Lotte World

Pororo! On the day that we visited Lotte World, there were lots of Pororo statues around at the mall area. Each Pororo was doing different activity and they were really adorable!

This building, known as Lotte World Tower, is in the midst of construction and it will be the tallest building in Korea and the fifth tallest building in the world! Standing at 555m tall, it has 123 levels with the tallest man-made observation deck! 

Totoro! 

Pucca!

Here we go!

Carnival show

Lotte World has both indoor and outdoor rides. The outdoor rides are more thrilling but the queues for each ride are also longer. There's Gyro drop, Gyro spin, haunted mansion and a speeding roller coaster, which is a roller coaster running at the fastest speed ever.

Gyro Drop (cue Seventeen's song)

Indoor

This is the roller coaster with the fastest speed. It's so fast, the whole ride feels like merely 5 seconds. Although it looked as though the T-Express at Everland is more scary, this is also on the same level of adrenaline. You don't need a steep and tall drop, you need speed. Prepare your voice to scream. I screamed more for this ride than T-Express. The seat for this roller coaster is also really special. With a seat like a motorbike, you'll feel like you're speeding on a motorbike. And it kind of feels insecure with just a safety barrier on your waist. But the ride is awesome!

Night view

There is an ice-skating rink within the theme park, but the theme park ticket does not include ice-skating. To ice-skate, you will have to purchase the ticket just for ice-skating. However, I'm not sure if there is a combo ticket for both.

Lotte World has 3 versions of ticket. Likewise with Everland, Lotte World do not sell Express ticket, so everybody got to queue equally. If you do want to get the Express ticket, you could wait at special booths to collect the Express pass. But we always miss the timing, so we are not exactly sure how it works. Nonetheless, back to the main topic, there are 3 versions of tickets: one is the full day ticket, which means starting from morning all the way to the night and thus, also the most expensive; another is the late noon ticket which means entrance at around 4pm, so you have lesser time, but the ticket will be cheaper; and last but not least, the night ticket which means entrance at around 6-7pm. This will be the cheapest ticket but the time is thus limited. 

We got to have further discounts as we took our flight by Korea Air, so we just showed them our boarding pass and got additional discounts. Do check out if you airline services provide discounts at Lotte World.

Han River at night

Towards the end of the day, we decided to head to the Han river to enjoy the night view.

On our way to the Banpo Bridge, we passed by a truck selling all these snacks. We bought a few and shared these. It's similar to what Singaporeans would call 'fishcake' with fillings inside. These snacks are really delicious and there are a variety of fillings to choose from. The Ahjumma and Ahjussi selling these snacks are also really friendly. They asked if we were going to the Han River and told us to enjoy ourselves. 

What better ways to enjoy a summer night, the picnicking along the Han river near the Banpo bridge?

You get to enjoy the view with the Banpo bridge rainbow fountain and the view beyond. The best thing is the fried chicken and 'cider'! You can order fried chicken and picnic along the Han river. The drinks available is only 'cider but it is actually Sprite/fizzy drinks, not the cider that we thought. 

Nonetheless, it was a totally different experience for us. Getting to order food along the river and have them delivered to us. It took some time for the delivery man to locate us, cause we couldn't communicate over the phone well (broken Korean from us and non-English speaking delivery man). Eventually, we were able to settle down and start our picnic! 

There are a few delivery men with their motorbikes (all from different fried chicken restaurants) waiting for people to walk by at the Han River, so you can choose which fried chicken restaurant you want to order from. The delivery is about 30-45 minutes. So if you're hungry, better start ordering.

While we were eating, there was a busking activity going on and the mood was marvelous. With the breeze and the soothing music, we waited for the rainbow fountain to begin. 

It was a unique experience for us since there is no such place along the Singapore river to picnic. 

Bukchon Hanok Village (near Gyeongbokgung)

Apple Fan here.

This is the most famous spot I guess, cause you can view the traditional houses and the city in the background all in one glance. 

I love the contrasting views this place give and the houses here are still in use, so please please please, be quiet and considerate. Do not venture into any house cause not all houses are open for the public! I've seen a few tourists entering randomly into other people's houses and it's really rude. Take note of the notices on the doors. I remembered there is one that is open for public. It is similar to a mini museum, they share a few facts and history about the place. 

A map of the whole village could be acquired from the tourist information center, located nearer to the train station. The map showed a few trail options and they are easy to follow. 

Due to the summer heat, after exploring Bukchon Hanok Village, we decided to have a quick snack at one of the cafes there. 

This area has quite a few nice cafes and restaurants. This cafe that we entered is small and cosy. It's called November (if my memory never fails me, I remember it is one of the month).

We ordered a few Patbingsoo to share among us to beat the sweltering heat. Love it. The Patbingsoo was cooling and sweet. 

It'll be perfect if we could chill here with a book, peering out the window once in a while. A lazy afternoon with a book. SO AWESOME. 

A special mention for this store here, called Granhand. It's a shop located in Bukchon Hanok Village, and there is a small sign at the front of the shop. The owner is a young and pretty lady in her 20s and she speaks fluent English. She hand-made the scents and fragrances that she is selling in this shop. 

The prices are decent and I actually bought a bottle of perfume from the shop towards the end of my exchange period. The perfume I got is called 'Judith Blacklock' and I love the scent cause it has the woody fragrance. I love woody scents. (Pardon me for diverging.) 

The best part is the customization available! You can use their stamps and stamp your name/initials on the bottle to make it your own! Such a special bottle. It would be good to present it as a gift for your loved ones. Imagine receiving a bottle of perfume with your name on it. Valentine's Day gift!

The owner and the shop attendants are really friendly. It's a shop worth checking out.

Tosokchon Samgyetang and Gyeongbokgung

This is the famous Tosokchon Samgyetang, which is Korea's traditional Ginseng Chicken. The menu is very simple and the Ginseng Chicken comes in a few forms (if I remember clearly). We ordered two versions of Samgyetang, one is the Black Ginseng Chicken and one is the White Ginseng Chicken. 

The price may be considered pricey, but since this is the famous Ginseng Chicken restaurant, we thought to give it a try. 

The Chicken contains rice and a full Ginseng within and before the dish is served, there is a petite cup containing alcohol, which is meant to be poured into the bowl. It is not a cup of tea/drink. So their purpose of separating the alcohol is unknown, but when my friend tried a sip of it, it was really strong. However, if you add it in, you can barely taste any alcohol. 

It is best to visit this restaurant early before the lunch crowd comes in. 

What I like most about Gyeongbokgung station is that there is always an exhibition at the station. Previously, when I went to Korea in 2014, this same area was exhibiting calligraphy. This time round, they were exhibiting these traditional artworks/paintings. It is very similar to the Chinese traditional paintings, the strokes and all. I'm not an artsy fartsy person, so I shall stop my compliments/comments, lest I made some mistake about these paintings. 

Here we are at the famous Gyeongbokgung. An entrance fee is required to enter, unless you wear traditional Hanboks, you can enter for free. There is a vocal guide, which you can listen to about the historical facts of the palace as you walk around, for rent. Many people often called it 'Gyeongbokgung palace', but it shouldn't be pronounced as that, according to my Korean friends. The last word 'gung' means palace, so saying 'Gyeongbokgung palace' is as though saying the word 'palace' twice. So you can either call it 'Gyeongbokgung' or 'Gyeongbok palace'. 

Gyeongbokgung is an iconic place, with Gwanghwamun (cue Super Junior Kyuhyun's song <At Gwanghwamun>) at the entrance of the palace and beautiful mountains at the back. This place is beautiful. Look at the mountains behind. So majestic!