Hello Kitty Cafe and actual cats

We did the Hongdae experience, which in our case means we visited differently themed cafes starting with the Hello Kitty Desert Cafe. It was morning when we got there and we hadn’t had any breakfast yet or, any actual food and we did not get it in here either. Rather, we had some shaved ice cream; a double chocolate something There’s more for you to read!

Chicken and beer at the Hangang river

The minute we left the subway we were approached by several persons. While Ina and I averted our eyes, Yuchin took the first flyer with a friendly smile. But as soon as the others saw she accepted it, she quickly collected a pile of them. Now you may think that… even though she got a lot of flyers, they must at There’s more for you to read!

Bukchon Hanok Village

Located almost exactly in the centre of the city, you find Bukchon, a place where you can almost take a step back in time. Bukchon was a residential district for Korea’s nobility during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) and is now still home to dozens of hanoks (traditional Korean houses). People still live in these houses and so there are a lot There’s more for you to read!

SMTOWN

I know quite a few people who may have freaked out over this place if they got the chance to visit. Any K-pop fan has most likely heard of S.M. Entertainment/SMTOWN for they have raised many of the most successful K-pop artists including BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, SHINee and EXO. If you are a fan of any of these groups There’s more for you to read!

No more kamsamnida 감사합니다

I can still clearly hear my dad say: “You might get a cultural shock when you’ve landed in Korea.” I landed and set foot in Korea, but it didn’t happen. Life over there was pretty normal. The biggest change I had to make was perhaps remembering not to throw toilet paper in a toilet. (Shocker, I know.) I bowed my There’s more for you to read!

Love conquers hate

Ina did not feel like waking up on the 28th of June. She turned off her alarm clock and then minute after minute passed. Wake up please! I urged her in my mind. I looked up which subway line I’d have to take in order to get to the parade- only 3 stations away from here- if she didn’t want There’s more for you to read!

Enter the secret garden

Yes, this is a post about just another palace; Changdeokgung Palace to be precise but come on, can you really get tired of these beautiful palaces? Changdeokgung Palace is a lot smaller than Gyeongbokgung palace but if I could choose between living in the smaller one or the big one, I’d choose the former. Especially because Changdeokgung Palace is smaller, the palace There’s more for you to read!

Deoksung Palace

In Seoul, you can find five “grand palaces”. Most tourists are likely to visit only one or two, but if you wish to visit all, an “integrated-ticket-of-palaces” can save you some money. In general though, if you like to visit cultural sites you are at luck in Korea. The entry fees for these places are barely high whereas the entry fees There’s more for you to read!

A large palace with little doors

Finally! We visited the big palace in Seoul. We wanted to before, but it was closed when we arrived. Beware, everyone! Unlike all the other palaces, the Gyeongbokgung Palace is closed on Tuesdays instead of Mondays. The Gyeongbokgung Palace is the largest palace of the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty and is located in northern Seoul. It There’s more for you to read!

Seoul in ‘one week’

There are only 7 days left of my trip in Korea. I realised this right before going to Busan and then also became aware that we had not yet done any sightseeing in Seoul. In the past month, we did make a list of worthwhile ‘attractions’ to visit. The only thing missing was a plan which has now been made There’s more for you to read!

Busan day two

After many, many hills and many, many wrong turns we finally found the right Buddhist temple after 2 hours of walking. We had assumed that… since everything that is located on a map in Seoul is within walking distance even though it looks far away on the map, it would be the same in Busan. Needless to say, we were There’s more for you to read!

Busan day one

It’s amazing how quiet Koreans are during a 4-hour bus journey. Maybe everyone wanted to try and sleep to get it over with or maybe it’s custom to be quiet in Korea. Wait- a 4-hour bus journey? A 4-hour bus journey to Busan, Korea’s seconds largest city. It has 3.6 million citizens compared to 25.6 million citizens in Seoul. We There’s more for you to read!

Surrounded by mist on Udo Island

On our last day on Jeju, we took a ferry to Udo Island. What is so special about Udo Island? I guess it has this rare quality of making you feel as if you’re in a movie. And with that, I mean a… ‘you’re surrounded by mist with monsters waiting for you’ movie. Do you know that one movie, The There’s more for you to read!