This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. After lunch, it was quite a long drive to the eastern side of the island. All four of us were dozing off after a heavy meal and also waking up early. By the time we reach Seongeup Folk Village, it was drizzling. Which was kind of a good thing, meaning that we were the only visitors there at the village. Seongeup is a traditional folk village, where dozens of families have stayed there for generations. Part of it has been turned into a tourist attraction, in an effort to generate some income for the families. It…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. Gooood morning Jeju!!! Our second day in Jeju started off early as driver was to pick us up at 9.30am. We woke up quiet early and had a simple breakfast of instant noodles and coffee. After that I took a walk outside to see our surroundings. Our house is surrounded by a tangerine orchard, and it looks beautiful in full bloom. The fruit is widely planted here for export, it sweet and juicy, and is often made into chocolates. Even though Jeju is the southernmost island in Korea, it is still pretty cold in November. It…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. After the tea museum, next on the itinerary was the glass castle. I really did not have any idea what this place was, I was basically following the itinerary by my friends. Glass Castle is a museum cum theme park that is centred on – you guessed it – glass items. They have indoor displays and a large outdoor garden, which also includes a forest walk. if you do a quick walk, you can see everything in just over an hour. if you plan to take pictures then it might take longer. All in all it…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. On Day 4 of our trip we flew from Seoul to Jeju for a 2D/2N stay. I booked my flight through EastarJet online, flying out from Gimpo. Getting to Gimpo from Myeongdong was quite easy, we took the Airport Limo Bus. We were actually running a little late, we did not realize the bus stopped at the international terminal. We had to take another feeder bus to the domestic terminal. We finally made it to the check-in counter just in time, but fortunately the flight was delayed an hour. Gimpo international terminal is really busy with…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. After a long day of going to N Seoul Tower, Ewha Woman’s University, and Seoul Lantern Festival, it was 8 something at night and we hadn’t had our real dinner yet. Naturally, we went back to Myeongdong, where it was near our hotel, and had plenty to eat. Disembarking from Myeongdong station, you can go through the Myeongdong Underground Mall. Quite a few malls around Seoul have underground malls for the convenience of the commuters. Seoul Station probably has the most impressive one. Generally, stuff in Myeongdong is pricey, so we didn’t shop much. But we…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. After a long day of shopping, we returned to the hotel for a rest. In the early evening, we went out to Cheonggyecheon Stream to see the Seoul Lantern Festival. The stream is a revitalized urban project, where you can walk along the river and see art installations, murals depicting historical events and water cascades. On normal days lots of tourists walk along the 5.8km river, especially near the centre of the city. But every year at the end of autumn, the Seoul Lantern Festival is also held here, so if you come at night, you…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. I just checked their official website, that IS how you spell the name, ‘Womans’. I guess they didn’t have google to spellcheck for them back then. After the morning trip to Namsan Park and N Seoul Tower and lunch in Myeongdong, we took a subway to Ewha Womans University. This is a very popular shopping district here. The area is very large, spread out across 3 subway stations – Ewha Womans University Station, Sinchon Station and Hongik University Station. The area around Hongik is also called Hongdae, and is a specialized shopping district by itself. The…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. Day 3 started early as we went down to the nearby Ediya Coffee for quick breakfast. Yesterday, we had bought breakfast the night before from Paris Baguette, the bakery that’s a bit like Delifrance and is found on almost every street in Seoul. Ediya is like their local Starbucks, and at 8 something in the morning, it is surprisingly quiet here. So we had a peaceful breakfast listening to Christmas music on the sound system. That’s a cream filled chocolate bun, waffle with cheese spread and the small long box is a cheesecake. Today we are…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. After our morning visit to Noryangjin Fish Market, we went back to our hotel awhile. then just after lunch time, we decided to make visit somewhere near, so we went for Namdaemun Market. Namdaemun Market is the largest traditional markets in Seoul, and is pretty old, open since 1964. Actually, our hotel was very close to the market and is walking distance. The actual Namdaemun Gate is just outside our hotel. in the old days there were four gates in Seoul, located at the cardinal points of the compass, naturally if you understand Chinese, Namdaemun is…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. Second day in Seoul! Yesterday, since we arrived in the morning, we took things a little easy, with a shorter itinerary and turning in early. Today, we are going to Noryangjin Fish Market. I’m not actually a fan of fish markets or seafood in general (except maybe sushi), but this was a huge tourist attraction. Besides, Mark Wiens of Migrationology highly recommended it, and if Mark says its good, I’m taking his word for it. And since I’ll probably never get to go to Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, Noryangjin is the next best thing. Noryangjin…