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.

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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.

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.

Souvenirs from Namdaemun Market, Seoul

It's not that I am going back home to Jogja. But, I got to buy all of these Korean little cute stuffs for my wife. What? well, she's gonna do something about it. I guess she really needs them since she is thinking of having to give all of her colleagues something that may represent Korea but those that are not that expensive, but still worth-giving. Well, it is (actually) expensive to Indonesian standard.^^:) hehehe. But, I think it is worth it...because they have relatively good quality and more importantly...it is a cute little stuffs that fit into the luggage to carry back home.  It was a bit hard to decide which ones from soooooo many choices of stuffs to choose from.
Namdaemun market where people go for shopping is also famous for having a wholesale area of Korean traditional souvenirs.

six pendants of differing colors, well only 4 colors, though. attachable to any device or gadgets or better yet, it'll just be fine for any wall decorations or as a hanging decoration.

nail cutter attached to or with...a Korean traditional doll

a key holder equipped with a pen

key holder beatified with small cute doll and janggu 'Korean traditional musical instrument

key holder equipped with a flash light 

see the flashlight?

Finally, after a stroll along the corridors of seemingly endless arrays of shops and shops, I set my eyes on one particular shop "삼보산 한국 전통 민예품 전문점' (Sambosa: the store for beautiful traditional products of Korea). Since I bought all of the stuffs there, I got a pretty good bargain. Even,one ajumma served me with a one bottle of yakult. Sure, it was not much, but the warm welcome that people have in a store is more important. More importantly, they were so kind and patient enough in answering most of my curiousness. So, here are the results of souvenirs hunting.^^
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Another story that I would like to jot down here was my trip back and forth to buy 녹차구루 ( green tea powder) and kim (김) for Pak Mohtar whom Mrs. Mohtar asked to bu them.
So, here I am.
back from the trip to take pak Mochar to the train station and back from the 'blietzkrieg' shopping at Namdaemun.
See the little pink round thing: it is a mirror, as an extra bonus for having bought a lot:)
The ajumma asked whether I had a girlfriend (hmmm I may not look like I am married man (?)^^, and as I nodded , she gave me a pink mirror for my 'girlfriend' :)
Now, after sending them home, it will be up to Mama to decide who's gonna get what.