Morning seemed to come so fast today...WHY???????!!! Arghhh....Its my last day in Korea today and its a moody day for me today...the only thing that makes me happy is the thought of being able to see Jae again in Singapore in two days time! Yippiee ^^
I decided to drop by Gwangjang Market 광장시장 for breakfast before I checked out...
 |
| I took the subway to Jogno 5-ga Station, exit 8 for Gwangjang Market 광장시장 |
 |
I walked straight from exit 8. Raised my head and I saw this. Yup, I was at the right place. |
 |
| Some stalls were setting up, while some were still closed.. I think it was around 9.30am?? |
 |
| The food sold was about the same |
 |
The long horizontal 'tube' kind of stuff was not giant German sausage ㅋㅋㅋ That was 순대 Sundae... Sundae is a Korean food, made by boiling or steaming cow or pig's intestines stuffed with ingredients such as pork blood, glutinous rice etc 잠깐 만요...those beside Sundae looked like pig's nose? Pig's mouth?? Pig's trotter?? There were quite a number of shops not opened yet. That's ok for me because I had my mind set on the popular pumpkin juk that I saw online ㅋㅋㅋ |
 |
| I didn't take a good look at these but only a quick snap. Were these for Banchan? |
 |
 |
Bindaetteok 빈대떡! Ya, I wanted to try this but I knew I couldn't finish it on my own... |
 |
I found it! This was the stall that I wanted to locate. On the left was 호박죽 Hobaak Juk (pumpkin porridge). The one in the middle was 팥죽 Patjuk (red bean porridge), and the one on the right was 녹두죽 Nuk Du Juk (mung bean porridge). |
 |
| Yes. Mum's juk is always the best ^^ |
 |
I bought my Bindaetteok 빈대떡 and brought it over to the juk stall to eat with my 호박죽 Hobaak Juk. The lady did a good job in wrapping up my 빈대떡 for takeaway. I think in Korea, "take out" is more commonly used. Jae said its nice to eat 빈대떡 with 막걸리 Makgeolli. It didn't occur to me because it was morning ㅋㅋㅋ but I can imagine eating 빈대떡 with 막걸리 should be a perfect match in heaven, specially as supper with friends ^^ I met a very nice Korean granny when I was eating at this stall. The granny was more than 70 years old..was it 72 years old?? I can't remember.. She has a very nice personality and her smile reminds me of my late 할머니 grandmother. I was eating my 빈대떡 when she came along and sat beside me. I asked her if she would like to share my 빈대떡 but she declined politely as she had taken some other food elsewhere. What surprised me was, she replied me in fluent English!! She really took me by surprise because its rare for me to come across elderly folks speaking English in Korea...moreover, she spoke very very very fluent English. She didn't have any foreign slang or local accent when she speaks English. I felt I was talking to a friend whom I knew very long... She was surprised that I travel alone in Korea and asked me if I have encountered any difficulties during my trip...I told her I can't speak Korean but I did a lot a lot of research...Granny said I was very brave! Hahahaaa.....suddenly I felt a bit big headed. She told me that her daughter loves Singapore and always travel to Singapore! I was like, "Huhhh??" What a small world. Granny told me she has been patronising this stall since the stall was first operated by the mother and now by the daughter in law(or daughter..I can't remember). Granny said she lived far from Seoul but she love to come here to catch up with old friends, and buy some cloth from the other side of the market. I asked granny how she learnt her English. She replied, "I tried my best." Granny said she did not study overseas but tried her best to learn. I did not asked how exactly she tried her best but her reply set me thinking. If granny can do it, so can I and so can you! In any situation, do your very best. Even if the result is not what you wanted, you knew you have given your best and there will be no regrets when you look back. We chatted for around 30 mins. Everybody who passed by was looking at us...Granny seemed to know a lot of people in the market. They must be surprised to hear how fluent the way granny speaks English. We left the market together but before we left, she offered to take a picture of me with the background of all the stalls. I felt a bit embarrassed to be standing in the middle of the market, with all the people staring at me. Granny assured me, "괜찮아요". I like Granny a lot...she makes me warm at heart..I will remember her for a long time ^^ |
 |
I don't understand the contents but pictures tell a thousand words ^^ This is definitely good publicity. |
 |
My 호박죽 Hobaak Juk(pumpkin porridge). The pumpkin porridge has the natural sweetness of the pumpkin. Nice and healthy ^^ The kimchi soup was cold. I noticed all the soup that comes with juk was cold. There maybe a reason for it but I am not sure why was that so... Frankly speaking, I am still not used to having cold soup with hot porridge ㅋㅋㅋ |
 |
| After granny and I parted, I walked around the market for a while. |
 |
Time passed by so quickly...I dragged my legs and a heavy heart to the subway station...It was then I discovered the underground shopping was mainly shops selling 한복 Hanbok and other costumes accessories related to wearing a hanbok. Interesting. |
 |
Gwangjang Market 광장시장 Guess what? I walked back to Gwangjang Market again! Hahahaaa...I still have about 20 minutes to check out Cheonggyecheon Stream . Can you feel how reluctant I was to leave Korea....I really don't mind to miss my plane at all! Hahahaa...You probably think I was crazy...Yes! I am crazily but rationally in love with Korea. I think I would really choose to miss my plane if I am not meeting Jae in two days' time. |
 |
Walking back to Gwangjang market to get to Cheonggyecheon Stream....There was a big section selling cloth. No wonder granny said she likes to come here to buy cloth. |
 |
청계천 Cheonggyecheon Stream was 8.4Km long and this was not the best looking part of the stream. I decided that I will take a stroll in the evening during my next trip to Seoul ^^ |
 |
It was soo damn cold but I wanted to get a feel of the stream... |
 |
| By now, I was so familiar with pathway made of stones... |
 |
| Brhhhhhhhhhhh.......very very cold..... |
 아저씨 at work 아저씨 kept looking at me...he must be wondering why is this girl snapping so many pictures of the leaves in such cold weather... 아저씨 ...My fingers felt like popsicle...I was just trying to buy my time here because I really don't want to leave Seoul ㅠㅠ |
 |
| I don't know about you but I find they are cute |
 |
Picture captured by my iphone using Instagram |
 |
Picture captured by my iphone using Instagram |
 |
Checked out Ibis Myeongdong at 1pm because I requested for a late check out on the previous night. I took the airport limousine bus which was right outside the hotel. While waiting at the limousine bus stop, a middle age Korean lady asked me something about the bus route/timing of the limousine bus shown on the signage. I replied to her that I don't understand. She spoke in Japanese and asked, "Nihon jin desu ka?" I don't know why...but I replied, "아니." I hoped I did not confused her! Anyway, she was the last Korean who asked me for directions etc...How I wish I can replied back in Korean! Arghhhh........ The airport limousine bus has to stop at different destinated places to pick up passengers along its way to Incheon airport. While waiting at one of the hotels, I saw filming across the road. I have no idea who are they. Do you know them? |
Brought back memories and learning experiences but I left my heart behind in Seoul........... 네가 알아?
No comments:
Post a Comment