My Plate Repost

I just read my old journal. 

It reads....

Dated Nov. 10, 2009

Title: My Plate

Do you know what funny is? I have been so tired for the past few days, with school, parties and work. It's time to put something straight in my life. Maybe a little less of the parties and more work and school. I am about to do some dramatic changes in my life for the coming months. It will be for the better. I can't tell you guys but one thing for sure, if all things go my way, I might not be here on my next birthday. By saying "here" means in this city. 

Finally, I know what I'm going to do with my life. Getting back to school and learning new tricks in engineering has always been so amazing lately. I know I have a lot of catching up to do but its never too late. I am preparing actually for an exam on March 2010 and by early next year, I'll be starting on my requirements for my admission for next year also. And there are tons of tons of people I'll be talking to. Time for me to go back to Ateneo and talk to my Profs. 

Life's really amazing and full of surprises. It's not perfect, and it will never will, but i am having fun. It's how you handle everything.

I am not going to worry about tomorrow. I will enjoy this wild ride.

Guess I did it. I am here.

Dreamy Seoul: Your Unofficial Guide to Food, Koreanovela and Winter Fashion

Destination: Seoul, South Korea

K-pop? Not exactly what I was hoping for but I was in it for the "whatever comes my way" attitude. I was like an empty cup ready for things to fill me in. What I'm more excited though is the weather. Winter. For someone who lives in a tropical country like me, winter is totally a different experience.

Myeongdong

Myeongdong-gil Main Street By Google Map

Myeongdong is the most strategic place for me to stay. I can see why my cousin likes the place very much. It is close to shops, foods and Lotte Mall. A lot of koreans and foreigners like myself come here for one reason, to shop. Shops like H&M, Etude, Zara, ABC Mart, Nike, New Balance, Adidas, Uniqlo and other korean brands. And Christmas, like most other cities in the world, Seoul is a discount haven.

Ibis Ambassador Hotel By Google Map

We stayed in Ibis Ambassador Hotel located along Namdaemun-ro for 7 days. It's a nice and clean hotel. I highly recommend this place. Room rates are reasonable and their bathroom is terrific. I forgot to take a picture but I am a bathroom kind of a guy. When I say its clean, it's really clean.

Like most travellers, "gastronomic" indulgence is on top of my list. I always like korean food and their wide arrays of sidedish. On our first night, we had our dinner in this traditional korean restaurant along Myeongdong 8-gil near Eulji-ro. But my favorite is the Twotwo Chicken. This is one of those accidental finds I share with my cousins. When you see a big pile of mouthwatering checkin cuts, we just go crazy. They serve generous serving of the best tasting garlic chicken in Seoul. They also have those authentic korean double fried chickens similar to Bonchon but richer in terms of taste. You have to find it. Its in Myeongdong 8-gil close to KFC.

First Korean Dinner

Christmas Eve Dinner at a Japanese Restaurant near the Hotel

Koreanovela

Heard of Coffe Prince? I am sure you all do. Thanks to the 5 year old map from a blog that I read, we got lost. To save you from that, take the subway and get off when u reached Hongik University Station and exit to gate 8, the blog said gate 4 (don't go there). You can just walk from the station. It is just a few blocks away. Refer to the map below.

You cant get inside if you want to take pictures only. So we decided to try out their best selling coffee so we could have our picture taking inside. We ordered cappuccino and white chocolate mocha with their best selling cake, the tiramisu. Surprisingly, the coffee is terrific. 

Coffee Prince Exterior

Inside Shot

Next stop is Nami Island. Even if you are not familiar with Winter Sonata like myself, you have to check out the island. We are not familiar how to get there, so we decided to take the tour. You can sign up online or ask for help at the hotel lobby you are staying in. The backdrop of the TV series is just breathtaking. Take a look.

Tita, Tito, Jan, HK, Me, Mhadz, Trisha and TJ

Everland 

Don't miss the Snow Buster!

Winter Fashion

You gotta love koreans during winter. They dress up so nicely. Definitely fur is so in. So if you are planning to go to Seoul during winter, get yourself a good quality thermal inner wear. The biggest misconception is layering of clothes. Avoid that unless you wanna be a 200lbs looking guy. Don't go there without a thick scarf, thermal gloves and cap. 

Overall, the key is try to read blogs about Seoul and go crazy around the city. You can check Seoul Tower too. If you are a big foodie like myself, this city wont disappoint you but if you are not a fan of spicy food, try to avoid any food with red color. I just ran 3 blocks with my mouth open to get to a convenience store to buy water after eating a super hot spicy chicken barbecue. If you are lucky, you get a non-english speaking korean. Just tragic. LOL

I will surely miss this city.