Finally in Seoul Pt. 1

1st Day In Seoul

My friends and I checked out from our Airbnb in Incheon on the 13th of February. We headed to Seoul and within around the first hour we were there, we already found ourselves enjoying Seoul a little more than Incheon (It was great, though! Just more things to see and do in Seoul). To kill some time until we could check into our Airbnb, we walked along the Cheonggyecheon, which is a stream that runs through downtown Seoul. We watched ducks hunt for fish, occasionally booing at the nearby egret that would try to steal the ducks' catches (Yes, we had a lot of time to kill...).

We also visited Gwangjang Market for lunch and decided to eat at the famous Neflix Ajumma's knife-cut noodle (칼국수) stall. Despite the line being long, I think we were seated pretty quickly. The three of us all ordered the same thing, their Kalmandu (칼만두) dish. I've been hearing about how Gwangjang market is slowly turning into a tourist trap with price gouging becoming common amongst vendors, so I'm not sure if I will be visiting often. Nevertheless, the Kalmandu was a really good meal.

Our second Airbnb was located in Myeongdong, so we walked around the area and did some small shopping until we were able to check in. The Airbnb felt more like a hotel compared to the one in Bupyeong, Incheon. Given the location, we also often saw foreigners in the building, so I guess you could say we felt more comfortable.

As you may notice from the picture, the room was a little tight for three people, especially since our suitcases took up a lot of space. But I think we made it work. We also had a killer view on the 16th floor!

We ate dinner downstairs at a restaurant right outside the hotel. We ate at 핵밥, which is a fully self-service Japanese restaurant. You'll likely run into this restaurant at least once while in Seoul. We ordered and paid for our food all on the tablet, which was something I had never done before. My introvert-self enjoyed this type of dining experience LOL.

Lazy 2nd Day in Seoul

The next day was a stay-at-home day because it was raining and we were all pretty tired. I wanted to take some time to talk about the WOWPASS, which works as a debit card exclusively for foreigners. The hotel we were staying at conveniently had a WOWPASS machine in the lobby. At the time, I had some issues with my Charles Schwab debit card... And when I mean issues, I mean I unknowingly did not have enough available balance in my card. I also did not realize that it took around four business days for my money to be transferred into my Charles Schwab account. This was honestly embarrassing, considering I had like a dollar in my debit card for three days. So my WOWPASS really had my back.

Overall, the process of getting my card was easy, with the instructions available in English and many other languages. After scanning my passport in the machine, I deposited $100 into my card, and similar to how vending machines work, the card fell into the slot. After receiving my WOWPASS, I downloaded the mobile app, which you can use for tracking your transaction history and topping-up your card. The card also has a T-Money feature, so you don't need to buy a separate transport card. However, like you would do with all T-Money cards, the WOWPASS' T-Money card feature can only be charged with cash. Now I use my WOWPASS all the time, especially for small purchases at the convenience store or Daiso.

Visit this website for more information! : https://www.wowpass.io/

Starfield COEX Mall

The next day we went to the COEX Aquarium located in Starfield COEX Mall. Check out the pictures I took there! I wish I could show more, but there is a storage limit on WIX :-(

Ttukseom Hangang Park

Visiting Ttukseom Hangang Park was scheduled for the next day. After walking around the park, we bought ramen and some 삼각김밥 (Triangular Kimbap) from a 7-Eleven on the river. Right outside of the convenience store was a ramen-cooking station and a little seating area where we could eat our ramen. I noticed that the ramen was overpriced here, but honestly it was worth it for the experience.

After eating, we went to rent bikes and rode around the park. Our legs became jello after biking for a little over 2 hours. After Hangang, we went to Casanello Sicily, which is Jinseok's (from Single's Inferno Season 3) cafe.

More to see in the next blog post!