KOREA (SEOUL, DMZ)

Alright, the plan was to pick a destination that would be a direct flight for us, won't need a visa, would be do-able in four days and a place where none of us (Me and my friend, Alka) had been to before. And there it was, Korea. South Korea, just to be clear ;)

Wearing a Hanbok

Here is our brief itinerary:

Day 1: Palaces, Ikseondong, Spa

Day 2: Gangnam District, Shopping, Spa, Michelin Dinner

Day 3: Day trip to DMZ. Seoul Tower.

Day 4: Squid Games Experience. Insa-dong Cafes, Massage, Gwanjong street food

Day 5: Myeongdong. Fly out 

Here is a quick list of Must Do before I share the details:

• Spa - 
• We got massages at a couple of place. Both were good. Just look at google ratings
• We got a facial at Korea Spa in Myeongdong. Was great!
• Dine - 
• At a Michelin star (whichever one you can find a reservation at)
• Street food @ Gwanjong
• BHC for their fried chicken
• Too many cafes, everywhere. And all of them are great! (get suggestions from tiktok)
• Shopping -
• Beauty: Shopped for our products at Oliver Young and Nature Republic
• Clothes: boutique shops, branded shops
• Accessories: The bling box
• See/Do -
• DMZ tour!
• Wear Hanboks to go see Gyeongbokgung Palace.
• Ikseon-dong neighborhood for the cutest cafeterias ever!
• Starfield library and iconic Gangnam statue
• Walk around the Myeongdong neighborhood at night- so lively!
• Nightime tour of palaces (we couldn't get a reservation)
• Squid Games Experience (if you are a fan, else you could skip)

Day 1: Typical touristy day

At the Gyeongbokgung Palace

Our first day after an early morning flight had to be a typical touristy day. You must start at Namdaemum Gate and then walk straight towards the Gyeongbokgung Palace. This a lively neighborhood and you will see statues, small palaces, fountains on your way to the palace. Once here, ask for a Hanbok rental place and before you go in, rent Hanboks. There are many many shops with a lot of variety. We picked a place which offered pastel colored hanboks and also hairdos and accessories. If you are interested, you could also hire a photographer. If I ever visit with family, we will definitely all dress up and get pictures done. Also, entry to the palace is free if you are in traditional costumes. 

We made it in time for the changing of the guard ceremony that happens at 10 am and 2 pm every day. The palace is nice, and makes for beautiful pictures. There are mostly courtyards and once you move to adjacent courtyards, you will find them much less crowded and perfect for pictures. 

Ikseondong

From here you could take the east exit and walk down to the Changdeokgung Palace in your costume (if you have rented it for the entire day) or first return the costumes and then walk to this palace. When we went, parts of it were closed for renovation, but this is an older palace and people recommend visiting the secret garden. The walk takes you through the Bukchon Hanok Village which has old styled houses and lively little shops.  There is Jongmyo Shrine right next to this palace which you could visit to complete you day trip of historical palace in Seoul.

Now we decided to take a break and relax at Cafe Onion, which was close by. Oh my God, such a cute cafe and so many things to offer. From here on we walked to the Bukchon Hanok Village (which closes at 5 pm btw) and on our way stopped at Suwalhasee Cosmetic Store and Nature Republic to shop for some beauty products. 

Next we took a cab to Inseondong neighborhood. Cute little neighborhood with plenty little shops and so much to see and buy. You can get exhausted. And so were we, so we headed straight to a spa, we went to Korea Spa and got ourselves some premium package (which roughly translates to - a long massage and a facial). The massage was good but the facial was awesome. My skin kept glowing for the next few days. We had accomplished quite a lot and were ready to crash.

 

Day 2: Leftover touristy stuff

Gangnam Statue

In the morning we headed straight to the Bongeunsa Buddhist temple in the Gangnam area. Beautiful buddha statue. This place is quiet and calm. There are short trails to walk between temples and the statue and other things to see. You could spend and hour or so here. From here we walked to the Gangnam statue, took pictures, made videos and then went inside the mall to go see the Starfield Library. Wow, it is beautiful and definitely worth seeing. Yes, the library is worth seeing. 

We had planned on going to the Seoul forest from here, but we got lazy and headed back. On our way, we decided to get a hair spa done. And we checked with two most popular places, Juno here and Eco Jardin and Juno hair could get us in. We spent the next hour pampering ourselves and making our hair soft, smooth and healthy! It was quite relaxing and pampering.

Dinner @ Zero Complex

 

We were taking it easy today, so we headed to the hotel and took a break before we got ready for our Michelin Star restaurant dinner.  Alka had already made reservation for us at Zero Complex. Only trouble was, finding this place. It was located in a residential area and the cars don't go in those narrow streets, so we got down earlier and then we headed to the restaurant and got kind of lost, but well we made it in the end. The dinner was fabulous, what is it about Michelin star restaurants that they made their food so good! Zucchini so good, I could eat everyday.

Soulful and tummy-full day. 

Day 3: Day trip to DMZ. Seoul Tower.

Today was outsourced to a tourist company we booked through Tripadvisor. To visit DMZ, you can only go through a licensed tour operator as it is a militarized zone. We got picked up early in the morning from our hotel and our guide, Nancy was a really nice guide. She spoke English quite well and was funny too. First up, we went to the red suspension bridge. A bit of a hike to the bridge, and Mummy Papa would have called it a Lakshman Jhoola. 

Next up, we went to the peace village located at the border of the DMZ. You can grab something to eat here and take a gondola ride across the river to go to small area which is cleared for tourists. The history between the two countries is quite sad and reminds you of India-Pakistan in many ways. Unfortunately, North Korea is cordoned off from the rest of the world so the south Koreans can't meet their long lost relatives. 

Next up, we went to the third infiltration tunnel. There is a small museum and a tunnel that was discovered a few decades ago. I easily managed to go inside the tunnel and walk towards the DMZ area (even though I am somewhat claustrophobic). I was fine. This is where we got DMZ souvenirs and a few pictures taken. 

Ikseon-dong

From here we headed for lunch and then back to our hotels. We got back by 4 pm, so we decided to do the other touristy thing left on our list. Go to the Seoul Tower. We reached and realized there was an hour long wait for the gondola. Other option would be to hike the well paved way to the top, which I think would be fun. But we decided to wait and once at the top it gave us beautiful panoramic views of the city. This city is so vast, I had no idea. From here we took the elevator up the tower and the main attraction were the screens in the elevator. Seamless screens on five side. What an experience! This place is fun. There are cute little shops, restaurants and people hanging out on the weekend. A fun place for picnic I'd think.

We got hungry after a bit and headed straight o an Indian restaurant in Myeongdong, Taj. The restaurant was good and super popular as it was full. Luckily we didn't have to wait much. Once done, we spent time strolling around Myeongdong. It is so lively, with so many screens all around, it almost feels like a mini Vegas without the gambling, but all the bling. We walked to the Cheonggyecheon Stream. It is a cute little stream in middle of the downtown with makeshift cushion chairs and books to borrow and read. this place was cute and hip at the same time. Made for a perfect stroll before we headed back to our hotel to crash for the day.

Day 4: Squid Games and more

In the morning, our first order of business was to headed straight for the Squid Games Experience in in the Seongdong area. The experience is good, and makes for a fun time playing all the games, but I wouldn't give it 5/5. If you aren't into it, skip it. We had fun though, and then spent time walking around the neighborhood and grabbing coffee. 

Squid Games Experience

Next up, was Ikseon-dong for cute cafeterias. There are three or four parallel streets here which are filled with beautiful, cute cafeterias and restaurants. We had fun just walking around and going inside these cafes. We even got our Korean Kundlis read for fun. And then found an Italian restaurant for lunch. The food everywhere in Seoul has been really good, no matter the cuisine. The cafeterias and cute, picture worthy and food and coffee are excellent. 

From here we walked to a cute little pagoda temple in a park and then headed to Olive Young to finish our beauty products shopping. We then headed to Myeongdong for some more shopping. And then, we headed to a massage parlor, of course.

After a brief break, we decided to go to Gwangjong for some street food. Alka had some dishes saved from her tiktok feed and she knew exactly what to get and which stall to go to I guess. She was one happy soul while I quietly munched on my vegetarian sandwich.

Day 5: Buh-bye Seoul!

Myeongdong Cathedral

We were flying out today and had kept the Myeongdong Cathedral for the last. Both of us love cathedrals, and we spent our time taking pictures and then grabbing some light Indian lunch at Taj, which was right across the cathedral. This was our final chance to grab anything else that we wanted to to before heading to the airport.

At the airport, I wanted to get some duty-free whiskey, but looks like whiskey isn't really a thin gin Korean they prefer non Korean whiskey and gave me a surprised look when we asked for Korean whiskey. We had enough time here to get our TAX refund, which wasn't much, but then, still, we were owed that money. And then we got some currency through the exchange. So, we got everything done and were ready for our flight home after a soulful trip to Seoul.