We headed out to Coex Mall early in the morning as Raymond needs to meet a friend there. Given that the Coex is a pretty far flung location from the rest of the shopping malls. It’s really a great opportunity to clear it off my itinerary.
We took a bus before changing the subway to Samseong Station. Its good to see the crowd rushing off to work while i traveling leisurely on a Monday morning.
The Coex was nothing fantasic, just a very typical shopping mall. Due to the size and layout, it feels alot like Suntec City.
Suffering from serious lack from sleep and late nights, I was coming down with flu and was feeling slight feverish. However, I am determined not to let that stop me from exploring Seoul.
I did not have much desire for food but there was still the need to provide my body with fuel for the entire day. I scouted around for a while before deciding to try out the stuff at the food court.
It wasn’t a simple pay cash and makan system, I had to selected the item I wanna buy and proceed to the cashier for payment. I wonder did that apply to everyone or just tourists. It seems really troublesome for the locals to do that. I mean where is the value add?
The nice auntie at the store was helpful and assisted me in communicating with the cashier on the dish I was ordering. After making cash payment, I was issued a queue number and tasked to wait patiently for it to be flashed across numerous screens found in the foodcourt.
Gosh, I feel as though as I am sitting at a Polyclinic waiting to see the doc. Haha
Anyway, the actual food deviated quite abit from the mockup. Misrepresention! Arghh..it tastes so so only. Lesson learnt! Never never eat at foodcourts in korea.
Raymond managed to end his appointment early and we arranged to meet at 7 level of Hyundai Departmental Store. There was a partners’ brands special promotions fair. Not too bad, managed to get 2 plain long sleeve shirts at a very affordable price. I have to wear tie for my new job so have to start getting used to wearing plain shirts and get creative with ties.
Before leaving Coex, Raymond brought me to the pharmacy to get medicine for fever, flu and sore throat. Pop goes the pills and pray for miracles to happen (That I will be completely cured within 1hrs, at least that’s what Panadol Flu Fast Relief always do for me in Singapore). Btw, the pharmacies here do not carry panadol. So make sure you bring your own miracle meds!
I was toying around with 2 options on the way to the subway. Go back home to rest or continue shopping at Dongdaemun area. I was seriously feeling unwell but I did not want to waste a perfectly good afternoon lying in bed.
Raymond brought me there via the metro and we got out from the exit on the side of a huge urban park that is still under construction. From the way Raymond and some of my other Korean friends talk about the park you can sense the pride and anticipation for the park completion. This was something that is lacking in particularly the younger Singaporeans. ‘Oh another park?’ or ‘Chey, just another park’ will be our likely comments. We are starting to take things for granted and not appreciating the things that the authorities are creating for our enjoyment.
Anyway, Monday is really not the best day for shopping. 2 major malls Doosan Tower and Migliore were closed and I have to settle with the remaining ones. I understand from Raymond that Doosan was supposed to be the most popular mall with the locals.
Shopping at dongdaemun was pretty boring for a guy and extremely stressful! Each vendor was selling exactly the same products and everyone was trying to get your attention. Pressure was exerted on the shopper to make immediate decision. I really hate it!
I had enough of Dongdaemun after 3 malls and made a beeline via the metro straight down to Myeongdong. But I did manage to purchase my hat for Daniel’s MadHatter Birthday Party at HelloApm Shopping Mall.
Myeongdong is an confusing maze of middle and high range product brands. One can find Uniqlo, H&M, Gap etc within it’s grounds. The main reason why tourists get lost in Myeongdong lies in it’s highly orderly yet similar looking streets. Every street that you turn into seems almost similar with repeating shops brands particularly the beauty product stores. The trick to orient effectively is keep track one unique store in each street for quick identification.
The fast moving consumer beauty product industry is highly competitive in korea. Even for reputable brands, they have sales staff positioned outside the shops shouting at the top of their voice to entice shoppers in. You will be amazed by the sheer variety of beauty products and free samples and gifts are given FOC like nobody’s business.
I was tasked to purchase these 3 products for my BFFs while doing my own shopping.
The magic bb cream Joyce Yang wanted was pretty easy to find. The Ottie mask was the toughie! No one has even heard of it in Seoul. My godma must have been really outdated on the latest skin care trend in Korea. The Pau’s powder was experiencing a nationwide out of stock.
I met up with Raymond at Uniqlo in Myeongdong after he was done with his haircut. He brought me to a restaurant famous for it’s dumplings. They are so specialised that only 4 dishes were served. We ordered the dumplings and spicy cold noodles to share. The dumplings are uncannily similar to our Chinese Xiao Long Bao!
The Pau dinner officially marks the end of shopping for today. There are more exciting stuff happening tonight!
Meet with locals
To be sure that you have visited all the main destinations in Seoul you can make friends with locals. You can find them in advance on websites like Interpals and ask to help you on your trip.
If you have found just a phone number of a person, you can use Spokeo reverse phone lookup to connect with them on social networks. Phone number lookup makes it possible to find out social media profiles, emails, locations, and even criminal records. The main advantage – is that you make it safe for you to meet that online friend because you have done a phone number search and found out everything about the person.
Valerie Malecha – is a content writer for Spokeo. She is into travelling, marketing and meeting new people. Her main goal is to travel around the world.
You may also like to check out my posts on other exciting travel destinations here
