Wanted to go for a place that is not too hot and neither too cold.
Therefore, we decided to postpone our honeymoon to October despite having married back in May. The chosen destination was Seoul (Annyeonghaseyo).
We brought my parents along for our honeymoon. Some may say it is a honeymoon, should be spend only by the couples. But hey, it is better to travel with a lot of people so we could try more variety of food and we can take turn to take photos instead of doing selfie. It is also because my parents have not been to Korea, so its killing two birds with one stone.
Day 1 (12 Oct 2013) - Singapore to Seoul
Flight
After contemplating between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, we have decided to book the latter. We took 22.40 flight from Changi Airport (Singapore) and reached Incheon International Airport (Seoul) on the next day at 06.00 am (local time - Seoul is 1 hour ahead of Singapore).
Airport Railroad Express (AREX)
There are several ways to travel out from Icheon International Aiport such as AREX, Seoul Metropolitan Subway, Airport limousine buses and taxis.
AREX is similar to MRT in Singapore where it links the International Airport to downtown.
There are 2 types of AREX fare:-
1) Express Train (43 mins to Seoul Station)
2) All-stop Train (56 mins to Seoul Station
To take AREX Train, follow the yellow sign down to the Airport Transportation Center which is located at B1.
Review : The train was clean and there were plenty of spaces to put our luggage. Overall it was a nice experience.
Prior to taking AREX Train, we have purchased our T-money (similar to Ez-link card in Singapore). in the convenience store located outside the arrival hall. T-money is a transportation card which is used for public transportation (i.e. subway and bus) as well as taxis. It is cheaper to pay your journey with T-money rather than paying with cash. For more details on T-money and where to purchase them could be found in Korea Tourism Website.
T-money's picture is shown on the right. O yeah, we passed by this small cafe called Happy Plus Store at City Hall Station when we were on our way to our hotel and decided to stop by to rest and had their drink. Oooo boy, i love the matcha latte.
I was contemplating between Hotel Aropa and Hotel Metro. I always like new hotel as its cleanliness is still guaranteed and Aropa was newly opened in the beginning of 2013. However Hotel Metro was a highly recommended hotel in TripAdvisor. Hence i decided to book Aropa Hotel for 1 night and remaining days at Metro Hotel.
Hotel Aropa is located at Line #1, #2 City Hall Station, Gate 7 with walking between (1-2 mins as per its website in http://www.hotelaropa.co.kr/main.php?e1=e13). Please note that there was only stairs at Gate 7(no escalator).
Review: The hotel is tucked not far from the main road and there are plenty of restaurants from walking distance. The room was clean and the receptionists were friendly and helpful when we asked for direction. It is not a big room but i can say it is sufficient for 2 people.

Food - Samgyetang (삼계탕)
Once we checked into the Hotel, we decided to have Samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken Soup) at Koryeo Samgyetang (고려삼계탕).
I have spent a lot of time reading blogs and reviews to shortlist nice food in Seoul and this place is one of them.
Directions: Subway Exit 10 of Subway line 1, 2 Cityhall. From Korean Air head office proceed 50m toward Sinchon. Across from Shinhan Bank, next to Woori Bank
Review: It was my first time trying Samgyetang and i found it quite bland. Maybe it was my taste as i was used to strong taste since i am from Indonesia. Believe it or not, Samgyetang is now my favourite soup back in Singapore. Maybe i should try Samgyetang in Seoul again to see if i would like the taste now.


OOOooo if you are wondering, its my hubby and i are standing in front of the restaurant. You will see more of us (wink*).
Places to visit
1) Deoksugung Palace
Once we have filled up our tummies, we continue our exploration with our feet. This palace is quite small but its central location attracted us as it is only walking distance from our lunch place.
Open : Everyday (excluding Monday) from 0900 - 21.00
Admission Fee: 1,000Won/pax
Directions: City Hall Station Line 1,2, Exit 2.
For more details on the palace could be found in Korea Tourism Website.
According to Seoul Subway map, Jonggak Station is only 1 station away from City Hall Station.
Our next 2 destinations are located in Jonggak Station, hence we decided to walk instead of taking Subway since the weather is super nice...It was cooling even in the afternoon.
The plus point of walking was we could explore more of Seoul as shown in pictures below.
Introducing my beloved parents in above pic. Do i look more like my mom or dad???






After all the walking, we have burned some fats and need some replenishment.
Time to try the Korean Street Food (Yummy,,,,,)
(a) Corn Dog / Gamja Hot Dog (감자핫도그)
(b) Korean Deep Fried Vegetables
(c) Egg Bread/ Gyeran-Bbang (계란빵)

(d) Sweet Korean Pancake/ Hotteok (호떡)
(e) Sushi
Finally we have reached our second destination.
2) Insadong
This place is where art lovers would loved to visit. There are a lot of galleries which feature traditional Korean fine art.
The reason we came here was to buy our shuttle bus tickets to Nami Island. There are a lot of other ways to go to Nami Island as mentioned in the Official website of https://namisum.com/en/location/.
For ticketing, we purchased from Insadong office which is located at 3FL, Gallery Sang, 17 Insadong-gil, Jongno-gu. More pictures will be shown when we go this place for shopping at later date.
3) Jogyesa Temple
Once we have purchased our tickets, we continue to our next destination.
Jogyesa Temple is the center of Zen Buddhism in Korea and is famous for being located in the city.
Look at the pictures below and you would understand why we we came here, especially for my mom who love flowers.
4) King Sejong Statue
I saw this statue from The Running Man show (Korea Variety Show) and included it inside my itinerary.
This place is located at City Hall. Now have you realised the reason i booked Hotel Aropa??? Bingo....because it is easier to explore nearby places.
The Statue was built to pay a tribute and honour King Sejong. He is best remembered as the inventor of Hangul, the Korean alphabet. The Statue is built right in the the middle of City Centre.
Look at my pictures below and u know what i meant.



There is also a museum built for King Sejong which is located just right behind the Statue.
I love the artistic umbrellas which i found when we were walking down the basement.
For dinner, we decided to settle with any restaurant that we passed by before we proceed to go for our Night City Tour Bus.For more details on the itinerary of the bus tour and the prices, please refer to the Korea Tourism Website. I do not post any pictures of the tour they are blur.
Review: Will i go again? No. Do i regret? No. It was a good eye-opening to see Seoul during night time.. What a better way to see all those than joining the Night bus tour. It is a tourist thing but hey, we go there for sightseeing, so just go and see.
Thank you for reading my first day in Seoul, second day could be found in the next blog.