Another Budget Shopping Place - Express Bus Terminal

I must have forgotten to mention about this place since I am always packed with places to visit and when I get back my priority is just to sleep! argh!

This probably isn't much of a news as I am sure every bargain-hunter would have done their research and find out where's the best place to shop at the lowest prices and this - is one of them.

No complicated directions, it's just the entire basement of the Express Bus Terminal, Line 3. How easy is that!

In fact, they sell alot more than just fashion items, they have all sorts of stuff - paintings, home decor etc -

And here are some random snap shots of the place so you may gauge if it's worth the trip down :) 

 See what I mean when I say they have alot of other stuff apart from fashion stuff?

But of course, majority sells these! Clothes!

The place is extremely big - its a huge area to shop and you can possibly spend up to 3 hours EASILY, so do budget your time well in order to have the luxury of time for scan through all these shops!

This thing! Is simply too "interesting" to not take a picture of! 

It's a washable panty-liner and sanitary pads.

I felt so conscious trying to sneak a picture of this store! But you could see from here, they have "pads" of all sizes to suit your flow. I just don't know how one is gonna wash these and re-wear them again and again.

 

I shall end here since these pictures speak for themselves. 

Enjoy!

BBQ Restaurant (Kang Ho Dong) @ Gangnam 강호동 백정, 강남

I am not someone who is particular about food, but coming to Seoul with someone who is, means that i get to explore places that serves good food.

Food shopping is not fun to me - walking past restaurants after restaurants and analyzing its ambience, shop front, number of people in the restaurant etc is just too much effort spent for food isn't it?

Well anyway on this fateful day while hanging out along the streets of Gangnam, and looking out for BBQ restaurants, we chanced upon this one particular BBQ restaurant at serves BBQ pork & beef on charcoal. (Charcoal BBQ is a more traditional way to enjoy BBQ as compared to gas stove method)

Name: Kang Ho Dong Baek Jom, 강호동 백정

I later found out on the internet this is actually a celebrity owned-restaurant.

http://travel.cnn.com/seoul/eat/seouls-celebrity-restaurants-039053

The food was not disappointing to the foodie I was with, hence, here are some directions in case you are also looking for a good BBQ place in Gangnam.

Go to Gangnam Station, Exit 11 and walk straight, just keep walking ahead

The streets are usually buzzing with life, and filled with lots of lights and shops...

Walk until you spot a Coffee Bean outlet on your right-hand side,

with means you need to turn right into the next lane you see.

Alternatively (to confirm you are at the right place), 

you may look left and observe the shops opposite the road.

When you notice Citibank & Paris Baguette opposite (like shown here), 

means its time to turn right into the next lane you see. 

Upon turning into the lane, you need to turn left. You will spot a Lotte Super Mart, like seen here.

Then after walking past Lotte Mart, you turn right again and you will find the restaurant.

OK, a picture paints a thousand words, so here is my ugly drawing in the hope of a better explanation.

So here you have it, the signboard of the restaurant.

At first sight, I thought this was Psy... haha

Here's the menu, for some reasons, I only took photo of 2 pages. But that's enough information.



Charcoal BBQ...

Satisfied after a good BBQ meal.

Going to Seoraksan, 설악산

 SORAKSAN NATIONAL PARK

http://www.pictureshack.us/images/66864_Seoraksan_working_file_copy.jpg

 My best image scan of the map

Seoraksan has been one of the destinations i have been eyeing for for a long time! I didn't have a chance to go there previously since it was winter when i was staying in Seoul, hence, i am really glad to set time aside this time.

Research on the internet will tell you that it'll be good to stay 2D1N so you can hike and see sunset/sunrise etc. and i guess that's true... But time was not on my side and i did read a few blogs on how you could possible visit this place in 1 day (you can get to the peak via cable car within a matter of minutes, no need to hike!), so i decided to try the day-trip route.

DIRECTIONS
1. Take a subway train and alight at Express Bus Terminal Station, Subway Line 3, Exit 5

2. Walk to Bus Terminal Building, you should be able to easily spot the huge Bus Terminal

3. Buy a ticket (18,000 won per pax) to Sokcho (the town where Seoraksan is located), this ride will take you 2 to 2.5hours, so be prepared for your butt to ache!

4.Upon getting off at Sokcho Bus Terminal (remember to buy your return ticket first! That way you are guaranteed a seat back), exit the Terminal and on your left you should spot a Tourist helpdesk where you can get the map to Seoraksan, and to the nearby beach.

5. Option to either grab a cab directly to Seoraksan National Park, OR take a bus from the bus stop located on the opposite side of the road, No. 7 or 7-1 (I took a cab which cost 16,000 won per cab)

6. There you go, you have reached your destination - Entrance Fee is 3,500 won

*You may wish to check the bus schedule from Seoul to Sokcho so you won't arrive at the bus terminal only to have to wait an hour for the next bus. Go to http://www.kobus.co.kr/web/eng/02_service/service01.jsp and key in your departure date and time.

SPENDING THE DAY @ SEORAKSAN

The plan is to set-off early in the morning, reach Sokcho by late morning, walk to the beach, have seafood by the beach, then head to Seoraksan National Park, take the cable car to the peak (20 mins to ride it to & fro), take alot of photos and then go back to Seoul.

But, as Murphy's Law states, "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong..." So, the day was actually not as perfect as i had planned it to be. Despite so, it was still a good experience (Hey! Always look for the bright side right?)

We were suppose to set-off as early as 7am (since we were on the Hongdae Line, the subway train itself can easily take up to 40 mins) but sad to say, we overslept, took our own sweet time and only left at 8am, so the day started slightly late.

Exit at Exit 5 

 You should be able to find this Express Bus Terminal Building

One of the best part of this trip was actually the bus ride. 

The scenery was really serene and peaceful.

Sometimes, sitting in the bus and looking out of the window is very relaxing thing to do. 

You realise how big the world is, and how small your problem is.

This is the bus schedule from Sokcho back to Seoul, so once you arrive, 

just buy your return tickets first to avoid any out-of-seat situations.

Upon exit from the bus terminal at Sokcho, go to the Tourist Helpdesk and get the maps 

as they will come in handy!

I haven't done much research on Seoraksan prior to coming and i wasn't ambitious. All i wanted was to get to the cablecar station, arrive at the peak, snap some photos and i would be happy.

BUT...

Things don't always turn out the way you plan for them to turn out right...

Via the helpdesk, i found out that the cable car ride was CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE!

My mood just fell flat unto the ground, seriously. (Like i came all the way here for nothing?)

Nevertheless, i picked my heart up and decided that it was not time to sulk. I will find out as much as i can and write a super long entry here, so the next time i come back to Seorak, i will be fully equipped!

Though the cable car ride was closed, we were told to go there anyway, cos you can plainly enjoy nature and visit the temple and the giant buddha located nearby. The rest of the routes to Seorak will need a few hours to complete - so that was the only thing we could do.

SEORAKSAN NATIONAL PARK ENTRANCE (Cable Car Area)

This is the destination in the zoomed-in version of the map

The route from the Bus Terminal to the entrance of the National Park seems pretty far from the map (http://www.pictureshack.us/images/27453_Seoraksan_map_with_indications.jpg), we decided to cab there instead. (16,000 won per cab per way)

This was the closest we could get to the cable car ride. 

I wish i could see through this mountain... The scenery at the peak must be DARN GOOD!

SEORAKSAN TEMPLE & GIANT BUDDHA AREA

 A few minutes walk down the park will lead to a place of calmness and serenity.

A tradition that encourages people to write their hopes and wishes on the tile - like a prayer for it to come through.

 One thing i realised, regradless of a temple or a palace, they are always situated in front of a mountain.

 I really can't say much about the temple, (except that it looks pretty) cos i am not a buddhist. But I am sure my buddhist friends will have a good time there.

SOKCHO BEACH

We left the National Park after about 45 mins of "hanging around" and headed to the beach for a walk and some Seafood.

You will be able to tell from this zoom-in shot that the beach is within walking distance to the terminal, so do visit the beach if you are in Sokcho.

I don't even know the name to this dish. I just told the Ahjumma i wanted seafood and soup and she brought this. Cool ya...

There was nothing that extraordinary about the beach - BUT there are NO BEACHES in Seoul, hence, this is a rather good getaway for beach lovers - to enjoy the seabreeze and stare at the sea.

OTHER INFORMATION ON SEORAKSAN

After this 1 experience, the next time i go to Seoraksan, i will be sure to do a 2D1N or 3D2N stay so that i can trek and try a few other things here.

 

A few personal wish list for myself:

1. Go trekking  - for real, climb to one of the peaks (you can choose your level of difficulty), at least to Ulsanbawi Rock & Biryong Waterfall.

2. Go to Waterpia - looks like some fun water theme park from the map

3. Enjoy sunset & sunrise

This was a super darn long entry to remember my adventure to Seoraksan. I'd be back!