Seoul Journ (Day 1) Dongdaemun Design Plaza // Dongdaemun Street

So I'm currently at the airbnb we rented in Seoul on our last night here. There were a couple of issues when we arrived, mainly that the AC was not working and that made indoors feel murderously warm even though it wasn't that bad outdoors. When it became evident that it would not be fixed by nightfall, our host very graciously offered to put us up in a hotel for the night, which we gratefully accepted. That aside, here's an update on what we did during our first day:

We were fortunate to be offered entrance to a Premier Lounge prior to our flight, it were actually my first time at any kind of VIP lounge so that was pretty cool. There was loads of food, drinks, and alcohol :3 

We got to the airport about 5 hours early to shop, eat, and hangout before our flight so I felt pretty tired towards the end of the night.

There was both western and eastern food, as well as loads of fruits, wine, and an assortment of drinks. 

We had a pretty good time!

Discovered Long Bar and realised that they gave out complimentary Singapore Slings, they were scrummy :3

Finally ready to board! 

Finally arrived at our (rather warm) airbnb! 

The first thing we did when we headed out was to go look for some foooooood.

There was a bonjuk (Korean porridge) store near our place so we decided to try it out! It was not too bad, didn't taste too far from Chinese porridge aside from the fact that they had different "ingredients" and of course, Korean side dishes. 

Hopped onto the subway to make our way to Dongdaemun! 

Did some general shopping in the various shopping malls; some were cheaper than others, but generally nothing too fantastic. 

Finally went to visit the Dongdaemun Design Plaza! My dad accompanied me there while my sister and mum continued shopping. It was as majestic as I expected but I didn't explore as much as I would've liked. 

Clean, interesting lines.

Had to pose somewhere, shortly after I took this pic a guard kindly told me that people aren't allowed to perch on the architecture :O

One of the interior walkways, I love the clean white walls. 

Back to the shopping streets, it was delightful to see bright flowers everywhere.

Some yummy but overpriced street food. 

Hotdog covered in chips, it looks better than it tasted.

Found a quaint little traditional place for dinner!

We had what is commonly known in Singapore as "Army Stew", which is basically a huge vat of spicy soup with all kinds of ingredients brewing inside. I'm not a huge fan of this but I will say it was pretty good. 

My sister heard that Remi Cone is a must try.

Aesthetically it was quite beautiful yes, but I didn't like it very much. The candy floss was minty (which may have been why because I dislike mint) which kind of killed it for me. The ice-cream itself was creamy and included some cracking candy inside, ah that was pretty nice.  

Ended the night at a traditional Jjimbilbang - Korean spa! Basically you have to strip down to your birthday suit, take a shower, and then use a number of spa pools available - of varying temperatures. When you're done with that, you put on some "rest clothes" that they provide to you and hang out in a huge common room which in itself has many other little rooms - cold rooms, sauna rooms, tv rooms, sleeping rooms, etc etc. 

People are actually allowed to stay overnight and it's known as a cheaper overnight alternative for some people who're on a lower budget or who are just looking for a place to sleep. 

Part of the huge common area.

Saunas of different temperatures. 

We went into a 57degrees one I think, it was pretty steamy. 

Hopped into an ice-cold room after! That was quite fun. 

Left the spa pretty damn happy, hehe. 

Received news about the move when we returned so we quickly packed an overnight bag and moved over to the hotel. Thankfully, it was only about a 5 mins walk away, and the room was beautiful :') 

Went to bed in a good mood :3