Japan Travel Diary: Tsukiji, Shopping, and the End of the Trip

November 10, 2014

Since we were in Tokyo, we had to have sushi at the Tsukiji Fish Market.

In Tsukiji, we chose a sushi place based on the menu displayed outside each shop. We didn’t even know the name of the sushi place we ate in. Ruther waited with us in line, but being allergic to seafood, he didn’t eat with us. He ate at the chicken place beside the sushi restaurant instead.

The sushi restaurant we chose. My friend said that the sign reads "Ichiba Sushi." — The sushi restaurant we chose. My friend said that the sign reads “Ichiba Sushi.”

I had a Welcome Set, and Butch and Allan ordered the most expensive omakase set.

I was very happy with the first sushi I ate—it had teriyaki sauce on it. I’m usually averse to salmon, but their salmon didn’t have the aftertaste I’ve come to hate. The shrimp sushi had a lot of wasabi in between the rice and shrimp that assaulted my nostrils for a couple of seconds. My maki was good, too—I always love me some fish roe. Allan and Butch’s set included fish semen sushi. They said it was creamy but tasteless.

The semen sushi is the leftmost sushi in this photo.

After our sushi breakfast, we went our separate ways to shop. Butch went back to Akihabara. Allan and Ruther went to Koreatown. And I went to Takashimaya in Shinjuku.

My first stop in Takashimaya was the Kinokuniya bookstore, which was in a separate area from the main Takashimaya mall, and once I got there, I was not disappointed. They had copies of Rookie Yearbook Three; Yes, Please; and Rob Delaney’s book. I haven’t seen these titles in Manila. I thought the price would be inflated because this was Tokyo, but they were reasonably priced. I had to stop myself from buying so many books. Sadly, they still didn’t have a copy of Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird. Maybe I should just order a copy from FullyBooked once I get home.

I went back to the main Takashimaya building and bought these cute but inexpensive earphones as Christmas gifts for my cousins at Tokyu Hands. I then saw paper bags with a drawing of Santa Claus and when you fold the top, it becomes Santa’s hat so of course I bought those, too. I also got a tax refund for my purchases. Then I went to Uniqlo to look for more Christmas gifts. The price tag for button-down shirts in Uniqlo was half their Manila price! I regret not buying more shirts. But at least I finished most of my Christmas shopping.

I really felt like an adult walking, shopping, eating, and commuting alone in Tokyo. I felt like a subway expert, too, wending my way through the stream of people and no longer looking left and right to make sure I’m going in the right direction. I also enjoyed not worrying about whether the guys were getting bored waiting for me.

I walked back to the hotel to drop my loot and ate the strawberry shortcake and opera cake I bought at Takashimaya.

Sadly not my cake. This was Allan's. — Sadly not my cake. This was Allan’s.

Then I met the guys at Shibuya for dinner. I was finally okay to have my picture taken at Hachiko’s statue. (However, the photo was corrupted.)

We ate in the same sutameshi place we had dinner in yesterday.

Allan's sutameshi — Allan’s *sutameshi set*

I then went to H&M and found so many clothes were on sale. I wish I went there before Uniqlo because the clothes were so much cheaper. I was able to buy some stuff for myself. I also bought some cute t-shirts for Jonas.

Even though I was there until the store’s closing, it still wasn’t enough time.

I went to a 7-11 and bought different flavors of KitKat and Pocky for pasalubong.

When I was done shopping, I messaged the guys to ask where they were and learned that they had been in the hotel for two hours already.

I packed after Butch finished packing because I found it too confusing to pack with all our shit laid out all over the hotel room. I didn’t know why he didn’t pack while I was still out. Maybe he thought I wanted a companion while packing.

I managed to fit everything in my two bags.

I put Salonpas on my lower back and slept for four hours.

***

November 11, 2014

We rode a taxi to Shinjuku station and bought our Narita Express tickets there. I was asleep the moment the train started moving. When I woke up, we were speeding through rice paddies. I want to visit the provincial parts of Japan, too.

Ruther forgot the posters he bought at Koreatown in the train. Allan was the most heartbroken that the trip was ending.

I spent my remaining yen buying more pasalubong at the airport. I regret not buying a yukata in Asakusa. Apparently, it’s not available everywhere.

I may not share the same intense separation anxiety Allan has for Japan since this trip has been less than perfect for me, but I still want to go back. We’ve barely scratched the surface of what this country has to offer; there are still so many places to see and food to eat.

I’m definitely going back.

Until next time. Thanks for reading my travel diary!

Japan Travel Diary: Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, and Shibuya

November 9, 2014

I was in my dream travel destination, and I wanted to cry.

For our second day in Tokyo we went to Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, and Shibuya.

Since we were going to Harajuku—a known fashion hub—we took more care than usual in dressing ourselves. I love dressing up so I was psyched. But once we arrived in Meiji Shrine, my excitement gradually waned. The guys walked ahead together, and I was left behind. I already expected this to happen, but it didn’t make me any less sad.

People watching during the walk to the shrine distracted me for a short while. I thought it would be cold because of the trees, but they actually shielded us from the wind so it was slightly warmer.

We chanced upon a traditional wedding. We didn’t write wishes on those wooden things anymore because we found it pricey. We just used our money on food instead.

There wasn’t a lot of food choices within the shrine’s complex. We ate staple temple food again, this time yakisoba with okonomiyaki.

We mistakenly took the long way around Meiji Shrine to get to Takeshita-dori. Maybe I was just tired, but during this long walk, with me trailing behind a good thirty paces, I really felt alone.

I decided to rid myself of the guys once we arrived at Harajuku because I didn’t want them waiting for me and unintentionally pressuring me while I look in different shops. So I took a pocket wi-fi for myself and set off on my own.

Most of the wares sold in Harajuku are too kawaii for my taste so all I managed to buy was a printed button-down shirt and earrings.

I met with the guys at the end of the busy street, and we walked to Omotesando.

There were so many people in Omotesando. And because it’s situated on a hill, you could see the people, which seemed like thousands, walking miles ahead.

Allan, Ruther, and Butch went in the huge Apple store. I stayed outside and sat on a bench to rest my, by now, dead feet. Wearing boots, no matter how comfy, for two straight days of non-stop walking was indeed a sacrifice for beauty.

Saw these cuties while I was sitting in front of the Apple Store in Omotosendo — Saw these cuties while I was sitting in front of the Apple Store in Omotesando

We then looked for an obscure coffee shop called Omotesando Coffee. Allan, probably sensing something’s wrong, treated me to a cup. I don’t drink coffee so I didn’t really appreciate whatever subtle flavors Omotesando Coffee had to offer.

Even though we were already hungry, we decided we would travel a few minutes more to eat dinner in Shibuya instead of Omotesando.

I lost all remaining happiness at Hachiko’s statue.

Once we arrived at the statue, I needed to pee. The nearest restroom I could find was in a mall across the street from the statue. It took me about twenty minutes to get back. Naturally, they already took photos with Hachiko. For me, that was the last straw. When Allan asked if I also wanted to take a photo with the dog, I refused. I felt that if I uttered more than one sentence, I would’ve burst into tears, let alone be able to smile for a picture.

I sound like a whiny fuck because I was in Japan and I should’ve been enjoying myself, but I wasn’t. And the fact that I wasn’t enjoying myself made me that much sadder.

When I crossed the famous Shibuya crossing, I felt like I could disappear in the sea of people, and no one would care.

Is this filter emo enough to express my feelings?

Still very much hungry, we walked around Shibuya a few minutes more until the guys finally agreed on a place to eat dinner. Allan’s dish was good. I was happy with my burger steak set, too. It went well with one of the dressings. I don’t know why I kept ordering meal sets with shrimp furai when all the previous ones I had ordered had been disappointing.

Because I couldn’t handle the cold anymore, I went to the Forever 21 building nearby (alone, of course) and bought a sweater.

If the guys noticed my sour mood, they didn’t let it on. I honestly don’t even know if I wanted them to acknowledge my feelings anyway. I just wanted to belong, but I also didn’t want to force it.

But I don’t feel that anymore. At least not as intensely as earlier when I felt like crying. I just have to come to terms with not being part of the group. I’ll be fine if I just do my own thing.

I actually prefer to be alone tomorrow for shopping day, but Butch says he wants to join me.

Hopefully my next Japan trip will be more fun than this.

Japan Travel Diary: Asakusa and Akihabara

November 8, 2014

We started our first tour day in Tokyo in the afternoon, and our first stop was Sensoji Temple in Asakusa.

The first time I saw Sensoji Temple was in a photo of my mom with the instantly recognizable big red lantern.

We ate staple temple food (yakisoba paired with chicken karaage), before exploring Sensoji.

As we were walking around the temple, we saw a gathering of people dressed in different Japanese costumes: men wearing kimono-like worker coats, women in kimonos, and children in those same worker costumes.

These worker-like kimono costumes are called happi. — Found out that these worker-like kimono costumes are called *happi*.

More onlookers and costumed locals continued to gather so we hung around to see what was about to happen.

It was a lantern parade. The men carried or pushed big, intricately-designed paper lanterns while shouting a battle cry. The women held fish-shaped paper lanterns. And they had a marching band of drums, flutes, and tiny cymbals.

It was dark when the parade ended, so we got to see Sensoji Temple and the Five-Tiered Pagoda lit up. It was beautiful.

We then shopped for souvenirs at the line of stalls just outside the temple. We weren’t on a tight budget, but we were still hesitant to buy stuff thinking that since this is a tourist spot, they might price their goods higher.

I bought some “lucky cat” magnets and the wind chime my mother wanted.

At some point during shopping, the guys walked too far ahead and I was left behind. Luckily, I saw Allan stepping out one of the stores and followed him to see if he would turn back to look for me. (He didn’t.)

Then we went to Akihabara for some duty-free gadget shopping. Allan bought a fancy leather case for his new camera. I bought a waterproof pouch for my phone so that I could take selfies while submerged in water.

There were buildings housing floors of arcade games, and we went inside one of them. We tried our luck at those claw crane machines, but we weren’t able to grab any prizes.

We did find a hilarious game involving flipping tables though. It’s like those games where you hammer or punch something as hard as possible to get a high score except this one’s flipping tables, like the meme. The game starts with you choosing a scenario. (Ours were a family dinner and a nightclub scene.) Then it will play a story where the character slowly gets pissed off. You slam your hands on the table to release your building agitation. And then, once you deem it the proper time for an outburst, you flip the table. The graphics are hilarious. It even shows a slow motion, 360-degree view of the scene once the table is flipped.

Great for when you need to release some stress

We went to Akiba Achi to look for a place to have dinner and decided on a restaurant specializing in unagi or eel. One of the servers there was so cute. He had a serene face and soft features like a girl’s. He moved quickly and gracefully. I wanted to take him home.

Some people like fatty fish, but I don’t, and the unagi was really fatty. I think, for unagi, being fatty was supposed to be a virtue, but my mouth hated it. Still, I finished my bowl.

We then went to Golden Gai. The walk from Shinjuku Station to Golden Gai was interesting, because we found ourselves in another red light district. We were reminded of home and our world-class entertainers when we saw an establishment named Manila Boom Boom.

Golden Gai was the type of seedy place that Allan likes with its graffitied walls, cramped bars with yellow incandescent lighting, and a constant haze of cigarette smoke. I think it’s because of his Tony Leung and Wong Kar Wai aesthetic obsession. The speakeasies looked intimidating for the uninitiated. And when we chanced a glimpse of the barmen (and women), they seemed like characters with gripping stories to tell.

Anthony Bourdain featured Golden Gai years ago in No Reservations, so maybe that’s why there were a lot of Caucasians.

We wanted to drink, but we were too tired and still had an early morning for Meiji Shrine tomorrow. We’ll just go back another time. Hopefully, it’s not demolished by then.

Japan Travel Diary: Universal Studios Osaka and Shinkansen

November 7, 2014

This day made a huge damage to our budget.

We had a small “adventure” on our way to Universal Studios. We waited at the platform where the train to Universal Studios stops and rode the first train that arrived. We were relaxed as we talked about the highlights of our Kyoto tour yesterday, until we heard an announcement through the PA system saying that the train was going to be separated at one of the stations ahead—the first six cars will be going in one direction and the last six cars in another. We looked at each other’s befuddled faces. What if we were in the wrong car once the split happens? Should we change cars? We checked Google Maps and saw that we were not moving anywhere close to Universal Studios. The entire train line that we rode was wrong.

Although I would’ve loved to see the train cars being separated, we hopped off the train before it happened, then rode the correct one to Universal Studios.

It was already 10:15 a.m. when we arrived.

I didn’t know if it was because it was Halloween month or Japanese pop culture dictates it, but there were a lot of people in cosplays. My favorite were these three guys wearing radish costumes and one of them was carrying a tiny baby radish plushy.

Because most of the rides had a long waiting time, we were only able to ride the Spider-Man 3D ride which was like the Transformers ride in Universal Studios Singapore. We should’ve just bought the cheaper express pass because that allowed pass holders to skip lines.

The Harry Potter park was also packed with tourists even though a timed entry system was already implemented. There were long lines everywhere. I wasn’t even able to go inside Honeydukes to buy a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavoured Bean or a mug of butterbeer because we didn’t have time to waste on long queues.

But Hogsmeade and Hogwarts were still a sight to see. We toured inside the Hogwarts castle. I managed to buy an overly priced Chocolate Frog so I’m happy.

I want to go back once the hype has died down and there are fewer tourists.

We bought our shinkansen tickets at the Universal Studios Station. It was more expensive than our round-trip flight tickets.

After eating dinner, we went back to Hotel Kinki to pick up our luggage, then we went to Shin-Osaka Station.

Shin-Osaka Station was a vast, intricate, and bustling web. Luckily, the ticketing officer at the Universal Studios Station already told us which platform to go to. The platforms for the bullet trains were outdoors so waited in the cold night.

We rode the Nozomi train which was the fastest bullet train line.

The train was stable for something that moved so fast that you didn’t feel it shaking once you’re seated inside. The most impressive part was how the train could stop smoothly despite its high speed.

Lugging our baggage in the bullet train was no big deal because it was spacious. But once we arrived in Tokyo Station, it was a different story.

We arrived at Tokyo Station at 11 p.m., but there were still a lot of people. The train to Shinjuku was one of the older ones, so the cars were narrow. It wasn’t even rush hour, yet it was packed. What more during then?

Once we arrived in Shinjuku, we didn’t know which exit to take. We took our time figuring out which was the correct exit until we saw the exit gates in front of us being lowered down. We hurried to find another exit because we didn’t want to spend our first night in Tokyo trapped inside a train station.

Despite the lateness of the hour, our luggage situation, and our state of semi-exhaustion, we were still adamant in our refusal to hail a cab. We were in Tokyo and we welcomed adventure. So we walked from Shinjuku Station to Citadines. It was Friday night; we passed by a lot of drunk people on our way to the hotel.

We finally arrived at our hotel at 1 a.m. We were tired and happy, and we made it in one piece—that deserved a group hug. We then went to the nearby Yoshinoya to celebrate.

This is the first time I’m going to sleep with Salonpas patches on. I hope it helps relieve my tired muscles. I also have foot patches stuck on the soles of my feet that are supposed to remove toxins. We agreed to sleep in and start our tour later than usual.

~~Tomorrow~~ Later we’re going to Asakusa and Akihabara.

For now, good night, Tokyo!

Japan Travel Diary: Non-Jitter Jitters

November 5, 2014

I’ve been waiting for this to trip to happen for months (years, even, if you count the number of times I’ve fantasized of going to Japan) and I’m not even excited.

All I’ve been focused on the past few days is getting everything ready—packing my things and making sure everything in the house is set once I leave. I even did the laundry this morning.

I can’t sleep anymore so I’m spending the remaining flight time writing today’s entry on the plane. Allan manifests his excitement by being stressed. Ruther is pretty laidback. I wonder how Butch, who will be flying from Taiwan, is feeling. Earlier we sent him a picture of us three before we turned off our phones.

The pilot just announced that we’re about to land so I’ll have to stop writing. I’m still not pumped up. I guess I’ll be once I’m through immigration. Then I can finally stop worrying.

***

Upon arrival at Kansai, we learned that Butch’s flight got pushed back. Our agreement was that we will go ahead without him if he gets delayed for more than an hour. We messaged him through Viber before we left and lost the free Wi-Fi at the airport.

The bus that would take us near our hotel was at Terminal 1, bus stop 5. This bus dropped us off at Osaka Station near Hotel New Hankyu.

We were clueless on how to get to our hotel. But still, we refused to take a taxi. Allan dragged us to the front of Osaka Station to take pictures and, luckily, there we found a locality map showing Hotel Kinki. Allan took a photo of the map using his phone and we used it as our guide.

By that time, I was finally giddy with excitement. I was outside the streets of Japan and potentially getting lost in the cold autumn night.

We walked for thirty to forty minutes, all the while dragging our luggage. We almost missed Hotel Kinki, because though you could glimpse it from the sidewalk, it wasn’t exactly on it. I’m proud to say I was the one who spotted it.

The area around Hotel Kinki was like a low-key red light district. But it felt safe; we weren’t harassed when we explored the alleys.

We learned that you need an ID to verify if you’re of age to buy cigarettes from a vending machine. A Japanese man who saw our confusion inserted himself in our huddle and tapped his wallet on the machine and out came Allan’s pack. We also discovered a Coco Ichibanya Curry during our stroll which made Allan really happy because eating at Coco Curry was one of his goals in Japan. And then Butch arrived and joined us at the restaurant. We were finally complete.

Our room, where I’m writing, is clean and spacious enough. It has a lot of power outlets. But the best thing about it is the separate toilet and shower. Very convenient for Butch and me because it will save preparation time in the morning.

It’s almost 2 a.m. and I set my alarm at 6 a.m.

~~Tomorrow~~ Later, we’ll be exploring Kyoto, where I’ll have my Memoirs of a Geisha moment at Fushimi Inari Shrine.

Let’s go back to Seoul!

Annyeong and welcome back, friends! Have you booked your tickets to Korea? Of course you have. You just don’t know it yet. Let’s continue our Seoul adventure and hope that this time, no one gets lost or left behind. Aja!

The rain came pouring down on our fourth day, so we decided to go somewhere indoors; we ended up at the National Museum of Korea. It was an impressive building on the inside because it was so bright. But apart from that, the museum houses the usual fare of artifacts enclosed in glass cases. The food at the food court was good though, and a lot of cute souvenirs could be found in the gift shop.

Speaking of cute, we headed to Insadong after our pseudo-cultural excursion. Now this place is “Cute Central.” Most of the trinkets being sold in shops lining the stretch of Insadong’s main road and its arteries were unique and handmade– things you won’t find anywhere else. And so the prices were understandably a bit steep. I went crazy over these handmade metal earrings because no two designs were the same. The earrings didn’t even have matching pairs, which was super cool. It wasn’t shopping day yet so I just feasted my eyes on them.

Umm…speaking of cute…

Hesed said he was tired and would rather go back to the hotel. And he did, of course. The rest of us decided to walk from Insadong to Namdaemun Night Market. It was the best worst decision we made during our trip. From Insadong we walked about half the length of Cheonggyecheon, where we spotted couples warming each other by using their bodies in the cold night, beside the cold stream. By the time we reached the east end of the stream, my bladder was already sending me “I need to pee” signals.

More canoodling couples along the Cheonggyecheon stream.

We weren’t sure where to go after Cheonggyecheon. We crossed over the road immediately before us, saw a police station, and asked for directions. It was of little help though since we couldn’t understand each other. The officers just kept pointing to the right. We followed their direction. We passed by Seoul City Hall and Daehanmun, the main entrance of Deoksugung Palace.

After a couple of minutes, we found ourselves in a hilly part of the city, all the while looking for a public restroom because my bladder was about to burst any minute. It was torture because I was thirsty from all the walking, and I wanted to drink water. But that would make the situation worse. It was almost midnight, so the air was colder than what we had been used to up until that point. Also, I was wearing a skirt so if the wind blew, the cold air would reach my nether regions. I remember screaming, “I need to pee so bad!” every so often. Miraculously, we eventually reached Namdaemun. However, all the stores were already closed.

Namdaemun is a little dingy. It has the vibe of Binondo, but much cleaner. And you don’t fear about getting stabbed or killed any minute. But for some reason, all of us enjoyed that failed excursion.

This lovely ahjumma found us–probably pitied us–and told us that there was no night market. She then clung to my arms, and dragged me to her food stall. We had dumplings, kimbap and eomuk guk again. We found a restroom at a closed gas station at the end of the road. I was so afraid that it would be locked. Luckily it wasn’t, and so I proceeded to have one of the best pees I’ve probably ever had.

The next day, Hesed still wasn’t feeling up to touring, and decided to stay in the hotel and eat his fried chickens. We just told him to meet us in Insadong at 7 p.m. for dinner. We didn’t have reliable means of communication, so that’s how we met up. We’d agree on a time and place, and if you weren’t there, we’d leave. We were basically Neanderthals.

The following day, we went to Namsangol Hanok Village which is a traditional Korean village. Again, we didn’t go for guided tours and just looked around. There were games, dancing and other traditional activities you can participate in. Our main goal at Namsangol was to wear a hanbok. We had a blast pretending to be kisaengs (it’s like the Korean version of a geisha), kings, princesses, emperors, slaves, peasants or scholars. We were also lucky enough to watch a traditional Korean wedding. If I’m not mistaken, they hold weddings during the weekends at around noon. We walked further uphill and found this grey circular stone that had congratulatory messages carved on it. The huge rock was a gift from different cities around the world to Seoul for its sixth centennial anniversary. For some reason we felt so comfortable there, and kept saying that that stone attracted positive energy. So we stayed there for a while, laughed and talked about how our trip was going so far. We went our separate ways after: I went with Matt to Dongdaemun and enjoyed a potato corn dog; the rest to Yongsan to buy gadgets.

Matt eating a potato corn dog at Dongdaemun.

The last day is always shopping day. We had different plans so we set off in pairs. I returned to Insadong, and then went to Dongdaemun with Matt. The guys went to Daehangno, Itaewon and Myeongdong. We didn’t plan on it, but we bumped into each other at Doota Mall in Dongdaemun. We checked each others’ shopping hauls and talked about how our day went.

We had our last meal in Korea at a Caffe Bene branch right across our hotel, and reflected on our trip. We had an informal discussion, where we aired our grievances to each other–what dramas and bloopers we won’t tolerate next time, and what attitudes that needed to be changed. Some of us (a.k.a. Matt) got annoyed at the weirdest things, like believing that uttering a specific word will cause bad luck. I for one knew that I need to stop losing my shit whenever I get tired and/or hungry.

We had fond memories of Korea, and we talk about it constantly. I’m definitely going back because I did miss out a lot. I want to go to Hongdae, Itaewon and Myeongdong, too. I want to push the DMZ tour. I want hole-in-the-wall experiences. I miss the weather. I want to shop just for myself this time. And if our original plan for next year doesn’t push through, I’m definitely going to Korea as Plan B.

Read the first part of our Seoul trip.

Annyeong! Let’s all go to Korea!

My friends and I occasionally talk about the places we want to visit. Japan is a dream. Most of us agree that a Europe tour would be amazing. Backpacking in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam is another option. We wanted to go somewhere we haven’t been to—preferably somewhere with a different climate, and one that doesn’t require a visa or impose stiff requirements. In early 2012, we decided to go to Seoul, South Korea. We agreed on the dates (October 24-30, autumn season) and waited for a seat sale.

One early morning in March, I read a text message from a friend saying that Cebu Pacific was offering ₱1 flights to all international destinations. So I grabbed my laptop and checked if the discounted airfare applied to our chosen dates. And while the return flight wasn’t on sale, I still decided to book seats. Our round trip ticket to Korea cost around PHP6000 which wasn’t so bad. But we didn’t celebrate fully because we still had to secure our visas.

Getting a Korean visa is easy as long as you submit all the requirements. There’s no need to set an appointment and no interviews either. And for Filipinos, visa application is free if you don’t intend to stay for more than two months. You can submit your application at the Korean Embassy from 9-11 am. They’ll ask you to come back after a week. And if there are no issues with your requirements, you’ll get your visa on that day too. I actually had to go back twice because they asked me to submit supporting documents. I was so stressed! But everything worked out.

We were psyched(!!!) when we saw the visa stamped on our passports. We were finally going to Korea for sure. We even intended to have a Korean appreciation/orientation day where we’ll watch Oldboy and talk about Korean culture and all that shit. But it didn’t happen because people got busy before the trip and we couldn’t match our schedules. So a few of us just noted the places we wanted to visit and made a very loose itinerary. For those concerned about budget, we allotted PHP40,000 for our seven-day trip. It was definitely more than enough. I spent PHP30,000 on food, accommodation, transportation, and all the entrance tickets and still had 10,000 left for shopping. First thing you need to do when you arrive in Korea is to get a transportation card at the airport. I suggest T-money because it has the least limitations and you can use it in convenience stores too.

Stepping out of the airport that night was the best (cold) feeling ever. There was a shuttle from Incheon International Airport to our hotel. We thought at first that the fare from the airport to Seongbuk was KRW1000 (PHP40) which was absolutely cheap because the airport was around 40km away from our hotel. We realized later on that the KRW1000 was the amount left in our T-money and that the fare was actually KRW14000. We stayed at Holiday Inn Seongbuk at a highly discounted price. (Thanks, Matt!) Still giddy, we walked around the neighborhood. We ate at Lotteria which is their version of McDonald’s/KFC combined. We saw a convenience store still open and I bought banana milk because of course.

On our second day, which was the official start of our tour, we had a problem with communication. I brought two phones, one is a Globe prepaid line and the other one was a Smart postpaid line. I had to request roaming services for my Globe prepaid. The Globe subscribers said that their lines were set to auto-roaming, but none of them could get a signal. Due to delayed visa application, one of my friends, Daivey, had to stay in a hostel in downtown Seoul. Before we went our own ways the night before, we agreed to meet at the Korea University train station at around 9am. That morning, Daivey wasn’t there. I texted her but she didn’t reply. Apparently, there was a 30 to 45-minute delay in receiving the messages. We learned that the easiest way around this is to send a text message to someone in the Philippines and have that person forward the message to Daivey. We eventually found each other at Lotte World.

Lotte World was fun. The two rides that made my day were the Gyro Drop and the Bungee Drop. Riding the Gyro Drop was a personal success. I was about to chicken out but my friends pushed me to do it and I’m so happy they did. Some of them rode the Gyro Swing too but I’ve had my fill of adventure that day so I begged off. Whatever you do, DO NOT RIDE THE SWING TREE. It’s like Enchanted Kingdom’s Flying Fiesta but THE WORST. We ended our day eating some amaze grilled chicken skewers (dakkochi) and sipping on fish cake soup (eomuk guk) from a paper cup in the streets of Apgujeong. It was so fucking good in that cold night.

The next day we went to Gyeongbokgung Palace. Our schedule was more synchronized this time with Daivey going to our hotel and all of us leaving together. Things were going great until one of us (Hesed) got left behind when we had to transfer lines at Dongdaemun station. Hesed’s one of those people who just goes with the flow. His mindset is, “I’ll just follow you wherever.” So we were running down the stairs to catch the train and he was just behind us. The doors closed. We felt exhilarated in our little adventure and then someone asked, “Is everyone here?” And then we saw Hesed waving from the platform. We were worried because he had no idea where we were going AND we had to transfer again to a different line after two stations. Ruther and Isaac went back to claim Hesed at Jongno o-ga station which was the next station from Dongdaemun.

That’s Hesed on the left. And that’s me with the guys who found his lost soul.

We all made it to Gyeongbokgung. Our original plan was to visit at least two palaces but Gyeongbokgung was so vast and picturesque that we stayed there for the entire day.We walked, talked, took lots of photos, and basked in the fact we’re in this beautiful place in this perfect weather. We never participate in guided tours. We just made our own stories about Gyeongbokgung. Sometimes we’ll hear something interesting from the tour guides and we’ll relay it to the group. So we really didn’t learn much about the history of Gyeongbokgung. But that’s what Google and Wikipedia is for, guys.

We had grilled pig intestines for dinner. They were so good. After dinner, we went to N Seoul Tower. We had an inkling that Korea is a place for lovers because of all the couples we saw at Lotte World wearing matching shirts. But N Seoul Tower takes it to a higher level, literally and figuratively. There were dried grass formed to make a heart shape, seats made for two, trees made of padlocks symbolizing a wish or promise to your sweetheart, and tiles with love messages. As the night wore on, the number of couples canoodling increased. And I guess PDA is encouraged in N Seoul Tower because we saw benches in between the trees with little to no lighting. Have at it, lovers.

Everyone was tired from walking all day. We knew we had to walk 5 to 7 minutes more from the train station to our hotel so someone suggested that we take a bus instead. They said they saw some buses stopping near Holiday Inn. I wanted to just walk because we weren’t sure of the bus routes. But some of the guys wanted to push it and I was too tired to argue. Lo and behold, we rode the wrong bus. Or maybe it was the right bus but going the opposite direction. The driver then asked us to alight, trying his best to explain why in his limited English. All we understood was that we had to get out of the bus. Luckily, he let us off a bus station near a university. I was in no mood to ask for directions so I just sulked. We were able to ride a bus that dropped us to a different train station so we still ended up walking.

Read the next part of our trip to Seoul.

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