Hello Seoul

On the month of May, my family had the sudden impulse to travel. However, we couldn't reconcile all of our schedules so we decided to just have a quick out of country trip. Since it's summer, majority of the flights were booked. Our travel agent had the hardest time processing our visas, with just a week of notice, and booking our flights. We almost didn't push through with Seoul, so we had a back up flight to Singapore just in case. Thankfully, the day before our flight, we were also able to book a connecting flight to Hongkong after our Seoul trip and our Korean visas were released! Talk about timing! :)

Anyway, these photos are basically just a summary of our Korea trip.

Ready to fly!!

This is me - hoarding the window seat - yet again. 

We stayed in Myeong-Dong! This was taken outside of our hotel. It was definitely a good pick since majority of the shops we wanted to visit were there and N-Tower was just few blocks away!

2,500 Korean Won goodness! My siblings and I pretty much splurged on this every night! 

Myeong-Dong at night.

On our second day, we went on a trip to the Demilitarized Zone. It was so amazing seeing North Korea up close. Well, maybe not close, but definitely closer than being in South. We also trekked down tunnels dug by the North Koreans in an attempt to invade Seoul. 

We were also able to go to Seoul's train station to Panmunjom, North Korea, if ever there will be a reconciliation between the two in the near future.

After our visit to the DMZ. Oh, did I mention it was his 17th birthday too! My little brother's the luckiest. Every year, whenever we'd celebrate his birthday, we'd always be out of the country!

Myeong-Dong at night! It looks crowded, but once you're walking along the streets, the ambiance is pretty laid back and relaxed.

On our second day, we went to Lotte World. I took this picture to prove to Alba that 'bump cars' can also be called as 'bumper cars'. 

This was taken inside a hot air balloon. My knees were definitely shaking while the hot air balloon was going up.

Still in Lotte World! It was such a different experience as compared to Hongkong's Ocean Park.

On the fourth day, we went to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. It's so amazing finding a traditional palace in the middle of the city. In my opinion, it definitely adds touch to Korea's distinct ambiance. 

Lol, do we blend in now?

With my beautiful mother

 

And ofcourse, what's Korea without their Korean Barbeque! I kid you not, this was the best Samgyup I've ever tasted. 

Afterwards, we took a cable car to the Namsan Tower.

Look what I found the moment we got there! Love locks!

The view from Namsan Tower.

Another food I splurged on in Korea

There were so many pretty bow hair ties I couldn't stop myself from taking some home with me. 

This was taken on our way to the airport.

I'm truly thankful we got to visit Korea even just for five days. The country truly got me hooked with their culture. I loved that even though they were big on modernization, they still manage to keep their culture and tradition. I'm insanely in love with their history - involving, of course, North Korea. In addition to this, I also can't help but get hooked with their food! Korea is definitely one of the best countries I've been to, and I'm pretty sure my family and I will be back soon.