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Seoul 2023: Wandering
posted : Saturday, July 15, 2023
Day 3 is a hotel change day!
Decided against hotel breakfast buffet again in lieu of cafe hopping. Called in and asked if I could extend check out time, was politely declined as expected (coz it’s weekend) so just checked out and left luggage at reception before heading out.  A short bus ride to the Yeonnam-dong neighborhood to start  So early that I ended up being the first customer. Theme of the morning is instagrammable cafes (though they don’t really end up at my IG in the end)  Coffee Nap Roasters. Chilled a bit planning my next move.  Back to Hongdae, cutting across it on my way to the Hapjeong neighborhood  Next stop - perception  A bit wary of caffeine quota so had this Salted Chocolate Latte instead..which was so meh. And the chive cheddar financier, which is not bad. Camped for a bit to kill time. Wanted fried chicken for lunch. Dug around in an effort to find something that I can get in SG (the likes of BHC for example) and in the end gave up and just popped into one which reviews said they offered half portion. But turns out they didn’t, and I went for the full portion which is like one whole chicken sigh which means I had to eat it for two meals. And it wasn’t like mindblowingly fantastic so I was a bit disappointed, but eh. Life is not perfect.  Did a bit of window shopping on my way back to Hongdae. Snapped this coz I got curious about the sign and wanted to translate, turns out it’s for an escape room game hahaha  A bit hidden is the mountain of fries that came with it too sigh. Ok la in hindsight it wasn’t that bad. Oh well at least I enjoyed the pickled radishes that cut across the grease.  It’s quite a nice spot for people watching though Collected luggage and off to my next neighborhood - Myeongdong! This I have been before on a couple of occasions last round but we didn’t exactly stay here. Accommodation of choice is ibis Styles Ambassador Myeongdong which is like one major road away from the shopping street, maybe on a slightly more budget end hahah but good enough since I’m not staying in room much. Just realized I don’t have a pic of it, only a video which never kind of worked on blogger anyway oh well. The usual check in and freshen up after lazing a bit, then headed down to Myeongdong street - where crowds have returned in full force. Which, if you think about it, is really a relief after all the world has gone through in the last few years.  Crowd is back. In a way I am relieved for those who persevered through the pandemic. Goodness what a lousy three years it had been. Didn’t hang around too long coz…still full so thought I’d come back for street food later on. Off to another one of my favorites which I had wanted to revisit this time coz it was too cold to hang around the last time round hahahah.  Cheongyecheon stream!  I always loved the backstory behind it. Not so much when urban planners try to stuff it down our throats though.  Sat down for a while to story and people watch.  Further up/down the stream  Nature + urban is one of my favorite sights Agenda for the evening was supposed to be Itaewon, to hang around and settle dinner there. What I know (from last year’s unfortunate tragedy) was that it’s quite a happening night spot with plenty of international cuisine and all. Headed there (which wasn’t too far from MD), then found that I didn’t like the vibe at all. Like too 杂, too loud and even feels dodgy? Not what I imagined Itaewon to be at all and definitely not my kind of thing. So I ended up not staying for long and headed back to MD instead.  Myeongdong Cathedral at night  Hotteok! And called it a day! |
