seoul 2016 – visual diary one

i know i used to say bangkok was my favourite city – i mean it still is – but ever since stepping foot onto the grounds of seoul, i must say i've had quite a change of heart. three months have passed since we returned, and i miss seoul so much T.T we had been in jeju for a couple of days before that, and i didn't think i would enjoy it (cos yknow, countryside. bleh), but it was surprisingly ok. it was nice to take a break before the real shopping started in seoul! we climbed a couple of mountains, drank way too much hot chocolate, ate one too many mackerels... it was way fun.

we took a flight from jeju to seoul, before switching over to the high speed rail train to get over to the city centre. by the time we got to our airbnb, we were starving and it was so damn cold! here are the visuals taken from our 10 days in the glorious city; if you've never been, i hope it makes you want to go. and if you've been there before, i hope it makes you want to return!!!

 

samgakji – our home for 10 nights. the view around 6am was just so magnificent. beautiful pantone-in-the-sky colours, the cool morning air rushing in through the open windows, and you see your boyfriend sleeping soundly (might have a spot of drool, who knows) ... everything felt almost perfect. until my stomach started growling 😅

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ehwa woman's university – walking down the campus alone gives you a great sense of achievement and empowerment; i was so in awe of the environment. i think it's a seoul thing yknow. everything connects to my ~*soul*~

on the topic of empowerment, i must note that the only thing i was proud of that day was taking off my coat in the cold to take a few outfit photos becos #vain.

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brera, dongho-ro – food was decent, atmosphere was nice, people were friendly. baby at the next table didn't cry, so hip hip hurray for that. hashtag blessed 😷

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shake shack, gangnam – yall know how fussy i can be about food. i only eat beef that's been stewed to the point where the meat falls off easily; chicken that's deep fried or boiled, but without skin and fats; prawns done the tempura style, but not any other way; fish that's deep fried with a crumb-coat, no skin and bones pls. i would not even eat burger king's mushroom swiss burger cos of the smell of the meat, but THIS. SHAKE SHACK RULES THE WORLD.

maybe it was the fact that i was in a foreign country and we don't have shake shack in singapore. maybe it was the cold winter air, knocking sense into my head. maybe the burger was just too good to resist. we went back there twice in a week. the peanut butter shake was so good! and also, they were so into hygiene!!! every time someone leaves the table, a service stuff would swoop by to spray the surface area with detergent before giving it a good wipe down. lavvit.

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scentlier, hongdae – calling all scent-thusiasts (ha-ha!!!!) (am i the only one who appreciates my own pun), this is THE place to be. the cosy store is nestled in one of the busiest districts in seoul, and chancing upon it was like a dream come true. the entire place just smelt like heaven, and the sales associate was this really friendly girl who tried to help me make a better decision, but she couldn't speak english and i couldn't speak korean. so we were both like "urh!" "eh?" "oh, no no no!" "ah, yes!" and "*fervent nodding of the head*". yup.

to her credit, she did know certain english words so our conversation didn't sound like two people grunting at each other hahaha. she was so cute. i spent about 120,000 won in the store, and boy do i wish i had more money to get something for myself.

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leeum, samsung museum of art – architecture is top grade in seoul, just like their cafe culture and visual aesthetics. the museum, and the buildings in the vicinity, were like modern/contemporary works of art – clean lines and calm disposition. we visited the olafur eliasson show, and it was so thought provoking. couldn't take photos inside, and i don't wanna upload iphone photos here, but you can always visit their instagram for more visuals.

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stylenanda pinkpoolhotel, myeongdong – it's impossible to get a good shot in here, unless you lower your standards and make do with someone else's limb in the corner of your photo, or a blurry figure of someone moving past behind you. but it's still a very very very beautiful place, and it's pink T.T i love pink T.T everything is gorgeous T.T

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original pancake house, itaewon – on the morning that we had brunch here, it snowed! snow is so cute. and also gross, since it's technically dirty water. anyway. this '50s american diner served massive pancakes!! there were lots of locals as well as military people, and the place was buzzing with energy.

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kkanbu chicken, gangnam – you don't simply step foot into korea without indulging in chimaek (beer and fried chicken). the chicken tenders were so crispy on the outside, and juicy inside. portions were also very big, and it didn't help that i'd had two servings of pastries and an iced latte with a friend at a cafe just an hour ago. but well, you do what you gotta do. p.s. kkanbu is a chain restaurant, so it should be fairly easy to find an outlet.

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le alaska, garosugil – said friend from the above (hello noonji!!!) and i had some really delicious pastries here. many of the items were already sold out, but the ones that we'd had was so good. i loved the place so much that danial and i came back here again on an early morning to have breakfast.

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mr holmes bakehouse, apgujeong – yet another of my favourite pastry place. we went back twice, no surprises there. the strawberry scone was so damn good, i had half the mind to buy some back home to singapore!!!! but alas on our last day i was left with just enough to cover emergency food needs at the airport, so the scones couldn't come with me T.T

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these are more or less the few places i would return to again and again. i'm pretty sure you'd be able to pull up a quick google search on a more extensive list of where to go and eat, so please don't take this as a guide of any sort! in a separate post i'll share the rest of the visuals taken during the trip.

bye!