Waiting for Godot??? ㅋㅋㅋ

Of course...Godot did come, eventually.^^ 

After one-hour long of experiencing an excruciating cold night at an open plaza around Seoul station, I had no options but to keep on walking away from the station where I could find the still-operating 심야버스 or night bus.

The positive side of being stranded at night was the fact that I could wander around the city with less people and cars..to see what it's like at night. This is 숭례문 or the famous Namdaemun Gate (The Great South Gate) of Seoul--once burnt down & now resurrected.

Ok...kept on walking until I found a bus-stop where I clearly could convince myself to stay put..and be patient..that the good things would come eventually...like the coming of the (K)night bus I was waiting and hoping for. Yup, like waiting for Godot. I felt like I knew it surely would come..but boy..the bus-interval really knocked me down.ㅋㅋㅋ

Had it not been so cold (minus 4 Celsius), I would've just fine...enjoying the night...being alone at the sidewalk..in Seoul. Though I knew where I was..but the feeling of being 'there' stranded...really got me shivering.

But..DID I enjoy it? Well. I SURELY DI ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

To my surprise, I was really enjoying my time 'waiting for GODOT'

It's an empty street of Seoul that kept me enjoying 'THE' experience.

The Girls' Shopping Spree...

 What would a visit to Seoul without Myeongdong?

Just like any other Southeast Asian tourists:-), my sisters-in-law also got their fair share of nipping into the much-hyped Myeongdong...though..well..it's a bit upmarket compared to the laid back Namdaemun...even when we talk about the prices. 

But, of course..we could savor the energy and the vibrant that this place offered, right? 

A drizzle may hinder some, but not for us. 

Oh, I still remembered that we went out for traveling or shopping or just sight-seeing right after picking the girls up from school. So, Eya and Freya were practically still tagging along their school bags! 

"What am I doing here, Dad?" 

Not much, Dear. Unless you got tons of bucks to spend^^ 

Ok..let's go home, then. 

But before that..the girls wanted to have some pictures taken.

DONE!

We're @ the underground Myeongdong before catching the subway back home...

and Freya was seen...munching something. Yeaap..she's hungry. 

She's like..lost in her own world of "Deli Manjo"=an emergency food for hungry travelers. 

Going back home....on the subway...and Freya got her wish: 

clinging on the hand-rail...^^like what adults do.

Taking Adi to Namdaemun

Let's do some shopping for Korean souvenirs @ Namdaemun.

Since you're not here for long, you'd better use the one-way subway ticket!^^ 

Okay..the commotion in the Namdaemun market during rush hour/lunch hour. What a sight to behold. It's culturally unique feature of the market. People just go into the small alley full of food sellers who make most of the food on the spot while the customers sitting in front of the stalls waiting for the order to come out.  

Then, off we went to 삼보사, my must-go place for souvenirs inside the Namdaemun market.

This market boasts itself to be a shopping haven for average people like me...who do not have to worry too much about being hassled by others.

n fact, the fun fact about this market is that it has lost of things to offer. 

Looking for the perfect color and design of Korea-theme souvenirs..this time...they'are looking into t-shirts. 

3 for 10,000 Won..........................................................................................!!

The quality, hmm..well..don't ask..but they're surely comfy to put on. 

t

Souvenirs (Again) from Namdaemun

Got a quick-morning-rush shopping in Namdaemun @ 10 am. Yes. I rushed myself to the market right after I took my daughters to school. Bought them, wrapped them and have them sent to down under.^^ 

I know that they look so typical Korean souvenirs. But, that's the whole idea. Most of them are traditionally knitted purses and key holders or any accessories compatible with anything: bags, cellphones, wallet, you name it. These little teddy bears as well as their counterparts: key holders are in fact little souvenirs most people would probably see in the market.

Packing stuffs to bring home..

My wife is now in Indonesia (as I am writing this). Before her departure, we were so busy shopping stuffs to bring as souvenirs for our family and relatives back home. Food? check. Handicrafts? check. T-shirts? check. Kim, tea, coffee (funny, eh?), Korean pancake.. 

and even..these colorful I do-not-know-what that my sister requested.  

and of course, Hangeul imprinted T-shirts...^^ we bought as many as 20 t-shirts. 

What a shopping in a cold winter that day. 

Seollal in Korea *Imlek ala Korea*

I was walking through within the Shinsaegae department store at Namdaemun..and one thing that struck my attention was the array of women clad in hanbok serving the customers. Yes.. Seollal's atmosphere was already in the air.  

Since a lot of people were going back and forth of me while I was trying to take the picture...I could not take a closer look, let alone a good picture out of it.

A small party, it was..

A party? yes...I guess it was a kind of luggage packaging party. My fellow students who happened to be on a trip to Korea spent three day visit at hour house. Two day trip in Seoul had apparently made their luggage bloated. They bought lots of Korean souvenirs...from Namdaemun.

Farah and Nano bought most of the souvenirs not for themselves....but rather...most of them were the request of others. ^^So, a night before they left Seoul, they got to pack all of the things they bought.

To end the day of their visit, their other fellow friends who happened to be currently spending their 1-year program at Kyunghee University (Melizza & Asma) came to our house and ...this was when the party started. 

Simply to have a light dinner or so, I packed the meat-free pizzas from Seoul Cheese Pizza which happened to be our fave pizza in the neighborhood. Inexpensive, clean, yummy, and more importantly..it served no-ham nor no pork pizza ....that we could just order upon request. 

Highlights of Dharma Wanita UGM's Visit to Seoul

Note: 

One-day visit to Seoul after a week-long visit to Japan seemed to be not enough, 

but..this was pretty much what we could do to make the most out of it.

---**---

First: Riding a subway would surely give a first-hand experience of what Seoulites mostly do to get round the city. As many as 4 million (more I guess) people use subways each day in Seoul and its satellite cities. That's how important subway is for a bustling city like Seoul. 

So, taking a seoul Metro would be the first choice for anyone who wants to know how this effective system of transportation works in the heart of the Korea capital.

I insisted that the guests from Dharma Wanita UGM should take this one, too. 

A bit tiring and sometimes...energy-consuming, but once again, this might give a deep impression

 of what the city has to offer.

Second: since they did not have ample time to visit most places in just one day, there was no other better way to enjoy what kind city Seoul was....but to take the 2.5 hour ride on Seoul City Tour Bus--a kind of hop-on and hop-off transportation primarily made for anyone who has not enough time to visit Seoul.

So, for only a mere 9,000 Won (a 1,000 Won discount for coming on a group more than 10)^^, we could use the best and effective time of enjoying Seoul. The bus tour would take its passengers to as many as 38 more attractions in Seoul in just one day. ^^

Third: Out of so many attractions that I could write about...I just wanted to tip this on. Changdokgung palace. This palace located right in front of the Seoul City Hall is a must-visit site should anyone wants to enjoy the cultural show at daylight. But, too bad, due to some circumstances, we could not see the show. Instead, we just visited and got around the palace.

Fourth: it seemed that going somewhere without bringing some oleh-oleh or souvenirs back home....

would be like something in vain. 

So, I took the whole group to Namdaemun market--famous as well as infamous for its vast and endless ranges of Korean brand--be it the original and the counterfeit ones. But, what makes Namdaemun famous is surely its charms in bringing in numerous Korean traditional products: ginseng, tea, etc etc etc. 

This time around: Korean souvenirs were what the whole group was looking for. 

So, a 2-hour shopping seemed to be not-enough to dig into the Korean souvenirs.

Got me to ponder: Shop till we drop (literally and figuratively).

Nice experience, I guess. Right, Ibu-ibu? ^^

Namdaemun and Namsan Tower

Although the title of this entry is Namdaemun and Namsan Tower, I just want to jot down about the time when we were in the surrounding areas where Namdaemun and Namsan Tower were.

We were actually near Namdaemun and near Namsan Tower (a bit far actually, but it was visible).  From Shinsagae Department Store—a place where we were heading—we got out of the building and the whole Namdaemun vicinities and its Seoul Tower were visible.

Add caption

The Namsan Tower was actually a bit far off from the area, but for those who just want to chip into the area, they could just take off at Namdaemun station (Hoeyon station) and take the Tower as their background in taking pictures—just like what we did there. By doing so, the whole areas were visible.







The busy streets near Namdaemun and its vicinities were part of the whole things to enjoy. But, since it was Winter, for tropical people like us.....the wind could be a downside since we just wanted to be in a hurry so as to skip being frozen and went straight shopping in the market....instead of enjoying the surrounding areas adjacent to Namdaemun Market. 

Two Families on the Go

We were taking the Metro from Namdaemun on our way back home to Imundong when we bumped into a family of six from Malaysia who turned out to be having their Winter vacation in Korea. Wow what a coincidence. We felt like brothers already since we came from Southeast Asia. What struck me most when we met them was the fact that the family of six came to Korea for their Winter vacation to see the snow...but unfortunately..they did not see any, yet.

We chatted along the way on the Seoul Metro and got a chance to exchange address and promised to keep in touch.

I was touched by the fact that they did enjoy having their one-week trip in Korea.

and...what's more interesting than that....was the fact that they brought up 70%  of the family members. (I mean: two stayed home due to their jobs back home). But.....the idea of having a trip for the whole family to Korea was more than intriguing for me.

Before saying goodbye..we managed to take a picture as a token of memory at the Dongdaemun Station.

Gasan Digital Compelx (가산 디저털 단지)

This place is called : Gasan Digital Complex. But....this name itself is so misleading. Indeed, it is misleading. For foreigners it would be deliberately associated with any electronic stuffs or gadgets. So, the first thing that came up to our mind was that this place was gonna be packed with all of the latest gadgets in digital products:)
But, we were wrong.
It was more like a fashion district. Lots of malls selling branded stuffs were sprung up along the intersections and lanes of the district.
Well, it was a funny thing to be there in the first place.
I was informed that I can get some cheap and bargain stuffs there. I thought it would be some digital products, but it turned out to be fashions.
Well, since we also wanted to check the place out...we might as well stroll along the block:)
It was fun, then.
The interesting sight that I noticed was the fact that even the fitting rooms are served on the pavements or sidewalks. It was a nice thing to look at, though.
We (felix and Jobirson) got there by metro that took us for about 1 hour or so (including the time when we missed the station where we were supposed to transfer).

The place is famous among Koreans but not among foreigners, let alone tourists. Tourists would prefer (or they did not know actually) to go to Namdaemun or Dongdameun or Myeongdong, instead of going to this Digitally fashioned complex (hehehehe). Koreans love branded stuffs and they want to show the image of being well-off by purchasing lots of branded stuffs. You name it, you Got it here: Nike, Adidas, Puma, etc...all of those sport apparels. The shops were lining up along the streets as long as we can see.
Then, Calvin Klein, Zara, D&G, Abercrombie, Zalvatoirre(?), well..could not name them one by one..
They are just amazingly scattered along the district.
Well, is it worth-visiting? well, if you are into the branded stuffs at relatively cheaper price...it is.
I ended up only buying one winter jacket for my daughter. Of course, it was on sale, it was 59,000 Won...and discounted into just a mere 10,000 Won.
Yes, it happened there.

Namdaemun 남대문: Full of Sights to See

Apart from people criss-crossing the pavement, sidewalk, and sideways inside the whole complex of Namdaemun. There are a lot of new exciting things to behold for new comers to Seoul: especially for those who are for the first time got exposed to Korean traditional crafts or better yet...the atmosphere inside the Namdaemun market.

a captured moment

this is only 5,000 Won!!! a result of concentrating
 our senses of sights and hearing so we know where
the cheap stuffs are and when they are cheaply sold.
Alert Alert and keep listening! Lots sellers just
shout out
the prices of their stuffs. Just like the bag that
I bought. 

many kinds of Korean stuffs imaginable

an optic store (I wonder if they sell glasses for astronaut?)^^

A bit noisy, somewhat clean, somewhat organized, and yet...still alluringly attractive to people from all over the world. I overheard a Malay, Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, Japanese, Russian, English being spoken everywhere I went to.
Let me get back to my entry...
I took some pictures that show how exciting it is to see the sights and hear the sounds of Namdaemun, even when we come not for shopping.