My Trip to Seoul, South Korea 2016

I'm off to a bit of a weird start this year. Half of the year has not yet passed and I've been travelling quite a bit. I won't talk about the part at work but on my last week in Manila, I took a trip to Seoul with my aunt and her family. It's common knowledge that I grew up with my cousins and relatives and I do treat them like my family. It's strange in a very sweet way but I don't feel like an outcast. My cousins are also in their teenage years, so hanging out with them makes me feel younger too! I think that's a bonus.

For this trip, I tagged along on a 5 day tour of Seoul. Seoul has always been on my list of cities of visit. Aside from the recent craze on K-Pop, skincare and food, Seoul is constantly being compared to Tokyo. Thought most people noticed that Seoul is a lesser version of Tokyo but I think it also has its charm. Since we followed a tour, I'm sorry to say that the food was not extremely great in most of our meals. There were a few exceptions which I'll share in this post but most of the time, we went to places catered for tourists - mostly the eat and run type so that we can keep to our schedule.

Here are some of the highlights of my trip to Seoul:

Mount Seorak - The mountain is relatively small and the cabin at the top is even smaller. I think this will be a disappointment if it were not for the fact that it snowed while we were on the cable car riding up the mountain. Our guide said that we were very lucky because it almost never snows on the last week of March. I guess we have global warming to thank for that. That being said, my cousins and I enjoyed this part of the trip. Note that this is their first time to see real snow and not just snow on the ground. We played and laughed. I felt like a kid again with all the snowflakes around me. 

This pancake in a cup is from Nami Island called a snow pancake. This kind of sweet, bland and savory at the same time and is a very popular snack in Seoul. Other versions have red bean and cream inside.

This next one is from the Teddy Bear Museum. There is a legend that the Korean people came from a bear and God himself. So it's quite understandable why the Koreans love bears and treat them with respect. This particular display here is one of my favorites from the museum. Did you see Gollum there with Gandalf and the rest of the gang?

It is not news that people in Seoul eat very healthy meals. Recently, the government encourages all households to eat food with less salt so if you're in Korea, you will find food here a little bit bland or tasteless. For me, honestly, it was just right. They also like to eat food with all different colors, which they believe adds to their long life. The meal here is very simple but outrageously delicious for me. The fish was grilled to perfection and the sides were just right to add the appropriate amount of flavor.

I'm a sucker for roller coasters and always look forward to getting on the scariest one in the world. In Everland, the T-Express is made from pine wood and you can literally hear the wood rattling beneath you which adds a scare factor.

Koreans are crazy about their health. Children as young as a few months old would start drinking ginseng powder. The ginseng you see here adds some bitterness to the soup but not overpowering. Because the root was very small, there is technically no extra nutritional value added to it. I love the way this spring chicken was cooked. It was very tender and stuffed with the right amount of white rice inside. One of the best dishes I've had in this trip.

Ok. Listen for a moment. Throughout the trip, I only had a few delicious things to eat because it wasn't really a foodie trip for me. Most of the buffet breakfasts we had were pretty, well, average - except for this one here. Our last few nights at the Grand Ambassador Hotel really lifted my spirits and their buffet breakfast takes the cake. I love the croissant and their omelette. Oh, the omelette. It's definitely the best I've had so far in my life. I just enjoyed standing by the omelette station and watch the chef cook them! It takes some serious skill too.

The Myeongdong Street Market is relatively small compared to those in Taipei and every street is lined with Korean skincare shops selling facial masks by the bucket load! But I figured that the street food here is quite ok by standards. Again, sorry to say but there are better street markets out there in the world. But, that being said, we did find a few unique things there - like this little grilled scallop with grilled cheese on top.

N Seoul Tower here has a nice view of entire Seoul and beyond. It shows the walled city. Our guide told us that the current war between North and South Korea is "paused" and can resume anytime once two parties agree again. I found this very disheartening and realised how much I detested the situation. It will be such a waste for this beautiful city to be in ruins. And it made me treasure this trip all the more.