I wake up at around 8:00 AM of March 18th. I want to start the day early so i can go and visit all the places that I planned on visiting during my 2nd day in Seoul. Since my hostel is around 15 minutes walk to Gyeongbukgong Palace, I decided to go there first. I arrived at around 9AM in Gyeongbukgong Palace and there's not much tourists when I lined up to buy the ticket going inside the main palace grounds. It is an advantage to go to places frequented by tourists earlier because you don't need to wait in line getting ticket or surrounded by tour groups, you can also take pretty pictures without any obstructions. Ticket going inside the main palace grounds costs 10,000 Korean Won or 10USD.

After an hour of strolling around the Gyeongukgong (actually 1 hour is not enough if you really want to go around and check all the houses and palaces), I decided to leave and go to my next destination, the Cheonggyecheon stream which is around 10 minutes walk from the Palace. During that time, a lot of tourists and tour groups are also coming in and going around the Palace. I headed towards Gwanghwamun square which is just across the Gwanghwamun Gate and Gyeongbukgong. The huge square/plaza have less tourists at that time. A huge statue of a sitting King Sejong can also be found here. I took a few shots and asked a fellow tourists to take a pic of me in front of the statue. The subway line, Seoul subway line No. 5 Gwanghwamun station can be accessed from the plaza. There's also a museum just below the plaza.

I noticed that the area around Gwanghwamun Square are surrounded by government buildings. 
After walking pass the Gwanghwamun Square, I decided to to look for a place to eat since i was really mad hungry that time (i dont have breakfast and it was already noontime). And because i'm hesitant eating in a Korean restaurant (because of the price or the kind of food) or any other unfamiliar eatery, i just decided to play safe and headed to a KFC branch i saw in a street across the Gwanghwamun Square. Ordered myself a burger and fries.

After finishing my "lunch" i walked towards the direction of the Cheonggyecheon Stream, just about 5 minutes walk from Gwanghwamun Square.

After a few minutes strolling the Cheonggyecheon Stream (there's nothing you can do there really except walking and taking pics^^), I decided to go to Insadong street where traditional items, galleries and such can be found.

The place is good for sight seeing, shopping for souvenir items and eating in those quaint and traditional restaurants in the alleys along this road.

Finished walking down the Insadong-gil at around noontime, I then decided to go back to the hostel, pick some stuffs to bring over to Incheon where I'll be meeting Ran. She gave me instructions on where i'll be getting off and fortunately i don't need to make transfers as the subway line no. 1 from Jongno Station will be heading all the way to Juan station in Incheon. The travel time takes around 30-45 minutes. Good thing Ran arrived at the station just a few minutes before i did and so she don't need to really wait for me. She told me that we'll be going to her school, Inha University. I am so very excited since it is one of Korea's top universities and also Super Junior's Ryeowook and Siwon's alma mater. Rode a city bus, (for the first time in Korea) from Juan Station all the way to Inha University. The travel time takes around 15 minutes. 

We went around the school a little bit and she then take me to meet her 2 friends (forgot their names) and we decided to go out to eat late lunch and drink coffee. Of course, it's their treat!^^ 

Her friends are really nice, accommodating and would try their best to talk to me in English, they would ask how did Ran and I met and why and what i am doing in Korea. ^^ They were surprised and happy when i told them that i am a huge Super Junior fan, cuz they are actually SJ fans too! hehe one of them was able to hug Siwon during the filming of Running Man. Lucky girl^^ They also taught me some basic Korean words!^^ After our lunch we went to Inha again and she toured me around her college building (Education), walked around the halls of Inha University. It was around 5PM when I told her that I need to go back to Seoul as it was getting late and colder. She then took me to the bus stop going back to Juan station. We bid each other goodbye. Hope i can see and meet her again!^^

It was dark when i arrived in Seoul, i guess time is around 6 or 7PM. I don't know what got into me but I suddenly decided spur-of-the-moment go to Myeongdong! Hahahaha. Myeongdong is very very lively even at night. Lots of people walking around, most are Japanese tourists. Stores have sellers outside calling and luring in people to go to their shop and offers freebies and sample products. It's in Myeongdong where you can find several branches of all Korean cosmetics brands. I did not go farther from the main intersection in Myeongdong since i was really tired from the whole day of strolling and it was really getting very cold. Decided to take some snapshots before heading back to the subway.

Myeongdong is really a huge maze of stores and boutiques bringing out the shopaholic in you. But for someone like me who is on a tight budget for this trip, going around is such a torture as i gotta need strong resistance from temptations of buying everything i find nice and cute. haha~ But it's really nice to go around and window shop.

Went back to my hostel after a few minutes of walking in Myeongdong. My tired body fell asleep really fast because of the warm cozy bed. Day 2 of my trip done!

I'm going solo......

The plane departs Manila midnight of March 16 and we arrived in Incheon around 6:00AM of March 17. The 4 hours flight from Manila to Incheon was breezy, except for some turbulence when we are nearing Incheon, which is pretty understandable because of their current weather. Though it was a smooth flight, I was not able to catch some Zzzzzz maybe because i am very excited, and yeah, I'm seated in the aisle and so I can see and hear everyone passing by. 

Maybe people would think that this is over acting or whatever, but when the pilot announced that we were about to land in Incheon, when the plane touchdown and the pilot said "....the current weather is 6 degrees celcius. Thank you for flying with Cebu Pacific, until your next flight with us. Kamsahamnida. Welcome to Incheon, South Korea", I almost burst into tears if not for the embarassment and people around me thinking i'm crazy, hahahahaha. But it was really a crazily happy  emotional moment for me, If Andie or any of the girls I'm supposed to be with at that moment is with me, we sure will hugged each other, tears in our eyes saying "finally we are now in South Korea! the land of our oppars" xDDD but since i am alone, i can just (almost teary eyed) smile like an idiot and utter a prayer of thanksgiving that finally I arrived safely in the country I dreamt of travelling. Upon exciting the tube, the cold weather of Incheon greeted us, and so we need to put on our jackets and scarfs to keep us warm. One of my rules when travelling to a foreign place, is to just follow where others go!^^ and since Incheon International Airport is a huuuuuggggeeee airport, I just followed where fellow passengers are going. :D

After exciting the plane/tube we walked in here and i thought that we'll be heading to immigration already, but......

I was informed by some of my fangirl friends that Infinite, Teen Top and EXO would also be arriving around that time from Bangkok,Thailand where they performed at the Korean Music in Bangkok the night before, i then decided to wait a little bit before falling in line at the immigration. There was around 2 batches of people coming in and on the 2nd batch i spotted Sungjong of Infinite walking just in front of me! He is wearing a black sweatshirt and has a mask, it's really hard to spot them from the crowd as it seems like they are purposely blending themselves with the crowd and walking separately. Next i saw is Sungyeol and finally i saw Dongwoo who came from a comfort room. I was not to take a pic as i was really shocked and they are really fast! I did not spot the other members as its really hard to see them with my far sighted vision and yes, they walk far from each other and just blends in the crowd. Since the lanes of foreign passport holders and korean passport holders are different, i did not bother following them or waiting for other groups as my Korean friend Ran is waiting for me outside. 

After passing through the immigration and getting my luggage at the cart, I went out and saw tons of fans with their huge cameras waiting for their bias groups. Earlier on Ran told me there's really a lot of fans waiting outside and she have no idea why, so i told her. I then saw her with a banner of my name on it! hahahahhaha so cute^^ Finally, after about 4 years i was able to personally meet my Korean friend Ran Ju. She is living an hour away from Incheon Airport and volunteered to meet me up at the airport^^ Really sweet girl. After introductions and some greetings, i asked her to accompany me in going to Sroaming desk so i could get the mobile phone i rented online. Ran was such a great help as she talked to them in Korean. She then invited me to have an early lunch at a Korean restaurant in the airport. She asked me what i want to eat and told her as long as it's a Korean food then it's okay. She ordered bibimbap for me and Kimchi stew for her. 

I am really excited seeing her and so we just talked some random things over lunch. Get to know more and asked me my plans while in Seoul. The food is really delicious!! Finally, an authentic Korean meal! After our quick lunch, she invited me for a tea at this very cute tea shop near the restaurant where we ate. Bye the way, the restaurant, tea shop and other eateries are located in the basement of the airport. There's also a mini grocery and some other stores there. 

I let her order for me since i know nothing on their menu, and since she had worked in a nearby store before, she knows what are the nice teas and cookies to eat there. 

After our nice meal and chat, we returned to the ground floor and i bought a T-Money card that i will be using as a form for payment while commuting in Seoul. We then head out to the Seoul bound bus station. I was supposed to ride the bus that will stop at Jongno(3)ga but the dispatcher said that the street where the bus will pass by to that bus stop is closed as there's a marathon going on. Good thing Ran was there to talk to him, and so he suggested that  i should instead take another bus that will make a stop in Gyeongbukgong Palace (the other end/side of the street near my hostel). I then agreed since it's the bus stop nearest to my hostel. I could take a taxi from that stop to my hostel since i have a heavy luggage. 

Take note if you're travelling to Seoul and will take the airport bus from Incheon Airport to Seoul, you need to know from your hotel/hostel the bus number of the bus that you're supposed to take and the bus stop where you'll be alighting. Taking a bus is more convenient than Korail especially if you have lots of baggage with you. Anyway, i said bye to Ran and and told her I'll go and visit her in Incheon on Tuesday. 

The weather was really cold when i got there, insanely cold for someone like me who is living in a tropical country. I arrived at Seoul around 11AM, alighted at the bus station in the Gyeongbukgong Area, and i flagged down a taxi and showed the driver my hostel's address. In less than 5 minutes I was already at Apple Backpackers in Jongno(3)ga area (very near the palaces and Insadong). However when i was about to check in the manager on duty told me that the room that im supposed to stay in have broken faucet and thus i cannot stay there because they need to fix it, he then told me that they have a sister hostel nearby which is Banana Backpackers and that i can stay there instead. Banana's rate is much higher that the one in Apple's but since it's their fault of me not having any rooms at their hostel, i'll pay Apple's rate at Banana, i then agreed (since im so tired n sleepy and cold and i badly need to lie down or something) and he accompanied me to Banana Backpackers. I was told that i cannot check in yet since the check in time is at 2PM and it was still around 12NN, but then i can already pay for my room. Since i've got nothing to do while waiting for 2PM, i decided to go Dongdaemun and buy a pair of shoes since my boots broke ( i don't know why T_T). I leave my baggage in their storage room and brave my way to Dongdaemun with a map at hand. :)))

*I was not able to take any pictures of the hostel T_T but it was a great and clean hostel with lovely helpful staff and a good location (with a convenience store nearby, lots of korean restaurants around, very near the palaces, myeongdong, insadong and a subway station orange line Anguk station), highly recommended to anyone going to Seoul. 

Insadong and Jongno 3 ga are like the old part of Seoul and so it's not surprising to see traditional stuffs there such as hanbok stores, traditional Korean stores, jewelry and eateries. 

I walked around 10 minutes to Jongno 3 ga subway blue line that would take me to Dongdaemun. I made one transfer  to another (forgot what station it is^^) and then bam! I'm already in Dongdaemun. Dongdaemun is one of Seoul's major shopping/market districts. There are these huge and famous mall called Doota and few other buildings selling different merchandise from fabric, clothes, foods to just anything else in cheaper price as compared to the malls or any other shopping districts in Seoul. There's a lot of street vendors where you can buy stuff at cheaper price and you can haggle. Street foods and eateries and coffee shops are also everywhere in the area. Since Dongdaemun is one of Seoul's major tourist destination, there's a couple of english, japanese and chinese tourist helpers who can help and assist tourist should you have any concern. They can be found mostly near subway entrances/exits.

I was able to find a nice pair of highcut shoes good enough to keep my feet warm on a stall in a building that sells mostly shoes. The saleslady is very nice and helpful and can speak basic english, so I was not able to encounter any problem buying it. Bought my new pair of shoes at 30,000won! ^_^ i think it's a good buy^^ Used it during the rest of my stay there. 

After buying the shoes, i decided to go back to the hostel since i am so tired and sleepy. Was able to check in smoothly to my room after. I was surprised that the room is so spacious!! and the bed is huge! Good enough for 2 people! There's also a small space to store the luggage. I'm really happy since the bathroom is private (which is also very spacious and clean). After changing to comfortable clothes, i decided to take some needed Zzzzz, woke up at around 7PM, I wanted to go out, but i don't know where to go. LOL. So i just decided to stay in my room, unpack my luggage and sort the gifts for BTOB, Yesung and for my friends. And my journey in Seoul began....

[overdue post]^^

It has always been my dream to go and travel to South Korea ever since I've become a Kpop fan some 10 years ago because of BoA, then DBSK. My love and somewhat addiction to Kpop and Korea escalated in 2007 when I became an ELF, Super Junior's fan. Since then I've always planned and it is my goal to someday explore Seoul and feed the Kpop and Korean culture enthusiast in me. Going to Korea from the Philippines is not really an easy feat, considering that one needs to secure a visa to enter South Korea as well as prepare enough funds for the necessary expenses while in Seoul. It's not an easy task especially for someone who earns just an average income and have bills to pay monthly, but i think it just takes great determination, focus, faith and discipline to achieve the goal that i have. Also prayers is of great help. My determination becomes strong when i became a fan of the rookie group, BTOB. I want to see them...so badly and so I planned on travelling to Korea on March 2013, the month of their anniversary and spend one year of their debut with them (since i also thought they might prepare a special event for that^^). And so when Cebu Pacific had their seat sale to Incheon last September 2012, I did not hesitate to to book a roundtrip flight of 8 days to Korea. After securing my flight, I excitedly began scouting for a hostel or guesthouse to stay and luckily i was able to find a cheap but clean and accessible hostel in the Insadong area. I also prepared the requirements for the visa application and thankfully it was approved. A Korean visa is finally stamped on my passport. After learning that i can surely travel to Korea, i began making my itinerary for my 8 days of stay in Seoul and began contacting and informing my Korean friends that I would be travelling to their country and would love to meet them, and so we arranged schedules to meet up. Since I'l be travelling in March, which means Korea is still experiencing chilly weathers (I constantly check www.accuweather.com for temperatures and weather in Korea), a suitable set of clothing is a must! And so I began buying sweatshirts, jackets, warmers and leggings to keep me warm during my stay there.

The initial plan is to go there with my 4 other fangirl friends, but some unexpected situations suddenly arised and so I ended up travelling alone, which I'm not really happy with, but got no choice since I already have my visa, reserve my hostel, booked my flight, planned meet up with friends there and most especially excited for my first trip to Korea. I do traveled locally alone in the past, so that kinda helped up. Back up with the cheers of my friends and the courage and determination that I have, the adventurous Saggitarius in me takes on the challenge and told myself that I will enjoy and surely make most of my 8 days all by myself first Korea trip. And so on the night of March 16, 2013 I started my journey to the country that I admired for the past 10 years and making one of dreams coming true. 

My flight to Incheon Airport is from Manila is scheduled to depart at 1:AM of March 17, 2013, I need to be at the airport some 3 hours before the flight. Dragging my heavy luggage full of gifts to BTOB and my pasalubongs to my friends there, I head out of my apartment at 7PM of March 16 and flagged the first taxi I saw on the highway instructing the driver to bring me to NAIA Terminal 3 as fast as he can ^_^. Good thing we did not used EDSA and instead passed by the Navotas to Roxas Boulevard Area, I arrived at the airport 4 hours before my flight!^^ Around 2 hours before the departure our flight was allowed to check in! 

We waited for an hour at the departure gate and then finally we can board the plane, Cebu Pacific Flight 5J190! Korea here I come!!^^