Week 3: Hongdae, Sinchon, Myeongdong

Even though it has only been 3 weeks, it feels like I've been here for a long while since every day is full of adventures and I feel like I have accomplished a lot. I can't even keep count of the days I've been here so from this blog on, I won't indicate which day I am at (there's really no point in doing that anyways) and focus more on my travel experiences. This week, my friends and I subway down to Hongdae to explore the area. Because we are not familiar with any place in Seoul, it became a habit for us to just pick a place and explore mindlessly. Hongdae is a very lively place, with bars, clubs, shopping centers, and restaurants calling your name. The first thing we saw as soon as we walked out of the station is street food! I had the chance to try Korea corn-dog. Even though I'm not a big fan of fried food, I have to admit that it was quite delicious.

It was an extremely cold day that day so we went to have Samgyupsal (finally!). Samgyupsal is seasoned pork belly meat grilled on top of charcoal. You would then eat it with lettuce or rice.

One interesting thing I learned on this trip is that Korean restaurants do takeouts in a plastic bag. I didn't know that my friends ordered rice for me and I didn't want to waste it so I asked to take it out and this is what they gave me.

The highlight of my day is going to the movie theater to watch Frozen. Although I have seen the movie in Toronto already, the movie is still enjoyable, not to mention more comfortable seats! 

I haven't seen all of Sinchon yet but the atmosphere is already exciting enough for me to go back for a second time. The highlight of that night is going to a Norebang (karaoke) and sing until we lost our voices. Although the Norebang we went to is quite expensive compared to other places, it was very comfortable and the sound quality is really good. We also had access to unlimited ice cream!

Remember I said that I will visit Myeongdong again? Today, my friend and I had our girls day out and toured around Myeongdong until we were exhausted. At Myeongdong, we got to try traditional Korean clothes called Hanbok at the Seoul Global Culture and Tourism Centre for free. I don't know how Koreans in the past move around so effortlessly in those clothes because I almost tripped over my Hanbok twice while posing for pictures. 

And of course, more yummy street food! 

After a while of shopping and exploring, we stopped by an interesting cafe called Namu Guneul, where we are the ones being eaten. It was quite an interesting experience to have your feet nibbled by little guppies. I can't say whether I enjoyed it or not but at least my curiosity is satisfied. 

Those are pretty much all the more interesting experiences I had this week. Hope you enjoyed my adventure with me!