ANNYEONGHASEYO!
i just got back from Seoul last week, and i still want to go back there again and replaying my time there. i went to Seoul with my 6 friends, so total 7 of us. we didn't book a tour, we went around there by ourselves, so it's cheaper :D
flights
after the Air Asia incident last year, we were afraid of using the airplane. So 5 of us used Singapore airlines and the other 2 used Cathay Pacific. actually, if we go there by Air Asia it was cost 2.7million idr ~ 4million idr. i met some friends at hostel and they said they got the airfare only 2.7million idr of Air Asia CGK-ICN ICN-CGK transit in Kuala Lumpur and of course without baggage. My SQ CGK ICN ICN-CGK transit in Changi fare was 5.3million idr (it was promo fare, if you buy when golden times you will get higher, include 30kg baggage). i really impressed of SQ. this was my first time using this airlines, the plane was so comfortable and the food was tasty too :D and we could watch movies, showcases, listen to music, play games, etc to kill 7 hours flight SIN-ICN. if you are moslem, you can ask for moslem meal in the singapore air website and choose the seats you want to.
staying place/ hostel
because at first there were 5 of us (the other 2 joined later), we booked Kimchee downtown guest house a room of 6 (bathroom outside) for 7 nights at first because 2 of our friends cameback to Indonesia earlier. then we renew our booking for 8 nights. the 7 nights room of 6 costs 440.000won but we divided it by 5 so 88.000won per person. and the last 1 night was 60.000won but we divided by 3 so 20.000won per person. in total, my hostel fee was 108.000won. the hostel was really convenient.. the place really near the subway entrance. we can saw the hostel from the entrance. the toilet was like most of the korea toilets, doesn't have bidet like we have in Indonesia. the shower was next to the toilet. the hostel has free soap, shampoo, and toothpaste hanging on the wall and medium sized towels in the cupboard storage near the stairs. our room was in level three, and there wasn't lift to take *sob* it was really heavy to take our baggage from level 1 to level 3 huhuhuhu * i even broke the handle when we went down to check out and put our belongings in basement*
ps. if you are budget traveller with less friends, you can consider take the 8 people room (there are two kinds: male-female room or female only)
don't bring hairdryer because there is one in the bathroom.
i've searched in traveloka for this place too but the lowest price was booking.com ; but maybe if you want to book hotels inside country traveloka is the best choice.
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| my lunch for SIN - CGK: dori fish, cake, orange juice, soda |
because at first there were 5 of us (the other 2 joined later), we booked Kimchee downtown guest house a room of 6 (bathroom outside) for 7 nights at first because 2 of our friends cameback to Indonesia earlier. then we renew our booking for 8 nights. the 7 nights room of 6 costs 440.000won but we divided it by 5 so 88.000won per person. and the last 1 night was 60.000won but we divided by 3 so 20.000won per person. in total, my hostel fee was 108.000won. the hostel was really convenient.. the place really near the subway entrance. we can saw the hostel from the entrance. the toilet was like most of the korea toilets, doesn't have bidet like we have in Indonesia. the shower was next to the toilet. the hostel has free soap, shampoo, and toothpaste hanging on the wall and medium sized towels in the cupboard storage near the stairs. our room was in level three, and there wasn't lift to take *sob* it was really heavy to take our baggage from level 1 to level 3 huhuhuhu * i even broke the handle when we went down to check out and put our belongings in basement*
ps. if you are budget traveller with less friends, you can consider take the 8 people room (there are two kinds: male-female room or female only)
don't bring hairdryer because there is one in the bathroom.
i've searched in traveloka for this place too but the lowest price was booking.com ; but maybe if you want to book hotels inside country traveloka is the best choice.
visa
because 2 of our friends are from Jakarta, we decided to manage visa by ourselves. single visa costs Rp 560.000, 00 and you can know the details required at korea embassy official website and this is the form :D you don't need to book the airplane first or send your itinerary. me and my friends was added booking ticket and itinerary in our requirements but the officer sent it back to us. after almost 2 weeks waiting for visa, finally our visa accepted :) you can check your visa status online too here.
ps. if you manage visa yourself, prepare to come early at the embassy, because some travel agents like to take some queue tickets for their agent friends so if you come a bit late the queue ticket might be run out.
itinerary (and a little bit of diary lol)
this was the hardest thing to prepare. we thought of some locations we wanted to visit, then we gather it all and specified the areas to decide which way to go first. this was our final itinerary:
Day 1
Myeongdong (Myeongdong st line 4, exit 7)
we arrived at the ICN airport at 4.30pm seoul time, then we bought T-money right away (it's a MUST if you're not in a travel tour!) for 2500won and added 30.000won inside (no, this was not enough for 9 days in seoul because we were wandering around so much.. i still added 15000won more after >.<). ohhh and don't forget to take the AREX Passenger's Guide next to the T-money machine.. the pamphlet was really useful when we didn't know which line to take because the subway map is inside it too or you can download the map here. then we went to hostel by Arex and subway. we finally arrived at the hostel at 6pm seoul time, so we just go around to Myeongdong, the shopaholic heaven (i realized that this was so wrong because we just wanted more and more shopping when it was our first day hahaha)
PS. if you guys buy lots in some stores, you will got lots of samples!! and some stores have some promotions for foreigners too.. you can download or print the discount promotions here. you can change the bussiness type too.. i get 2000won discount for petite france from here~
Day 2
Deoksugung Palace (City Hall st line 1 or 2, exit 4)
the palace is located in the middle of high building, and the most important part is free admission fee <3. inside the palace there is a european building with a pool! i don't know why thou.. hehehehe we saw the changing guardian ceremony here at 11am. after it ended, we were allowed to take some pics with the guardians :3
ps.. don't foget to take photo at deoksugung stonewall walkway just like yoona snsd (you can watch the video here)
Namdaemun market (Hoehyeon st line 4, exit 5)
Namdaemun market was not like the typical traditional market we see in Indonesia, it was like the gathering place of some stalls in an area. i ate delicious odeng (fish cake) for 1000won.. after that my life changed, i always craved for odeng when i was in Korea *sob sob*. you can go shopping for coats, bags, makeups, ginseng, gifts, etc. street foods wide variations will make you drool~
Namdaemun Gate
it's really near to the market, you only need to cross the street or take the underground way which will lead you to the frontgate. i think this gate was unique because it stands in the center of the city. seoul is really modern city with beautiful traditional heritage.
Namsan tower (Myeongdong st line 4, exit 3)
we actually missed the stops to namsan tower.. we walked really far from the namdaemun market. when actually there was a lift that will take us directly to the place we can take the cable car.. the cable car cost 8000won and to enter the highest place in namsan tower we paid 10.000won per person. the sunset view from namsan tower was really daebak!
Day 3
Bukchon Hanok Village (Anguk st line 3, exit 3)
this place is an area where korea traditional houses gather. the owner of the house live inside so we must be quiet.
Gyeongbokgung Palace (Gyeongbokgung st line 3, exit 5)
after went to bukchon, we walked to here for 10minutes. admission fee for the palace is 3000won, and if you are wearing hanbok, you are free! this palace is sooo large, my feet felt numb after went around twice inside. we can also see changing guardian ceremony wider than the deoksogung palace.
Insadong shopping center (Anguk st line 3, exit 6)
insadong has wide variety of shops!! you can find 10.000won bag stores, hanbok, scarves, gifts, and other artsy thingies. if you want unique gifts from seoul, this place is definitely a must. we also went to O'sulloc cafe, which is really famous for its greentea.
Day 4
Nami Island (Gapyeong St -> take bus for the tourist spots)
from chongjungno to gapyeong st takes around 2 hours. we actually wanted to buy the itx ticket but it was sold out so we took the subway. by itx it's only 1 hour to go there. the bus for the tourist spot in front of gapyeong st arrives every 1 hour. it cost 6000won for round trip, not only for gapyeong st-nami but also gapyeong- nami- petite- garden calm all round trip. you guys must know the time of the bus will stop at the spots because the last bus is at around 6pm to go back to gapyeong st.
entrance fee of nami island is 8000won
ps. you should buy the night before when you want to go here with itx..
if you are moslems, you can pray here.. they have mushola and mukenas :)
Petite France
inspired by a novel called Le Petite France, this place is when you can feel like you're in european village. running man and my love from another stars was filmed here before. from nami to petite france by bus is about 30minutes. the admission fee is 8000won but if you show discount coupon from the visit korea web to the officer at the entrance you can get 2000won discount! nice~
after we went back to hostel, we were really hungry.. so we decided to order fried chicken and buy instant rice in the market near hostel. we bought 2 sets of chicken. the receptionist helped us ordered. he was so shocked to know that we only bought 2 because it's for 9 of us. he said that koreans usually eats 1 set for 2 people. but don't worry guys, it's more than enough for 9 people.. we still had some chicken left though (lol). 1 set was 1 whole chicken i think, it's really lots. unfortunately i didn't take photo of the chicken i ordered.. we also had one big soda for bonus of the chicken.
thankyou for reading.. the day 5-9 is for the next post :D
ps. if you manage visa yourself, prepare to come early at the embassy, because some travel agents like to take some queue tickets for their agent friends so if you come a bit late the queue ticket might be run out.
itinerary (and a little bit of diary lol)
this was the hardest thing to prepare. we thought of some locations we wanted to visit, then we gather it all and specified the areas to decide which way to go first. this was our final itinerary:
Day 1
Myeongdong (Myeongdong st line 4, exit 7)
we arrived at the ICN airport at 4.30pm seoul time, then we bought T-money right away (it's a MUST if you're not in a travel tour!) for 2500won and added 30.000won inside (no, this was not enough for 9 days in seoul because we were wandering around so much.. i still added 15000won more after >.<). ohhh and don't forget to take the AREX Passenger's Guide next to the T-money machine.. the pamphlet was really useful when we didn't know which line to take because the subway map is inside it too or you can download the map here. then we went to hostel by Arex and subway. we finally arrived at the hostel at 6pm seoul time, so we just go around to Myeongdong, the shopaholic heaven (i realized that this was so wrong because we just wanted more and more shopping when it was our first day hahaha)
PS. if you guys buy lots in some stores, you will got lots of samples!! and some stores have some promotions for foreigners too.. you can download or print the discount promotions here. you can change the bussiness type too.. i get 2000won discount for petite france from here~
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| myeondong always sooo crowded at night |
Day 2
Deoksugung Palace (City Hall st line 1 or 2, exit 4)
the palace is located in the middle of high building, and the most important part is free admission fee <3. inside the palace there is a european building with a pool! i don't know why thou.. hehehehe we saw the changing guardian ceremony here at 11am. after it ended, we were allowed to take some pics with the guardians :3
ps.. don't foget to take photo at deoksugung stonewall walkway just like yoona snsd (you can watch the video here)
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| deoksugung palace |
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| the european style building inside the palace |
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| hello there mr guardian! |
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| the infamous deoksugung stonewall walkway |
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| changing guardian ceremony |
Namdaemun market (Hoehyeon st line 4, exit 5)
Namdaemun market was not like the typical traditional market we see in Indonesia, it was like the gathering place of some stalls in an area. i ate delicious odeng (fish cake) for 1000won.. after that my life changed, i always craved for odeng when i was in Korea *sob sob*. you can go shopping for coats, bags, makeups, ginseng, gifts, etc. street foods wide variations will make you drool~
Namdaemun Gate
it's really near to the market, you only need to cross the street or take the underground way which will lead you to the frontgate. i think this gate was unique because it stands in the center of the city. seoul is really modern city with beautiful traditional heritage.
Namsan tower (Myeongdong st line 4, exit 3)
we actually missed the stops to namsan tower.. we walked really far from the namdaemun market. when actually there was a lift that will take us directly to the place we can take the cable car.. the cable car cost 8000won and to enter the highest place in namsan tower we paid 10.000won per person. the sunset view from namsan tower was really daebak!
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| sunset |
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| seoul view from the highest place of N tower |
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| love locks |
Bukchon Hanok Village (Anguk st line 3, exit 3)
this place is an area where korea traditional houses gather. the owner of the house live inside so we must be quiet.
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| ssshh!! |
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| passing through.. |
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| inside the traditional korean house |
Gyeongbokgung Palace (Gyeongbokgung st line 3, exit 5)
after went to bukchon, we walked to here for 10minutes. admission fee for the palace is 3000won, and if you are wearing hanbok, you are free! this palace is sooo large, my feet felt numb after went around twice inside. we can also see changing guardian ceremony wider than the deoksogung palace.
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| in front of gyeongbokgung entrance from bukchon hanok village |
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| temple |
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| another guardian changing |
Insadong shopping center (Anguk st line 3, exit 6)
insadong has wide variety of shops!! you can find 10.000won bag stores, hanbok, scarves, gifts, and other artsy thingies. if you want unique gifts from seoul, this place is definitely a must. we also went to O'sulloc cafe, which is really famous for its greentea.
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| top of the insadong shopping center building |
Nami Island (Gapyeong St -> take bus for the tourist spots)
from chongjungno to gapyeong st takes around 2 hours. we actually wanted to buy the itx ticket but it was sold out so we took the subway. by itx it's only 1 hour to go there. the bus for the tourist spot in front of gapyeong st arrives every 1 hour. it cost 6000won for round trip, not only for gapyeong st-nami but also gapyeong- nami- petite- garden calm all round trip. you guys must know the time of the bus will stop at the spots because the last bus is at around 6pm to go back to gapyeong st.
entrance fee of nami island is 8000won
ps. you should buy the night before when you want to go here with itx..
if you are moslems, you can pray here.. they have mushola and mukenas :)
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| front area 1 |
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| front area 2 |
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| unicef hall |
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| hit spot |
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| library for kids on the way to mushola |
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| third party |
inspired by a novel called Le Petite France, this place is when you can feel like you're in european village. running man and my love from another stars was filmed here before. from nami to petite france by bus is about 30minutes. the admission fee is 8000won but if you show discount coupon from the visit korea web to the officer at the entrance you can get 2000won discount! nice~
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| mini france |
after we went back to hostel, we were really hungry.. so we decided to order fried chicken and buy instant rice in the market near hostel. we bought 2 sets of chicken. the receptionist helped us ordered. he was so shocked to know that we only bought 2 because it's for 9 of us. he said that koreans usually eats 1 set for 2 people. but don't worry guys, it's more than enough for 9 people.. we still had some chicken left though (lol). 1 set was 1 whole chicken i think, it's really lots. unfortunately i didn't take photo of the chicken i ordered.. we also had one big soda for bonus of the chicken.
thankyou for reading.. the day 5-9 is for the next post :D
