Anyway. Yall I'm back for a new post, though it's not yet my usual concert posts, well not yet. This time it's gonna be a Travel blog. yeah~! never done it before. but doing it now hahahah

So recently, I had one one of my dream destination ticked out of my list. And you prolly have that assumption where this place is... YES LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I WENT TO KOREA. FINALLY!

So things you need to know before I start sharing details about my Korea Trip. 1) this was a short trip because I was not supposed to have this trip in the first place. 2) I didn't really spend much as to, again, this was a shotgun trip and I haven't prepared much, and 3) I was alone on this trip. Which kind of I was glad I did. having a solo trip is one of the best experiences you can possibly have. Though yeah, having another person take those photos with you would be great. ahahahh

 This was my first international trip actually. Or should I say the official first ever vacation trip I took in my life as far as I remember. 

OA??? but think it's true. I mean I have a few with my friends outside of my hometown maybe but those types of vacation where you get on the plane and travel elsewhere for no reason at all? now this is a first. not really a fan of vacay-ing you know. I hate packing up. hahahahah (ironic)

This trip was supposed to be a trip with me and a best friend back in april. but things happened and we haven't pushed thru with it. I applied for the visa back in March and last week of march my Korean visa was already approved. they give you 3months to use that visa before it expires. So from march I have until June to supposedly use it. But as the original trip was cancelled I haven't had the heart to think about going (oh I did from time to time actually. but I never really considered). Not until June came and I was able to finally claim my long approved visa from the Travel agency that I saw that EXPIRES JUNE 28, 2019 mark that my heart sank.

how timely though that most of my friends at that certain time would usually talk about going on trips, having a trip alone and so forth that it slowly took a piece of my mind to think WHAT IF. WHAT IF I TAKE THIS TRIP? And how timely enough one of my Ministry seniors asked me what are my plans for the month of June where I just said nothing, and she out of the blue said "KOREA TRIP??". And that ladies and gentlemen was the trigger. 

It finally took over my mind to really consider taking the trip. Using that approved visa and just go! I mean  at that time, I have already my visa (which was the most important one) and a round trip plane ticket that I can just rebook anytime I want. This trip was 80% possible to materialize!(80%.. yes 80 because I still had pocket money to think about. but I took that opportunity.

at first I though about going for, maybe a day? I just want to have that USED stamp on my Korea Visa so I won't have to explain next time why I have an unused one... then it became 2 days, and finally I settled for 3.

So I started asking around from friends who went to Korea what was good there and built my itinerary there. Had to prepare it so my sister can fully approve of me going to Korea alone. Yes btw, the 20% was fulfilled by my sister. had her to agree with my itinerary and a budget so she can let me go and give me mooolahh hahahahah

anyway my itinerary was...

Day1:

** I arrived at Incheon at 7am KST

** Traveled to Myeongdong, to leave my bag at the guest house (check in time is at 2pm so but you can let them know you have arrived so they can either check you in already or you can just leave your bags at the common room so you can go and check out Seoul already)

- Myeongdong Cathedral

- Gyeonbokgung Palace

- Grevin Museum

** Back to Guesthouse to transfer my bag to the room

- Namsan Tower

Day2:

** Woke up at 8am

** left the guest house at 9:30a

- SM Museum

** Back to Guest house

- Myeongdon

** back to guest house for house party

Day3

** Woke up at 7am (groggy hahahahah)

** fixed up. I checked out early, Check out time is at 11am so I just left my bag again at the common area.

** Left the guest house at 9am

- DSP Media

- Seoul Cup

- Myeongdong

** back to guesthouse

** left for the airport at 5pm

Pretty short and concise right? I'd love to extend my stay but I needed to hurry back home since next few days is TWICE LIGHT IN MANILA. so had to prepare for that. ahhahahah. but what I loved about this is that I had the opportunity to explore on my own. which is really great.

I'll just go over some memorable destinations that I think you would want to know. Can't really give all detail by detail as to it might bore you out.

Anyway... as for day1, I really loved my time at
Grevin museum. I went there and it was a lil bit creepy because it was a monday afternoon and I was the only visitor there. and to think you are in a museum where the statues were life-like wax figures, ugggghhhhmmmm creeps! it did bother me at first. but soon enough I forgot about the scare and finally enjoyed. Yes again I was alone, and my only companion for a good photo was a tripod and the bluetooth trigger to snap the photos. It was most fun for me because if you know me well I love derp photos and silly poses and the life sized statues of celebrities allowed me to do all the role-play poses without getting bothered by anyone else seeing me do so. 

Gyeongbokgung Palace and Namsan Tower are also really great places to go. though for me nothing too special. I just went there and see the place. It pays to tick them off your dream destinations anyway.

Then another lovely place for me was the SM Museum. IT WAS SO COOL! I mean for a non SM stan, I enjoyed it a lot. what more if you are an SM stan. You'll really love it. Like seriously everything was KPOP. You enter the Place and the walls are full of photos of our fave SM artists. Then they have this mini snack store where all packaging was SM artists inspired (so I bought Laver

chips for my EXOWAL friends. hahaha).

Along the hallways are big glass showcases were mannequins with SM group's costumes were displayed. And then the Museum itself. the Museum is fun! You start with a big library of albums. all albums of SM artists are there. You can actually pick up the cds and play them on the cd players provided. And if you have your fix of
the music. you can stroll through the Artists' displays already.

They have sections of all SM artists where their costumes and albums and infos are displayed. they also have the VR photo booths where you can take photos "with" your favorite sm artists. Didn't do it because you have to pay additional for the prints and I'm not an SM stan, sooo PASS. hahahahah

Anyway, it was great! should I have been an SM STAN I could have stayed there longer and spazzed my heart out.

[Have Wannaone museum still be open I could have enjoyed more. hahahahha]

Anyway, I stayed there for about 3hours or so. I went out of the museum feeling so tired. I was supposed to be going to the library at COEX but I forgot. I was hurrying back to the dorms bec I was hungry and tired. So I did go back. and bye library. ahahha it was just in front of SM museum. HOW CAN I IGNORE?!?!?! hmmmmp...

Then Myeongdong... just shopping shopping and shopping. hahahahah. Their street food are a bit pricey. but all the rest of the skin care products are def a steal. if you compare them in PH prices, they are about 100php - 50% less. and the face masks are on 1+1 which you cannot really ignore. Thus there goes about all my budget. I left them at Myeongdong. hahahahha.

Tip: Don't always speak Korean to sales people. they will keep on selling to you and not stop until they sell you their "best" products. I mean I spent 20-30mins with the lady at the SEAM because she kept insisting I needed the snail serum and won't bill out my face masks until I buy her snail products. hahahhah she was insisting (in Korean) and all chuhcus. and I was like "but I don't need it" and she was like "you do because your pores needs saving!" OKAY ATTACK MO PORES KO?! hahahhaha in the end I bought a snail facial wash thingie.

After Myeongdong, I went back to the guesthouse since the owner invited me to the dorm party. interestingly, I was drinking with Korean ajumas and an oppanim. The owner said he wanted the party to be international like all the other guests from other countries to come, but they might have been busy or they didn't get the invitation. anyway I went. It was the drinking sessions you would see in Kdramas. I was confirmed that these scenes really happen in real life and drinking culture is a part of Koreans already. Anyway, we were just there, exchanging talks and singing and whatnots. and then I got drunk. ahhahahahahahahah,.. and woke up the next morning not sure how I got back to my dorm capsule with all my bag safe and my gadgets in tack. hahahahah I did a pretty great job finding my way back. LOL... the next morning I was busy saying sorry to the other people and ajumadeuls kept asking me if I felt okay.

I was okay. only dizzy. yeah that went for the books. hahahahahhahahahahhahahahahahhahah

PS: yup that's the seat. ahahahahah

Third day though I was dizzy, I pulled myself up and went for my itinerary which was the Entertainment agencies. I went to DSP and JYP. crashed out YG from my list since it was too far and YG is a mess nowadays. sooooo I'll pass YG. hahahahah

anyway, I was out of data already during that time. but thankfully good apps helped me.

Before leaving the dorm I already searched my way on Naver Maps and screen shot all the stops that I needed to take note of. and so I went.

DSP was first. I kind of lost my way that time. and went around and around that little neighborhood where DSP was supposed to be. after a few uphill walks... I found DSP.

I just went there to get a photo actually bec I figured KARD won't be in anytime. so I asked that one
fan stalling outside the bldg to take a photo of me on the DSP sign.

convo [in korean]...

me:" Hi can you possibly..."

fan: "you want me to take a photo?"

me: "yes please"

fan: "you are a fan of?"

me: "KARD"

fan: "they just went out"

hahhaha talk about timing.

but anyway. maybe next time. I hope. huhuhuhu....

anyway, she kindly took my photo and we had a little chat. She was a fan of someone I forgot. and she said she'll just be there outside to wait for the artists. Like okay... you have lots of time don't you.

didn't say long as to I needed to go to JYP.

Now JYP ent..... I went to Soul Cup for coffee and snacks... stayed there for like 3 hours just feeling the vibe. they have this big LED screen and a stage inside the cafe and they play all JYP music videos there. Like seriously, there was a big screen infront of me playing all my jyp jams. My JYP trash self was happy. 

on my 3hours there though, not even a single artist went. Only one of the managers I am familiar of went to get coffee. and that's all.

hahahhaha Twice was in Hawaii that time, so no Mina as well. I did enjoy the coffee. and their coffee was cheaper than K-starbux. ahhahahahha yey!

got so much stuff from Myeongdong actually. Like what I said, most of my budget went flying away at Myeongdong. Amazingly if I count how much I spent for this trip all in all. I'd say a fair 20Kphp.

that already includes airfare and lodging. not bad right??? [15k went in for the shopping spree and maybe a little food and subway and bus fares. hahahah]

hmmmm... what else?

did I say this was my first ever trip. and I did it alone??? hahahahha think I already did.

Anyhow, got asked for tips on how to survive a trip alone. now my tip for you would maybe be... PREPARE. I mean ask for tips from friends who went to that place already and research if you want to go to their recommendations or not. Download needed apps as well. book or purchase ahead all possible things you might need that can be booked online.

Again. try to figure out an app that could easily help you throughout the trip.

For a korean trip I suggest Naver Maps. A friend told me to download KakaoMetro as well but it did not come handy for me. haven't even opened it ever in my trip, NAVER MAPS was all I needed. twas a good app. it tells you what to ride to get to a destination, how much is the fare, what subway station to take, what exit to take and all. It even shows how many more stops does the train or bus have before you arrive at your destination. It's really reliable. [it only failed one time I went to NAMSAN TOWER were it gave me the wrong stop. hahahahah. But that instance made me meet an ilongga friend whom I had a meal with]

and while you are at it. download KakaoT. it's like a grab app in Korea. it might come in handy. but say what. on my whole trip, I never even once got the need to ride a taxi. the subway was all I needed and Naver Maps guided me well. I loved the subway to be honest. 

For lodging, I booked through air bnb. I booked at a place called NAMSAN GUEST HOUSE where the price was so affordable, the place was so nice, they have free breakfast, free ramyun, overflowing coffee and nicest people ever! I'd really recommend that place to anyone who would come to Korea. YALL I REALLY WOULD! I stayed at a capsule type bed space which was only about 600php per night. but if you are in a group, they also have separate rooms that ranges about 1,000php or something.The location is great as well. It's like a 2-3minute walk from Myeongdong station and Myeondong street is just a 5min walk. Really great place.

And then, for the tourist attractions, I purchased a trip pass called DISCOVER SEOUL through Klook where it gives you access to almost (like 39 attractions if I remember right) all attractions in Seoul. Thus you don't need to pay entrance fees every time you go somewhere. the card can also be used as T-money for your ride fares; just load them up.

as for Korea, it was easy trip for me. foremost bec I spoke the language. So no fear of being unable to communicate.

so pretty much that was how my Korean trip went. 

For Travelers who are thinking of going alone, I must say HAVE COURAGE. It pays to go somewhere alone sometimes

now if you ask me, if I'm going to do this again??? I say YES I DEF WILL!!!

slowly falling in love on solo trips. my introvert self is satisfied.

and know what was the best part on everything???
THE SOCKS!!!!
Like I bought over 20 pairs both mine and for gifts. now I don't know where to keep them
hahahhahahah

thaz all! thanks for reading my blog!

Seriously, I'm thinking of transferring to wordpress or somewhere else.... but my time always gets eaten up by idk what. ahhahahah

Love lots everyone!