07 Mar 2007

Our journey continued way past midnight (12 hours of shopping) and we spotted a few tourist spots that we had checked out on the internet before our trip, making a good excuse to stop Amy rushing from one shopping mall to another.

The Colourful Ogansumun Gate.


Notice The Colour Change?


Doosan Tower.


The Shopping Terrorist.


Street Shopping Under The Hundred Yellow Tents.

Somehow both of us got hungry at almost the same time. I guess the reason was because the adrenalin died as most of our shopping was done. We headed down to the night bazaar and looked around for something to eat, hoping to try something new. Somehow we ended up just having Ramen with pickles and corn tea in a little tent. I am getting hooked to pickles by now.

We also decided to get a bit mad and have some cold stuff while we were already freezing. Good thing about having ice cream in the cold is that it doesn't melt that fast. Bad thing is that I get that pain in Sensodyne advertisements. But that ice cream was yummy... green tea and chocolate... interesting combo.

Having An Ice Cream In Cold Weather? Yum!

Finally when we decided that we got everything we wanted and possibly couldn't carry more, we headed out to get some food before we headed back to our room. As we got our food to go, we were amazed at how some people could stand by the cart, in the cold, to eat instead of hiding themselves in somewhere warm and comfy to enjoy their food. Weird. We ended up getting a buffet from 2 stalls - a bunch of assorted sausages and kebabs, rice rolls, some dumplings cooked in the spicy red sauce and a small bit of blood sausage. We then got a cab and got to our room to enjoy our buffet.

So what do I think of the blood sausage... it needs to go with something. This one simply had the intestines stuffed with rice noodles and blood. The taste of the blood was rather strong and brought about the memories of the blood cubes I used to have with my congee. Amy didn't know and had a rather bad reaction upon finding out what it was but I couldn't finish the whole bag myself and it was just a bit too much to consume on it's own. Think my dad would love it though.

Corndogs, Hotdogs, Satay...


Rice Rolls, Blood Sausages, Spicy Dumplings...

After packing all the purchases, it was already bright and sunny outside, leaving us little to no time for a good sleep but I managed to get 2 hours of nap time while Amy surfed the internet. Before we left the hotel, we managed to take a few videos and photos of the gadgetry in the place, as well as the sign I couldn't help laughing at. Looks better on video but that went missing along with a lot of my files when the comp died.

Room Temperature & Lighting Controls, And Electronic Peephole.


Room Key.




Door Bell/Peep Hole Camera


Electronic Door Lock.


(1st Red Line) Don't Think I Intend To Leave It Here.


We left the hotel and took a cab to the Sofitel to board the shuttle that was a cheap way to get to the airport. It took about an hour to get from the city to town, but that included the different pick-up locations around town, which gave us a mini tour as well as the opportunity to take pictures of Seoul.

We finally get to the airport and we rush in to check ourselves into our flight, taking a few pics before we pass immigrations. Immigrations' check was rather bothersome, we had to remove our shoes and then get a physical pat-down by their officer, then we had to struggle to put our shoes back on while hopping on one foot because all the seats were taken up by the old people there, just sitting down, and most likely getting entertained by the struggling-one-legged hoppers around them. They should just put a rail there for support, then again, I can wear simpler shoes, but I don't like my shoes loose enough to slip on anyway. The departure lounge is rather open and bright, rather clean, like Changi, but it didn't have enough simple stuff available (like a 7-11, which would have a bottle of diet coke maybe?). Then came the last store I go to at almost every airport leaving for home, the dute-free store or something on that range. The shop that would be selling almost every product that's simply made or a reminder of that country. So in we went into one such store and I bought the whole store back. They were nice enough to pack it neatly and even packed it in a trolley bag that mom would just love.

Proving We Were @ Incheon Airport.

After making some last minute calls to home, the gates opened and we boarded the flight home. Seeing that the flight was rather empty, everyone seem to be taking the opportunity to occupy a window seat and that left the one before me empty, giving Amy the opportunity to occupy both seats. Once Amy got comfy in her stolen seat, she started taking pictures of that bear again. Once we were in the air, the boredom began after photo opportunities ended and my iPod came in really handy. While we were taking pictures of Korea from our plane, the stewardesses gave out some peanuts that were really nice. Not sure if it was altitude, lack of peanuts or if the nuts were just yummy, but somehow I could eat a bigger pack, or 20 of those tiny packs, while listening to music and challenging myself with Sudoku puzzles.

Candid Shot Of Xiao Pui While Posing For Amy.






These Were Especially Yummy @ High Altitude.

Our meals came slightly later and if the choice wasn't beef stew, I would've tried the bibimbap. The stew was alright, but I wouldn't rave about it, plus I really couldn't tell what was in that salad. However the desser... although I don't like strawberry ice cream or artificial strawberries, the dessert was still nice and simple as it really tasted like a frozen cheesecake with bits of strawberry. However, if it wsa blueberry, I'd have been in a really happy place.

Beef Stew


Bi Bim Bap




Red Velvet Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream For Dessert.

After the meal trays were cleared, it was back to doing our own things again, and I guess Amy really enjoyed her dessert so much, she was in dreamland.

Sleeping Satisfied? OK This Pic Was Posed For - Just Look @ The Smile.