Day 5: Korean Saunas (Jjimjilbang) Part 1: Siloam Land Fire Pot

Going to a sauna (jjimjilbang) was another highlight of our trip especially for my hubby who love it so much!! After shopping, it is a good place to go to relax and detox. Saunas are usually opened 24 hours and charge a higher rate after night time. There were some saunas in Myeongdong but they do not allow both genders to be together or is gender-specified. Luckily I had done research before going to Seoul. The first sauna we visited was Siloam Land Fire Pot which is located near Seoul Station. On reaching the station, we realised that the map I have printed out was different from the one at Seoul Station. It was too brief, showing only the main streets. Luckily there was a kind soul who came to us seeing that we need help and even brought us there! Koreans are so helpful!!

We walked towards Lotte Mart and through it and ended up on a traffic lights below an overhead highway. And yes, we can see the word " Siloam" just across the road! Tha man was really helpful as he brought us ALL the way to the entrance and even told the staff we want two tickets which costs us 12,000 Won
(SGD 13 for entry after 8pm) !! So nice of him!! Gamsahamnida!




The fees range from 5000 Won (SGD 5.50) to 12,000 Won (SGD 13)


Once we got our locker keys and clothing we had to go to the gender-segregated room for our lockers. After stepping into the room, I had to remove my boots and socks and place them in a small locker just enough size for your footwear. Next I went to the counter lady who exchanged my footwear locker key for another locker key to put my other barang barang. I took 2 pieces of towels beside the counter which I will use later in the sauna. We were supposed to take a shower at the basement where the bath area is also located and change into the orange costume for our sauna experience. Do not worry as only the basement level and the locker area has naked people. All the other levels are unisex and we are allowed to be dressed.

Siloam has 6 levels. Sauna rooms such as oxygen room, salt room and white/blue jade room can be found here. You can enjoy many facilities such as massage chairs, manual massages, pc and games room, restaurant, fitness room etc. All of these are charged individually.



  

blue jade room




The hottest sauna room..





You can enjoy massagess here but they are SUPER expensive!!

Our overall experience at the Siloam was quite good. Our body aches seemed to disappear after the experience! We felt refreshed and energetic too! My husband suggested going for another trip on another day. That shows how much he love it! However we did not return to Siloam but went to a different spa for another experience (read about it on the next post)

Summary of Siloam Sauna:

Advantages

- they have many sauna choices
- the massage chair is cheap (Won 1000, SGD 1.10) and good!
- the clothes are cleaner and newer
- there are free mini lockers for putting your valuables like camera while enjoying your sauna

Disadvantages


- location may be a little tricky to find
- you need to pay CASH for using other facilities like the games room, pc room





Day 5: Hongdae (홍대) : Cats Cafe, Hello Kitty Cafe, Free Markets

Hongdae(홍대) is the term given for the area around Hongik University. There are many interesting shops and cafes such as the hello kitty cafe, cats cafe and dogs cafe.We went Hongdae on a Saturday to check out the free market just opposite Hongik University because it is the only day of the week that is opened (1-6pm). The crowd was huge at the free market!! There were many stalls selling handcrafted craft items such as accessories, bags, jewelry and clothes etc.



The other highlight of going Hongdae was to visit the cats cafe as I am a feline lover. This was our first experience and I was very excited when I saw a cat mascot on the street. It must be promoting the cats cafe!! And true enough when I looked up to the buiding behind, I saw the signage "Toms Cafe".

Before stepping into the cafe, we need to change our shoes to their in-housed slippers. Every visitor has to disinfect his hands before touching the cats. The admission fee is 8,000 Won (SGD 9) inclusive of a drink per pax. Quite cheap! Before ordering our drinks, the staff showed us some guidelines for handling the cats.


My hubby was so tired that he just sat down on the table playing with his iphone games. As for me, I couldn't wait to sayang (pet) those cute and beautiful cats!! There were mostly teenager girls in the cafe. Females loves cats more than males?


Here are the shots of the cats in the cafe:

After leaving the cats cafe, we proceeded to have our dinner nearby. At this point, we noticed the crowd on the streets is getting larger and larger. Even the subway station became the busiest of all that we have been to! We could not believe that the crowd is so HUGE at Hongdae. We reckoned it is due to the free market that is only opened on saturdays and also the vibrant nightlife that so many koreans and tourists flocked to!

How to get there:
Hongik University Station line 2, exit 5

Day 4: Nami Island (남이섬) Part 2 Beautiful & Fun Island!!

The zip wire ride is so fun!! Once we touched down Nami, I was so thrilled by the trees that had yellow leaves!! I even saw some red ones!! Yeah Yeah Yeah!! I love red maples!! Aren't them beautiful and romantic?

To explore Nami Island, you can choose the many options available: walking, cycling, electric car, tram car, sky bike etc.. Wow so much fun! It is great way to explore Nami for families with kids who will love the many kinds of transport inside the island!

 electronic bike (8000 Won for 30 mins, 15,000 Won for 60 mins)

 UNICEF train (2000 Won for one-way)



The sky bike which costs 3000 Won (SGD 3.30)



The famous thing about Nami Island are the stretches of road paths that are lined with tall trees and is very romantic during autumn or winter. The famous drama, Winter Sonata, was filmed here, making this place hugely popular with both tourists and locals.



romantic pathways!

 

beautiful trees everywhere!

Lovely spot for dating





Day 4: Nami Island (남이섬) Part 1 How To Get There

Nami Island! One of my favourite part of our itinerary! Nami Island is called Namisum in korean. Although it is a small leaf-shaped island, it is actually a republic by itself and even has its own flag!

As Nami is an island, you need to get to Gapyeong Wharf first before crossing over to it:

1) By shuttle bus
- the most economical way
- reservation in advance is a must if you want to secure your tickets
- you have to take the shuttle bus from Tapgol Park, (near Insadong area) and you will arrive at Gapyeong Wharf. Take Zip wire or ferry to Nami Island.

2) By train
- cheapest way but the most complicated
- take subway train to Songbong station (line 7), transfer line to the Gyeongchun Line, take a normal rail train to Gapyeong Station and finally take a taxi to Gapyeong Wharf.

3) By taxi
- most expensive!! we spent an average of about 100,000 Won (SGD 110) PER way!!! Ridiculous? Yes but we had no choice as the shuttle bus reservation was full for the whole week!! My advice is to call at least two weeks before your trip to reserve the tickets. If you are going during peak seasons like a weekend or school holidays, you need to book few weeks in advance as the tickets are highly sought after!

T-money card can be used in cabs

 

N Seoul Tower seen on the way to Nami Island

We went there on a weekday hoping to see less crowd as it is a very popular spot for tourists. However, the crowd is still HUGE!! There is a long queue for the ferry!! Feeling adventurous, we opted to zip-wired across to Nami instead.



the queue begins from here to.....




.....here!



After we bought our  zip-wire tickets, we realised that we have to wait for almost 1 hour for our turn!! But the advantage is we do not have to queue up. We were told to be back at a specified timing. Luckily it was just the right timing for us to have lunch while we waited for our turn. There are a few restaurants that seemed to sell similar items, chicken galbi, which is the fried marinated meat in a huge pan cooked with rice, noodles and other ingredients. I picked the restaurant that is facing the sea and a bungee jump. While waiting for our food to be served, we took some shots and watched bungee jumping.

 

restaurant with a nice sea view!

 


Our "entertainment" while waiting for lunch to be served


After our meal and strolling around, it was time for our zip-wire ride! We were taken to the top of the building by the lift and I was so excited when we reached. The staff demonstrated the procedure of the ride and we waited for our turn. As both of us were wearing slipped-on shoes, we were told to remove our shoes and places them in the pocket behind our zip wire seats. You will not alone for the ride as your partner will do the ride together with you. However since the speed of it is determined by your weight, the heaviest one will enjoy a faster ride.

To be continued on the next post.....

Day 3: Lotte World ( 롯데 월드 ), The Largest Indoor Theme Park in South Korea

Many visitors have a dilemma of choosing which theme park to go in Korea, Everland or Lotte World? We too had the same problem. Lotte World is located at Jamsil station in Seoul and is easily accessed to via the subway. Everland on the other hand, is NOT inside Seoul and you have to travel at least 1 hour in order to reach there. In summary, if you LOVE theme park and rides, I felt that Everland might be a better choice. As we are not great fans of theme parks, we choose Lotte World and the best thing is that it is near Hangang River which is where we were heading to after the park.

Lotte World 롯데 월드 is the world's largest indoor theme park. There is an ice-skating rink inside the indoor park! For the indoor rides, you can find roller coaster, balloon ride, viking, horse carousel, an arcade, mirror maze, monorail etc. Lotte World also has an outdoor park called "Magic Island" which resembles DisneyLand. There are gryo drop, gyro swing, bungee drop, spinning swing and more. Kiddy rides and games are also available.

The outdoor park, Magic Island

indoor ice skating rink

indoor park

Since we went during October, there is a halloween party & parade at Lotte World. There are different themes for different seasons. Check out their website for more details.

You can choose to buy the whole day admission ticket (with or without rides) or the nighttime (after 4pm, with or without rides) ticket. They were having a promotion for that day and we used our discount coupon (found in the box when you buy T-money card) and got an extra discount. The total we paid for a nighttime ticket after the discounts was 23,000 Won (SGD 25) which includes all the rides in the park.

We also visited the Lotte Star Avenue at the South Entrance, where you get to see a gallery of your favourite korean celebrities like Bae Yong-Jun, Choi Ji-Woo, Song Seung-Heon and Rain. Since we purchased the full-day passport, we get to visit the Star Avenue free of charge. The Star Avenue admission costs 10,000 Won (SGD 11) for independent visits. Although we are not hallyu-fans, we visited the gallery to take some shots. We noticed that there is an area just outside the Star Avenue entrance where you do not have to buy tickets to pose with the stars. It is the Star Showcase where items such as video clips, costumes and photos which are related to individual stars, are displayed for viewing and photo taking.

My favourite korean actor, Song Seung Heon ,with co-star Song Hye Kyo in "Autumn In My Heart"

Many of you will shout when you see this ;p

How to get there:
by subway: Jamsil station (line 2 and 8), use exit 4, the underground plaza
other ways to get to Lotte World

Day 3: Ice Gallery Near Anguk Station

We began our day at Ice Gallery which is at Bukchon, near Insadong. The entrance fee is 7,000 Won (SGD 7.70) for viewing the sculptures which are stored in a larger freezer room. Jackets are available for free rental to be used inside the gallery. My husband and I were the only visitors there and we had the whole gallery to ourselves! There are sculptures like the Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Bukchon Hanok Village, an igloo, a piano, a television, a computer, a toilet and even a birthday cake made of ice! I wanted to try the ice slide which I saw from their website (in korean only) but I could not find it given for the size of the gallery. Or is it hidden somewhere that I had missed it?

As we had never been to a snowing country before, we could not tolerate the VERY LOW temperature (-5 degree celsius)!! We quickly posed and took some shots with the sculptures and in less than 5 mins, we were out of the gallery!




entrance of ice gallery




 

 post-it notes on the ceiling



this was my favourite!

For an additonal 5,000 Won  (SGD 5.50), we went for the ice-mug making session. The staff gave us a demostration of carving the mug from a squarish ice block. The process is quite easy by using only one tool. In about 20 minutes, our mugs are completed. We can bring our own mug home for an additional fee. If you come in as a larger group, you can even compete for the "Best Mug Award" and given a medal and flowers. Cool right?



Demo by one of the staff

  

her masterpiece

 

my masterpiece



The top left hand corner shows the past winner of the "Best Mug Award"

How to get there (see map):
Take the subway to Anguk station (line 3), exit 1. Once out of the exit, turn right and walk along the shops at the main road until you see Twosome Place (cafe) and Olive Young (a drugstore) then turn right. Walk all the way in until you see the Art Sonje Center on your left, turn right and the Ice Gallery is at your right. It is opposite the information centre

Admission:
Ice gallery: 7,000 Won  (SGD 7.70)
Ice mug making experience: 5000 Won (SGD 5.50)