29 Sep 10 - Day 6 (Jeju, Seoul)

Today we were to fly back to Seoul and the flight was at 11+am so didn’t have any program for the morning. Morning call was scheduled at 8am but M suggested getting up at 7am the night before. So got up at 7am and had breakfast slightly after 8am. We didn’t see the table for two and took the table for four. It was a mistake coz Cynthia joined our table automatically. It would have been a very nice breakfast coz the food was good especially the waffles. After we were done eating, M and I headed out for a stroll. When we passed by the restaurant where we had breakfast, M saw Cynthia still inside.

Gathered at the lobby by 10am and set off for Jeju Airport to take the domestic flight back to Seoul. M was hooked to the tomato juice and we asked for that again. Touched down at Gimpo Airport about 12+pm and had duck steamboat as lunch about 1+pm in Seoul. After that, we went to a Beauty Academy where we were given a lesson on skin care using the ODBO products, should be a new range by The Face Shop. Couldn’t remember the procedure, only remembered applying lots of stuff on the face. Started with the peeling gel and was it the toner or the ginseng mask next? Anyway, here are two links to the basic skin care and beauty tips of all Korean women (http://k-popped.com/2008/04/korean-beauty-tip-5-step-skin-care.html; http://k-popped.com/2008/05/beauty-tips-from-korean-woman.html)

M’s face couldn't take the ginseng mask and so was developing slight rashes. So right after the lesson, she headed straight to the restroom to wash off the products. Fortunately the rashes faded soon after. Then we went to the headquarter of The Face Shop where the rest of the groups bought lots and lots of facial products. Was tempted to get the ODBO sunscreen but the price turned me off. For purchase of 500,000 Won and above, one would get a cabin bag. We counted five cabin bags for our group so you can imagine the amount of products they bought. The rest seemed surprised that we didn’t get anything from The Face Shop.

The Face Shop

Products used during skin care lesson

Went for dinner where we had Ginseng Chicken and we drank ginseng wine. M was a good drinker and she drank three cups and added one cup to her Ginseng Chicken. I had two cups and one to my Ginseng Chicken. Food was good but as usual, the rest couldn’t survive without their chili. Hanna treated us to a melon ice cream each before going to Dongdaemun Market.

Ginseng Chicken

From my research I found out that Hello APM offered fashion more suited to M’s age at affordable prices and so we headed to that building first. We saw a 2-piece coat and I like that design very much and the owner quoted us from 120,000 Won to 90,000 Won. She kept saying it was original design but we didn’t get on the spot. Walked around the other floors and M bought a lot of stuff such as two long sleeve t-shirts, a checkered shirt with hood and a printed sweater. Headed back down to level one to get the coat and only managed to bargain till 88,000 Won and I told M that I would pay half for her.

Left Hello APM and went to the next building, Migliore. This building was still cheaper than Doota and I managed to get a leather bag here. After that, headed to Doota and after looking around level one, we decided to skip the building and went out to buy street food. Bought Bungeobbang / Ingeobang (fish shaped pastry filled with sweet red bean), Grilled Cuttlefish and Twigim (similar to tempura, fried vegetable coated with batter). Ate the cuttlefish first coz it tasted better when eaten hot. Then ate the Bungeobbang / Ingeobang and it was yummy, crispy on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside.

Bungeobbang / Ingeobang (fish shaped pastry filled with sweet red bean)

Grilled Cuttlefish

Checked-in to Seoul Riviera at 9+pm, dumped our luggage and headed out again to try to get to N Seoul Tower for Seoul Night view. Bumped into Hanna at the lobby and asked her for direction to Cheongdam Station. Got there, asked the staff there for help on how to get to Myeongdong Station and how to buy tickets. He helped us and we were on our way to Myeongdong Station. Got out at Exit 4 and went to Pacific Hotel to ask for direction to the Cable Car Station. It was a 10min walk and we walked briskly up slope along a quiet street. M was having problem coz of the cold and she was feeling out of breathe. Finally got to the Cable Car Station and I was so afraid that she would fall sick. Fortunately she was okay after drinking some water.

The counter lady told us that we would not be able to go into N Seoul Tower coz it was already past 10:30pm but we could still take the cable car up to Namsan Park. Checked with M if she was still keen and she said okay. So bought a round trip ticket each and took the cable car up. The night view was really great. Walked around the park, took some photos and quickly took the last cable car down. Then walked back down to Myeongdong Station and in the Station, we saw two shops selling music CDs. One of the shops was already closing so went into the other where M bought the first mini album of U-Kiss. While trying to figure out how to get back in Myeongdong Station, I bought a bag of custard cakes. Finally got back to the hotel after 12 midnight and only settled down to sleep at 1+am.

N Seoul Tower at night

Thoughts: The morning in Jeju before flying back to Seoul was time wasted. Duck steamboat wasn’t very nice coz the meat was very tough. Did learn some useful tips from the beauty care lesson but the new range of products was very expensive. Ginseng chicken was nice but didn’t know if it was the authentic kind that BIL was talking about. Dongdaemun Market was a great place to shop coz easy to compare prices and was glad we visted Hello APM first. Street food were the best and if only I had more time to explore them. As for N Seoul Tower, it was a shame we didn’t manage to go up and see the night view of Seoul proper. Nevertheless, we still manage to see part of the night view of Seoul and were really glad that M didn’t fall sick from all the rushing.