2 Dec 2014 - No regrets

Itinerary for the day was a day trip to 베어스타운리조트 스키장.

 Actually, I don't feel like mentioning this part of our trip cos there's nothing much to talk about. Anyway, Kim and I had our breakfast at Dong Seoul Bus Terminal. Hmmm....Kim's 된장찌개 Doenjang Jjigae was really so so only....Mine was 순두부찌개 Sundubu jjigae.

                                        

It was super duper cold that day and the wind was darn strong.
We walked over to the bus stop to take bus no. 11 after breakfast.
There was nowhere to hide away from the wind at the bus stop ㅠㅠ
There are two platforms as shown in the picture.
Bus no. 11 is at platform A.
Click here for directions to the bus stop from Gangbyeong Station.

We got on bus no. 11 at 10.26am.
Annoucements of the bus stops was made in Korean only.

We got off at 소학1리 So-hak 1 ri bus stop at 11.50am.
 I think we should have got off at 베어스타운 Bearstown bus stop instead.
You do not have to cross the road to reach the ski resort.

Bus no. 11.

Finally, we found the way to the resort.
It was so terribily cold to walk against the strong wind >_<

This is the reason why I decided to talk about this day trip to the resort.
Cos prior to this trip, I had difficulty trying to find the charges for snow sledding.

The reason why I do not feel like talking about this part of our trip was becos the ski resort was CLOSED when we were there. I am not sure why till now. I mean if its closed, why are we still allowed to enter the premises?? I thought I saw a post on FB that other ski resorts have opened. Well, I could have made a mistake. There was nobody on the skiing ground. We saw only 3 people in the ski resort. I guessed they are probably working there???? I didn't think of asking them about the operating hours cos Kim couldn't bear to stay any longer. It was too cold for us. Any regrets for the wasted trip??? Nope. This trip was specially planned for my dear Kim. Since she said she has no regrets to go back to Seoul, I have none as well.                                                                                  

It was not really a wasted trip for us cos we took as many photos as we could on the sledding ground ㅋㅋㅋ

We crossed the road for our return trip to Seoul.
This time, we went for the Bearstown Bus Stop.

We waited for about 40 mins before bus no. 11 came along. There was no indication of the buses available at this bus stop. 30 mins passed by and I got worried whether bus no. 11 is available at this bus stop. Just 5 mins before the arrival of the bus, the LED screen suddenly showed the arrival time of bus no.11. We boarded the bus at 1.48pm and reach Seoul at 3pm.

1 Dec 2014 - Hearty dinner at Namdaemun

After shopping at Myeongdong, we went to Namdaemun for our dinner.

It was too cold to walk so we took the subway instead lol
*So near yet so far*

If you are coming from Hoehyeon Station, it will be exit 5.
If you are coming from Namdaemun Underground Shopping Centre, it will be exit 2.
The green arrow shows the location where we had our dinner.
You can check out this blogger for a clearer map.

Saw this fried/dried vegetable stall, and turn into the alley.

Straight ahead.

Here's the eatery for our dinner, 호남식당 Honam Sikdang.

The lady was very kind.
She told us to go into another room where there was heater to warm our bodies.

Small cozy eatery, my favourite ^^

1. 생선구기 Fried Fish
2. 김치찌개 Kimchi Jjigae
3. 청국장 Cheonggukjang
4. 계란찜 Gyeran Jjim
5. 고등어조림 Spicy Fish Stew
6. 갈치조림 Spicy Fish Stew

I think they are popular for 생선구기 Fried Fish and 갈치조림 Spicy Fish Stew. Hence, we ordered the fried fish and spicy fish stew.

Yumsssss!!!

오모 !!!  They surprised us with a free steam egg!! 

The lady told me "Service".
너무 감사합니다, 이모 ^^
Kim finished up every bit of the banchan.
 She said the spicy fish stew was spicy but she couldn't resist having the gravy with rice.
The fried fish was simply awesome!Everything on this table tasted so good ^^

You can find big chunks of radish in it and I think it makes the gravy so tasty.
The radish tasted very good too!
Sweet and soft ^^
BTW, there's a lot of little bones on the fish so eat with care.

One of the best fried fish I have ever ate ^^
I must say that although the steam egg was on the house, it tasted really good!

1 Dec 2014 - More tax refund companies in Seoul

We went to the tax refund counter at Woori Bank in Myeongdong to claim our cash back.Only to realise there are more tax refund companies in Korea now! This map was pasted on the glass panel at the counter to show the location of the other 3 tax refund companies, whereby you can claim your cash refund in downtown Seoul. Very useful indeed. I'm sorry that my picture is too blur but just FYI. Just remember that you still need to go to the Airport custom to have your forms endorsed, otherwise the money will be deducted back from your credit card.

1 Dec 2014 - Freaking cold day at Namsan

We bought the round trip tickets for the cable car up to Seoul Tower.

I was very happy to see they cleared up all the unsightly plastic covers. My previous visit to Seoul Tower was a disappointment becos the place had become so unromantic with all the plastic covers..

 We took bus no. 5 from Namsan to Myeongdong. It was so freaking cold that we wanna find a hole to hide away from the cold. The cable car was closed for a indefinite period of time due to the weather. I am not sure if I heard the staff correctly.  I think he said we could get a refund but have to walk back to the cable car station to claim it. No way!! Its too cold and slippery to walk down. The refund was not important, we just wanna get back to Myeongdong asap. 

Lunch first!! I wanted to bring Kim to an eatery called, "一品香" for 짜장면. Kim suggested to walk faster becos the wind was too strong and that means SUPER　COLD!!! We ran and hopped inside this eatery called, "夜來香" assuming that it was the eatery I wanted to go.  Both "夜來香" and "一品香" are located along the same row but I think "一品香" is located on the second level. Both eateries are very near the eatery, 개화 (開花)  which I have visited previously.

Sze Chuan soup noodle

                       

Feels so good to have this bowl of hot and spicy 해물짬뽕, Haemul Jjampong on cold day like this.
Haemul Jjampong was a bit spicy for Kim but she couldn't resist the tasty soup.
Kim finished up every bit of the 짜장면 Jjajangmyeon including the onions!!
In fact, I think she ate more onions in Korea than in SG.

1 Dec 2014 - Can't believe our eyes!!! Can't believe our luck!!!

Heavy snow with strong wind.
It was darn cold that morning or rather the entire day.
Hate it or love it!
Hate it cos the ground got so slippery.
Love it cos it was so beautiful.
We walked cautiously towards Namsan Park.
Guess what we saw next????????
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Tadaaaa!!! 

We saw some set ups for filming but didn't think much about it.I asked Kim if she wanted to stay and see what are they going to film. Just when I finished my words, we saw 유재석, 이광수 AND AND ANDDDDD 김우빈 walking towards us!! OMGGGGgggggggggggggg!!!! We were dumbfounded with what we saw right in front of us!! Kim loves to watch 런닝맨 and you bet this encounter was the highlight to her for this trip. There were not many people when these guys appeared and we were so near to them!! Omggg... Trust me 광수 is really quite good looking! Not long later, the rest of the members from 런닝맨 joined them.  오모 !!!!

안녕오빠 ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

More people gathered around when they realised 런닝맨 in Myeongdong!!

멋있다....
Actually, I don't really take much notice of 김우빈 although he is famous.
But he is so good looking that I could not let him out of my sight ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ

Hang on there!!! 화이팅!!!

The snow got heavier during the filming but filming continued without any hiccups. It was super duper cold with the strong wind blowing. Despite the heavy snow and strong wind, the crowd dispersed only after all the members have left. Certainly a memorable day for Kim & I ^^ Have you catch this episode of 런닝맨? Thereafter, we walked over to Namsan. 

1 Dec 2014 - At last! My red velvet cake ^^

We went to 고르드 at Myeongdong for breakfast before heading to Seoul Tower.

I sweared that I will come back for its Red Velvet in my previous trip and here I am!!

So tempted to order another slice of cake but my little Kim said she couldn't eat so much ㅠㅠ We love the white icing which had a buttery taste. The cake was alright but I preferred cakes with a moist texture.

The snow got heavier although the weather forecast said light snow.

We could feel the Christmas mood by enjoying the X'mas songs playing in the cafe, looking out the window admiring the beautiful falling snow and sipping a cup of hot latte.

很有feel lor!!!!