Travel Date: December 2015 - January 2016
Just like Japan, South Korea has four seasons - Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. It was my virgin trip to Seoul during the last winter in 2015 till the beginning of 2016.
My initial plan was to travel to Seoul and Busan for 3 weeks, to be exact, 21 days. I was expecting a fun and interesting culture encounters in Korea, guess I expected too much. Before you continue to read, I've booked a new ticket and flew back on the 16th day, I couldn't wait for another 5 days!
What a lucky trip for me! Bumped into my secondary sweetheart in the flight, we were literally jumping and holding each other arms at the entrance of the cabin before she promised will come and look for me later. She is a talented artist, I remember she drew manga, she drew my besties and I a comic back then.
The first thing to do once I arrived the airport is to collect my Prepaid Simcard from KT Mobile Rental. It costs 33,000WON for 10 days and 44,000WON for 30 days with unlimited data in Korea. I've made an online reservation about a week before the collection in Incheon International Airport.
The collection took longer time that I expected, meanwhile, I had a quick meal before my number was called. For your convenience, this collection counter is located just outside the arrival gate.
The fees is payable upon simcard collection, the customer service will help you to reset your phone, otherwise, you won't be able to use the data service. I need to pay 100,000WON in cash for the deposit, but if you have a credit card, good for you, the deposit is not charged if you return the simcard before flying off. I made some local calls during my stay, my deposit is returned in cash and I was charged 1500WON for the calls I made.
From Incheon International Airport to Seoul Station
I took the All-Stop train which is a cheaper option compared to AREX (14,800WON/person). The travel time was only 30 minutes difference. I purchased the all-stop train ticket from a ticket machine just located before the train gate. Make sure you ask for the exact direction otherwise you will end up taking the AREX.
Finally, we arrived Seoul! I was hungry, still new to the town and know nowhere for dinner, luckily, there were a row of local restaurants around our hotel. The menu are all in Korean, we were staring at the menu for quite sometime before the couple from next table who can speak fluent Mandarin helped us.
Wrapped beef with mint tastes a little bit of weird for me. I love Korean food for its refillable vegetables and unlimited supply of side dishes. My favourite was the fresh bean sprout soup!
I don't know what we've ordered to be honest. All I know is this is the best dinner I had in Seoul in 16 days. The side dishes is delicious, especially the special marinated beef.
The restaurant owner made omelette and oh my God it's freaking tasteful! I've been having Korean BBQ here but never tried making omelette out from the grilling pan, we should suggest it to local restaurants, what do you think? Yes?
I seldom take spicy food because it make my stomach sick. But there's always an exception when it comes to spicy soup. Took few sips and yep, it's spicy as hell. As usual, the boyfriend finished all the spicy dishes.
I want to believe this is from Jeju. If it's not, Jeju orange must be extremely sweet until can get diabetes. #seriously We got 3, ate two on the spot and I kept mine under room temperature for 3 days, I actually reluctantly shared it with my boyfriend. On a side note, in case you're wondering, this dinner costed us about 60000WON for 300g-400g of meat and a spicy soup. My stomach was full, if it wasn't me we won't be able to finish all. I forced everything into my mouth because I know I'll regret for not finishing the food. If you're a small eater, 100g is enough, wrapped it with vegetables and side dishes. And oh, the refreshing bean sprout soup!
The night was about 0 degree, to my surprise, Seoul is so much colder compared to Tokyo. My usual hoodie did nothing to keep myself warm. I had a hot shower and wear thick socks for the first night. Tips: Leave your usual pajamas at home, bring thick jacket and a pair of sleeping socks.
All the photos are taken either using Olympus EPL-1, Olympus OM-D or iPhone 6. Passionate in food hunting and traveling. Appreciate your supports and thank you for reading this post, kindly leave footprints at my facebook page. Roslyn Kong at Instagr.am. Let me hear from you on Twitter too at @roslynkong!!Tweet
Just like Japan, South Korea has four seasons - Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. It was my virgin trip to Seoul during the last winter in 2015 till the beginning of 2016.
 |
| Now Everyone Can Fly |
My initial plan was to travel to Seoul and Busan for 3 weeks, to be exact, 21 days. I was expecting a fun and interesting culture encounters in Korea, guess I expected too much. Before you continue to read, I've booked a new ticket and flew back on the 16th day, I couldn't wait for another 5 days!
 |
| Secondary Schoolmate! |
What a lucky trip for me! Bumped into my secondary sweetheart in the flight, we were literally jumping and holding each other arms at the entrance of the cabin before she promised will come and look for me later. She is a talented artist, I remember she drew manga, she drew my besties and I a comic back then.
The first thing to do once I arrived the airport is to collect my Prepaid Simcard from KT Mobile Rental. It costs 33,000WON for 10 days and 44,000WON for 30 days with unlimited data in Korea. I've made an online reservation about a week before the collection in Incheon International Airport.
 |
| Curry Chicken Rice |
The collection took longer time that I expected, meanwhile, I had a quick meal before my number was called. For your convenience, this collection counter is located just outside the arrival gate.
The fees is payable upon simcard collection, the customer service will help you to reset your phone, otherwise, you won't be able to use the data service. I need to pay 100,000WON in cash for the deposit, but if you have a credit card, good for you, the deposit is not charged if you return the simcard before flying off. I made some local calls during my stay, my deposit is returned in cash and I was charged 1500WON for the calls I made.
From Incheon International Airport to Seoul Station
I took the All-Stop train which is a cheaper option compared to AREX (14,800WON/person). The travel time was only 30 minutes difference. I purchased the all-stop train ticket from a ticket machine just located before the train gate. Make sure you ask for the exact direction otherwise you will end up taking the AREX.
Finally, we arrived Seoul! I was hungry, still new to the town and know nowhere for dinner, luckily, there were a row of local restaurants around our hotel. The menu are all in Korean, we were staring at the menu for quite sometime before the couple from next table who can speak fluent Mandarin helped us.
 |
| My first dinner in Seoul. |
 |
| Chillis, anyone? |
Wrapped beef with mint tastes a little bit of weird for me. I love Korean food for its refillable vegetables and unlimited supply of side dishes. My favourite was the fresh bean sprout soup!
 |
| From solo to trio trip |
I don't know what we've ordered to be honest. All I know is this is the best dinner I had in Seoul in 16 days. The side dishes is delicious, especially the special marinated beef.
 |
| Omelette |
The restaurant owner made omelette and oh my God it's freaking tasteful! I've been having Korean BBQ here but never tried making omelette out from the grilling pan, we should suggest it to local restaurants, what do you think? Yes?
 |
| The famous spicy taufu soup |
I seldom take spicy food because it make my stomach sick. But there's always an exception when it comes to spicy soup. Took few sips and yep, it's spicy as hell. As usual, the boyfriend finished all the spicy dishes.
 |
| Dessert |
I want to believe this is from Jeju. If it's not, Jeju orange must be extremely sweet until can get diabetes. #seriously We got 3, ate two on the spot and I kept mine under room temperature for 3 days, I actually reluctantly shared it with my boyfriend. On a side note, in case you're wondering, this dinner costed us about 60000WON for 300g-400g of meat and a spicy soup. My stomach was full, if it wasn't me we won't be able to finish all. I forced everything into my mouth because I know I'll regret for not finishing the food. If you're a small eater, 100g is enough, wrapped it with vegetables and side dishes. And oh, the refreshing bean sprout soup!
The night was about 0 degree, to my surprise, Seoul is so much colder compared to Tokyo. My usual hoodie did nothing to keep myself warm. I had a hot shower and wear thick socks for the first night. Tips: Leave your usual pajamas at home, bring thick jacket and a pair of sleeping socks.
All the photos are taken either using Olympus EPL-1, Olympus OM-D or iPhone 6. Passionate in food hunting and traveling. Appreciate your supports and thank you for reading this post, kindly leave footprints at my facebook page. Roslyn Kong at Instagr.am. Let me hear from you on Twitter too at @roslynkong!!Tweet