Today's first location was Namdaemun Market. Namdaemun Market is a large traditional market in Seoul and is the oldest and the largest market in Korea. The market started in 1414 during the reign of King Taejong. The streets in which the market is located were built in time when cars were not prevalent, so the market itself is only accessible by motorcycles and hand-drawn carts. Namdaemun is a popular tourist attraction and sells one of the best hotteok (Korean pancake) in Seoul.
There were so many things there and the place is really HUGE! It's like Chinatown but ten times bigger. I almost got lost in there! This is also the place to shop for affordable kids apparel. I bought four cute shirts for my nephews at KRW5,000 each! It was really really hot and the market was pretty crowded. Quickly headed off to my next location after I have buy whatever that I wanted.
NAMDAEMUN MARKET
Opening hrs: 2300hrs to 1700hrs (closed on Sundays).
Address: 21 Namdaemunsijang 4-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Subway: Hoehyeon Station (line 4 exit 6).
#1: Namdaemun Market.
#2: Namdaemun Market.
#3: Namdaemun Market.
#4: Namdaemun Market.
#5: Sungnyemun.
Took a bus down to where Cafe aA is located. Café aA Design Museum is a five-storey building in Hongdae that houses a museum, a café and a designer furniture showroom. The place is owned by famous vintage furniture collector, Kim Myung Hwan, who also owns one of the famous Italian restaurants in Hongdae – AGIO. Café aA Design Museum was the venue where BoA’s Only One music video was filmed. Another artsy fartsy cafe with a relaxing atmosphere, serving good coffee!
CAFÉ AA DESIGN MUSEUM
Opening hrs: 1200hrs to 0000hrs.
Address: 408-11 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Subway: Sangsu Station (line 6 exit 1).
#6: Cafe aA Design Museum.
#7: Cafe aA Design Museum.
#8: Cafe aA Design Museum.
#9: Cafe aA Design Museum.
#10: Cafe aA Design Museum.
#11: Cafe aA Design Museum.
#12: Iced Latte.
Went to locate for Air Cafe, a plane themed cafe that is round the corner. This too has closed down. Took a seat at an earthy themed cafe that is located right next to the building that Air Cafe is supposed to be in. Slow' Brick is a collabouration with Skin Talk, a beauty brand, that aims to bring a better life to consumers. Slow' Brick specializes in their cleansing juice that comes in 5 colours - 5 different combinations of fruits and vegetables. RED: apple + carrot + beetroot + tomato. ORANGE: apple + carrot + lemon. YELLOW: grapefruit + orange + pineapple + apple. GREEN: apple + celery + orange + carrot + tomato. PINK: apple + tomato + grapefruit + carrot. The cafe also serves coffee, organic tea, cakes and salad. On my way here, I passed by a floral shop, Monday Market, that sells really pretty fresh and dried flowers, as well as cactus and other potted plants.
#13: Monday Market.
#14: Monday Market.
#15: Monday Market.
#16: Monday Market.
#17: Monday Market.
#18: Monday Market.
SLOW' BRICK CAFÉ
Opening hrs: 1000hrs to 0000hrs.
Address: 44 Dongmak-ro 7-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Subway: Sangsu Station (line 6 exit 1).
#19: Slow' Brick Cafe.
#20: Slow' Brick Cafe.
#21: Slow' Brick Cafe.
#22: Slow' Brick Cafe.
#23: Slow' Brick Cafe.
#24: Slow' Brick Cafe.
#25: Slow' Brick Cafe.
#26: Choco Choco Cake and Chamomile Tea.
#27: Took away the Chamomile Tea!
After this, I head down to Insa-dong. Insa-dong is an area filled with galleries, traditional restaurants, traditional teahouses and cafes. Roads are closed on weekends and the streets transform into a cultural space. This includes booths, stalls, traditional performances and exhibits. Insa-dong is especially popular among tourists as it is a great place to experience and witness traditional Korean culture and a place to get pieces of fine art.
INSADONG
Address: Insa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Subway: Anguk Station (line 3 exit 6).
#28: Insadong.
#29: Insadong.
#30: Beautiful flowers at Insadong.
#31: Street artist at Insadong. Finger paintings for KRW20,000.
Took a rest at O'sulloc Tea House, a premium Korean green tea brand originated from Jeju. O’sulloc is a matcha themed café specialized in presenting the authentic taste of Korean traditional tea. The café offers a variety of desserts and beverages with matcha (or green tea) as the main ingredient. If you don't like matcha, you can try their hojicha alternative The café also promotes tea drinking and the health benefits of tea.
There are so many matcha items to try on and I finally decided on getting the Green Tea O'Fredo (matcha frappuccino with matcha soft serve) and Green Tea Tiramisu Set. They have another version called the Green Tea King O'Fredo at an additional of KRW1,500, which is matcha frappuccino with whipped cream, matcha ice cream, red bean, matcha cake and a cookie. Their green tea is really really nice and taste so different from the usual ones. It is very smooth in taste and there is no bitter aftertaste. I also got their popular Green Tea Milk Spread that tasted amazing!
O’SULLOC TEA HOUSE
Opening hrs: 0900hrs to 2300hrs.
Address: 170, Gwanhun-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Subway: Anguk Station (line 3 exit 6).
#32: O'sulloc Tea House.
#33: O'sulloc premium green tea leaves.
#34: O'sulloc Tea House.
#35: O'sulloc Green Tea Milk Spread.
#36: Seating area of Level 2.
#37: Green Tea Tiramisu and Green Tea King O'Fredo.
#38: Seating area of Level 3.
Next, I head down to Banpo Hangang Park to catch the sunset and the Rainbow Fountain from Banpo Bridge. It is quite some walking from the nearest train station, Express Bus Terminal, about a km or so, so you might want to arrive at least half an hr before the showtime. The underground passageway of the train station, is where underground mall, Gangnam Terminal Underground Shopping Centre is located. You can find many affordable apparels here. Ladies clothes goes at like KRW5,000 or KRW10,000.
The Banpo Bridge is one of the major bridges over the Han River. It is installed with a fountain that is programmed to play different shows during the day and night. In the day, it is programmed to show a hundred different configurations of willow branches and leaves. In the night, it is programmed to send out 200 colourful-lighted jets of water, synchronized with music, and thus called as the Rainbow Fountain. One of the best places to observe the shows is from Banpo Hangang Park, a park located on the southern side of the Han River. I was pretty excited for this but where is the rainbow? Hmm.. It is not so worth it to watch and travel all the way there afterall.
BANPO HANGANG PARK, BANPO BRIDGE RAINBOW FOUNTAIN
Rainbow Fountain Show Times: 1200hrs, 2000hrs, 2100hrs (Mon to Fri), additional show times – 1700hrs, 2030hrs, 2130hrs (Sat, Sun).
Address: 40 Sinbanpo-ro 11-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Subway: Express Bus Terminal Station (line 3 exit 4).
#39: Banpo Hangang Park.
#40: Banpo Hangang Park.
#41: Sunset at Banpo Hangang Park.
#42: Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain.
Expenses for the Day
Namdaemun Market - Seaweed 40pkt KRW15,000 (x2) = KRW30,000; Kids Shirt KRW5,000 (x4) = KRW20,000
Cafe aA Design Museum - Iced Latte KRW6,000
Slow' Brick Cafe - Chamomile KRW5,000; Choco Choco Cake KRW5,000
O'sulloc Tea House - Drink and Tiramisu Set KRW11,500; Green Tea Milk Spread KRW8,500; Green Tea Chocolate KRW7,500
Gangnam Terminal Underground - Shirt KRW5,000
Sub-total: KRW98,500 = SGD117.10
Expenses from previous: SGD1,648.90
Current total: SGD1,766
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