#lorrainerae

To be honest, in my actual itinerary, I included timeslots, subway stations, exit numbers, routes, and whole bunch of other notes. I am that type of person who’s into planners and details. Some perfectionist, OC stuff.  But I don’t want to show you that funny itinerary unless you want to see it. 

My planned itinerary wasn’t too much because I wanted my trip to be slow-paced and not overwhelming. I was rather into finding my self in the process.

Actual Travel

Day 1 - Edae, Sinchon, Hongdae

I arrived at Incheon Int’l Airport around 6:30 am. From immigration to getting my luggage to buying my T-money card to riding the subway to my hostel, it all went smoothly.  I got to my hostel around 8 am so the hostel staff allowed me to leave my baggage and come back at 2 pm for my check-in since it was early.

Shops were still closed early in the morning at Edae

It was a bit of a cold morning so I opted to walk around the Edae, Sinchon and Hongdae area. Some stores were still closed when I roamed around but it was such a beautiful morning. Familiarized myself with the area and neighborhood.

Ewha Woman’s University campus

Sinchon-Hongdae Area

I stayed for quite a while in this little park in the middle of the Edae shopping street. It was very cozy and quiet. I knew it was the start of my soul searching break. I bought a quaint little grapefruit juice to drink while chilling in the park.

Edae Park near Yes Apm mall

Finally, I checked-in at the hostel. Rested a bit in the bed. At around 5:30 pm, I took the subway to Hongdae for the Saturday night flea market! 

Hongdae was jampacked with people, especially the youth. I didn’t expect that this place would have all sorts of entertainment like dancing, singing, performing magic tricks and whole lot more. 

Restaurants, malls, and drinking places can also be found in Hongdae. The stores at the night market offer cheap clothing and other pasalubong finds. 

Hongdae at around 7 pm

Day 2 - Yeouido Park, Kyobo Bookstore, Gwanghwamun Square, Cheonggyecheon Stream

It was a rainy Sunday morning, which is why I went out at 10 am. I still pushed through with my plan to go to Yeouido Park. 

Yeouido Park

It was windy and drizzling when I got there so there weren’t so many people. I was supposed to rent and ride a bike but it was closed. I sat down on one of those chairs under the trees to relax a bit. Then, I headed to see the KBS Building. 

Around lunch time, I went straight to Kyobo Bookstore. It was a big bookstore with stationary and some educational gadgets being sold there as well. I stayed there for about 2 hours to read a book. Few books are open for reading and there are available to chairs and tables for people.

After that, I accidentally walked into Gwanghwamun Plaza while looking for a convenience store. 

Gwanghwamun Plaza

I had my late afternoon lunch along the Chenggyecheon Stream. There was a Thai Festival when I was there so it was a bit loud and crowded. It was still rainy so I wasn’t able to stay until the evening to see its night beauty.

Chenggyecheon Stream

Bad weather but I capped off the day by going around Edae. I believe this is the most beautiful night ever. Even though it was raining hard, the peace and tranquility within the university was very relaxing. 

Night at Edae

Day 3 - Gyeongbokgung Palace, National Folk Museum, National Palace Museum, Insadong, Dongdaemun

I needed to be at Gyeongbokgung Palace at around 9 am to see the guarding ceremony. But guess what, I woke up late. I only got to see a glimpse of the exiting guards right when I set foot in the palace. Not to be sad, I bought my ticket to see the palace.

Suddenly, my friend messaged me to eat lunch with them so I have around 2 hours to see the whole palace and the museums.

Gyeongbokgung Palace

I really got into the Korean history when I watched Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart (shoutout to my kdrama fans friends) so when I was walking around, It felt like I was in Joseon Dynasty.  Knowing that these hallowed grounds were once the main royal palace, I felt the respect and amazement, at the same time. 

The National Folk Museum was beside one of the palaces so I went there, as well. It was a greatly curated museum about the people of Korea. It was also interactive to visitors. I also checked out the National Palace Museum before heading out for lunch with my friends.

We walked from Gyeongbokgung to Insadong to have our lunch. Little did I know, we were going to eat at Season’s Table, a Korean buffet. Good thing my digestive system was prepared for humungous servings of food. 

Season’s Table

There was a lot of vegan options, so don’t worry my vegan friends, this buffet got our backs! You can make your own bibimbap bowls, noodles, and tteokbokki. I guess there was a time limit for this but we didn’t care, we finished around 4:30 pm.

We checked out Ssamzigiel along Insadong. As my friend said, “Every foreigner should go here”. At the top floor, I bought this chain thing that you can place with other chains. I wrote in the chain as a reminder that I went there with my friends. 

Ssamzigiel, Insadong

We then went to Dongdaemun because it was the nearest touristy destination since the rain was accumulating and might pour anytime soon. It did rain! My newly-brought umbrella was ruined by the strong wind.

Duty Free Store, top of Dongdaemun

I had to say my goodbyes to my friends. It was a great catch-up time with them at a different location than our school.

Day 4 - Bukchon Hanok Village, Changdeokgung Palace, Insadong, Gangnam, Express Bus Terminal, Banpo Bridge

Fourth day of the travel and my body was still keeping up with me. The weather was very hot and humid like the Philippines, actually. Despite the heat, I headed to Bukchon Hanok Village in the morning.

Bukchon Hanok Village

It was kind of a climb around the village but I was beyond amazed with the peacefulness hovering around that tickled my soul. I went straight to Changdeokgung Palace, it was about a 15 minute walk from the village.

Changdeokgung Palace

I cannot describe the feeling that I felt when I was in this palace. It was pure calmness. In contrast, I prefer the Gyeongbokgung Palace than this one, but I didn’t get to see the garden, which probably could have been beautiful to see.

For lunch, I went back to Insadong again. I searched for a vegan restaurant in Happy Cow and I stumbled upon Osegaehyang. It’s a completely vegan traditional Korean dining and cuisine. Everything was delicious.

Soft Tofu Bibimbap - Osegaehyang

In the afternoon, I decided to go to the very famous, Gangnam. It was mostly a shopping and nightlife area, so I didn’t do much there besides drinking a cheap iced americano at the subway station.

Gangnam and Express Bus Terminal stations

Late afternoon, I headed to Express Bus Terminal station to see the Banpo Bridge. I didn’t know that the station has a huge underground shopping center. A lot of inexpensive clothing, pasalubong, food, skincare and other whatnots can be found there. 

Around 7 pm, I decided to walk to Banpo Bridge to see the rainbow fountain show. I got to view the sky changed its colors. Unfortunately, I waited for 2.5 hours but no show for that night. It was still lovely and beautiful night at Han River. 

Tip: A lot of couples are there so go grab a drink and eat ramyun even when you’re alone.

Banpo Bridge, Han River

Day 5 - Lotte Dept. Store, Myeongdong

For this day, nothing much happened. I was starting to feel tired but then I still went to Myeongdong. First things first, I entered the Myeongdong Catholic Cathedral before doing some shopping galore.

Myeondong

I was supposed to go to Namsan Park to see a nearer view of the N Seoul Tower but my energy won’t permit. I was already halfway there but my feet were seriously dead tired. I couldn’t walk anymore. Hashtag weakling. 

Day 6 - Edae, Yongsan Station, Hyehwa-dong

Last day. I couldn’t believe that I made it to the sixth day all on my own. I woke up early to hit more sacks. I wanted to check off more on my plans. I walked around Edae one last time. Then, I decided to go to Yongsan station to look for electronic shops.

Yongsan (top), Hyehwa (bottom)

The last place I went to in Seoul was Hyehwa-dong. Not much reviews about this place but it was in my plan to visit a unique neighborhood. You’ll get to see children from schools in the vicinity and oppas from Sungkyunkwan ;) Hehe just kidding. You’ll get a glimpse of what’s a typical day of Koreans.

And that concludes my solo soul searching trip to Seoul, South Korea. Six days were not enough to see various famous destinations and truly marvel the whole Seoul. However, I believe it went really great and fulfilled my intentions.

It was a life-changing experience alone in a different country.

Is it manageable to go on a travel in Korea with tight budget? Well, my answer for that will be, it depends. Your budget will depend on what type of travel you’re going for, your appetite, your shopping madness, your preferred transportation, airfare, and room accommodation.

As I’ve said in my Tips, I went for a cultural solo travel kind of thing and shopping. Most of the money I had were spent on those. The places I went to are pretty much free of charge so that’s make it more tipid.

The total pocket money I brought was ₩590k (~₱29k), US$31 and ₱1.5k (just in case). I mentioned in my Tips that I had my money changed here in the Philippines.

Without further ado, these were my expenses in the whole trip!

Airfare

My Philippine Airlines plane ride was a gift from my mom. It’s a mabuhay miles flexi-flyer redemption that we booked last May, we only paid the tax for about ₱3.5k. I will still include this in the total expenses below. Although these days, you can now score cheap airfares via AirAsia or CebuPac. 

Hostel

I booked a room using booking.com (HoSeong Guesthouse). No prepayment or credit card needed. I paid the day I came. For 6D5N, they charged me ₩140k (~₱5.8k). I got to check-out late, too!

Summary of my expenses

The grand total of my daily expenses, airfare, and hostel accommodation is around ₱31k. I guess that’s not bad for a solo traveller for 6 days and 5 nights. That amount already includes my shopping madness, which is the half of the total! I got to go home with a few more won on my wallet, too! 

If you can stand long hours of walking, then that would be helpful to your pocket to save some money on transportation. If you like to splurge on food and other destinations with fee, then you can allot more of your budget for that, and lessen your shopping. It all depends on how you will use your allowance. 

My budget can be the same for you if we have similar taste, y'know. This is only an overview of what I spent on those 6 days, 5 nights stay in Seoul. 

I hope this part was helpful. Thank you for reading this segment!

SOLO TRAVEL IN SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA

This is a very comprehensive blog post regarding my solo travel to Seoul, South Korea. Just a quick note, I’m not a big fan of kdramas (maybe a little) or kpop. The only reason I went to Seoul is to have a little vacation on my own after my college graduation, end of my first job, my birthday celebration, and before entering medical school. 

I am also in no way a professional traveller but I really wanted to share this trip, especially to those who want to travel on their own to South Korea. I divided this post to numerous sections such as tips, budget, itinerary, and the lessons I got from this trip, so it’s easier to read.

Without further ado, let’s begin.

Plan and Preparation Tips

Budget and Expenditures

Itinerary and What Really Happened

I’m baaaack. After a long time.

Turns out I will not be graduating this October. I’m now on to finish the last 3.0 unit course this term and hopefully graduate on February. It was saddening to know that I wouldn’t march on stage next month. The world has its reasons to let me stay. It was hard to accept but now I have moved on. I learned my mistakes and I am trying not to put it to waste. I am beyond grateful to remain in school for my tenth term. Probably this is a way for me to know my self more, weigh options, and decipher my purpose in life.