Hello, Seoul!

So I was fortunate enough to be sent to Seoul, Korea on official duty recently. And it was quite a cool experience. Literally!

It was supposed to be Spring, but temperature was 0 degrees for most parts. Ain’t complaining though since you know how hot as hell this part of the world has been these past few months.

The trees were still barren though and the monochromatic feel of the city was something unique I thought.



Since I reached the hotel rather early, having taken the red-eye out of KL, I took the same cab which I hired from the airport to go around the city for a bit.

And my first stop was the Olympic Park! (but of course)

Yes, apart from driving me around, my cab driver was kind enough to snap my pictures for me! And for the 3-hour trip, I only had to fork out around 60k won = RM180. OK lah...

Oddly enough tho, the main Olympic Stadium was located elsewhere. But yeah, I made it a point to travel all the way there for more snaps...
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We couldn't get in tho, so this was taken thru the gates... hehe

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Then it was time to hit downtown Seoul. And the first stop was the shopping district of Dongdaemun... Wasn't given much time tho, so couldn't really pick up anything worthwhile.

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But Insadong proved to be more fruitful. It's a favourite with Japanese tourists especially and is definitely THE place to go to pick up Korean arts and crafts and souveniers...

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I stayed at the W Hotel on Walkerhill and it's absolutely fantastic. A boutique establishment, everything was simply tip top and modern and stuff...

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...Oh yeah, I did mention that the trip was for work right? So here's the proof :)
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Also tried out the subway for transportation and while I'm usually good at these things, I actually wound up at the wrong station and had to go back 19 STOPS to get to Itaewon, the touristy enclave in downtown Seoul.

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Overall, a nice trip with some pretty neat highlights. Just wished I didn't have to eat apples every single day...