Our driver sent us to Busan KTX Station at 0830hrs. We anticipated a traffic congestion since its the weekend but nope, traffic was a breeze.
However, our preferred time slot was fully booked & the next available train leaves Busan @ 0950hrs. We arrived Seoul at about 1230hrs.
Seoul Station was big with a few subway lines running through this station & also the main KTX Station. We navigated around the station with directional signs but we were lugging a cabbage baggage each & zig zagging thru the huge crowd was no easy feat for us.
Finally, we saw the subway and oh no, its stairs & escalators everywhere. We could not find any elevator within our sight. So up & down we go & once we arrived at the station, we stopped dead in our tracks.
Firstly, the ticketing machine was filled with longggggg queues. I remembered about the T-money (similar version of our EZ Link card) I read about in blogs & forums & was wondering where to get it. There was a machine which sold this T-money card for 3500won but I enquired about the card inside a convenience stall and it was selling at only 2500won. So Elaine & myself bought one each & we topped up 10000won.
2 stops down to Myeongdong Station & again, there was no elevators within sight. So up we go via stairs & escalators again. And its hot & squeezy inside the train compartments. I believe there was no air conditioning at all cos the weather outside was still cold.
Exit 3 of Myeongdong Station should bring you to Namsan Guesthouse. We stayed there for 3 nights.
After lunch at Myeongdong area, we head over to Jongno Shrine. Our initial discussion was to visit Gwangjang market instead.
Jongno Shrine @ Jongno Sam(3)-ga station, exit 8. We came up above & dunno which direction to go at all. A local read our minds & directed us to turn right & with hand gestures, pointed us to the shrine walls & to turn right again. We could only say Kamsahamnida with a smile.
We walked towards Jongno Shrine, bypass this park full of elderly people & stopped right in front of Jongno Shrine. All of a sudden, we felt that Jongno Shrine does not appeal to us anymore. Looking on inside, we lost the interest to visit this shrine.
Elaine said to visit Gwangjang Market instead since its also nearby. We backtracked to the station & wondered again. No locals read our mind this time. We walked along the main road, hoping to see Gwangjang Market along the way. After what seemed like eternity ( about half an hour), we figured we could be walking in the wrong direction afterall. But we were tired & didnt want to walk back again.
It was at this point, Elaine saw a directional sign for Changdeokgung. And so it was onto CDG.( my abbreaviation for Changdeokgung lah; not Charles De Gaulle). And heaven was playing a cruel trick on us. We found out that CDG was right behind Jongno Shrine. Remember, when the local pointed out to us to walk towards the shrine walls & turned right, CDG direction was to turn left.
Recapped: Changdeokgung ~ Jongno sam(3)-ga Station, exit 8. Turn right towards a small road, Jongno Shrine walls in front of u. Turn right to Jongno Shrine or left to CDG.
Or Jongno 3(sam)-ga Station, exit 6 / Anguk Station, exit 3.
So it was us walking down the along the shrine walls again. The lady at Jongno Shrine ticketing counter told us its about 20mins walk down. It was already like 1700hrs & we hoping that CDG will not close so soon. Finally, we saw CDG across the road & we were like kids jumping for joy.
The Secret Garden was closed to public, hence no luck going in.
Standing at the entrance of CDG, we realised we actually walked from one station to another. From Jongno 3(sam)-ga station to Anguk Station. Oh my!
Next, Namdaemum ( NDM). Hoehyeon Station, exit 5. We bought a few items & decided to head back. What a day!
Myeongdong sights & sounds.
Myeongdong Theatre. We mistook this to be the theatre for our NANTA Cookin Show. But when I looked into the building, it was already closed for the day. How could it be when there was a 2000hrs show on a Sat? Looking at Myeongdong map which we got it at the subway, we saw that there is another NANTA Theatre. So folks, dun go running to this Myeongdong Theatre if you are watching the show. Its NANTA Theatre you should be looking out for. ( Hint: just opposite Burger King)
The many different snacks we ate along the way thruout the day. We retired for the night, deadbeat. Yawn!
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