meeTatiana in Korea - Day 1

Annyeonghaseyo Chingudeul in Hive! Tatiana is here again to share some South Korea travel stories. My South Korea trip was my first ever international trip. And, while I may be a natural "laagan", the thought of visiting a foreign country made me nervous at first. I was really scared and in doubt about how I should prepare for my trip. It's good to have friends who were also "laagan" like me but were able to experience living outside our country.

And so now, let me begin by describing how we did our preparations by asking you something. Are you ready? Are you familiar with the names mentioned below?

Ji Chang-wook, Song Joong-ki, Lee Jong-suk, Lee Joon-gi, Lee Min-ho, Gong Yoo, Hyun Bin, So Ji-sub, Park Seo-joon, Park Hyung-Sik, Park Bo-gum, Kang Ha-neul, Kim Woo-bin, Jang Ki-yong, Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Seon-ho, Yoo Yeon-seok, Nam Joo-hyuk, Yoo Seung-ho, Jung Hae-in, Kim Min-kyu, Lee Seung-gi, Bae In-hyuk, Cha Eun-woo, Hwang In-youp, Lee Do Hyun, Ahn Hyo-seop, Seo In-guk, Choi Woo-shik, Kim Tae-hyung, Seo Kang-joon, Song Kang, and many others..

Did those names ring a bell for you?

Definitely, if you are a KDrama fan like me, then it’s a YES.

Those names were some of the male leads that we saw in different KDramas. We were hooked on the different storylines. Some dramas kept us interested because of their unexpected, sad or happy endings, but those leads really caught our eyes with their stunning looks (vitamins for the eyes) and, of course, our hearts with their versatility in acting.

With all of the different KDramas my besties (more like sisters) and I had watched, it was probably the one that triggered us (me, boyfriend, and 2 high school besties-Jonilyn & Joan) to plan a trip to South Korea. We did all of the initial drawings for our trip based on what we saw in the different dramas, and we decided to finally color them in January 2019 by taking the trip to South Korea.

But before we dig deeper into my South Korea trip, here are some of the documents we prepared prior to it:

So now, are you ready to fly with us?✈️ ✈️ ✈️

Buckle up and let’s now go to South Korea........

𝙒𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙈𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙖𝙣-𝘾𝙚𝙗𝙪 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝘼𝙞𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙏𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 2

𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙... 𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙆𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙖!

We arrived at Incheon International Airport shortly after 7 a.m., with an estimated temperature of -5 to -9 °C (we were still in the Winter Season). Then we got off the plane, proceeded to immigration, and went directly to the baggage carousel to pick up our stuff.

𝙄 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮.

We then went to the bus stop and bought our tickets for the next bus to Sungshin Women's University (the nearest bus stop to our accommodation). We didn't have to wait long because the bus arrived just a few minutes after we purchased our tickets. Then we’re good to go on to our next destination.

At the bus stop for Sungshin Women's University, we head straight to our accommodation, where we will be staying for five days. The DH Naissance Hotel was our home away from home for 4 nights. There are a lot of restaurants, fast food, and convenience stores in the immediate vicinity, so you won't have to worry about starving. For most of us, travelers who frequently leave the hotel early in the morning and return late at night, the hotel's proximity to metro and bus stations is ideal. On this first day, we walked around the hotel, bought some snacks in 7-Eleven, and checked the area to see if we could possibly get their transportation card, so that we could move around easily.

Since our next destination is Myeong-dong, let’s hop on the bus and proceed first to the Myeong-dong Tourist Information Center to the most needed T-money card.

Upon arrival at Myeong-dong Tourist Information Center, we then decided to get the Seoul Discovery Pass because it gives us free access to tourist attractions in Seoul, discounts, T-Money cards for public transportation, and the Airport Express Train Transfer. By the way, one of my besties, Jonilyn, rented a pocket WIFI so we could easily check the web at our own pace no matter where we were. She did this so we could stay connected.

Let's now explore Myeong-dong.

𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙈𝙮𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜-𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙜!

Myeong-dong is known as a shopping district, and yes, it is one of the must-visit places, not just for shopping but also for trying out new foods. You will be amazed by all the food stands around you. You'll definitely want to do everything we did. Also, Myeong-dong has a lot of alleys where you might get lost or confused, but don't fret about that. Just enjoy your time there, all the more so with all the food on the streets and all the different clothes, shoes, and beauty products. No matter how detailed your itinerary is, the most exciting part of a trip is when you immerse yourself in the surroundings and get lost every once in a while.

Here's more of Myeong-dong...

𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙝 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙆𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙣𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙡.

So that’s it for our Day 1 in South Korea. Actually, we went back to our hotel very late because we couldn't get enough of Myeong-dong. I hope I was able to bring your creative minds along with us on our trip.

If you enjoyed what I had to say thus far, be sure to read about our second day of travel in my upcoming blog.

Kamsahamnida Chingudeul for dropping by on my blog! See you at my next one. Be safe always!

𝓍𝒪𝓍𝒪,

𝓣𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷𝓪 ♥️

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