Since it's just our first day in Seoul, we decided to just roam around the vicinity of our place which is in Myeongdong. We went outside our hostel at 12 noon and we decided that are our first pit would be the Myeongdong Cathedral. When we went outside our hostel, we were greeted with super cold weather. It was a sunny day but the wind was blowing seriously cold and we seriously weren't prepared for this kind of weather.
As we walked at the streets of Chungmuro, we spotted the famous Namsan Tower! We were really surprised that we are just minutes away to it. We didn't see it last night maybe because we were so busy finding our hostel. It was so beautiful that I can't stop looking at it even we're crossing the streets. ♥
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| View of Namsan Tower from the streets of Myeongdong |
We pass through the Myeongdong Market which was full of people. The streets were very crowded that time and we started wondering why. We even thought that there was an event happening but later on, we found out that it was already lunch time and all these people are office workers and they were out to have their meal. (So stupid of us hahaha)
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| Korean locals on their way to have their lunch. |
With the help of our tourist map and the sign boards on the streets, we were able to find Myeongdong Cathedral easily. We weren't able to attend the mass because its schedule didn't match the time we went there. Instead we just went inside to pray. I believe in the superstition that if it's your first time visiting a church, you have to make a wish. So since it was my first time visiting Myeongdong Cathedral, once I stoop inside the church, I immediately bow down and whispered my prayer. The Cathedral was so beautiful and peaceful. You could really feel the solemnity of the place.
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| Myeongdong Cathedral |
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| Inside shot of the Cathedral. |
I don't know what happened to me because I was not feeling well that day. My stomach was hurting even before we went outside our hotel, and i keep on complaining about it. I don't know if it's because of the extreme coldness or because we still haven't eaten anything yet since breakfast (or maybe both haha). So we decided to take a rest at a bench beside the church. I was thankful though with what happened to me (yes i am) because I was able to observe and take in the wonderfulness of the place. I was able to watch the locals roaming and walking around the area. It was heart-warming to just let all of these sink in to your system and you can't feel anything besides being grateful that finally you are now at your dream place.
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| View in front of Myeongdong Cathedral |
I was feeling a bit well minutes later, so we continue with our journey. We went next to the Lotte Young Plaza which is located along Myeongdong too. It is a high-end department store which sells items, clothing, shoes, bags and other things mostly for teenagers or young ones (from the name itself).
We first went to the basement which we didn't know where SM Town Stardium was located. It is a store which sells items and merchandises from SM Company with their artists' signature or picture. Since I am a fan of EXO (an SM coimpany artists), I was so happy! I cannot contain my emotion, seriously. I almost want to buy all the stuff at the store but it's too expensive and is really not ideal. So what I did was I took pictures inside because it's much more memorable than anything else.
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| Stairs leading to SM Town Stadium |
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| Photo with EXO-K. Oops! |
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| SM Town Merchandise (I am not bias at all haha) |
Before heading to our next place, we first stopped for a snack. We forgot to ask what they call that food so i will just describe it to you. It is a sausage wrapped in fishcake, deep-fried and is placed on a stick which is sold for only ₩3000. It was so delicious, that you wouldn't even know that it's a fish unless someone tells you that it is one. Really. It's a must try.
(By the way, if you want to experience and taste Korean street foods, there are many different stalls and variation of foods located in both Namdaemun and Myeongdong Market.)
Our next stop was at Cheonggyecheon Stream. It is one of the famous landmarks in Seoul because of its intact history. It is a stream running through Central Seoul from west to east. It said that it was just only a canal where housewives do their laundry during the Joseon Dynasty. Now, it is a major spot where Korean couples date or even a me time place for Koreans.
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| My cousin doesn't look ecstatic here, but I am telling you she is! |
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| Uhm excuse me handsome, I'm taking a picture. |
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| Chong Gye Cheon Stream |
We also went to the Korea Tourist Organization which is located in Mugyu-ro, just beside the stream. It's a good thing we found the office because we were able to ask about the the things we need to know for our next trips in our itinerary. If you want to know anything about their tourism and if you need help with regards to anything, there are staff who are assigned mainly to provide service specially for the tourist.
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| Korea Tourist Office |
We stayed for I think half an hour in the stream and after, we decided to head back. As we were walking back, we have encountered many other worthy things. Like we came across some Korean locals who were wearing Hanbok and were parading down the busy streets of Seoul.
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| Marilyn Monroe statue in an American restaurant. |
We also went to Myeongdong Market later that night and we were able to witness the vibrant and alive feeling of the place. The place is more satisfying to visit at night. The locals are turning their day into night and vice versa so it's like the peak hours of this market is during night time.
There were also tons of food stalls and variety of delicacies to eat and choose from along the streets. So we didn't pass the chance and tasted some of it.
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| Black noodles. Yum! |
After passing by Myeongdong Market, we decided to have our dinner at a cafe nearby our hostel which is the Paris Baguette. Their coffee and breads are the best! Especially the one i bought which is the melon bread, oh my god.
♥ Their foods are affordable which ranges from ₩7,000 to ₩10,000. We still haven't have this cafe in the Philippines, so you have to never forget to visit and ate in one once you travel to Seoul.
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| Paris Baguette's interior. |
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| My cousin's happy face after a day fun-filled day. |
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Since it's our first day on a place where we have no clue or idea about it, we initially thought that we had to ride a cab or subway so that we could reach a specific place. But at the end of our first day, we found out that we are indeed near from almost all the famous landmarks in Seoul. We just studied the tourist map given to us at the airport and we didn't actually needed to ride any transportation to be able to reach it because they are all minutes and walk-away from our staying place which is in KW Hostel in Myeongdong.
It was a fun and wonderful first day which made me and my cousin both excited for the succeeding days of our journey at the Land of the Morning Calm. ♥
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