Day 3 - 23/3/2016:
Slept on my sunglasses so it broke.... My watch also died on me sjldhsjhs stress. Decided to wake up early to go look for replacements. Sunglasses cannot be found anywhere and as for the watch, there was a G-Factory shop nearby. Inquired the cost to replace my battery which turned out to be 12,000won (~RM42) but family and friends said that was expensive. I guess I forgot to mention that my watch is a Baby G watch. Anyway I didn't change it and I regret it till today since it costs RM70 here and will take around one month(?). Doooooown. Btw the watches there were beautiful and trendy. Price range was not so bad, too.
I was at Etude House to get my sister's eye primer when Maryam messaged me saying they were on their way to Hyehwa, my next accommodation. Had to check out before 12pm too, so I rushed back home, returned the key and got back my deposit.
Itaewon to Hyehwa station required one exchange which was fine but I had to drag my big luggage and my limping leg around so that was not cool. Yeap, my leg was starting to feel painful around this time and I couldn't bend it like Beckham. Upon reaching Hyehwa station, good Lord, the subway stairs were dsfdslajfkljfjsafjdwljdksajdlk!!!! (because of my leg pain, you see) Whilst bearing the pain, I carried my luggage up the stairs and you know what I saw?
A soldier was handing a bouquet of flowers to his girlfriend.
Kau ingat ni drama ke apa??? Hahahaha but for real though. The atmosphere was quite busy and happening and I could tell that the people there were university students. Made my way to the next accommodation called Bong House and I did follow the map given, or so I thought. Took the wrong turn and ended up elsewhere. Tried to ask people but they didn't know until this kind couple showed me the right path.
Lady: This place- very far. Turn back and go right. Very far.
Me: 찐짜?! Really? 아이고 (ha kau korean aku dah keluar)
Lady: ㅎㅎㅎㅎ
So I followed her directions and according to the map, there was supposed to be a coffee shop called Ediya Coffee but it was nowhere to be found. So I asked this cute guy at a random coffee stall and he was like "아....너무 이상해" (Ah, very weird) and he kept thinking....and thinking... and thinking.... and at last! "Coffee shop.. change name". Apparently the coffee shop changed the signboard. Sumpah nak flip table time tu jugak. I was basically at the right intersection already ok. Said my thanks and made my way to the guesthouse, only to find that the receptionists went out for lunch. There were two Germans chilling out at the common room and they were really friendly but I was half dying because I had asthma so I was all "Ok hold on a sec cuz I haz asthma I need to chill I need to take deep breaths" so I squatted near the sofa. HAHAHA SUPER LOL but seriously though I couldn't believe I got asthma again since mine's in control hm. Anyway, we kept talking until the receptionists came back. Went to the room to put my bags and went out again to fetch the girls since they just arrived and I was pretty sure they got lost, which they did.
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Our room was a 4 bedroom but we got upgraded to a 5 bedroom. It was ensuite/ had a private bathroom, kitchenette, refrigerator, washing machine and a place to hang the clothes (beyond the sliding door). We requested for a rice cooker and borrowed a pot from the common kitchen. Brought our own food, cutleries and a lot of food. A lot. I'm not kidding, they brought a lot tahap boleh buka kedai runcit hahaha.
Back to the story. It was a tiring journey so they slept for a bit. Pancit kot trave lel been there, done that. Had a late lunch and off we headed to Cheonggyecheon (청계천) Stream. Stuck around until night time. It was already cold and we were walking across a stream = lagi bapak sejuk. Stopped by at Tom N Toms to get heat and a super bomb hot chocolate. Only took a sip since I'm semi-lactose intolerant. (rasa macam full je but idk)
FROM LEFT: SEET/SITI, AINIL (itu gua), ALIANA, MARYAM
*From now onwards, picture credits go to them :D
Later on, we decided to go to Itaewon to get some halal food. It was an uphill battle okay and it really tested my leg pain. Told my friends to dump me but they were very kind to match my pace, wait for me and held my hands awuuuu. This is the perks of travelling in a group. You get to know others better and oh myyyy I was/still am very glad I ended up with this bunch. It was 9pm when we reached Makan Halal Restaurant. The food ranged from 8,000won-12,000won I think. The side dishes (banchan/반찬) were yummy especially the seaweed. Only got this shot but please believe me when I say that their dishes were all A++++. The foods tasted similar to the foods I had at Koryowon, KLCC so I won't miss it that much :p
Makan Halal Restaurant:
- 52 usadanro 10 gil, 용산구 서울특별시 South Korea (10.30am-10pm)
Day 4 - 24/3/2016:
It's Nami Island day! We woke up late and started our journey at 11am something. Or was it 12pm? Can't remember but just a heads up: we start our days around noon time from this point on. Anyway, dropped by Daiso to get a knee guard and hot packs because the cold was no joke.
Generally, we used ITX via Cheongnyangni station to Gapyeong station -> Boarded a shuttle bus to Nami wharf -> Rode a ferry to and fro Nami Island -> Boarded the shuttle bus again to get to Garden of Morning Calm -> Again, used to bus to get to CheongPyeong Station -> Normal subway train to Hyehwa station *details later
Purchased the ITX tickets via machine that was in English so all iz well. Pastu dalam ITX tu ada akak tolak trolley jual makanan and minuman and I knew she sold hard boiled eggs. I just knew it entah cemana. So since we brought our own food, nak tambah lah sikit lauk kan. Lalu, Aliana and I made our way to her (we missed her the first time). I knew numbers in Korean but I only learnt it like a few days before so I was really slow. Buuuut thou shalt not fret for she had a calculator! Senang. At last, we got our eggs and Aliana got her banana milk.
At Gapyeong station, we boarded the bus first and later, a friendly Malaysian family passed by us with a "Nihonjin desu ka?" so I replied with a "Iie, mareshia jin desu" huahuahua #acah. (Bumped into them again on the island. So friendlyyyyyy) Next, after getting our tickets for Nami Island and while waiting for the ferry, a Korean couple approached us with "hai adik-adik manis" hahahahahahaha terkejut beruk okay. Apparently he was in Ampang for business previously and we chatted for a bit. Anyway, we explored Nami Island and took pictures here and there. Also had steamed buns with red bean along the way. Come lunch time, we ate near a scenic view and we bumped into the Korean couple again! The wife gave us her home made rice cake and it was yumz.
Uncle: Sedap?
Us: Sedapppp
All four of us told her that her ddeok/rice cake was really delicious and we talked with uncle lagi. All the while, uncle kept translating our conversations to his wife who couldn't speak in English so Maryam, who was able to converse in Korean, spoke to her.
*Malas nak type in Korean but really, this whole conversation was in Korean, walaupun broken
Mrym: Your rice cake was sooooo delicious.
Wifeu: Omooo thank you. Waaa you speak good Korean
Mrym: Oh, I learnt Korean before. blablabla The weather's pretty cold today
Wifeu: Yeah
Me: But it's okay, so long as we don't get a flu
Disclaimer: I didn't learn Korean before but I knew some words so campak je beb asalkan mesej sampai huahuahua.
I think she didn't expect Korean to come out of my mouth so she was like WAAAAAH and patted my back. Le wifeu was so happy that we liked her rice cake and still amazed at our Korean skillz (yasssss baby bongkak jap) so she gave us thumbs up and alahai she so kawaii okay.
After lunch, we went to pray at a musolla near the library. Basically, that was it. Please enjoy the following pictures.
Next, we rode a ferry to get to Nami wharf. Had to catch a shuttle bus so we ran for it (kaki sakit gila omg) and lucky us, we were the very last batch to get on the bus. Stood for almost 55 minutes and phew pening gila. To summarise The Garden of Morning Calm, it was basically an amazing garden with beautiful, colourful flowers and trees. Come night time, the whole garden will be light up with decorative lights place across the flowers and trees so the view was magnificent. The 3 of them explored the garden more than I did since my leg pain came back and I had to save the pain for the next day lel.
When we left the garden, we were super hungry and there were mini shops nearby so we got some odeng/omeok/fish cakes and gyeran bbang/egg bread (FAVOURITE). Caught the last shuttle bus to the station and arrived home pretty late since we had dinner when it was almost 1am. This went on for several day lol.
Fun fact: The inspiration for the garden stemmed from a poem written by Sir
Tagore, a great Indian poet, who described Korea during the Joseon
Dynasty as "The Land of the Morning Calm."
