. It's the same route to Namsan Guesthouse 1. 

Shop along the way up. Perlu snap sebab...it's fink! What else could it be, kan.

IF I remembered it correctly...it took us less than 5 minutes to reach the stairs heading to the cable car station. Ndak sempat berpeluh pun. But walking the uphill was truly an exercise; at least to the half-asleep moi.

Last year, we queued for the cable car at the left side of the building. The mirrored one. It was a bit inconvenient; terpaksa bersesak sebab sempit. This year, we queued at the right side of the building. Entrance door is under that pink or red? fluorescent light. 

I found out later that the area where we queued last year was only temporary. They were undergoing some renovation works to expand the ticket counter & waiting area at that time. The new queuing area has more ample space. Visitors no longer feel like they're being herded into a narrow room. 

Apart from the cable car & other public transportation e.g bus or taxi; another option to go down from Namsan Tower is by stairs. We decided for a return cable car ride. Bukan risau sebab malam, tapi malas mau menapak turun tangga.

We had fully utilized our superwalkertapaki the whole day at Everland hence we opted for a less energy consumption exercise. Lagipun dari stesen cable car tu, we still have to walk down the hill to get back to our hostel. Exercise sungguh.

Inside the cable car. Someone was forced to overcome her acrophobia; once more! Kejam ndak kejam kami membuli. Bravo lah two fear factor challenges for her in just one day. And congratulations for being able to control ur phobia while we're in the cable car. Lepas ni praktis naik cable car banyak kali, insha Allah akan hilang fobia tu. 

Dusk in Myeongdong.

Tengah tergantung di atas cable...lucky ndak da orang berdrama mau turun sebab takut. She did enjoyed this view I guess although not as much as we did. Aku yang second time ni pun ikut berkagum. Siap berdiri melekat sama cermin just to get a clearer view. 

Taken from Ms Z's fb album. 

Annyeong Namsan Tower! Or also known as N Seoul Tower. 오랜만이야! It's been more than a year since we first met.

In front of the entrance to the Teddy Bear Museum. Lucky enough Ms G didn't smile. Else memang picture ni akan nampak scary. Or it's rather scary when she posed like that? 

Bear ni setia menanti pengunjung yang datang. Sudah masuk last time, tapi tetap masuk lagi. And impressed I am still. 

Ada orang bestfriend sama bears sekarang. Bukan alang² these bears...siap pakai hanbok tau. Very traditional a feeling.

This Bear Gangnam Style is new. Psy's Gangnam Style indeed left a big positive impact to South Korea's music industry. And their tourism as well. 

I was awed when she told me she knows about Princess Hour. No wonder beria kiss Prince Bear segala. 

Super nice wallpaper u have there, Mr Little Bear!!

Applying this to my life...

Alhamdulillah. Finally!!! Last time ndak sempat jejak kaki ke N Seoul Tower's Locks of Love. Though it is just next to Namsan Tower. This trip harus jadikan realiti. 

How lovers expressed their love. But the idea to throw the keys away; especially down the hill...where there are houses isn't wise at all. Yes? It could cause injury. Also damages to facilities. 

The chair is designed like that. So couple will naturally glide...and meet each other at the center? But I still want to believe Ms G caused the chair to split into two. Eh?

Apart from attaching the padlocks at the fences, couples have other option as well. Memang tangan paling selim & panjang jak dapat seluk masuk & hang their padlocks inside. 

And I know, my not-so-tiny hand would never fit. A dream it would forever be to leave my padlock farther inside. Wait! Padlock secara solo adalah unacceptable here, Bie. Come next time with the other half, barulah termanis declare chenta di sini. 

Since malam masih muda, we decided to spend the evening with window shopping. Untung stay di hostel ni, one of Seoul's famous shopping district is only a walking distance away. Sudahlah underground passage dijadikan underground mall juga...sangat berambang mata.

Sama poster pun jadilah! Pose semata² favorite artist gue. KHJ-ssi. Pastu sibuk upload di IG & tagged peminat bersama, si hoobae kesayangan.

Fenomena super moon that evening; we witnessed it in Seoul! Friends back home whined about not being able to watch the phenomenon due to the bad haze that attacked Malaysia at that time. Feeling lucky, sungguh! Syukran Allah.

We left the area after wandering around...full schedule the next day & we need to wake up early for we will be travelling out of Seoul. zZZzz!

eryantierdabdulkarim