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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Day 6: Seoul (Insadong, Myeongdong)

Insadong
It was my first time to really explore the neighbourhood after staying here for a few days.


Many small lanes at Insadong


Insadong is an old town, many traditional houses are still around.


Palace guards marching


A witch broom hung in front of the shop (no, it was actually a huge writing brush. :p)


Pretty dress and apron in Korean style


Let the artist draw a caricature of you.


Ssamzie market, the stuff here is more unique and nicer than those souvenir shops on the main street.


Have a seat with Dalki, a Korean cartoon character



Previous post of Insadong here.

Myeongdong
I came a few days ago, but at that time we only had dinner and didn't have chance to look at the shops. Now it's time for some serious shopping.




Myeongdong cathedral

Myeongdong had Forever 21 and Zara, but we didn't go in. We only went for local brands and shopped at small little shops. I just loved them to death. :P

I should tell you that shopping in Korea is a bit tricky. Those little shops and even big local brands like Basic House just won't let you try on anything, sometimes if they are desperate for sales then they will or maybe if you beg long enough hehhee....

We bought a couple of tops and many accessories. The accessories were so cute and pretty, we spent almost an hour choosing them in one shop.


The shops


Alien invasion


Cute doctor on duty

There were a few Korean skincare shops along the street and they had a very fierce competition among themselves. They all have someone at the shopfront shouting thru the mike and distributing free gifts to the passersby. I also noticed that the companies use pretty guys for their advertisements instead of pretty girls. Will it work?


Skin as smooth as your drama idols.


Lunch at Mr. Pizza


The pizza was just average.

An army of mobile sellers came to set up their stalls in the late afternoon.



Later, on our way back to the apartment, we passed a junction of the road and saw a section of wall like the one in Berlin. At first I wasn't sure, but after seeing the description in German too, I think it should be the Berlin Wall.


Berlin Wall


The description in Korean and German


Cheonggyecheon stream

We went dinner again with his Korean colleague and had a great meal.


The restaurant

Each of us was given a bowl of soup with mee sua, then he told us to put our rice into the soup and added some salt. It was a heartwarming soup. :)


Seolleongtang, the soup was made from boiling beef and bones for more than 10 hours.

Actually the soup itself already had some beef slices, but we order another plate of beef tendons.


Beef tendons

Going back to Insadong and stopped by at a traditional tea house.


The complex houses an art gallery and a tea house.


The garden




We chose to sit indoor, it was a cold night.


Tea cups on display.


My plum tea, this was much better than Mogwa tea.




His cinnamon punch was great too.



Another unforgettable meal, I feel that I could just have Korean food everyday. :)

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