So... follow me, my 5 days of journey in Seoul! From Departure, to arrival, to my race preparations, to streetfoods I have eaten and came across, to my race day, to what Foodiegymmie shopped for, to my delicious 4 meals of buffets!!!, to my sad departure from Seoul back to Singapore.
To new readers: If you do not know why the hell I went to Seoul just for a half-marathon...
read this ---> Foodiegymmie won a trip to Seoul!!!
read this ---> Foodiegymmie won a trip to Seoul!!!
Departure from T3 at Changi Airport (Duh!) 3 almost empty luggages...
Arrival at Seoul Airport
VIP treatment sia... Got Minibus that charter us to the Hotel. Left is the reporter from Straitstimes, middle is the tourguide and right is the marketing guy from New Balance (The guy who chose my entry! thanks Eug!)
Stop by at the ____ gantry? and guess what! Those ladies at the booth are so well-dressed! I don't know how long they take to dress up for work man, their hairstyle is as if they are going for prom!
Wah... Their style of washing windows very different from Singapore leh...
We have checked in at the Hotel, its intercontinental 5* Hotel! Near the hotel, or just beside the hotel is actually one of the most famous shopping mall - COEX shopping mall. We reached there at around 10am, and everywhere is still closed. So we go around COEX mall in search of breakfast! We were not hungry... we are just greedy!!!
Made our orders, and this device just like those in Taiwan wil beep when our order i ready for collection. What's that squarish looking thing? Just sugar cube la.
Muffins...
Ham sandwich...
Honey Chicken sandy...
The Black Coffee is quite bad, perhaps it is made to cater to the koreans' tastebuds. It is quite bland... I am those type of people who usually order Kopi-O "Gao" meaning Black Coffee Extra Strong in Singapore.Breakfast was sponsored by New Balance. How nice!
Wah... They very kiasu leh... so many fire extiguishers and still got breathing apparatus also....
One of the few shops that is opened... Hello Kitty lovers... any???Disclaimer: I did not enter!
We have checked in! Finally! Their one single bed is = a queen size bed. How shiok can that be!
Other than the pillows givens, we can choose 2 more special pillows! Crysanthemum, Jade, Candy, Feathers Pillow etc. The brochure actually describe the uses of each type of pillow. For e.g. Jade pillow which contains 3 pieces of jade inside is for blood circulation. I choose the Crysanthemum Pillow which is for good sleep, and indeed I have!
The fridge, nothing interesting.
Before 4pm, we have some free time. At 4pm we have some product showcase by New Balance (interesting!), So we hopped on to the subway and head to Dongdaemun! one of the busiest shopping district in Seoul.
We had a hard time buying this the subway card - T Money. We have problems buying it, and the person at the ticketing counter have difficulties understanding us. So in the end, we just dumped a sum of notes to him and let him top up any amount he wanted... about $10 per card!
Let me tell you, Singaporeans, please appreciate the MRT System that we have here. In Seoul, the subway is so cramped, the train tracks i believed are in bad condition. The train really screeched to a stop when its approaching and stopping.
Inside the cabin, its smaller too. The compartments are all individually separated by doors, so the air inside is actually very stale. and just look at the train map... omg!!! No wonder one korean guy whom i met over there said that he still gets lost sometimes! lol.
We decided to alight at Abguejong halfway as we wanted to buy some krispy kremes! Not us, but it was my brother in law!
But we found Mister Donuts instead! Remember my encounter with Mister Donuts while I was in Taipei, and also when my sis brought some back from Taipei as well?Read --> My Taipei Mister Donut Encounter
Read -->Mister Donuts fresh from Taipei
GF will go crazy if she sees this! I wanted to get this for her, but language problem again. I tried to ask the staff if i can buy it, they blablasayosayo, i have no idea what they are saying. So I presume It is not for sale!
After walking for quite some time, and asking around... Anyway I think i have a flare for Korean language. I managed to ask where is Krispy Kreme. Very simple. Just speak English in a koreanish manner! hahaME: Klissss Pi Klimmm mer?
ME: Show the shape of a Donut.
ME: Repeat again. Klissss Piii Klimmm? Where?
It works! :P
Omg... This is my first time eating, but my sister and bro-in-law dunno how many times. I just want to try everything!!!
Wahh.... *Salivates*
I chose a few...
Payment is made...
We only bought 4! because we want to buy fresh ones back to Singapore someday!Cheesecake, Dark chocolate walnut (MINE), Glazed Chocolate cake, Cookies chocolate.
Oh my... now i finally understand why people love Krispy Kreme!
The subway is so colddd... and eeriee....
haha... we bought a dozen back to the hotel for our breakfast tomorrow... how sinful!!! But I only do that once in a blueeee moon, and only when I am overseas, I will indulge without even giving calories, sugar, fats a second thought. Anyway I will be running tomorrow ma!
Rorrrr! I was bored waiting for the train...
I am a very obedient passenger, making sure that my feet matches the shape perfectly while Q-ing up...haha
when we reached Dongdaemun, we hit the street food!
Hot dog covered with french fries, what do we call that in Singapore? A corndog look alike? Was it that the weather there was too cold, or was the "Corndog" just cold. It was not very nice, had a bite only...
This is just like fried wanton skin boiled in water! I ordered this because I wan just following the crowd. In my opinion... This sucks!!!!
and so was this... in conclusion... Seoul street food cannot make it la... Taipei Street Food still number 1!
Yeah... Evidence of me in Dongdaemun! In English translated word for word from Chinese, it means, East Big Door. Dong is east right?!?!?!
Stay tune for part 2... New balance Product showcase, A trip down to Oylmpic park, and running tips given by Korea National Marathoner -Doctor Bang.
