South Korea Trip Day 6 - Siloam Sauna, Nanta Show & N Seoul Tower

After a few days of clocking (much) more than 10,000 steps per day, its time to pamper ourselves and pay a visit to the spa. We took the metro to Seoul Station after our breakfast at Paris Baguette, and found our way to Siloam Sauna, which is situated opposite Lotte Mart.

Our breakfast at Paris Baguette - a popular bakery in South Korea

Siloam Sauna

While Dragon Hill Spa is the more popular jjimjilbang (Korean bath house) choice for tourists, we decided to patronize Siloam Sauna instead at the recommendation of a friend, who told us that the facilities between the 2 jjimjilbang are similar, but Siloam Sauna is less crowded, hence more exclusive.

Siloam Sauna 

49 Jungnim-ro, Jungnim-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Nearest Metro: Seoul (Siloam Sauna is just opposite Lotte Mart's main entrance) 

After paying the admission ticket, we were given a set of clothing, then lead (separately) to the male & female changing room, where we exchanged our shoes for 2 small towels and a key to a locker where we could put our belonging. There are all together 6 floors to explore, and I've told my husband that we should meet in 1 hours time at the meeting lounge in 2F so that we could spend some "me" time at B1 where the bath houses are (the bath houses are separated into male and female bath house). After keeping all my belongings and clothes in the locker, I entered the bath house (undress with only 1 small towel) and showered at the designated area, before soaking myself in the various pools. All the pools are supposed to be therapeutic - for example, the charcoal pool helps to remove impurities and improve blood circulations while the wormwood pool helps to avoid mensuration pain. Such introductions are written on the walls of each pool and there are also instructions on how long you should spend at each pool, and the temperature of the pool.

I also tried the scrub service, where an ahjumma (aunty) uses the scrub towel to scrub off dirts from every corner of my body, and ended off by covering me with soap and sending me off to the shower area to clean myself. The after effect was great - I felt "clean and shiny" after the scrub. Do note that this additional service is not included in the admission fee; the ahjumma will take down the number of your locker, and you will pay when you collect your shoes during you check out.

After the shower, I went to the dressing room to get dressed, and met my husband at the meeting lounge in 2F. We sat on the massage chair for a while before going for lunch at the restaurant located inside Siloam Sauna. 

The menu - a variety of Korean food to choose from

We ordered a samgyetang (Korean ginseng chicken soup), mandu (dumplings) and sauna eggs (eggs cooked in the hot sauna) . The samgyetang was rich in taste and the chicken was tender, while the mandu was filled with meat as well. 

Samgyetang

Mandu

Sauna Egg

After an enjoyable meal, we spent the rest of the afternoon trying out the various sauna rooms in 4F. Similar to the pools in B1, different sauna rooms offer different medicinal benefits, and we tried out all the different rooms before choosing a room which we are comfortable with to rest.

We have pre-booked our tickets for the 5pm Nanta show from Changi Recommends, so we made our way to UNESCO Building in Myeongdong after a relaxing afternoon in Siloam Spa. 

Nanta Theatre (Myeongdong)

UNESCO Building, 3rd floor

Nearest Metro Station - Euljiro 1-ga Station

Alternatively, you can also take Line 4, get off at Myeongdong Station, and walk there (which was what we did)

The show is about 4 cooks trying to cook for a banquet, and a bossy manager who is trying to ensure that everything is on plan. We had a good laugh throughout the show and thoroughly enjoyed this fusion of comedy, Korean tradition dance and music and live cooking show.

Dinner was at Myeongdong Tonkatsu for the breaded pork cutlet before we head to N Seoul Tower.

Myeongdong Tonkatsu

Address: 59-13 Myeongdong 1 (il)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

There are different ways to get to N Seoul Tower, and for us, since we were still full from dinner but not gamed for an uphill climb, we walked to Namsan Orumi, and took the slanted elevator to Namsan cable car station, where we took the cable car up to N Seoul Tower.

N Seoul Tower in a distant

Cable Car ticket - bought on the spot

1 of the most popular activity in N Seoul Tower is to place a love lock with your partner, symbolizing eternal love, so of course we did what everyone did - bought a lock and found an ideal place to seal our love.

Night view from Namsan

More and more locks

We pre-booked our tickets to go up N Seoul Tower from Changi Recommends, so we escaped the cold wind and headed to the top of the tower to enjoy the night view of the city before calling it off for the day.

Up Next: South Korea Trip Day 7 - Nami Island & Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort

Previously: South Korea Trip Day 5 - First sunrise and back to Seoul

South Korea Trip Day 5 - First sunrise and back to Seoul

Watching the first sunrise of a new year is a popular form of New Year celebration in Korea. Before we went to sleep the night before, we checked the time the sun will rise, and set the alarm to wake us up before the sun rises. We struggled to wake up so early after a late night, but at least we do not need to brave the coldness and had the luxury of viewing the first sunrise of the new year at the comfort of our hotel room in Dawn Beach Hotel, which faces the Gwangandaegyo/Diamond Bridge.

View of the Diamond Bridge

First sunrise of 2018 peeping out from the bottom of the bridge

Sky dotted by balloons released at the Sunrise Festival in Haeundae Beach 

Breakfast for the new year was settled at Mom's Touch, a popular Korean fried chicken fast food restaurant after we checked out of the hotel. The outlet was situated along Gwangalli Beach, and within walking distance from our hotel. After breakfast, we took the metro to Busan station, then catch the KTX back to Seoul. Same as our trip to Busan, we were unable to get a seat even though we tried to reserve one as soon as we reach Busan, and had to make do with a standing ticket.

See also: How to survive a standing ticket on your KTX Train to Busan 

Since we were not carrying a lot of luggage, we headed to Lotte Mart for some shopping before checking in to our hotel in Seoul, since Lotte Mart is just beside Seoul Station. 

Lotte Mart

Address: 426 Cheongpa-ro, Bongnaedong 2(I)-ga, Jung-gu, South Korea

Nearest metro station: Seoul Station

The shopping spree added 2 boxes to our luggage, filled with boxes of Market-O brownies, Calbee Honey Butter Chips, Choco Pies, instant noodles, seaweed, ginseng tea and facial products from Innisfree. Do note that as long as you spend more than KRW30K, there will be instant tax refund.

Counters where you could pack your goodies into boxes (at no extra charge)

If you really buy A LOT, you can arrange to ship your goodies back at a charge

We took a taxi to Hotel New Oriental Myeongdong to check in before heading out for dinner at Gogung. We ordered a bibimbap (which Gogung is famous for), and a Japchae (Stir Fry Fried Noodle) to complete the meal.

Gogung

Address: 27 Myeongdong 8ga-gil, Chungmuro 2(I)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul

Nearest metro station: Myeongdong Station

Bibimbap - Yummilicious with fresh ingredient and tasty gochujang sauce

Japchae

Before we head to bed, we tried the Samyang Hot Chicken Ramen bought from the 7-11 convenient store next to the hotel. Spicy was an understatement, but on the other hand, eating it in the cold weather does brought some comforting warmth to our stomach. 

Up next: South Korea Trip Day 6 - Siloam Spa, Nanta Show, N Seoul Tower

Previously: South Korea Trip Day 4 Part 2 - Count-down at Yongdusan Park

South Korea Trip Day 4 Part 2 - Count-down at Yongdusan Park

After our visit to the colorful Gamcheon Cultural Village, we headed back to Gwangalli Beach area and had our meal at Dong Fang Ming Zhu, a Chinese restaurant, before we head back to our hotel room for an afternoon nap.

What else but the lovely Jajangmyeon

One of the highlights of this trip is that this is the first time we are counting down to a new year in a foreign country! In Korea, bell ringing ceremonies will take place to welcome the new year, and we decided to attend the countdown party in Busan instead of Seoul to avoid the massive crowds and to be among the first in Korea to see the first sunrise of the new year. The countdown party is held at Yongdusan Park, so after our nap, we headed back to Gukje Market area to have dinner first at Lotteria. 

Since it was still early, we roam around the area and had the famous ssiat hotteok (sweet pancake with hot sugar and nuts fillings).

Cute Candy Floss shaped in various cartoon characters

In order not to lose our way, we followed the underground link from Jagalchi Metro Station to Nampo Metro Station, and then walk with the crowd to get to the top of Yongdusan Hill. Even though it was a hill, the climb was not difficult and took us about just 10 minutes. There were already lots of people there when we reach at about 11.30pm, but we manage to find a good spot where the bell pavilion is visible. 

Busan Tower in the background

There were some on-going concerts to keep everyone on the high notes, and as it hits 12 midnight, the count down started, followed by the bell ringing ceremony.

Some people were releasing balloons into the sky, hoping that their wishes for their new year will come true. As the bell ringing ceremony draws to an end, there were some fireworks display. We started making our way out of Yongdusan Park, and it took us a while before we manage to break away from the crowd and head back to hotel by bus 1003.

Up Next: South Korea Trip Day 5 - First sunrise and back to Seoul

Previously: South Korea Trip Day 4 Part 1 - Busan

South Korea Trip Day 4 Part 1 - Busan

Summary of places we visited on Day 4: Jagalchi Fish Market, Gukje Market, BIFF Square, Gamcheon Cultural Village, Yongdusan Park

Busan is located in the southeastern coast of the Korean Peninsular, and is 1 of the largest fishing base in Korea. Everyday, seafood freshly caught from the seas will be sent to Busan, and then distributed for domestic or overseas usage. Our first stop this morning is to Jagalchi Fish Market, the largest seafood market in South Korea.  

Jagalchi Fish Market

Address: 52 Jagalchihaean-ro, Nampo-dong, Jung-gu, Busan

Take Metro Line 1 to Jagalchi, Exit 10 (first right turn)

There are 2 areas which you can explore - the outdoor market and the indoor market. We visited the outdoor market first before making our way to the indoor market

Drying seafood on the roof of the store

Indoor market

The indoor market has 7 levels, but we only explore the first (live seafood market) and second (restaurant and dried seafood market). We intended to purchase some seafood from the 1st level, then bring it up to 1 of the restaurants at the 2nd level and ask them to cook for us at a certain cost. However, we were quite over-whelmed by the number of stalls and ranges of seafood, and couldn't make up our minds on which seafood we should purchase and the quantity to purchase. As such, we went up to the 2nd level empty handed to take a look at the restaurants before making our mind. As we passed by the restaurants, many stall owners started to introduce their menu to us, and we manage to walk 1 full round before being won over by the owner from Jacky's seafood, who promises to reduce the share & price of each dish by half so that we could try a wider variety of seafood. We also do not need to go through the hassle of buying any of the seafood from the first floor as they purchase from the fish market daily in bulk. We ordered a seafood stew and sashimi, and as I mentioned that I wanted to try live octopus arm (san-nakji), the restaurant deliberately set aside some arms from the octopus meant for the seafood stew and season it before serving to us so that we could try the dish at no additional cost.

Yellowtail sashimi - we were told that it was the best season to try this

Delicious Seafood Stew which is full of fresh seafood

After tasting seafood fresh from the sea, we made our way to Gukje Market & BIFF Square to explore the area before heading to the metro station to take the train for our trip to Gamcheon Cultural Village.

Gamcheon Cultural Village gained its nickname as "Santorini of Busan", "Lego Village" and "Machu Picchu of Busan" over the years due to the pastel colored houses that dotted the hilly village. We visited this tourist hotspot right after our visit to Jagalchi area as its nearest metro stop is just a stop away. As we walk out of Toseong Station, there were signs pointing us to the direction where we could take a bus to the village. 

Gamcheon Cultural Village

Address: 203 Gamnae 2(I)-ro, Gamcheon-dong, Saha-gu, Busan,South Korea

Take Metro Line 1to Toseong Station, Exit 6, walk to Pusan National University Hospital, take bus 2 or 2-2 to Gamcheon Elementary School

In order to make the visit more meaningful, we bought a map from the Tourist Information Center, located at the entrance of the village. The map provided some recommended routes to see the highlights of the village, which we would have missed out if we wander around aimlessly. We also had some fun collecting stamps at certain areas in exchange for postcards.

If you prefer not to purchase the map, you can follow the directions provided by the fish signs to roam around this colorful village filled with murals and interesting art pieces. 

The famous Little Prince and its fox

We headed back to our hotel to take a break before heading out again to the New Year count-down ceremony at Yongdusan Park.

Up Next: South Korea Trip Day 4 Part 2 - Count-down at Yongdusan Park

Previously: South Korea Trip Day 3 - Busan