Sharing a recap of what we did in Seoul, the place we stayed, and my ideas on the entire expertise. The nutshell model: I CAN’T WAIT to return.
Hello mates! How are you? I hope you had a tremendous weekend! We simply caught up with home stuff right here, lastly recovered from jet lag (I used to be barely jet lagged once we acquired there, however ended up using the wrestle bus once we got here house), and met up with some mates.
I’m so excited to share some recap posts on our journeys with you!
Right here’s a listing of what I’ve deliberate in order that once they go reside, I can add the hyperlinks to this submit.
Seoul recap, what we did and what we ate (this submit)
Tokyo and Kyoto itinerary and suggestions for journey
What we ate in Japan
My Korean Head Spa expertise
Seoul recap, what we did, and what we ate
Earlier than I get began, I needed to start with an apology.
To my mates in South Korea and Japan, I used to be ignorant, and now I do know. I had NO CLUE how a lot I’d been lacking out. The women picked the places for this journey, and I figured it will be one thing that I loved, but it surely wasn’t my first alternative for a trip. (I’d be blissful repeating least 12 months’s 5+ weeks in Spain journey.) I didn’t anticipate to fall in love with these locations, however I completely did. This journey completely modified my life. I’ll share extra in my Japan submit, however these locations didn’t really feel like completely different nations… they felt like completely different worlds.
The individuals in Seoul have been SO variety and wonderful. The meals was unbelievable. It felt so very secure, and there was a lot to do. We may have doubled our time there and been blissful. The humorous factor is that we had the chance to be stationed in Korea a number of instances throughout Tom’s navy profession. All of our mates who lived there cherished it, and now I perceive why.
We flew from Phoenix to San Francisco, after which direct from SFO to Seoul. The flight was lengthy – about 12 1/2 hours – however I managed to nap on and off (the ladies stayed wakeful the entire time) and we landed at about 3pm. I feel that is the proper time to land in a brand new nation as a result of your resort room is prepared, so in the event you’re completely wrecked and want a nap, you possibly can. You don’t need to wander round and wait till your room is prepared.
We knew that it will be a low-key day, so we checked into the resort and got down to discover. We stayed on the RYSE Autograph Assortment resort and I might 100% advocate it for the superb location, facilities, and eating choices. (I booked every little thing utilizing our Amex platinum. My referral hyperlink is right here!)
It was surrounded by nice eating places and outlets, and straightforward to get round.
I didn’t take a pic however the rest room had an unlimited waterfall bathe with nice water strain.
We have been shocked to see complete streets full of little kiosks and cute outlets only a block away from the resort.
We explored and met our new skincare bestie at TONYMOLY and P was exhausted, to we went again to the resort whereas Tom and Liv grabbed dinner. All of us slept via the night time and have been absolutely set the subsequent day!
We did rather a lot whereas we have been in Seoul, however listed here are a few of the highlights.
Lotte World
Lotte World is a gigantic indoor and out of doors theme park. Liv urged this one – she added her concepts to our journey planning spreadsheet – and we had a blast. We joked that it was like a speakeasy. It’s many ranges and fairly a number of sights appear to be hidden, however there was a lot to do. It additionally blew my thoughts that acquired 4 tickets with 3 skip the road passes for every of us and the full was $200. (I used Journey.com to e-book.)
I didn’t take a pic of the surface however image a fort, varied curler coasters, a drop experience, and many outlets and meals stands.
We did all the greatest rides – they’ve a mixture of rides for youthful kiddos and extra thrilling rides and coasters for older youngsters and adults – and spent all the day there. Journey to Atlantis was AMAZING; positively one in every of my high theme park rides.
Baseball sport and Korean BBQ
We spent a complete day purchasing and exploring, and that night, we went on a tour with an English talking information to Korean BBQ
and a Dusan Bears baseball sport.
Baseball is HUGE in Seoul and a real cultural expertise. Every hitter has their very own chant and cheer, and all the area is dancing and cheering. The baseball meals is subsequent stage, too. They bought beers with an the wrong way up baseball cap that was full of shrimp – it appeared SO good- along with tteokbokki, cheese and meat skewers, tons of actual meals choices. You may also herald your individual meals and drinks; so completely different from the States the place they pressure to you go inside to purchase $8 bottles of water.
Head spa and petting zoo
The pinnacle spa might be receiving its personal submit, but it surely was a spotlight of the journey! Whereas I used to be having top-of-the-line spa experiences of my life, the Pilot and the kiddos went to a petting zoo the place they have been in a position to maintain raccoons and pet meerkats.
Dwelling the dream:
Procuring at Olive Younger
If you happen to go to Seoul, purchasing at Olive Younger is a should. You may fill up on all the greatest Okay magnificence merchandise at superb costs. It’s like an unlimited Sephora with rows of skincare and cosmetics… all the perfect stuff. I used to be anxious we wouldn’t discover an Olive Younger or it will be exhausting to get to, however they’re in every single place. We had three places proper by our resort.
Gluten-free eating in Seoul
On this journey, I attempted my greatest to eat gluten-free as intently as potential, however understood that it may be very troublesome – not every little thing is labeled – and accepted that there can be some wheat in sauces and condiments. Additionally as a result of I don’t communicate the language, I didn’t wish to be troublesome to attempt to modify the meals.
I’ve been strict gluten-free for 3 years for the autoimmune stuff and it’s made an incredible distinction for me, and P has been gluten-free for the previous 12 months. (She was crimson on her IgG check and she or he used to have unhealthy abdomen ache and joint ache, which has resolved since we lower it out.) I informed her we’d simply do our greatest as a result of fortunately we’re not allergic to gluten, however we’d most likely have some in sauces, and so on.
We have been in a position to eat at two 100% gluten-free eating places in Seoul: Sunnyhouse and Monli2. Each have been A+ experiences.. higher than any of the gluten-free choices I’ve had in Tucson.
Sunnyhouse gluten-free restaurant in Seoul, Korea
Sunnyhouse has breakfast all day, sandwiches, platters and desserts. It’s type of a hidden location however is extraordinarily cute inside.
P had a fluffy nutella waffle, a grilled cheese,
and I had the Mediterranean plate. I may eat this day by day. The bread was SO delicate and fluffy. Why do US eating places have such a tough time making good gluten-free bread???
Monli2 gluten-free restaurant in Seoul, Korea
Monli2 has CHURROS, pizza, sandwiches, and baked goodies. I ordered a pesto pizza and it critically top-of-the-line gf pizzas I’ve had in my life (#1 is Italy, #2 is that this one, and #3 is NYC).
I knew that I might eat completely different meals whereas we have been in Korea and Japan and all the time we have been gone, I felt superb. My power was nice, I didn’t get a abdomen ache from something, and the meals have been all so extremely contemporary and scrumptious.
Our resort had an enormous breakfast buffet every day and you could possibly get American breakfast staples (like fruits, pastries, eggs, potatoes, bacon and juice) in addition to custom Korean gadgets, like kimchi, beef bulgogi, fried rice, pickled veggies, and so on.
Ideas for visiting and issues we seen:
– Positively be taught a handful of phrases however Google translate generally is a useful gizmo. I used to be shocked to search out that fairly a number of individuals spoke English, and when ordering at kiosks, it’s straightforward to change the language to English. The women know so many Korean phrases in order that they have been in a position to assist us out.
– The bus and subways are very clear and environment friendly, however we ended up utilizing Uber to get round. It was far cheaper to get round than it’s within the states. We preferred Uber as an alternative of conventional taxis as a result of you possibly can enter the placement – no language boundaries this fashion – and you may see the precise fare.
You may also get a Local weather Card or T Cash card for limitless passes for transportation in the event you resolve to make use of public transport.
– Carry somewhat trash bag with you. Public trash cans are usually not in every single place, so you’ll have to hold trash with you till you will discover a trash can. Don’t assume that each one trash cans are public; it could be owned by a retailer.
– Don’t stroll and eat. It’s unhealthy manners, so in the event you get a meal or snack, simply cease and luxuriate in it earlier than persevering with on. I payment like it is a higher strategy to eat anyway! In case your nervous system is calm, you’ll have a greater time digesting your meals.
– Google maps doesn’t work. We used Naver as an alternative to get round. Google transit points earlier than utilizing Naver for public transportation. It’s best to get these on public alerts when you’re there, but it surely’s good to confirm earlier than hopping on public transit.
– Tipping shouldn’t be a factor in Seoul, however you possibly can add compliments in Uber.
– Name your telephone supplier earlier than leaving to arrange a world plan. We normally do that earlier than we journey in order that we are able to have voice and knowledge. We use AT&T and it robotically prompts as soon as it detects that we’re in a special nation they usually supply offers; Liv’s telephone was half off whereas we have been there.
– Korean Air! That is what we used to get to Tokyo, and it was an elite expertise. Ticket costs have been very affordable,
– Take your sneakers off in your resort room. Normally they’ll have little slides by the door which you can put on.
– Go away your shampoo and conditioner at house. Pack LIGHTLY on the toiletries as a result of you can see higher stuff there and the shampoo and conditioner within the resort might be superb high quality.
– Korea makes use of European retailers. I’ve had these converters for years and introduced them on this journey. They work for laptops and telephones however don’t plug your hair dryer or styling instrument into these! The very best wager is to purchase a hair instrument there, go to go spa or get a blow out someplace (!), or let it air dry and do some sock curls.
– You may’t carry CBD to Korea. I’m glad I researched this beforehand and left my beloved gummies at house. I introduced melatonin however didn’t find yourself needing it. There are additionally some drugs which are prescribed right here that aren’t allowed in Korea, so examine the laws earlier than you go.
If you happen to’re headed to Seoul anytime quickly, you’re in for a deal with 🙂 I’m right here if I may help with any questions and I’ll be again with my head spa recap tomorrow!
xo
Gina
