Hi.
It’s been over a full week since we’ve been back from Korea! I’ve been slowly trying to get back into the swing of things (which isn’t going particularly well), but here’s a quick breakdown of our trip and some photos from our first day!
This was my first trip out of Singapore in three freaking years, where it’s actually for my own leisure/travel/good. I was in and out of town a couple of times last year, but that was all for work, but I’m glad I actually got to have some decent time to myself this round.
Our trip was 10 days, and I think I can safely say that we managed to keep the trip within a reasonable budget. I might’ve spent a bit too much than I would like on skincare, but it’s Korea. ~I just had to do as Koreans do~.
We chose a red-eye flight, and we arrived in Seoul at around 7.30am. In hindsight, I would’ve chosen to go on a later flight to arrive at around noon instead.
We thought we could squeeze in a full day of plans since we touched down pretty early, but when we arrived at our Airbnb at around 10am, we couldn’t check in and we just had to lug our luggage around with us! We had to walk to Doota Mall Duty Free and buy an item so we can leave our luggage there and have lunch at Shake Shack.
OHMYGAD. LOOK AT THIS BEAUT.
Now, my friends all know I don’t like burgers. I have a weird thing against meat between bread. Yes, I prefer my hotdogs naked with a slight drapery of ketchup and mustard. BUT THIS BABY, GADDAMN!
I’m not a foodie by any means, and I thought it might just be overhyped, and I just really wanted to try it because, well, it’s Shake Shack, BUT THIS SHIT IS LEGIT. I don’t even like beef, but the patty was just really good. And if you get the Smokeshack, IT COMES WITH BACON?! Like I just, I do not have enough words.
Surprisingly favourite part of it was the bun. It’s a potato bun(?), and I didn’t even know you can make buns out of potatoes, but whoever came up with this idea needs an award, like right now. It’s so soft, and it doesn’t break down, and it just holds the juices all together, and you can bite through the entire things without anything falling apart. It’s fucking genius, and I love it.
The fries were pretty fucking bomb too! AND I DON’T EVEN LIKE CRINKLE-CUT FRIES.
These fries were fried to an amazing crisp, but the inside was still fluffy and it wasn’t even really oily. The thing I hate about crinkle-cut fries is that they usually get soggy a lot faster than regular fries, and the insides are too soft and feel like mash. BUT THESE BABIES WERE FUCKING ACE. They are perfection. I didn’t even really need ketchup, AND THAT IS SAYING A LOT.
If anything, I’d say just go with the normal fries and forgo the cheese. It’s some weird cheese that hardens really quick and it doesn’t really add anything to the fries. Trust me, we’ve seen people throw out half-full servings of cheese fries, but completely annihilate the regular fries.
I didn’t really take many pictures on the first day, cause we were just completely pooped for the first half of the day. We barely got any sleep on the flight, and we had to walk around the mall to burn time while waiting til we can check into our apartment. When we finally got in, we just settled in and took a nap until it was time for dinner.
Our apartment was only two subway stops from Myeongdong, so we decided to head there for dinner. Of course, we had to go to Yoogane. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT IS LITERALLY HALF THE PRICE IN KOREA OF HOW MUCH IT IS IN SINGAPORE?! Of course you can, that really isn’t that surprising.
After dinner, we just walked around Myeongdong, gearing ourselves up on what to throw our money on when it comes to our official shopping day.
We stumbled on Osulloc, which is a tea shop/cafe that Joan Day loves. She’s a Korean Youtuber, and I’ve been watching her videos non-stop prior to this trip, so I was half-hoping to run into her lolololol.
Osulloc is such a fancy place, but it’s really expensive imho. I mean, I’m not much of a tea person, so I was like wtf why is this tea so expensive. But if you even stumble into one of their shops, do smell their Wedding Green Tea. It smells AMAZING. I actually considered buying it just because it legitimately smelled that good, but it’s KRW15,00 for a tiny box wtf.
Here’s a quick haul of the things I bought on the first day! I bought five face masks, because when in Korea, you just gotta do as Koreans do. I also bought a nail polish, cause I didn’t have time to paint my nails before the trip, and I hate having bare nails. The Wake Make line is actually pretty good! I regret not getting more colours.
For those who are wondering, here’s a quick breakdown of our expenses on the trip.
FLIGHTS
It was my first flight that lasted more than 3.5 hours, and I am so glad we managed to snag a promo price on Singapore Airlines! Because of the promo, our return flights were only SGD700/person. Though that number still hurts my budget-airline-loyal heart, I’ve been told by multiple people that this is a really good deal for a flight to Seoul, especially considering it’s with Singapore Airlines.
Also, can I just say that my favourite white wine is the stuff they serve on SQ flights?! Idk if it’s like some cheap shit, I luvvit.
ACCOMMODATION
We chose to stay in an Airbnb during our trip, because hotels are expensive, and no way am I gonna live the #hostellife during my one trip out of the year!
This is the apartment we stayed at for 10 days. It’s very small, I’d say good enough for only two people, but I think it’s well worth the SGD580 for 9 nights. The host provides everything you would need in an apartment, and it’s at a great location! I’d totally recommend this place, and if I didn’t want to stay in a loft the next time I’m in Seoul, I wouldn’t think twice about staying here again.
TRANSPORT
From the airport, we took the airport limo bus into Seoul. It was KRW15,000/person and the trip was around 1 hour. I’m not sure of how it is for different busses, but the one we took was amazing! The seats we super comfortable, much roomier than a plane seat, and it was super reclinable. We didn’t take the train into the city, but I’d definitely recommend their airport limo bus over taking a taxi.
For day-to-day tranport, we chose to get a T-Money card (which is like Korea’s version of an ez-link card) from Changi Recommends for SGD11, which included a usable KRW5,000. We figured we’d get the card in advance so we wouldn’t have to worry about it too much when we got to Seoul, but I did regret it, cause I saw a lot of other really cute card designs. HAHAHA yes, I very shallow when it comes to small things like this lah, I know.
We didn’t really hop from place to place that much on a single day, so I think KRW5,000 would last us around 2.5 days on average. We didn’t really have to top-up our cards that many times while we were there.
FOOD
Finding inexpensive food is the least of your worries. If you’re from Singapore, the price of food in Korea wouldn’t be anything shocking. I wouldn’t say things are amazingly cheap, but I wouldn’t say things are expensive either.
Street food could be anything from KRW1,000 to maybe KRW5,000 if you’re feeling boujee. A normal meal would be around less than KRW10,000 for something that gets you pretty full, and that’s including free water and side dishes. I think the most we spent on a meal (not counting Shake Shack, yeah, I’d say that was definitely a splurge) was KRW16,000 for Korean barbecue, and we were exploding after.
SHOPPING
If you’re on a budget and there’s only a couple of things you can indulge yourself on, I’d say JUST. BUY. SKINCARE. Don’t even really think about it. Just buy skincare products, and you are set. I should really change the header from “shopping” to “SKINCARE”.
If you read up/watch K-beauty youtubers, you can definitely find inexpensive Korean skincare, and we all know how good Koreans are with their skincare. If you need a one-stop-shop, definitely head to Myeongdong. Everything you could ever want to put on your face/hair/hands, you can find there, and things are SO MUCH CHEAPER than how they are in Singapore. SO JUST BUY. REGRET LATER.
I did vlog during my trip, but I haven’t had the time to edit it first, so I figured I’d put out the blog posts first while it’s still fresh in my memory. I’ll try to write out the entire trip within the next couple of days!
In the meantime, I’m gonna take a nap, because I’m supposed to go to the gym tonight, but I’m completely pooped. Goodnight! 💕
Still Sleeping 