Unforgettable Seoul '10 Day 5 - Lotte World, N Seoul Tower, Teddy Bear Museum, Myeongdong in Seoul

October 26, 2009 (Monday)

It was the last day of the original tour. We said goodbye to Grandma, Grandpa, the group of doctors and the other members of the group. We had arranged to extend our trip for another day, this time it was only the four of us in the city of Seoul.

There was still one last stop and it was Lotte World Theme Park (from the makers of the famous Lotte Bubble Gum).

Lotte World was the film location for another popular Korean drama series Stairway to Heaven. The famous spots include the carousel and a painted wall (they said it was near the carousel which I did not notice). 

Again, we were only given 2 to 3 hours of free time. 

We didn’t get to the other side anymore (the rides part). 

We spent our time riding the hot air balloon ride, which circled the building with the ice skating rink, the safari ride and shopping in Lotte Mart (with lots of Lotte-brand goodies). The Lotte Group of Companies will appear again later in the trip. 

We took a neoprint as a souvenir!

Lunch was buffet-style in the Sky Onn Seafood Restaurant. 

The selection was okay and I went for a few more helpings of the meat and slushies. 

We got our expensive booklet of pictures and said goodbye to the rest of the group.

We stopped by our hotel in Gangnam and discovered a media pole with webcam in the street. Here, we took a picture and sent it to our emails. 

Seoul is so high tech with all the WIFI available everywhere.

We started our solo journey to Namsan Tower (Seoul Tower or N Seoul Tower) where you can find the infamous Teddy Bear Museum. The tower functions as an observation and communication tower for Seoul. 

These 2 film locations (Seoul Tower and the Teddy Bear Museum) became famous in the Korean series Princess Diaries (they would show scenes of Princess Diaries using different dressed teddy bears per break).

The first step is to purchase T-money in the subway station. It is not suitable for one-time use but advisable for a few days touring of Seoul. I purchased a T-money card that had a Seoul Citypass+ (with discount coupons). I used it in my Busan trip a few years later (re-loadable in select mini-marts and can be used) and lost it there huhu =(

T-money is refundable and has cheaper public transportation rates. It is like the Hong Kong Octopus Card, the Taiwan Easy Card and the Beijing YiKaTong Card.

There are 3 options starting from the subway to go to Namsan (mountain) where the Namsan Tower is located. We took the Chungmuro bus up the mountain. It was a comfortable and convenient ride. 

The bus would take you up to the parking area and you would have to walk uphill. Here are the other options.

We also had fun taking pictures outside the N Seoul Tower. 

One can also find a locks of love chained to the rails. 

This was my favorite spot. 

Inside, there’s a wall that was filled with messages and wishes (one of my favorites as well). 

There were a lot of teddy bears of different shapes and sizes in the Teddy Bear Museum (I heard there is also one in Jeju). This was a familiar scene in Princess Diaries (宮 in Chinese).

We also took pictures using digital photo screens.

We went down Namsan (mountain) by bus again. This time, it passed a different route. I visited the other stops and other spots in Namsan later in the trip. We headed to Myeongdong to meet a Korean friend for dinner.

Mandu is famous in Korea and we ate it in Myeongdong since there is a place that is famous for it there. 

Mandu, Korean-style dumpling, is usually dipped in soy sauce and vinegar. 

We also had noodles with dumplings for dinner.

We passed by Tous Les Jour on our way back to the subway stop. It was the same bakery in my Beijing trip and it is originally Korean (too bad there wasn’t any bread with cream left, Tous Les Jour can be found in Manila now)!

Remember my Myeongdong trip on a Saturday a few days before? Well, my perspective changed after we went there on a weekday. There were not a lot of people and it became a fun place to shop after a while.



Read more about Seoul in Korea (you can find Busan in the labels):
Unforgettable Seoul '10 Day 1 - On The Way to Seoul, Incheon & Songdo City
Unforgettable Seoul '10 Day 2 - Nami Island & Mt. Seorak Near Seoul
Unforgettable Seoul '10 Day 3 - Mt. Seorak & Everland Near Seoul, Dongdaemun Market in Seoul
Unforgettable Seoul '10 Day 4 - Seoul City Tour - Kimchi-making, Hanbok-wearing, National Folk Museum, Cheongbuk Palace, Myeongdong, Drawing Show at Hyehwa, Banpo Bridge
Unforgettable Seoul '10 Day 5 - Lotte World (tour ends here), Seoul Tower (start of our extra day), Teddy Bear Museum, Myeongdong in Seoul
Unforgettable Seoul '10 Day 6 - Hyehwa, Gangnam, Insadong in Seoul
Unforgettable Seoul '10 Day 7 - Sinchon, Korean Universities in Seoul
Unforgettable Seoul '10 Day 8 - Namsangol Hanok Village, Namsan Stairs, Nanta in Seoul
Unforgettable Seoul '10 Day 9 Part 1 - Deoksugung Palace, Doldam-Gil, Tteokbokki Street in Seoul
Unforgettable Seoul '10 Day 9 Part 2 - Cheonggyecheon Stream, King Sejong Story, Samgyeupsal, Coffee Prince Cafe
Unforgettable Seoul '10 Day 10 Part 1 - Making Kimchi in a Korean Home, Korean Hospitality at its Best, Korean Grapes & Persimmon, Kimchi All-You-Can, The Peppero Story at the Supermarket, Ramen Eaten 3-Ways, Pojongmacha
Unforgettable Seoul '10 Day 10 Part 2 - My Best Foodie Experience in Seoul!
Unforgettable Seoul '10 Day 11 - Bossam Day, Incheon International Airport Activities