Having Fun in Hongdae : April 2016 (Part 3)

Now that I was finally able to see the cherry blossoms (see previous posts here and here), I think it’s time to talk about the trip in itself. I guess I’ll start off by talking about the area that I stayed in – Hongdae.

Hongdae:

Hongdae is a college area, it was so named because that is where the Hongik University is located.  A side story I guess, aside from the cherry blossoms, one of the reasons that I wanted to travel to Korea was because music video that I saw of 10cm – 오늘밤은 어둠이 무서워요 (Tonight, I’m Afraid of the Dark

 

I wanted that vibe and feel of just walking around and seeing all kinds of performances. So when I decided to book a hostel, I researched and found out about this area where its common to find people just doing street performances everywhere.

I was not disappointed. There was Hongade Norito, which at daytime (during weekends I think) there were creative types who would sell their wares (trinkets and on-the-spot art mostly) then when evening rolls around, it becomes filled with performers of all types (rappers, guys and girls with guitars, dancers). Aside from Hongdae Norito, there was also an area across the street where all kinds of performers usually sang and danced with crowds surrounding them. It was cool to just walk around the area with street food and beer in hand,  just watching and listening to the different performers. You also get to interact with the crowd and generally just have a chill time.

On-the-spot sketching

When I said chill, it really was chill!

Street food

There was this famous dog-foodcart in the area

K-rapper

Girl with a guitar

Dancers on the street

 

One of the more amusing things that happened was that a certain performer was actually touring the area – Hong Dae Kwang – and I got to see two of his stops unintentionally. First, was at the Hongdae Norito, he was playing his songs and I found it quite amusing that there was a camera crew (I used to listen to kpop but not really that much anymore) so I peered. The producer of the show actually saw me and talked to me and asked if I knew him, when I said no, he told me that the guy perfomed at superstar K. After watching his performance I decided to head on to another area to visit another cafe, as I was walking boom, I saw him again setting up, The producer saw me and told me “Are you a fan?” you see him twice today! I didn’t really mind he sang pretty well and I kinda liked his songs.

Hong Dae Kwang singing “I Feel You” at Hongdae Norito

It was really a chill yet intimate crowd as I was this close to it.

At the cafe for his second performance

The crowd was mostly young females. So yey i guess 😀

 

Noryangjin Fish Market

During my last night (I flew out evening the following day) Viola and Yan (girls I met at the hostel) decided to take me out to eat at Noryangjin Fish Market. At first, I wasn’t too excited since I thought that I was allergic to seafood but things turned out pretty well in the end.

At this market, you purchase fresh feet seafood from the market, then they will then be brought to a dining area/restaurant where they will prepare and cook them to your liking. In the Philippines we have a similar setup called “Dampa”. Again, I was afraaid to try since I thought I was not able to eat crabs and shirmps, but apparently I am not allergic and I did get to try out a moving octopus as well.

 

Sunset at the station

Different kinds of seafood

Shirmps

The restaurant

 

Hongdae – Come Inn Guest House: 

My post about this Korea trip would not be complete if I did not mention the people that I met while I was there. Thanks to the guesthouse, I was able to meet some wonderful people who I am still in contact with even now.

I was very fortunate to have flown to different countries for 2016 and when people ask me which I enjoyed the most, I can’t help but respond with Korea. To be honest,  I can’t recommend a place to visit but because I had so much fun hanging out with the people who all came from different backgrounds and countries. I may not have gone to that many tourist spots but sharing time with them may it be hanging out at the rooftop, eating lunch or dinner, eating breakfast at the hostel, or just drinking coffee during my last day really affected me and made me realize that sometimes it’s not even the destination it’s the people you meet along the way.

Having a Korean Lunch

At Come Inn Guesthouse

At Noryangjin Fish Market

Having beer and chips

As Bella and Tong were leaving

 

This is part 3 of the post about this trip, click here for Part 2, and here for Part 3

 

Chasing Cherry Blossoms in Seoul: April 2016 (Part 2)

After that slightly disappointing trip along Yeouido Park, I went back to the hostel to hang out with the other guests. I stayed at a hostel  in Hongdae called Come Inn Guesthouse. While on my laptop, I was able to see a couple of Korean friends (who I met during my Singapore trip) on facebook post pictures showing a good area filled with cherry blossoms. I sent one of them a message to ask her where she took it, and she replied that it was at Seoul Racecourse Park. I researched the place and decided that I’d be headed there the following day.

Deoksogung Palace:

I planned on going there early, but some of the hostel guests invited us to have lunch. So I thought I’d just go after eating, meaning I had some time in the morning. I was planning on just going around the different stations, when I checked the time and realized that I’d be able to catch the Changing of the Guards Ceremony at the Deoksogung Palace (which happens 3x a day at 11:00/14:00/15:30).

I think visiting this place was the only “usual” tourist activity that I did during this trip. I’ve actually been to this palace back in 2013, and was already able to catch the changing of the guards. Back then I didn’t have a camera with me (save for my Note 2) so this was a good chance to try and take good pictures. Another difference is that this time I was able to catch the march from the inside of the palace aside from the ceremony outside the Daehanmun gate.

Marching to the gate

Guard

Changing of the Guard Ceremony

Korean Lunch:

After the ceremony, I headed back to Hongdae to have lunch with the other guests. We went to this Korean restaurant a few blocks away from the hostel. It was a pretty diverse group consisting of people from Belgium, Canada, the US, Thailand, and me (a Filipino).

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Seoul Racecourse Park:

Once we were done with lunch, I headed back to the hostel to prepare my stuff for going to the racecourse park. I told the people where I was headed and Tong (one of the Thai girls I had lunch with) told me that she wanted to join. I was thankful for the company, so we headed over to the park.

The racecourse park actually has a subway station near it (line 4). Going down the station and walking a bit, you would be able to see some signs that lead to the race track itself and the park. We got lost a bit, but the locals were nice enough to point us to the right direction.

When we got to the park, I was overwhelmed by the sight. While it may not be as magnificent as the other sites, being around the area with blossoms and the wind blowing through them and the flowers just swirling around you was still an awesome experience.

The park is a circular road that has various cherry blossom trees around it. I believe there  was a festival that happened (or was about to happen) as there was a stage and a sound system setup. It was a great experience to just stroll around the park and having Tong to accompany me was nice as well.

Inflatable sign

Cherry blossom tracks

Tong playing with a kid we met at the park

Just before leaving

This is part 2 of the post about this trip, click here for Part 1, and here for Part 3

Chasing Cherry Blossoms in Seoul: April 2016 (part 1)

I had been to South Korea back in November of 2013. It was pretty fortunate that I got a 3 year multiple entry visa, so I always planned on going back. When a seat sale came last January 2016. I thought that maybe I should go.

I targeted a Mid April date as I really wanted to see the cherry blossoms. I thought that if Japan was too expensive, Korea would be able to provide an alternative. Also, for this trip I thought that it would be a different experience as during my previous visit I had already been able to go to most of the touristy sites except for the theme parks.

[Side note: That 2013 Korea trip was probably one of my best “scores” when it comes to Cebu Pacific tickets. I think I was able to buy 2 round trip tickets (I brought my sister along) with baggage allowance for less than 3500.00).

Even before I left, there were already a couple of problems that popped up:

First was I had a US work trip on the horizon and it seemed that I wouldn’t be able to fly to Korea as it would overlap with the schedule. I was actually all set on not going on the trip that I didn’t pack my bag anymore or even call a hostel to confirm where I’m staying (I did initially send emails though). I guess the trip was meant to happen though, as literally hours before my flight, I got confirmation that my US work trip will be postponed for a week. Upon reading the news, I packed my bags and called the hostel to check if they had rooms available, fortunately they did, and off I went to Korea.

The next problem was the cherry blossoms themselves. On the days leading to the trip, I had researched the dates of the blooming and it seemed that I will arrive a week or so too late for the cherry blossoms in Seoul. However, I did find that Yeouido park and the streets leading up to it are known Cherry blossoms and that there would still be some when I arrived.

Yeouido Park:

To get to the park, I hopped off at the National Assembly Hall station. I then walked around the area and follow the signs on the way to the park. Those were the cherry blossoms on the roads leading to the streets which while gave me some hope, also showed me that the best views have already passed. However, for someone like me who has never seen it, they were already quite nice.

Street at Yeouido

A bit too late

I went around the area, even visiting the KBS World station and anticipated that since the streets were lined with petals, the actual park would be more beautiful. Unfortunately, the park no longer had that much blossoms and only had this:

Disappointed, I just toured around the park and looked at the sights. I came across a clearing which had rows of basketball courts and were amazed at how empty most of the courts were. I was thinking, if this had been in the Philippines, I’m pretty sure this would have all been filled by now.

After a bit of touring, I headed back to Come Inn Guesthouse. I was disappointed with what happened, but what I was was still nice enough that it wasn’t really that frustrating. Fortunately, things turned out pretty well after this.

This is part 1 of the post about this trip, click  here for Part 2, and here for Part 3