South Korea: Day 2 and Day 3

It's been a long time since and this time I am going to try to walk down memory lane. My second day in Korea was a bit gloomy as the weather was not really that good. We didn't want to go out in a rainy weather so I stayed indoors while my sister did her school activities at Seoul National University. I wanted to go with her but I didn't have enough sleep yet due to work schedule. Talk about going on a trip and bringing along work with you! That's just me!

While at home, my former boss called me for a possible meet up. He also didn't like to go out in a gloomy weather so we scheduled some other days.

My third day came and fortunately, the weather was really nice! My sister decided to show me COEX Mall's Starfield Library in Gangnam, Seoul. After getting off the train, she mentioned that this place is where most KPOP fans gather to have a glimpse of their favorite KPOP stars. Well, the walls are filled with TV Screens with Korean famous actors' faces on them.

The structure of these buildings are so fascinating it seems your photo is not enough to tell how good it is! Well, it will never be enough though!

Since the sun was too hot, we were too in hurry to go inside the mall. My sister is scared of the sun. hahaha! She's lived in Korea for so long she already adapted the Korean culture. As for me, I love the sun due to the fact that I rarely go out and enjoy it. I am living a hermit life which makes me stuck in my home office with my eyes glued on the computer screen. There are time I am being reminded to take my morning coffee outside the house just to catch the first rays of the sun. LOL!

Upon entering the COEX mall, I was stunned by this ginormous library! I was told it's 13-meter tall with more than 50,000 books in them! I was in owe!

Starfield Library is really fascinating my mind goes into thinking, "this must be a good place to work."

Time is running so fast in South Korea for me so we moved on and went to Seoul Forest. Can you imagine there is a forest in the middle of big city? Yes, there is, in Seoul, South Korea!

Even the locals are enjoying the nice weather, there are so many of them when we went there. 

This flower stood out from the rest. It's just so beautiful and so big plus my favorite color I wanted to pick one and bring it home. Haha! But of course, I'm a very good tourist so I just took a lot of photos of it in different angles!

I was trying to capture the bee but then again, I kept cursing myself for not bringing my tripod, again! 

When two photographers go together, expect for stolen shots since both are busy taking photos! haha!

So we ended up having selfies together. 

This grass as I call it, is just so picture perfect but difficult to get a good one since it's just grass! LOL! But you gotta try no matter!

This one is famous for reflection photography but then again, I didn't bring my tripod I can't hold my breath for that long to get a clear photo so this is the best I can get. 

There are many couple who were doing prenup photo shoots here so I had to be fast in taking photos. I would like to take a stolen shot of those couples but I might be sued if it got posted! 

My second attempt in getting a reflection photo but still not successful! No tripod! At this point, I gave up!

I'm not photogenic so let's play hide and seek, well, unless you are a very good photographer. 

These are just some of the things I saw in Seoul Forest that fascinated me.

After we got tired of going around here, we went to Understand Avenue. It is a shipping container store which brings support to teenagers, artists and local vendors. It consists of 115 shipping containers and of which offers various things from foods to coffee shops and arts. 

I think it's an awesome concept for aspiring entrepreneurs. We could have gone around more but the heat of the sun is already unbearable for both of us at this time. 

After a long, tiring yet fulfilling day, we decided to take a rest and enjoy a cup of coffee near my sister's place at BEOLS Floral Factory and Cafe.

Nothing is more relaxing than the combination of the coffee aroma and the flowers. Imagine drinking a cup of coffee while you are smelling those flowers on top of your coffee cup! 

If you just want to relax and forget how your day went, I highly recommend this place in Seoul! 

South Korea: Day 1

Incheon International Airport to Nakseongdae where my sister lives is 58 minutes away by subway. I repeat, I am tired due to lack of sleep but of course, my feet still kept going. I have trouble with train cards all the time and I told my sister about that. She assured me I only needed to swipe! haha! I was relieved. I really don't know but when I went to Taiwan and Hong Kong, I always have may train cards eaten! I feel like I am cursed when it comes to trains! haha!

Finally, after almost falling asleep on the train, we have reached our destination. I was praying the station is near my sister's apartment because I really wanted to rest my feet. Yeah, it is near but the slopes was killing me! 

Alley to my sister's apartment 

We rested for about an hour as my sister was also tired. We have decided to go out and go some places nearby so we can go home right away when we feel tired.  But before that, I ate another kind of ramyeon with bok choy! I so miss this vegetable! 😭

We decided to see Lotte Tower and then go to Olympic park and watch the sunset. Well, the sun goes down at around 7 pm! I was totally lost in time! 

Lotte Tower. Photo Taken across the street

It seems near since the subway is fast enough. However, it took us 11 stations with 1 transfer before we reached Lotte Tower. 

My sister loves taking photos as well as pausing for photos but I only love taking photos. LOL! She would always ask me to pause for a photo. Unfortunately, I am so bad at it. 😔

Closer Shot

After feeding my eyes with tall buildings, we decided to go to Olympic park which is another train ride. I was already loving the train at this point. haha!

A lot of people seemed to be going here to unwind as well since it was weekend. A city with lots of trees! It's like a combination of the city and the countryside. It's just a wonderful place to take a walk, play with your kids, ride a bike or just simply forget about your worries.

The view was just so amazing I took not just one photo but three! Black pink was scheduled to have a concert on that day. My in laws who are into KPOP would have loved it! 

The park has so many statues everywhere. They are just so nice to see especially most of them are under those so green trees! I wonder how they look like during the winter season. hahaha! 

We were sitting on a bench with this view during this time. Watching the sky go dark and eventually the lights from the Olympic Stadium started to illuminate. 

It was a very tiring day however, the scenery is just so spectacular I don't want to go home yet. But we still have a long day tomorrow so we decided to head home, of course, by the subway! 

South Korea: A Sprint To The Plane!

It's been a long time since my desire to visit Seoul until it finally came. Although I didn't expect my visa to be approved,  I found myself sprinting to the boarding gate as the plane is almost departing.

Sprinting? Why? I cannot write all the details as to why I needed to run as fast as I could to the boarding gate while carrying an almost 7 kilogram backpack. Simple answer: I live and I flew from a third world country where life is so slow even the immigration officer seems to be still sleepy and just don't care even if the people waiting in line are almost in tears afraid of missing their flight.

Who wouldn't sprint to catch the flight if you are going to land at the second best airport in the world? Incheon International Airport!

I was dead tired due to lack of sleep as I still needed to work the night before my flight. I was asleep the whole flight except when I had to wake up to eat my in-flight meal. When I reached Incheon, taking photos was completely forgotten; good thing I was able to get these.

Incheon International Airport: On the way to immigration counter

Arrival: While waiting for my sis to pick me up

Those flowers could have been the spirit of spring despite the fact that I already anticipated cherry blossoms is over. Anyhow, I have expected to enjoy the cool weather of spring!

The long wait which I categorize as chaos back in Ninoy Aquino International Airport almost made me give up. My mind was already thinking of re-booking for the next flight but still I made it! I was beyond happy when I get to have my passport stamped with a visa to an OECD country! 

I cannot write everything in one go, no matter how I customize it, thus the next about the whole trip will be up soon!