Salam all! As promised!!!
This post is to basically help those who want to travel to Seoul, Korea but don’t wish to follow any tour groups or tour guide. Seoul is very,very easy to navigate. Now more Koreans can speak English and there are signage in English too. It is definitely a lot easier compared to my first trip to Korea back in 2010. Korea as you know is a country with 4 seasons, and all of its season has its own charm and attractive points. I have experienced 3 out of 4 seasons in Korea and I will tell you which is my favourite!
1. EVERLAND (In Yongin)
Everland is no.1 because it is one of my most favourite place to visit in Korea. I have been here in 2010,2012,2014,2018 and 2019. LOL 5 times. Why??? Simply because it’s a whole lot better and bigger than our Universal Studios Singapore.
Personally, the best time to visit Everland is during winter. I have experienced magical moments here. Moments that will never be forgotten. In 2014, during my trip with the AYgirls LOL. yes, we gave ourselves a girl group name. It was an all girls trip and it was the bomb. My job was to guide all of them. I guided them in Seoul, Busan and Gyeong Ju(with the help of my friend, he has a car so we all squeezed in!). Yeaps I have guided 2 different groups of people to Korea!
Okay so back to Everland, Everland when it snows….Masyaa allah it is soooo beautiful!!!Especially night time when everything is lit and snowing! It is beyond stunning! Beguiling! That was the most memorable experience for me.
What does Everland has to offer??? Rides, rides, zoo and more rides! It has that 74 degree drop of a wooden roller coaster, it has a wonderful safari where animals roam freely outside your bus! Imagine bears, lions and other wildlife you can imagine along your side. Just the atmosphere will make you feel only happy vibes!
How do you get there? By train & bus is the best option. I have tried the everline… and I tell you it totally wasted my time as it took almost a whopping 2 hours to get there. If you take the train to Gangnam station on line 2 > exit 10 and take bus no. 5002 to the Everland station(it takes only about 30-40 mins a lot lesser time compared to the Everline). Once you alight, there will be free shuttle buses that will bring you right down to Everland main entrance itself.
The best way to get your tickets ,would be via online. Please buy the tickets beforehand to enjoy fuss-free entrance and great deals. I would recommend buying them from klook.com. The tickets cost a lot less than our USS and totally worth it 🙂
2. GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE
In Seoul, there are a couple of palaces , this one is definitely a must-visit! Because it is smacked right in the middle of a metropolitan city. Seoul is where a modern city and historical sites coexist. If you want to learn more about history and how Korea is like in the past. To learn about Korean’s monarchy, then this is the place to go. Or if you just simply love watching those period dramas and take lots of instagram worthy photos this is definitely it!
Don’t forget to rent a hanbok! If you show up in a hanbok, your entrance to the palace is free~~~ But if you don’t no worries, it will not burn any hole in your pockets. Entrance fee costs around 3.50 SGD
3. NAMSAN TOWER
This is another place that I love to visit. Usually if you want to get to the top, you’d take a cable car up to the tower. However if you have the time , I’d recommend walking up to this place. It’s quite an uphill journey, if you have older folks or you lack stamina walking up is not recommended.
Namsan Tower is also known for those love locks where you buy a lock, write your wishes or message and then you lock it on the railings or fence. I must admit, I read through a couple of messages on the lock especially the ones in Korean. They gave me either warm fuzzy feeling or goosebumps cause they are too cheesy. I’ve experienced Namsan Tower in both winter and summer. During the night, Namsan Tower also has a light show display. Definitely fond of this place, too many precious memories.
4. MYEONGDONG
Myeongdong is a shopping paradise for tourists. Shopping for Korean make-up products are best done here and Myeongdong is very near to the Namsan Tower. Clothes wise, I’d recommend another place where most locals go to shop. Myeong dong street is often filled with pop up booths or push carts where they sell street food, snacks, sweet stuffs or clothes and accessories. This is also a place where you can get $1.20 socks as gifts for people at home. Many tourists that I know love Myeong Dong, I am not exactly sure why. Perhaps it’s the very hyped and lively atmosphere. Usually people come here repeatedly on one trip. In Myeong Dong, there are a couple of halal restaurants. I’d recommend Kampungku Restaurant and Busan Jib.
To buy Kpop CDs or albums, I’d recommend this place because often it is hard to find a CD shop in Seoul. There are a couple but not as many because in Korea online shopping is a huge thing. Imagine buying something online and getting the item on the same day or the next! How convenient is that? So many locals do shop online a lot.
5. HONGDAE
Hongdae is known for its cafe culture, busking and clubbing of course for youngsters in Korea! If you are crazy about cafes, Hongdae has a lot of themed cafes too. I love the Hello Kitty cafe where it is all pinky pinky and picturesque. The sheep cafe… yeap where you can touch and mingle with sheep. LOL. Cat cafes, actually in Seoul there are a number of cat cafes here and there. Try to find one that’s less crowded if you want more interaction with the cats. The breed of cats they have in the cat cafes are quite interesting.
If you want to sing your hearts out, in Hongdae they have a glass karaoke. Basically it’s like an open concept of karaoke rooms, where people walking down the street could watch you from the outside. One particular down side about Hongdae is it is always,always super crowded. If you are claustrophobic and hate crowds, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
