Day 2: Anam, Myeongdong, Home Plus

I officially started exploring today. Since I was still a bit jet lagged, my morning started super early. After talking to my sister and boyfriend, I decided to head out to do some exploring around the area. There are tons of convenient stores along the streets with lots of snacks and to-go food to purchase. I bought some sweet potato chips, and flavored corn chips just in case I get hungry at random times. I also got a case of soy milk for my everyday breakfast. Surprisingly, there's a lot of Chinese who work around this area. Ever since I arrived, I practiced my Mandarin more than my Korean.

Later on, I had kimbab for breakfast with another exchange student at a small restaurant called Ip Time. It only costed us 3,000 Won each ($3 CAD) and was enough to keep me full until lunch.

                                                                                                             

As I walk to Anam Station, I came across a Starbucks that is promoting a seasonal Cherry Blossom Latte. Since the advertisement captured my interest, I decided to try it. If you think Starbucks is expensive in Canada, try having one in Seoul. A short costs around 5,900 Won (nearly $6 CAD), but it was worth the try.

The T-Money card acted as my travel pass to get to different destinations in Seoul. I loaded 10,000 Won onto my card to take the bus and subway.

The fun and exciting part starts when we began to head to Myeongdong. Myeongdong is a famous outlet shopping area in Seoul. Even though it is a Monday, there are lots of people roaming the streets. I visited a bunch of skin care stores including: The Face Shop, Skin Food, Etude House, and Tony Moly. They also have clothing stores that are in Toronto such as H&M, Zara, and Converse, which are more expensive to purchase. Along the streets of Myeongdong, I bought this chocolate snack thing that looks like a ball (the name is too long for me to remember). The lady smashed the ball into edible pieces and I ate it all before I can take a picture. I also bought some cute earrings that I couldn't get in Toronto.

We decided to have Dakgalbi for lunch. The dish is a mix of cabbage, shrimp, squid, mussels, chicken, and rice cake cooked in kimchi sauce over a huge pan in the middle of the table. The restaurant we went to is a well known restaurant in Korea called Yoogane.

After a long trip in Myeongdong, we went to Home Plus at Wulkok station. Home Plus is similar to the Walmart Superstore in Toronto. It sells everything from groceries to household products. The only difference is that their products are not as cheap as Walmart's. From examining all the products found in Korea so far, I find that shopping in Korea is not as cheap as I thought. Many products are priced the same as they are in Toronto. The non-Korean brands are even more expensive that what I could get in Toronto. I couldn't even buy fruits for a healthy breakfast because they are just too expensive here ($1/apple and $2.50/3 bananas). However, Korean skin care products are priced a lot cheaper. They also give you a lot of free samples, which you normally wouldn't get in Toronto.

After all the exploring, my navigation skills have definitely improved. I'm also more comfortable with the spider web subway system here. I think I may be able to explore on my own...after a couple of more practices with my friends. (More pictures will be uploaded soon)