Hi guys!!!

You might have already seen my first blog post for my Korea trip, if you haven’t, check it out here -> 7 Recommended Beauty & Wellness Spots in Korea!

As mentioned at the end of the previous Korea trip post, I want to follow up with another blog post featuring the Korean Cultural and Food spots… But after some deliberation, I decided I’d do this massive blog post detailing pretty much the entire trip, well cus’ there’s so much information and random bits and pieces of my trip that won’t quite fall into “Cultural and Food” features. So here’s my recent 5D4N Korea trip blog post and photo diary! It definitely took me a long long while (>6 hours and counting, broke up in a few sittings) to get this post up and frankly a lot of inertia on my part to get into it – nonetheless, I’m just glad it’s finally up! 😀 I’m gonna try to follow up with a video compilation of snippets of the trip as well – so you can look out for that too! 🙂

Okayyy so let’s just get right into it! 😉

Pre Korea Trip

Bid my sister good bye as she would be leaving for her Phd studies in London while I am in Korea. We took Asiana airline with pretty good service and food! Definitely no qualms flying with them again. Sat next to Carolyn our friendly KTO Singapore personnel for both to & fro trips, glad to have someone familiar next to me to chat and enjoy meals with instead of being alone! 😀 Carolyn had the Bibimbap meal while I chose a fish option… which smelled a lot more appetising than it tasted, hence I opted for the Bibimbap meal on the trip back to Singapore, heh!

Asiana airlines midnight flight to Korea!

You can see the last of the funky rainbow coloured hair Chez Vous team did for me for a recent Cleo magazine feature. 

Korea Day 1:
Udong Noodles at Chungha
Incheon Songwol-dong Fairytale Village
Pocheon Herb Island
Dinner at Gogung
Lotte City Myeong Dong
Chimac Dinner at Myeong Dong

Udong Noodles at Chungha

We had Udong noodles at Chungha for our first breakfast in Korea. Before that, we had about 20 min to freshen up at at the airport toilet – makeup and change of outfit to be ready for our first day! I’m not a Udon noodles fan – but after this meal, I have a renewed appreciation for Udon noodles! The way Koreans do Udon is so tasty and the little puffs you see are fried crispies (is that how you spell it, lol). It’s not life changing, but if you’ll be passing by this restaurant I’d definitely recommend trying the Udon here. 🙂

Incheon Songwol-dong Fairy Tale Village

After getting filled up, we headed for Incheon’s Songwol-dong Fairy Tale Village – it’s a fusion fairy tale village where it combines both Disney and local Korean fair tales! Very whimsical and cute, definitely recommended for fairy tale lovers to come by and check out this place that’s like a story book (or many fairytales) coming alive! I highly recommend planning a trip here the first thing in the morning from 9-10am to avoid the crowd which will start swarming in after 10am  and it’d be hard to take pictures.

This is Brenda’s reaction after we told her that she took photo with Ms Frog instead of Frog Prince, LOL! Finally a pic with Frog Prince, heh! It’s amazing how the homes here are decked out with cute cartoon elements – I do really wonder if it’s a boon or bane for residents here that their neighbourhood is a tourist attraction? Scratchy mirror don’t care, heh. Super cute Jack and the Beanstalk poles! Yunno, just having a moment with Ariel and asking her when she’s going to make a trip to a hair salon to get her hair fixed! See what I mean by local fairy tales too? And and, well this ain’t a fairy tale – it’s the biblical Noah’s Ark! 😀  Just casually doing a shoot for our album cover – we’re the CSCD girl group – which according to Brenda, stands for “Can’t Sing Can’t Dance” LOL. XD Ahjummas and Ajusshis also here to check out the scene, yo.

And of course, a more age appropriate group on what seems like a class outing. 🙂

Lunch At Pocheon Herb Island

For lunch, we headed to Pocheon Herb Island for a western chicken chop meal which was huge – I only finished 1.5 pieces. They also served up edible flowers which was interesting. Pocheon Herb Island isn’t an island but a european style day resort with flower and herb gardens, herb healing center, bakery, shops, restaurant – mostly boasting with natural ingredients harvested from the “island” itself. I super love the essential oils and teas and regret not stocking up more while I was there – they were very reasonably priced and I highly recommend getting more if you’re planning a trip there. Also, it’s recommended to stay until the night to watch the lights in the night which gets pretty enchanting and magical! Unfortunately we left before dusk as we had to head off for our dinner. Entry to the island is ticketed and additional costs for meals and spa. For more about Herb Healing Center Spa and Herb Island photos and review, head over to my previous post. For more information, visit official website here and Visit Korea english website here.

Bibimbap Dinner at Gogung

For our first dinner, we had Korea’s famous Bibimbap (mixed rice) at a local’s favourite brand – Gogung restaurant – apparently they have a few outlets throughout Korea so you can easily locate one when you’re in Korea – Koreans have Bibimbap in a steel bowl during summer and stone bowl during winter. The bowl was however too huge for most of us bloggers – I recommend sharing a bowl if you don’t eat a lot of rice and ordering more sides for sharing!

Chimac Dinner Round 2 with Livia

After dinner, I met up with my local friend Livia for Chimac – which is chicken and beer, a trending favourite supper meal among locals, before street shopping. It was my first Chimac experience and 678 Chimac store at Myeong Dong is a great choice – I’ve had my fair share of Korean fried chicken/equivalent in Singapore – 4 Fingers, Bonchon, WingStop but seriously the Korean one takes the cake – idk why the chicken is SOO soft and tender on the inside?! Must be some kind of special recipe – unfortunately the servings were hugeee and we couldn’t finish both the fish udon soup and chicken. Both items were amazing I would most definitely go back and order both items again. A short stroll from Lotte City Myeong Dong Hotel where I stayed.

This pot of Udon soup esp the pouches was amazing – it was soft and cheesy.
Is it a coincidence that Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo are only one street apart? HAHA. These stars of the latest global drama hit, Descendants of the Sun are popular in and out of Korea! The celebrity phenomenon in Korea is truly something incredible and eye opening – we don’t have major celebrities in country so small like Singapore so it’s hard to relate – and I wonder what it’s like for celebrities to see their own cut outs while shopping or just walking on the streets?  😛 Tony Moly riding high on the Pokemon craze!
We had these cute strawberry chocolate mochis – these were pricey (can’t recall exactly how much now but I remember not cheap) but yummy. And we each bought a bunny home too! – FYI these are NOT real rabbit fur (they’re around 8000won/S$10 each, the real ones costs around S$50) and I do not endorse buying real rabbit fur key chains. Tucked mine in bed with me, heh.

Korea Day 2:
K-Makeover at Beaute 101
Lunch at Duggi Tteok-bokki
Garosu-gil Simone Handbag Museum
Spa Lei
Dinner at Black Pig Korea
Seokchon Lake Super Moon Exhibition

Decided to gym twice during my trip and made it on day 2. Both times it was around 15 min but it was nonetheless great to kick start the day with – I don’t have a gym to go to back home and after this trip I realize how great it is to have one. The good news is that the gym right next door to my place (ok, 5 min walk) is opening soon and I’ve already signed up. My tip is to wear gym clothes to sleep and wake up and go down to gym, so less inertia and more motivation, since you’re already dressed for it!  HA. 😉

Had Angel in US coffee to go more for most of our mornings. <3

K-Makeover at Beaute 101

Have shared quite a fair bit about this in my previous post!

Lunch at Duggi Tteok-bokki

We had lunch at Duggi Tteok-bokki, for 9000-10,000won it’s all you can eat and a lot of instant and fried food choices – not a big fan but after speaking to a Korean friend, he was telling me that it was probably because we didn’t know how to prepare the food properly? – I’m not sure if you know how to – perhaps this is a place best visited with locals who can serve up a mean meal with the ingredients! 🙂 

Simone Handbag Museum at Garosu-gil 

After lunch we headed to check out branded and exquisite handbags from past and present at Simone Handbag Museum – this really reminded me of my LASALLE days and especially our fashion exposure industry trip to Hong Kong. If you’re a fashion student. fashion or history lover – I recommend dropping by and catering at least 30-60 min and opt for a guided tour cause the guide shed so much more valuable insights to the bags on display then we would have gained if we were just looking at it by ourselves – it’s best to call in to make an appointment and the guide/curator can speak pretty decent english – way better than she’s willing to take credit for. 🙂 There’s a really impressive bag studio at the basement and if you’re based in Korea – you can sign up for a class of 4 lessons to learn how to DIY/custom make your own bag. P.S. Photos are technically not allowed in the museum displays, but I sneaked these, lol.

Garosugil Gangnam Streets

After checking out the museum, we had a short interval to walk and shop the streets of Garosugil Gangnam – which is a great place to people watch – the people along Gangnam streets are very stylish and chic – if I had the chance, I’d like to spend hours just people watching while enjoying a cuppa coffee at Coffeesmith cafe.

Spa Lei

We headed for Spa Lei with a short 1 hour interval so we didn’t manage to get to do much except touring the space and soaking our feet in the hot spa towards the end – photos are strictly not allowed but we had the manager’s supervision to take these while we were inside, specially for our review. For more info., visit my previous post here.

BBQ Dinner at Black Pig Korea

If you’re fan of BBQ pork then this is where you’ll be right at home, hahaha. I don’t think I’ve seen any BBQ shops quite as good as this one – on hindsight the smoke suction and the entire shop and service was incredible – I don’t recall smelling like BBQ when I left the shop. Am personally not a huge fan of pork or BBQ in general but definitely appreciate the experience here.

Super Moon Installation at Seokchon Lake

Can I just say I really enjoyed and appreciate the Super Moon? Super Moon is an installation at Seokchon which coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival when the Moon is the rounded and brightest – so a lot of locals – young and old, couples and in groups were out to admire both the Super Moon and real moon. It was very nice and heartwarming to see grandpas, couples, families with young kids out in the park admiring the installation. And I super love how restful and super cute the Super Moon is!

Here;s the tallest building in Korea (far left) which will officially open end of the  year or early next year!

Myeong Dong Street Shopping (2nd Night)

For our 2nd night, Joyce, Siaw Ee and I proceeded to Myeong Dong for street snacks and shopping! Shall let the photos do the talking~

Day 2 shopping loots – I bought a lot of snacks back!

 Korea Day 3:
Breakfast
Kwangdong Oriental Hospital “Oriental Relax Treatment”
Lunch @ Nonhyeon Ginseng Chicken Soup
Site Inspection @ S Class Spa
Barista Experience @ Cafe Teh Bean
Hongdae
King Crab Dinner @ Kim & Kim

After a quick hotel breakfast, Joyce and I came down to Angel in Us for our morning coffee. 🙂

Kwangdong Oriental Hospital  “Oriental Relax Treatment”

And then we headed for our first visit of the day – where we experienced various treatments – I had my very first acupuncture session! More photos and information over here.

Lunch @ Nonhyeon Ginseng Chicken Soup

Definitely recommend spot for traditional Korean ginseng chicken soup and porridges! I’m a fan of both and I would like to come back here again! As usual, the servings are huge – I recommend sharing.

This is ginseng porridge without meat, for Siaw Ee who’s vegetarian.

Site Inspection @ S Class Spa

We visited this luxe S Class Spa – they have this really interesting couple suite that has 2 beds for couple massage and even a love tub for soaking and it looks like a hotel suite. Will post up a picture of it below. Prices are about 200,000 won / ~S$250upwards per pax. For more information, visit their website here. 

Yup, this is the interesting couple room that looks like a hotel suite.

Hongdae, Barista Class @ Cafe The Bean

We had a really interesting Cafe Barista Class at Cafe the Bean located close to Hongdae. So some pictures of the neighbourhood before the class!

Didn’t get to meet Jackson in person but it’s ok! We can take with his cut out, LOL.
SeaNTree is a really cute korean cosmetics and skincare brand that’s just beginning to have some presence in Singapore via online.  The cute cat above Heynature! We learnt how to make drip coffee! It requires skills and experience to make good tasting drip coffee! Then we learnt how to make latte coffee and latte art – again, skills, practice and experience is key to becoming a pro barista! Haha.I’m one step closer to becoming a barista! 😛

King Crab Dinner @ Kim & Kim

It’s honestly hard to pick a favourite meal in Korea cause I have a few – but I can say this was my favourite dinner! The King Crab, the soup base, the seafood – top shell, salmon, the rice – everything was SO GOOD. The only issue would be having too much of a good thing(s) in one meal? LOL. So the idea is to come here with a sizable group (at least 4-5) and order to share!

Hongdae Shopping & Night Out

After Kim & Kim, we walked back to contine shopping at Hongdae! And then Siaw Ee and Brenda left to meet their friends respectively. So Joyce and I continued shopping and had desserts before I met my friend Taeseong; for supper and a walk around Hongdae club scene before heading back to the hotel!

Cafe de paris location. Taeseong and I ordered a creative takeaway cocktail here for our walk around Hongdae. This tteokbokki was so good? Especially the fish udon!  This is a really popular club – the queue was massive. The signboard keeps changing colour – apparently it’s Greenlight – meaning / slang for singles – though I doubt only singles are in there, haha. And oh – it was pretty bizarre to see people out ready to club in autumn wear – long sleeves, jeans and layered. I didn’t have the foresight to save all the IG stories videos I took that night… Maybe the next trip to Korea I will video my experience if I make it inside a club – I am quite curious what it’s like. Finally otw back to hotel after a long day! Thanks to Taeseong for helping to book the taxi!

Korea Day 4:
Angel in Us Cafe Breakfast
K-Style Hub
Grevin Museum
Lunch @ Insadong Chon Restaurant
Sulwhasoo Flagship Store
Myeong Dong Osulloc Tea House
Dinner @ Top Cloud

Joyce and I wanted to try a different breakfast so we headed out of our hotel on the Saturday morning… but our hotel is in a CBD area so there wasn’t many choices available. So we headed back to the Angel In Us cafe where we have our usual coffees. HA.

My outfit of the day with the new Chuu pink jacket bought the day before!

K-Style Hub

K-Style Hub is a tourist information and experience center for tourists to learn more about all things Korean – culture, food, technology. We had the most fun with the Virtual Reality booths where we tried on goggles and experienced virtual skiing and taking wefies with popular Kpop stars, in our case we chose Big Bang members! We had about an hour here, but you can probably spend half a day here and still not be bored!

Nails done at the Beaute101 salon! Super love it. <3
Plastic surgery is huge in Korea – not sure if these are the really popular ones – but pretty sure these would be vet and credible hospitals/clinics to visit. I still think seeking a local opinion – tried and tested options are the safest/best. That said, all surgeries have risk, so always remember that.

Selfie with Joong Ki oppa’s cut out, LOL.
Looks like you can learn cooking here!
Checking out the food exhibition hall. And then traditional attire!  We had so much fun experiencing what it’s like to be a Korean dressed in the past! HAHA. If you want the full look you’ll have to wear the head accessories and shoes too. 😉

Grevin Museum

Grevin Museum is a wax museum from Paris. It’s not as famous as Madame Tussauds’s from London but it’s equally as good or even more innovative than the latter. I DID NOT EXPECT TO HAVE SO MUCH FUN. I definitely recommend it. For 18,000 won / S$21 is WORTH IT.  I don’t want to raise your expectations too high cause obviously we went without expectations and were floored – from interactive games to hob-nobbing with notable figures past and present to getting cosy with celebrities from Hollywood to Hallyu fame – you’re bound to enjoy one, if not many elements of this museum. Also, they have a “make your own wax figure” experience which is pretty cool and a fun activity for families with children to experience. Again, will let the photos do the talking! 

MOST ENTERTAINING – no kidding!  How many of these notable figures can you name? 😉
You know, just holding hands with the Queen. What a lovely collection, isn’t it?
Enjoying my view from a Presidential plane suite  – not something you get to do in daily life! 😉  Say hi to Van Gogh and Picasso!
How about exchanging greetings with Naomi and Princess Diana? Wefies with Angelina, G-Dragon and Rain (doesn’t really look like him).
Aerosmith, Michael Jackson and Madonna!  With my beloved Oppas – Geun Jong Suk and Lee Min Ho! <3 Hyun Bin, Kim Soo Hyun and Park Shin Hye! So I heard from the Grevin guide that Park Shin Hye isn’t as popular as the other male actors/actresses who are in the industry with the type of credentials and years of experiences that she has – which made me sad and wonder why that’s the case? I mean, she’s such a talented and gorgeous actress, no?! She’s pretty spot on in picking popular Korean Dramas and catapulting her fellow actors to fame. Hopefully she will become a bigger star in time to come! <3
There’s an area with these backstage mirrors which are SO GOOD for taking selfies and wefies.  Case in point! No filters required!  With Carolyn!A group picture to appreciate how awesome Grevin Museum is! <3

Lunch @ Insadong Chon

Taking a breather to stock take how long this post is, LOL. And I am more than half way through – I can do this. HAHA.

Lunch here IS FREAKING AWESOME. If you’re like me and you like traditional Korean meals then this is highly recommended – I tried to look for the address (thanks to Linda!), and I THINK it’s this one, hopefully the numbers still work!

YES this is how incredible the table spread looks like. <3 Everything tastes great – especially the salmon and the vermicelli. I don’t know specifically what’s what but they taste great. 😀 You should definitely plan time to explore the lovely and pretty neighbourhood where photo-worthy background abound! Like this Mini Hotel Insa. <3

Sulwhasoo Flagship Store

Another beauty feature you can find in my previous post here. 🙂

Osulloc Tea House @ Myeong Dong

I love green tea, in case you don’t already know – I drink a cup of sugar free green tea each night before I sleep for the calming and detox benefits. And I love the flavour! So it was perfect to enjoy a cup of matcha latte and caramel/chestnut (we didn’t figure out what the brown cake flavour was, but it tastes better than the matcha cake, lol) here! They even have drip green tea here – didn’t get to try that, maybe next time! Highly recommend purchases to make include Osulloc green tea satchets, green tea powder and green tea spread! Also a tip to check out level 2 for more seats with nice decor as well!

Dinner @ Top Cloud

I know I mentioned Kim and Kim was my favourite dinner – that’s in terms of taste – but for ambience, Top Cloud’s the top choice. High up on a building – with live band music in the background, beautiful city skyline in the night, a discerning crowd, enjoyable company – and have I mentioned a really cute waitery(?!! Sorry no photos but he looks like a skinny version of Hyun Bin) Top Cloud is the place to bring your date. enjoy the time there and make beautiful memories together. 🙂

Day 5 (Last Day)
Hotel Check Out
Heyri Art Village: Alive Museum
Lunch @ Chaesundang
Airport
Back to Singapore!

I wasn’t planning to get up earlier for gym but a very kind friend *coughs* reminded me the night before so I kept to my promise and got up early on Sunday, pulled my weary self and went down to gym and pretty much walked and jogged for the 15 min there. Is it weird that I really enjoyed or came to appreciate my view at the gym? Like every morning I’d wake up and watch people stroll and walk to work (my room view is the same as the gym’s). And well, on Sundays there weren’t any but it just made me reflect – it’s funny how easily humans can become attached to things and surroundings. 🙂
Was already running late for breakfast but still take time to selfie before checking out, LOL. 

Joyce left a bag in the room so we sneaked a pic while waiting for her before we went down to catch our mini van. 🙂 We missed a picture with my super friendly and helpful Ajusshi driver – he, along with Heather our tour guide and interpreter (far left below!) – they are the epitome of taking pride in their work – so joyful and professional – and it’s such a pleasure to be in their presence. 🙂

Heyri Art Village

For our last cultural spot we checked out Heyri Art Village – which would be a great family spot – dads can chill at cafe (if they don’t want to join the kids – and mums and children can visit the children’s fairytale museums and exhibitions. Well, we spotted an “Erotic art” museum so i guess that’s for adults only? HAHA. Seriously though,  I think this is a great place to enjoy lunch, cafe hope, check out the museum and the flowers here are very pretty too. 🙂

Interesting story about a well – in korean, so I can’t read – but you’re supposed to read the reflection in the well.  Again, the fairytales in the children’s museum are mixed with local tales, like the Fairytale village!
Said Erotic Art Museum, lol. It’s so nice to be in a country with changing seasons.  A lot of cafes and interesting buildings. Korean Princess, Disney Princess and Princess Ena (Me!), HAHAHA. Probably the closest I can get to attaining pink wings.

Next we checked out Alive museum – after getting spoiled by Grevin Museum – it’s hard to be impressed , but we still had fun! 🙂
Spot the sauna locker key on her bed – SUPER FUNNY LOL.

Our Siaw Ee gamed for some interesting photo moments at Alive Museum! 🙂

Lunch @ Chaesundang

Chaesundang was my favourite lunch spot while in Korea – the seafood was SO FRESH and the seafood porridge was REALLY good, as you can probably tell I tried to control myself but I still ate a lot and gained about 2 kg during the trip. #NoRegrets though! HAHAHA.

Airport!

We had a very easy and smooth process of getting our tax refunds – i had about 8,000 won back which was more than enough for a cup of green tea latte and melon ice cream at Paris Baguette –  I wanted to chill so I missed out on last minute duty free shopping at Korea which stocks all your popular Korean skincare and makeup brands like Laneige, Sulwhasoo and Hera, to name a few!

Can they bring this to SG please??? View from our plane after boarding~

Back home in SG!

Special and big thanks to Carolyn and KTO Singapore (be sure to follow them on FB for exciting KR-SG updates!) for making this trip possible! Also thanks to Heather and driver Ajusshi for taking such good care of us while we were there. Shoutout to my fellow travel mates, Joyce, Brenda and Siaw Ee – the entire trip was extra sweet with you girls around! <3

About 8 hours in the making for this blog post! Hope you found it interesting, inspiring and helpful for planning your next trip to Korea! 😉

x

Ena