#kokokorea First Afternoon

Since we were super tired from the flight, we decided to spend the rest of day 1 scouting the tourist spots nearby.  From our hotel, there are 2 palaces nearby and we also planned to go to the N Seoul Tower, where they say it's beautiful at night.

This was taken just outside our hotel.

Here we are at Changdeokgeong Palace, a UNESCO site.  

This was like 100 steps from where we were staying.  

Joc x Vange x Myself

The mandatory jumpshot being presented by the photobomber stage right.

We didn't enter the palace anymore because we wanted to catch the changing of guards ceremony at the Geongbokgung Palace.

We didn't know that we could walk from Changdeokgung to Geongbokgung so we took the train.

Trains were semi-clean and the train people were polite.

The architecture of the train station leading straight to Geongbokgung palace was made to look ancient also.

We caught probably 3 seconds of the ceremony so we took photos instead.

I was super scared to have my photo taken with them.

We decided to cross the street from the palace where there was a lot more to see.  

We love taking photos of us crossing streets so we were rushing to get a decent one -- I tripped (but didn't fall).

Fail.

I think this one is a bit better.  Moving on...

In front of the Geongbokgung Palace (with the special appearance of a random white car).

Walking walking.

#walangkokontra

It was almost dark when we got to N Seoul Tower in Mt. Namsan.  We had to take the train and the Namsan shuttle bus to get to the very top.  This is the famous landmark where couples "padlock" their undying love and devotion in the tower's viewing deck.   N Seoul Tower also offers panoramic views of the city which we got to enjoy over dinner.

Cuddle weather.

Emong was practicing framing.

He's still learning.

Stay tuned for day 2!

#kokokorea Getting There

Okay.  So, Tito Rex was once again responsible for booking our flight and hotel accommodations for this trip.  You have been warned, do not trust my math completely.  

From my knowledge, an Air Asia roundtrip ticket to Korea costs PHP 8,000-ish.  Backpacker hostels were from PHP 3,000-ish (for 4 people), while staying at a more decent hotel would cost around PHP 5,000 (for 2 people).  Our timing was semi-perfect as we caught the last leg of spring.  If you're planning a trip next year to drool at tulips and cherry blossoms, mid-April would perhaps be the best time (that, of course is just my assumption).

Our flight was at 2:00 AM on Black Saturday and the NAIA 3 airport was surprisingly busy.  Since it was a holiday, a lot of the food joints were closed so we ended up eating at a place serving Japanese food (I forget, but the gyoza there was super sulit) and getting takeaway from Jollibee.

NAIA 3 with Tito Rex and Kirk

The couple that zones out together, stays together -- FOREVER.

On another note:  Marshall headphones are a lot more practical than Beats.

Fast forward.  We arrived at 7:00 AM Korea time (they're ahead by an hour).

We missed Bimb, Vange and Kirk a lot!

Since there were 11 of us, we took the promo travel arrangements from the airport to our hotel.   It cost us KRW 11,000 per head.  That's around PHP 550 so it's definitely a steal.

Promo includes an express train ticket + big taxi and limousine taxi for 11 people.

From here, we could already feel the cold weather.

Outside, the sky was overcast.

Here we are at the limousine taxi.  It was a KIA Carnival that looked sosyal.

Since we arrived super early, we had to wait for check-in time.  We walked along Insadong (the pasalubong shopping place) and looked for a place to eat.  I forget the name of this place but they served okay food for around KRW 8,000.

The restaurant was tucked in this corner just outside the big building with more artsy stuff.

Unintentional photo bombing.  Check out his tote.

We call this the "awkward ice cream" because it was interesting to watch people eat it.  

We didn't get to try this for ourselves because it was freezing already.

Don't stop yourself from smirking.

This was the gang (Emong took the photo).  Count off!

When we got back to the hotel, it's still not time for check-in but YoungMan (the hotel manager) gave us free ice cream!

It was yummy!

We stayed at the Fortune Hotel in Jongno.  I highly recommend that you stay within that area since a lot of the tourist-y places are just a few (or a lot of) steps away!

Will tell you more about the trip soon!  

#kokokorea : The Teaser

Just got back to my beloved 32-degree city and am seriously dreading going back to work tomorrow.    

Black Saturday 2014 -- our group of 11 flew via Air Asia to South Korea, where we spent 5 days walking, eating, walking, walking and taking photos.  I will write about the entire trip -- just not tonight because I need to catch up on the HIMYM finale.  I think am the only human being on the planet who hasn't seen this.  Great job to me for successfully avoiding spoilers every-freaking-where.

Anyway, allow me to share with you my top 10 favorite photos for now.   

Teasers are LEGEN...wait for it...DARY.  Stay tuned!