Love love love love Korea!!! :D

I'm back from Korea, safe and sound!!! :D

A great trip, although it was my third visit but it was my first time there on my own so it was pretty exciting.

To all my friends out there - I would STRONGLY encourage you to go South Korea on your own. Don't be afraid of the language barrier, I met loads of friendly locals who were always willing to help. Some can speak English and even Chinese!

Here's my itinerary to share:

Day 0. Night flight to Korea on Korean Air - 6 Hours

Day 1. Arrived at Incheon Airport

Took airport limousine to Seoul Station in Seoul- about 1 - 1.5 hours

Switched to KTX train to get to Busan- about 3 hours

Arrived at Busan Station, took Bus to Haeundae Area to hotel - about 45 mins

Visited Haeundae Beach, Haeundae Market and Busan Aquarium

Ate Puffer Fish Soup for Dinner at this recommended restaurant in Haeundae

Day 2. Took the local Subway from Haeundae to Jalgachi Market

Ate sashimi, raw octopus, oysters, etc for brunch

Walked to PIFF area for shopping / street food eating

Took the subway to Centum City

Went supermarket shopping in Shinsegae Shopping Mall

Went to Spa land in Shinsegae Shopping Mall

Day 3. Checked out of hotel, took subway back to Busan Station

Took KTX train back to Seoul

Switched to Subway from Seoul station to Euljiro 2 ga station

Checked in to Ibis Hotel in Myeong Dong

Ate Ginseng Chicken Soup in Myeong Dong, followed by shopping shopping shopping!

Day 4. Took Subway to Jamsil Station, boarded a bus to Yong Pyong Ski Resort (about 3 hours)

Checked in to Dragon Valley Hotel, went skiing for the rest of the day

Day 5. Took bus back to Seoul (Jamsil Station)

Went to Lotte world amusement park at Jamsil Station

Took Subway to Dongdaemun to check in to our hotel (Co-op Residences)

Shopping in Dongdaemun

Day 6. Explored the wholesale markets in dongdaemun

Strolled along the Cheonggyecheon Stream

Took a train back to Myeong Dong for more shopping

Hiked up Namsan to cable car station

Took the cable car to Namsan Tower to visit The Teddy Bear Museum

Day 7. More shopping in Dongdaemun

Took the subway to Jamsil (again) to buy groceries in Lotte Mart

Took the subway to Ehwa Station to shop at the Sinchon area

Back to Dongdaemun to eat korean bbq food and more shopping

Day 8. Shared cab to airport with 2 taiwanese girls

Took Korean Air flight back to Singapore

My itinerary wasn't perfect as it involved too much travel time and lugging of my bags around.

Some changes i would have made:

1. Do not stay in Haeundae area in Busan, stay somewhere near Busan station instead

2. Book the same hotel in Seoul so that i can leave my huge suitcase with the hotel and bring a small haversack to Ski Resort instead

3. Do not stay in Dongdaemun, as much as i appreciated the late night shopping, i far preferred Myeong Dong shopping. Would rather stay in Myeong Dong so that i can dump my loots and continue shopping.

4. Noticed that i went back to Jamsil station just to visit the Lotte Mart? Couldn't find a supermarket near town, should have researched better on this one, as Jamsil station was quite far away.

That's about it, unfortunately i couldn't cover as much places as i would have liked as we preferred to travel at our own pace instead of hurrying from places to places. A 2 weeks trip would have been perfect, more time to spend in Busan and i would have been able to explore the outskirts of Seoul as well.

Overall : i love love love love Korea!!! :D