Thursday 21 March 2013

Seoul

Hi readers,

This rosebullet OL has been very busy as you can tell from the lack of updates.
Nevertheless, in the midst of your busy schedules, don't forget to pamper yourself!

Treat yourself and give yourself a pat on the back. Go on, do it! :)

Last Oct, I gave myself a treat in the form of a Seoul holiday!
I call it "Seoul for the Soul"... yes yes, pun intended.
Very cold? No it wasn't ;) I meant... the weather was perfect!- cool but not too cold.
So if you want to enjoy the cold weather (read: FINALLY get the chance to show off your fashionable winter outfit) without getting frozen, Oct is a good time.

The first meal I had when I touched down in Seoul was Naeng myeon, otherwise known as cold noodles.




The Naeng Myeon set incl. Korean BBQ beef was only S$6 (!!!)


The Sun was up on my second day...so I pulled out my rosebullet lace blouse (am I the only person who would bring such a holey blouse for Autumn season? ;p) and did some layering with a woolen vest!


Lace blouse (avail in cream & white too) is currently on Special Price S$79 (50% OFF!)

Despite the "holes" on my arms, I nearly fainted from the heat...cos I was clad in faux leather pants -_-

Visited the Chang Deok Gung palace that day (suspect that the Korean drama "rooftop prince" was filmed there!). I chose to pay a little extra so that I could visit the "secret garden" which you can enter only with a tour guide.



 A pretty picture: the guide who spoke fluent English in a cute Korean accent.

                                                                                       
  It is said that the King considered it imperative to learn & experience the hardship of his people through farming. This was where he practised rice planting & the straw from the harvest would be used to thatch the roof of this pavilion.



Met up with two girls on student exchange programme in Korea...After eating our fill (seafood pancake, BBQ meat, soup etc)... we only paid about S$10 per person!

           A close up of our meal. The sides are on free flow!
  
    A touristy place to visit for souvenirs is Insadong (Anguk station). It feels a little like Chinatown to me. There is a lane lined with many restaurants near "Ssamziegil". 

            Took this photo while I was in a restaurant along that lane.

Depending on what you order, the price can be really affordable! Ambience is nice as well :)

  The meal with Korean "black rice"...I think it has lower calories!

It's interesting to visit "Ssamziegil"..there are many cute quaint shops around the whole building.
There was even an al fresco cafe right on top in a roof garden.

If you're there, don't forget to take a photo along the steps! There are digital screens on the wall. You can send the photos to yourself via email.

After you've seen Insadong, you can take a slow walk towards Sam Cheong Dong. Again, the weather was cool that day...really perfect.

Me with the two students ! I finally had a chance to wear my new clothes that day;)Poncho (Dip Drops), Shorts (rosebullet ), knee high boots (rosebullet)

We were greeted with an adorable sight when we arrived at Sam Cheong Dong.
Real "mannequin" outside an apparel shop. A passerby lil girl gleefully went beside him to take a photo. This guy was pretending to be a statue but when he saw the lil girl, he couldn't resist a smile!

We shopped for abit and then decided to settle down in one of the cafes overlooking a long stretch of road. I love how there are so many pretty cafes in Korea, especially in Sam Cheong Dong.
It was therapeutic just sitting there...I wish everyday could be like this ;p !

Ended the day with a visit to Seoul Tower. Personally, I felt that there was nothing much to see...after all the queueing! Since I was already there, thought I'd just visit the Teddy bear museum.

     Notice the blue bear in the middle)?I realised he was in every setting doing cute things.It was fun spotting him...kinda like playing "Where's Wally?"

I spent the next day at Everland. Visiting an amusement park calls for a more "fairy tale" outfit.. ok, maybe not.

   Blazer (Japan) tulle skirt (rosebullet), angora top (rosebullet)

You may already know that Angora is one of rosebullet's main items! It's really useful and has kept me warm in a pretty manner through my many winter holidays.   



                 Arriving at Everland -weather was looking good

To travel to Everland, you can take a bus from Gangnam. Just had to mention that because of the Oppa Gangnam style wave.




We headed straight to the mini Safari.You can opt for a private jeep tour (takes 4-6 pax)...and feed.the.lions.and.wild.bears.!!!

 Merely separated by the glass window of the bus, I was this close to these beautiful creatures.



Dignified lookin' animal.

     If you choose the jeep option, you can get up close & personal.

                   The famed Liger - cross between a Lion & Tiger. 

 Halloween was around the corner then.

                        A pumpkin "Christmas tree" behind me.

What I enjoy most about holidaying in Korea is that the night is always young! After a long day of walking around, you can go back to the hotel, drop your stuff, take a nap, eat dinner....and shopping is STILL available at DongDaeMun after midnight!

Supper is also available almost everywhere you go...there are many food tents along the road. So after walking some distance & when you think that you have burnt those calories...you start eating again -_-

            Potato breaded sausage at DongDaeMun...yummy!


The temperature dropped a notch on the following day. So I was craving for some comforting food. Having been to the "east" DongDaeMun (东) the night before, we also had to visit the "north Nandaemun (南)...lol!

Nandaemun is sort of like a marketplace. You can get lotsa food souvenirs from there such as seaweed , yuzu etc.  Hairtail fish seems to be a speciality in that area..most restaurants had it!





               Spicy Hair Tail fish and complimentary steamed egg!

Satisfied with lunch, it's time to mooovveee.. next stop, Hongik University/HongDae. Seen this kind of Trick Eye museum on TV? There's one at HongDae! 

  Pretending to be a star(with an awkward smile because it is so hard to act cool when there are so many people looking on & waiting for their turns to take photos at the same spot).

I decided that HongDae is one of my favourite places to shop! There are many small boutiques with unique stuff at reasonable prices. By evening, it got pretty cold. Thankfully, I brought my super comfy coat out that day.
Almost thought that I had no chance to wear it after lugging it all the way from Singapore (vain girl's woes.)




 rosebullet Leopard print coat with racoon fur collar, leather skirt and knee high boots.

There's something about human that makes them want to torture themselves - like choosing to eat ice cream in winter or wearing fashionable boots in hot Singapore.. you get what I mean.

That was what we did, ate Pin Su (Korea's Ice Kachang) even though it was cold....

Caffe Bene was where we had the Ice kachang (being very local here...)


 I had lotsa fun for the rest of the trip but this entry is probably long enough so I don't want to bore you with the details.Just remember if you are visiting Korea, think of me  be mindful of the temperature especially during autumn/winter since it flunctuates quite alot. If you need any fashionable winter gears, get them at rosebullet!!! <3 <3 <3 Our fashion advisors will be happy to help you with your selection. :)

Till next time, hope you have had a great start to the year so far!

Love,
the rosebullet OL <3

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