Seoul Day 4 and Day 5

On Day 4, we decided to visit the famous Namdaemun Market. Mind you, we were bracing the winter cold with 3 kids and no stroller at all.

Myeongdong is very near Namdaemun. However we did not want to walk so we took the train from Myeongdong to Hoehyon, which is only one stop away.

We went there in the morning so there were plenty of ahjummas doing their morning marketing. At first I was not very impressed as they sold pretty much the usual souvenirs for tourists. So we shopped for souvenirs to bring back for our family and friends.

Then... I saw all the cute kids' stuff - from the boots to the cool skirts! That definitely unleashed the ahjumma in me. We bought cute boots for the kids. They cost about S$18 - S$20. Not extremely cheap but totally worth it for me! They are Made in Korea afterall (as the shopowners would tell you when you quote an extremely obscene price to them).

Where I bought some of the clothes for the kids.

Walking with kids in an open area in the winter cold without stroller is not easy. We had to cross over to the other side to rest at the cafe and have some hot chocolate. Well, partly because my younger 2 kids fell asleep. So hubby had to carry one while I had to hold the other. So we took our time. Had hot chocolate and doughnut. This became our daily snack every single day. (This is something the kids and I miss about Korea - having doughnut and hot chocolate in winter.) We took quite some time at the cafe. After that we continued to shop at Namdaemun.

The thing about Namdaemun is that when the sun sets, the area is converted into mini eateries. You see tables and stools being set as the people get ready to enjoy their night snack and soju. So we headed back to Myeongdong, bought some snacks and went back to the hotel.

Pretty uneventful day, but well, we did love Namdaemun.

So for the next day, we decided to return to Namdaemun again to finish our shopping. We bought plenty of kids clothes. They really have beautiful clothes for kids. Sadly, as it is winter, most are winter wear and  not appropriate for Singapore's weather. Nonetheless, we still managed to get what we need and plenty of nice shoes for the kids.

Thereafter we proceeded to Itaewon for our dinner. This time round we went to Kervan, a Turkish Restaurant. Expensive but worth it.

Day 2 Seoul

We woke up at around 10 a.m. (which was late by my definition). We missed the hotel breakfast as it was from 7 a.m. till 10 a.m. So we had instant campbell soup (the powdered kind which we bought from Mustafa Centre in Singapore) and bread with Nutella (bought the Nutella from Hong Kong) for breakfast.

Our itinerary for the day was to Bukchon Hanok Village. Well, initially, we planned to go to Gyeongbokgung Palace and then to Bukchon Hanok Village. However, we changed our plans as we were walking with 3 cold kids. We had the heat pads that we bought from Expo during the Winter Sale but it was not working well enough for us. 

Directions to Bukchon Hanok Village from Myeongdong:

From Myeongdong Station (Line 4), take the train to Chungmuro (one stop away) and switch to Line 3. Take the train to Anguk. 

I cannot remember which exit we took but when we exited, we saw Dunkin Donuts. We sat there for a short break. We headed down the nice road towards Hanok Information Centre. Along the way there was this Information centre (small one). The person there gave us a map to Bukchon Hanok Village. We spotted some Persimmon trees along the way to Bukchon Hanok. A friendly mummy and daughter duo spoke to us asking us where we were from (well, the mother instructed her daughter to ask us since she could not converse in English). They were very excited over my 3 girls and kept on touching them and patting them lovingly.

Persimmon trees

Walking towards Bukchon Hanok Village

Altogether Bukchon Hanok Village is about 400m - 500m from Anguk Station. 

We explored the lovely Buchon Hanok Village and took photographs after photographs. Do remember to be quiet over there as there are people living in the houses.

When it was getting dark, we headed back to Myeongdong. At Myeongdong, we walked around. Spotted a cute police station.

Cute Police Station at Myeongdong

We went to Lotte Departmental Store. For dinner, we went across Lotte Departmental Store to Ibis Ambassador Myeongdong Hotel. At the lobby of this hotel, there is a halal restaurant called The Saffron.

Lotte Departmental Store

We went over to The Saffron for dinner. They serve Indian and Arabian food. The setting itself is very luxurious and the food is on the pricey side. We ordered Lamb Shank Biryani, chicken in some yoghurt sauce (which was very nice) and naan. The food was good. If you don't mind the price then you should try this out.

Our order

The Saffron

After that we headed back to our hotel.