Exploring Downtown Seoul, South Korea

Pyeongtaek-si temperature that day was -2 degrees Celsius. Our Korean friend said, it's good to go out since there was a bit sun out. For a regular Filipino who rarely experiencing this kind of extreme coldness, it was an exciting event for me. Though three days after I was there, I haven't really tried to go out for that long since most of the time I was in an office, in a car, hotel, mall or train where a heating system is on. Armed with thermal leggings, thick pants, a cotton sweatshirt, a leather jacket, a parka and scarf (which felt a bit heavy for me), I was excited to finally roam some parts of Seoul, the capital of South Korea. 

A Twosome Place is one of the coffee shops with a lot of branches around South Korea, locals consider it as a close competitor of the famous Starbucks. 

We left Hotel Bene at around 9AM, with a little bit of sun, our Korean friend Mr. Shin asked us to stop for a coffee on a nearby block. There are a lot of coffee shops from where I was staying, I admit I had a little regret of not trying some of them because of the limited time and unlimited Maxim instant coffee in the hotel. The shop was a bit specious, surprised that we were the only customers there. I ordered the usual frappucino and yes, it was good. The cake was awesomely delicious. We just stopped for a few minutes to take some photos and off we went to our little journey to Seoul. 


Inside Mr. Shin's Kia Grand Carnival GLX was one of the best joyride I had; well, aside from being in a high-end car, with a wonderful view outside, with the heated seat that relaxes your butt, with a top car window (or whatever they call it); being out to see a lot of things from Pyeongtaek-si to Seoul was a wonderful experience. It took us about an hour to Seoul. Most of the Korean people have cars, some were just parked elsewhere. South Korea as we all know manufactures top cars in the world and owning one is not that hard, even factory workers who are minimum wage earners own a car which any ordinary Filipino cannot usually have. So I took a lot of pictures with cars along the way, car-spotting was more like it. 

Amazed by South Korea's modern architectural designs 

We met Mr. Shin's wonderful family, had a quick lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Their home is located near the Prime Minister's house in an uphill. Like the usual houses  I saw on Korean TV series, we were on an uphill climb. Met his three awesome kids and beautiful wife, being with a Korean family feels like home. 

Meeting the Shin Family 

At a Chinese Restaurant with a photo-bombing cook 

Everything was so foreign to me (of course). I don't see a lot of palaces, big gates and tall buildings everywhere in my country so I tried to memorize everything I saw in South Korea. I have seen the famous Namdaemun Gate, Gwanghwamun Gate, the statue of the Hangul founder King Sejong, entered Deoksugung Palace, some shrines, subways and others. When you read about their historical past, I admire South Korea even more. 

Interesting and beautiful Deoksugung Palace 

Shopping may be one of a girl's hobbies and believe me, when I entered Shinsegae, I wished I was a millionaire. If I was a Shopaholic, this would be my everyday destination. Seoul Tower is visible at a distance. It was a bit disappointing. I couldn't go there since it was a bit foggy and our time was limited. 

Shinsegae and Seoul Tower

My feet ached from walking. Coldness has reached my skin even with my layered clothes. I lost track of the names of the streets and intersections we were in. We also went thru a traditional market, which I unfortunately forgot the name, I think it was Dongdaemun or Namdaemun Market.  Shop a little souvenirs and eat some traditional street food, I had fun.

Typical day at their traditional market

We had our dinner at one of the restaurants at Insadong Street. It was one of the busiest streets I've ever seen. There was a section where all sorts of handicrafts, jewelries, kikay stuff and other souvenir shops.  I have captured a lot of things  ---  from people, shops, food, lights, buildings and experience the typical life they had there. 

Colorful  lights at Insadong Street

I was able to roam a small part of Cheonggye Plaza, where the Cheonggyecheon Stream was located. The plaza was amazingly lit. Bright lights from buildings and from the stream adds the romantic ambiance of the place. I was amazed at how the people of South Korea were able to preserve it. 

Colorful Cheonggyecheon Stream and Jong-Ro Tower

My day ended with a happy heart. Though I was not able to capture the whole Seoul, but at least I was able to see some parts of it.  I was amazed at how people preserved parts of their pasts, though some left a very painful memory during those past wars, hardships and all those foreign invasions. The country has been able to gather itself from all those hardships and emerged as one of the promising countries of the world. I was glad I was able to share some sites with you. 

Ocean Suites : Serenity at its best

Solitude, a word that sounds lonely and isolated, shutting yourself off with the rest of the humans. But some people who are pretty occupied with work, stress and anything that consumes them  find ways to revive themselves, anything to get themselves back. Isolate themselves from the world, it is true that solitude matters; for some people, it's the air they breathe. I don't believe unhappy people often isolate themselves; there are some people who find simple happiness alone with nature.

I was home for the weekend. I had to admit that being at home is always a relief for me : no phone calls associated with work that could ruin your day, my mind is free from always thinking of ways to improve managing the operation and the people, no paperwork to work on, no meetings to attend to.  Just pure bliss at home, enjoying my family whom I miss the most and playing with my adorable  baby nephew.

She appeared smaller from the outside but looks can be deceiving, so I've heard.

One fine Sunday afternoon, I decided to isolate myself from people, er, not literally people per se, but I wanted to be with nature for a few hours  -- with a cup of coffee, of course. Ocean Suites was my destination that day. 

Relaxing, isn't it?

Talicud, Island Garden City of Samal

Mark has been urging me to go to Talicud Island. So when his birthday came, he decided to bring the whole family, picked me up in Cebu  to experience this interesting island. 

It is true that you got to have a lot of patience getting here.  The trip was a bit exhausting but once you get to Kaputian Port, you can now glance at what lies ahead of you. 

White sand beach front at Kaputian Port

When we arrived at Sta. Cruz Port in Talicud, the port water was  clear, unlike the usual ports I've been to. School of fish can be seen at a distance, water color ranges from green to deep blue.  A small motorized boat took us to a private resort. Having been born in Bohol Island, the usual view is always normal for me, but when I got to Talicud, it was another awesome experience. 

Sunday 2PM Cafe : Cafe with a Twist

I am a coffee-addict.  

I love coffee. I cannot last a day without coffee. 

Trying everything with coffee and it seems to be my way of life. 

My craving includes frequent visits from different coffee shops in the city or wherever I go. 

When I heard about a new Korean-owned cafe called Sunday 2PM located on the ground floor of Sarrosa Hotel in Cebu, I scheduled a Sunday trip to see what this cafe can offer. After our Kadasig Festival Photowalk, my coffee-buddy and I decided to chill for a while trying to regain our drained energy for that day. 

The floor space was  smaller than what I saw in pictures and compared to some usual coffee shops I've been to. There were shelves of books, manga, magazines and other reading materials to read on. A lot of little Polaroid pictures lined up on the walls, some  hanged like little clothes on a clothes-line,  hundreds of post-its everywhere, cute little wooden tables and chairs, cozy Korean music and I find it relaxing; I like it. 

Colorful, isn't it?

Some people find it a bit messy, I find it  cute

And this? A big thumbs-up!

                          

Cafe Noriter : A Playground

Saturday afternoon. I stumble upon this cafe called Cafe Noriter, a korean-owned cafe located at One Acacia Unit 10 and 11, Archbishop Reyes Ave Cebu City,  just a walking distance from Ayala Center Cebu. Since the name appeared foreign to me, of course searching it on the internet is tempting ---- and it means "playground" in Hangul. When my coffee buddy, Jocelyn and I came in, the name itself explained it well for me. 

There were post-its on the walls and even on the ceilings, plush toys everywhere, shoes on the floor and pictures everywhere. A playground, it is. I remember another Korean cafe called Sunday 2PM Cafe at Sarrosa Hotel, the ambiance was like this, only this is a bit bigger and not so quiet. I was thinking, since these are all Korean-owned, how come I wasn't able to get into this kind of setting when I was in South Korea? 

With freebies and discounts 

We got ourselves a mug of hot  and cold latte. It was as good as the price itself, worth it. On the counter, they were giving away some cards; like when you gather about 10 stamps from ordering drinks, you got yourself some discounts on your next drink or the staff could take a photo of you, print and hang it somewhere within the premises. Quite inviting isn't it? 

Everyone's talking about La Vie Parisienne

So, I heard about La Vie Parisienne.  Actually, I first saw it in a location shoot for an episode of MagTV, a local magazine TV show in Cebu. The pink trees intrigued me a lot and thought, this place is worth a try. 

When our boss told us that it's time for us to "unwind" (short word for our monthly team weekend-bonding at the office), this place first came to my mind. His first plan was for us to get pampered at a spa, but some of us wants to go on a pigging-out spree and the boys on a regular relaxing and drinking session talking about mostly nothings. When I shouted " I want to go to La Vie Parisienne!",  I won. 

I just love the pink lights at La Vie Parisienne at night

After dinner, the group went straight to 371 Gorordo Avenue Lahug Cebu City. La Vie Parisienne is a French deli, bakery and has a wine library. My boss who happens to be a regular  here says this is owned by the Lhulliers who has their own vineyard in France. We got there at around 9:00PM and the place was not surprisingly crowded. Cherry blossoms replica adds a bit of excitement for the first timers here. 

A lot of wines to choose from

I went directly to the bakery where the Wine Library was located and I was so excited by the time I opened the door. There were people enjoying their wines inside, as my colleague said, it's a first-come, first-serve basis when you want to stay at the wine library. I took that in mind, and so when I came back, it was easy. It was surprisingly smaller than I thought. The cellar looked bigger on some photos I saw. 

... of rainy days and cup noodles

Oh I miss you Mr. Sun, please come back! 

I haven't seen the sun for days now. The temperature dropped from the usual 32°C to as low as 22°C.  I enjoyed my morning hike; loving the cool breeze kissing my cheeks. With raindrops dripping on our rooftop, almost every night, sleep had  been a comfortable one. The weather makes me hard to get up in the morning. Drowsiness has been my constant visitor at midday.  And I wanted to hit the sack earlier than the usual schedule at night. 

It rains almost every night, making the coldness even colder. The raindrops dripping like a baby singing little songs to sleep. A tropical storm, Agaton adds to the scene, makes my whole week grayish. Those nights when I had to bring work at home, coffee is my best companion. Waking up in the middle of the night which usually makes me end up writing, eating cup noodles happens to be my usual scene. Cool northeastern winds causes this coldness since December. This winter monsoon coming from Siberia, Mongolia and Northern China causes my colder nights. 

... but I miss the Sun.