Ehwa Hotel, Seoul: Our experience!

Assalamualaikum

Kalini I nak sambung  share my tentang our kowea trip sebab ada yang tanya I about my expenses and hotel. Maybe for now tak syok pun nak baca since border still tutup sebab covid kan, who knows it might be useful later on 😉

For this entry, let me share with you about the hotel first oki?

We stay at EHWA hotel. Betul betul menghadap jalan besar. Hotel ni dekat tengah tengah antara dua subway line. Jangan imagine the subway was that near oki. I rasa to myeondong station kitorng jalan dalam 300 m. Masa mula sampai tu emo la sbb belum biasa. Lama lama tu rasa 2-3km tu takda mende k kalau jalan kaki. Lulus dah ni nak jadi orang sana :p

Cantik kan??? 

AAAA EXCITED NAMPAK HOTEL NI MULA MULA. We were so clueless back then masa baru sampai Seoul. Dengan luggage yang banyak, icha duduk stroller sebab tido. Memang mencabar. Berpeluh jangan cakap la even cuaca sejuk. Luckily, we reach at the hotel safely! Thank you la dekat admin hotel yang rajin melayan email I and explain the direction hehe.

suasana malam dari lobby hotel

ni suasana waktu siang dari luar hotel 

Oh ya.. We book thru agoda. So sampai hotel tu cuma tunjuk payment proof and our hotel booking receipt. Terus boleh check in. Masa I book ni dapat sekali breakfast. So memang jimat lah eventho not all the breakfast spread was halal. Makan hat yang bolehla oki. Pls pls google dulu sebelum makan. Jangan terus makan je k eventho coklat je. 

bukan semua boleh makan dalam gambar ni

Paling mencabar masa breakfast was their ramen! Gila la semorang makan ramen panas panas engko satu family makan cereal dgn susu je. Cobaan betul. 😂 Eventho it was only a chicken ramen (this one i tahu sebab boleh google scan ingredients), jangan belasah asal boleh ya. Ada halal logo baru boleh sapedek. 

icha tak sabar nak minum but sadly kenot sebab tak halal hihi

Okay this was the hotel room. Tandas lupa nak ambik gambaq. Ka I da delete dah. Lupa hehe. They provide all the basic necessities. I book 2 twin bed sebab after few days adik I join sekali. Memang ngam ngam katil and orang lalu. Tapi takdelah rasa suffocated sangat. Okay la untuk rehatkan badan after berjalan sehari suntuk… 😊

Mesin basuh tak disediakan tau. Tapi sebab kami duduk sini lama, receptionist bagi kami guna mesin basuh dorng. Nak basuh dekat kedai sebenarnya, tapi pelik bin ajaib sebab tak jumpa dobi. Ke ada je dobi tapi kami tak perasan?  😅 Tilam hotel ni lembut. Balik berjalan terus gone tidur sampai ke pagi. I guess, misi mencari hotel selesa berjaya la kan?

This our first day dekat seoul, jemput tengok oki.

Can refer dekat gambar bawah ni untuk info hotel and rate sekali oki. Their front desk sangat membantu. Nak mintak direction or anything they will help you. I rasa banyak kali we ask them the direction, nak naik subway line berapa etc.

Masa nak pilih hotel ni, ibarat satu battle hidup atau mati. Hahahah over kan? Rasa nervous gila ya nak booking sebab takut pilih salah hotel. Disebabkan our trip was for 2 weeks, tu buat extra nervous tu. Kalau tak best, matila kan nak menghadap. Maka the best solution was to study. Masa master dulu pun tak gigih macamni k 😝

With the allocation of 5K budget for 13 night. Bila divide, untuk bajet satu malam dalam RM 400 max. Air bnb kena tolak tepi sebab memang out of budget ><. We look for a place that was near to subway station, nak ada breakfast , lepastu taknak area sunyi sebab risau if anything happen. 

Banyak tempat best kalau nak cari, area Itaewon kalau nak stay dekat tempat yang banyak halal food, area ewha kalau nak vibe vibe student, area Hongdae kalau cari surrounding/view best. Oh and shopping pun best! Finally, Myeondong! Orang kata this area is syurga shopping. Okay la for us, takdela best gilaaaaa. Tapi this area happening betui. Kitorng pi nearly hari hari for 14 days. Sampai cemuih la -.- 

So, berbaloi ke dengan research kemain lama tu? Haha okay la. We should change our hotel after every 4/5 days. So dapatla stay banyak tempat and merasa tido banyak tempat. Dah sampai sana baru terfikir this way. Rugi rugi. Kalau tak mesti lagi syok.

p/s: sebenarnya we were a bit confuse whether it was Ehwa or Ewha. Some of the items dalam hotel tulis Ehwa and some was the other way round. Ikut signboard beso luar hotel it was Ehwa hehe

p/p/s: lepasni I nak duduk air bnb. Dekat seoul banyak Airbnb yang style gila. 

Korean Air – Foods and experience

Assalamualaikum! 💗

This is among the first thing that I wanted to share here right after I sampai korea. Bila scroll thru all the photos baru I teringat yang I belum share lagi rupanya. I draft my experience/ how to book the tickets inside my phone notes last year but notes tu dah takda there. So sad. I will write with whatever memory that left behind jelah? So.. Forgive my post-pregnancy brain (alasan eh? Dah dekat 4 tahun bersalin still guna alasan sama :p) Serious serious. Let me share here are some of our experience with Korean air 😊

We should depart from the airport around 10 ish something at night but they reschedule to 11pm+. I was totally okay with that sebab I fikir senang sikit icha nak tidur sebab memang masa depart tu waktu tidur icha. But oh boy I was wrong! Haha. she was sooo excited when we were onboard.

khusyuk sis tengok movie

SHE FINISHED ALMOST ONE WHOLE MOVIE BEFORE SHE FINALLY FALLS ASLEEP.  PHEW.

This was her first time taking a plane, and it took 6 hours before we reached seoul. Mula mula I ingat she will fall asleep right from the beginning until we reach Seoul. Tapi tidak ya. Dah tidur ada drama pulak nak baring macam tidur dekat rumah. But surely la tak selesa kan.. 

Ni okay sat lena. Kadang jaga balik. Tutup ekon hangat, bukak ekon sejuk. Maka on off jela kerja i that night haha.

Icha merengek jugak sikit sikit even tidur baring. So, I change to whatever position that suits her. Kadang tidur berpeluk. Kadang nak baring. I layankan je, last last sampai ke sudah I tak tidur. I rasa I terlelap tak sampai sejam sebab si kecik ni. Tapi sebab I was too excited, I tak rasa mengantuk. Normal kan? :p

Masuk je dalam plane, dekat seat dah siap prepare with selimut, headphone and all basic necessities. The stewardess siap provide icha with toys and a special headset. She even can bring them back home! Best kan? 

We chose the Korean Air lepas we compare with other airlines.  One of my main priorities bila I cari flight is halal food. 

KOREAN AIR PROVIDES HALAL FOOD! 

So I guess it’s a big yay for us. I baca few recommendations from the previous passenger about this airline, tu yang buat I lagi tertarik to try 😉 During beli ticket, bahagian meal tu u request for halal meal oki? We encounter problem masa nak isi first and last name, so we called Korean Air CS and they assisted us right away. Oh ya! You can recline your seat & ada space in front of you for you to straighten your leg sikit. Takdelah selesa macam dekat rumah but it was okay. I tak expect it to be this way since I dah put in mind the seat will be cramped like usual. 

By the way... this was the only airline yang I pernah naik to travel oversea. So, I tak boleh nak compare with another airline. If domestic flight tu ada several airlines I pernah naik, but mostly sempit and rasa suffocate. 

This was the food that we get pergi dan balik. 

Everyone dapat one set each including icha.

Not my kind of food. but hubs suka betui

Makan with jem provided sedap gila

Hat ni icha makan semua sebab her fav

Free flow orange juice. but I tak suka sebab masam sangat.

Jeju soon? Hehe

Sedap gilaaaaaaaa

Ini adalah cinta. Ka sebab i rindu nasi after 2 weeks tak makan lauk melayu? haha so good!

Masa pergi, food was served as a breakfast. I think kitorang dapat makan dalam pukul 4/5 am (3/4 am Malaysia time). Awal kan? Haha. Hubs suka food masa pergi (he even helps me to finished my food haha). I suka foods balik lagi (I habiskan food icha hahahah :p) eventho sedih tinggalkan korea. Hehe.

Sebelum I lupa, ± 1 hour sebelum sampai they will distribute the declaration form untuk di isi. Wajib isi ya this thing. Pls isi betul betul. During our visit last year, masa tu tengah kalut with ramai Malaysian tak lepas masuk sebab issue other Malaysian yang overstay/ kerja secara haram. I rasa untuk prevent jadi lagi teruk, they randomly ask question to everyone dekat airport macam duduk hotel mana, dtg dengan siapa, stay berapa lama etc. make sure you know the answer. And make sure you already book your stay, if not lagi susah nanti. Kalau tak you will be asked tonnes of other question. I siap buat Q&A with hubs to ensure he knows what to answer. Nervous masa ni. Eventho tak buat salah apa, tetap risau kalau tiba tiba kena randomly tarik tepi.

I share here terus ya for 3 pax return tickets here. I beli from Traveloka about one year before the trip. Refer gambar bawah ni to know the price oki?

We definitely love this Airline services! Best life experience. You should try it too oki? 

Seoul: Subway apps yang best and efficient

Assalamualaikum 💗

Before I go further with the rest of the places that we went to, I think this entry will be the first one that I need to share with you guys.

IT’S SUBWAY APPS!

Definitely our very best friend sepanjang 13 hari dekat Seoul last October. Kitorang tak pernah sesat eventho the subway berselirat. Proud pulak rasa :p setakat tersilap pintu naik naik subway tu pernah lah. So kira ok la kut kan? 😝

Sebelum lupa, u need T Money untuk naik subway oki? If you purchase Discover Seoul Pass, problem solved. That card can be used as a T Money. If not, you can get it for free if u answer survey from KTO . But if u taknak jawab survey on the website, you can purchase it in Seoul! Banyak sangat choices for T Money. CUTE GILA EVERYTHING SIAP ADA SIZE SMOL SMOL. Mesti rambang mata nanti.

Perasaan paling best setiap kali naik subway was we reached the target destination! 

Kalau tak silap I, ada 9 line all together. Setiap line ada banyak station. So for all 9 line ada hundreds of stations all together. Each station pula ada different exit which will lead you to different attractions. Pernah kami sampai one station ni (tapi tak ingat nak pi mana), yakin ikut exit lain padahal dalam itinerary dah siap siap tulis which exit. Kami dok ingatk semua sama. Rupanyaaaaa… karam ya. Haha. kena jalan jauhhhhh sebab dah ikut exit yang lain.

*happy baby dapat limau from stranger in busan subway*

Above photo during our trip to Busan. Masa ni pun pakai maps jugak. But if tak silap, busan subway ada the specific apps to use. I tak ingat whether apps yang i suggest dekat bawah ni can be use at busan ataupun tidak. Sorry...

So guys, untuk berjalan area Seoul….

YOU NEED TO INSTALL THESE TWO MAPS.

DEFINITELY A LIFE SAVIOUR I TELL YOU.

It shows which line nak naik, which to turun, and also which line to change. Siap ada pilihan nak ikut masa paling cepat or harga paling jimat. 

We definitely chose:

Less line to change.

Since we brought stroller most of the time, this option definitely the best. Eventho it took a longer time than the usual trip, at least we don’t sweat much. Tapi kalau beza masa tu banyak sangat, we definitely opt for the other way round lah hehe. 

Both maps ada in our phone but our preference were totally opposite. 

My husband prefers Naver, I chose Metro Seoul subway.

The benefit of using Naver maps:

It works OFFLINE – definitely a plus point for someone yang rely on public wifi.

It works for other public transport too! - we used it untuk trip ke Everland which kena naik bas and subway.

Refer to the picture below, u can see the time and fee difference. Warna biru and hijau on line 4 and line 2 bukan saja saja tau, memang warna tu. u better follow it properly if tak u will sesat. There will be loads of cue/symbols around the subway to follow so u don't have to worry oki?

The benefit of using Metro Seoul Subway:

It works for my phone! Hahahah since naver maps takmau change in English masa i dekat korea 😑

I understand Metro Seoul interface better and I can understand it clearly. Plus tak complicated macam Naver. This apps pun dah siap tunjuk tambang and time for each trip. so u can estimate your journey from here. sometimes paling murah = paling less hassle. So u need to study the route carefully oki?

Ni contoh if u nak travel between these two destinations. Bila u klik search akan keluar best route for u to follow to reach the destination. Pilihla whichever suits u. if u ask me, I will opt for fewer transfers for sure, hehe.

Ini perbezaan antara pilihan route yang disediakan. Mestila we will go for route one kan? Paling dekat, paling murah and tak perlu transfer.

Ada a few other apps options for u to try. But these two are my recommendations for you guys to try it out later. If u use it for the first time, you definitely need some time to get used to it. Lama lama mesti sap sap soi settle! Trust me. Terus rasa macam local after a week 😜

So.. Give it a try oki?

p/s: Alahai rindunyaaaa Koweaaaa! Who knows in a few more years we will visit Korea again (dropping hint to husband) 💘

Seoul: Halal Kitchen (near Bukchon Hanok Village)

Assalamualaikum, Halu guys! 💓

Wah wah bila sebut pasal kedai makan je, banyak request suruh i update cepat eh. haha. so here we go, for this post i nak share tempat makan yang i pi right after pulangkan hanbok dekat King Hanbok Gyeongbukgung palace 😊

From Gyeongbukgung Palace tu ambik Exit 5  then turun dekat Anguk Station exit 3 😉 sebab nak easy direction instead of guna phone map, we approach the red people nearby. Orang yang pakai baju merah dekat seoul area seriously membantu! Dorang macam offline google where you can basically ask everything about the area. My husband and i love sangat these people sebab they helped a lot when we travel around Seoul. Tanya je anything they can answer it well! Even if you ada inquiry about halal food pun they can assist which kedai is vege and everything.

So masa we approach these people.. kitorang sebut je halal kitchen terus dorang kata you better hurry sebab they are going to close in 30 mins. settle je dorang bagi direction, sepantas kilat kami laki bini mencari kedai haha. but luckily the direction senang nak ikut and faham. 

But...........

IMAGINE KAMI NAIK TURUN TANGGA ANGKUT STROLLER WITH ICHA INSIDE

SEBAB SI KECIK TU DOK LENA DAH HAHA PELUH WEHHHH WALAUPUN CUACA TAK PANEH 😆😱

Ni lah tangga steep yang kami daki sambil bawak stroller yang icha tengah tido. Perut laponyeeeeee.. Nasib we are their last guess before they close for rest. Phewww 😓 

Kami sampai kedai dalam 10 mins before they closed. Memang satu kelegaan haha. Kalau tak kami terpaksa tunggu another 2 hours which i bet kitorang takkan tunggu sebab dah lapar gila sampai ketaq lutut 😂

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STAR OF THE DAYYY!

Makan panas panas dengan nasi, memang ngam. Eventho tak pedas, rasa ni pun dah cukup

Sedap. sungguh tak tipu. 

Berbaloi la berpeluh tolak stroller, jalan laju dengan turun naik bukit segala. hehe.

Menangis makan (over :p) sebab terlalu sedap. Even husband acknowledge kesedapan bulgogi dia.

Rasanya set yang kami order ni for 2-3 pax, but cukup sangat makan. Kenyangggg siap tambah nasi lagi haha. I tak ingat the exact amount for this dish, sorry 😅

Drools tak tu? haha.

As usual banchan is free flow.

I dont know apa ni, lembut but tasteless.

This one was masam but ada hint of spicy. so husband like it.

KIMCHI IS LIFE. Sedap! Everywhere in seoul semuanya sedap hehe

I heard ramai yang kata the owner handsome kan? so nah, i share sekeping gambar haha. I rasa nama chef ni chef hassan? ke i silap? Every worker dekat sini  tried to speak in Malay tau. Eventho more to Indonesian slang, I amazed! 

Sambil masak sambil explain to use everything on the plate

I yang flashback balik ni pun terasa rasa dekat lidah kesedapan kedai ni. Berbaloi all the sweat and rasa lapar for the sake tunggu nak makan dekat this halal kitchen.😂

I couldn't help you guys with the exact location but you can guna map je to come here. we were mesmerized with the beauty of this area. sebab along the road sangat calm and ada banyak sangat kedai yang cantik! 

My husband siap nak singgah sat before we reach Halal kitchen i tak bagi sebab riso tak dapat makan hahahaha 😝 lepastu bila nak balik ikut jalan lain dah tak jumpa kedai tu. nasib husband ok je haha.

Oh ye! Masa makan tu icha still lena sampai habis kami makan. so kami nak pojang (read;tapau) some for her to eat later. Mati mati kedai ni tak bagi haha. Dorang risau makanan tu basi sebab i suruh sekalikan dengan lauk since they didn't have the right container to put. I cakap takpe campur je, but dorng takmau at first. Last last bila i tak giveup nak pojang dorang bagi jugak finally haha.

So merasala jugak icha makan halal kitchen food. Habis sebekas icha makan even pedas sikit. 

Lepas makan kami pun mencari the right alley for Bukchon Hanok village. Tinggi gila dan curam tangga dia. Ni of of the stairs. ada yang lagi curam tak sempat nak snap photos.

Nasib takda drama icha nak duduk stroller masa ni. She was okay to jalan sendiri naik tangga.. Actually village ni kawasan perumahan. Memang ada orang yang tinggal in this area.. So, you need to keep quiet masa lalu the alley. Nak tunggu tangkap gambar tanpa anyone dalam frame kirim salam jelah sebab ramai gila 😆

Here are few photos along the road.

Lewat petang tu kami round area insadong street (walking distance from Bukchon Hanok village) and we had our dinner dekat veggie restaurant.

Later I share oki 😉

p/s: sebenarnya from Gyeongbukgung palace boleh je walking distance to Bukchon Hanok village but kena ikut exit pintu manatah dalam palace tu. since we were so tired plus hungry, we decided not to waste our time finding which is the right door to exit dalam palace tu. But if you got an extra time and energy you definitely should try walking there. They said cantik jalan nak ke arah Bukchon Hanok Village tu 😀

Seoul: The King Hanbok & Hanbok Experience

Assalamualaikum 💓

So today i nak share tempat pakai hanbok murah dan super cantik dekat seoul. Super cantik for my eyes lah. Sebab mestilah ada yang lagi extra extra cantik but you need to pay extra extra moneyyy hehe. Direction nak sampai to this kedai pun senang sangat. Macam kitorang pergi from Myeongdong station. So we turun at Gyeongbukgung station exit 4. 

Naik tangga pusing belakang nampak kedai ni! 😁

Dari exit 4 ni once you keluar je, pusing belakang terus nama kedai King Hanbok ni sebesar alam. haha takdelah. 😝 you walk dalam 50 m nampak dah kedai ni. i macam teruja betul sebab senang sangat cari kedai ni. so strategik! plus they offered a good price as well. siapa yang tak suka kan? at first i thought nak guna discover seoul pass (DSP) to wear hanbok, but after dengar recommendation from others i tak include this activity dalam DSP. sebab tak worth it, pakai hanbok  murah je. DSP covers banyak lagi places yang mahal mahal for free.  

For first timer you might be a bit pening why ada all this exit but later once you experience it yourself you will be fine. I masa awal awal buat itinerary pun pening kenapa orang dok mention exit exit ni siap pesan jangan salah exit nanti sesat. Bila dah sampai sana baru i faham sebab i experience it hehehehe. so make sure to know which exit you kena ikut masa buat itinerary so later you tak blur nak ikut which exit. Oki?

9900 W for 4 hours! including accessory ;)

Usually i google they said 10K won for 3/4 hours gitu tak silap. So i think this is definitely a good bargain sebab sekali accessory. Ah yea! Sebelum lupa.. they will help you to wear this hanbok. sebab ada layered of clothes kena pakai. if blur macam i pun takpe sebab nanti they will do the mix and match for you. i cuma request for pastel pink hanbok juseyo hehe.

Teka la siapa paling happy?

Mestilah icha! Paling awal tukar baju and seriously nasib baik ada satu je lagi hanbok kids warna pastel yang tinggal. so merasa lah si kecik melaram ala princess haha. But datang awal tau. Lambat lambat, habis dah all good choices. Baju icha tu memang ada satu je last size tu. Baju i dengan husband pulak for that color yang we nak memang ada satu, so nasib baik lah. kitorng tak rajin nak pi tawaf kedai lain to be honest 😆

Big smile sebab happy pakai baju princess

Us dekat photobooth sebelah kedai, sebagai kenangan hehe. Harga 3900 won tu for one hour.

Icha siap nak buat rambut lagi dekat kedai hanbok ni but sadly ramai sangat orang. kitorang rasa rugi pulak nak buang masa kena beratur panjang for hair braiding services. At first icha takmau keluar dari kedai. sedih beno muka bila tak dapat dandan rambut. ibu pun gunakan skill ibu dandan rambut icha. jadiklahhhh asal nampak macam ikat kan? 😛

nampak kan rambut icha "kemas" ibu ikat? haha asalkan icha dah boleh senyum kira approved lah tu. 

Kena jalan dalam 150 m dari kedai. Tak jauh pun plus cuaca pagi pagi masa ni sejukkkkk.

Kebetulan sampai ada entrance ceremony. So dapatlah tengok sekejap before tangkap gambar with their "grumpy" guard. hehe.

Lepas dah masuk, i suddenly remember about my draft yang i kena submit on that day. haha. Sambil i buat kerja kejap, my hubs and icha layan diri sendiri. Here are some photos taken by my husband while waiting.

Random girl group photos.

Icha's pout

Gambar beg pun jadi eh bang? 😆

After i drag masa dalam 20 minutes, we went into the palace. haha. sorry baby ibu. Disebabkan kami dah pakai hanbok, we dont have to pay for the entrance fee. Kalau u tak pakai hanbok, kena bayar entrance fee oki?

We asked strangers to take our photos.

Cantik kan? Love sangat gambar ni.

We were mesmerised with everything. kalau boleh dekat semua tempat nak bergambar. So here are some photos of icha dalam palace.

Icha with flowers

Baby ibu smileee

No smile sebab nak main batu

Okay dah boleh smileeee

We play tourist dekat bahagian depan palace ni je even we knew the palace was big. Kami cuma round area depan je. Kebetulan masa ni takdelah sejuk mana lagi, so a bit tak selesa pakai baju dua lapis (hanbok pakai dekat luar, baju sendiri dekat dalam) lama lama sangat. Mula mula memang sejuk, dah tengahari tu start rasa panas haha. We took few pictures around the palace sebab we rushed to eat somewhere on that day haha.

Here are some photos. Taken differently.

Stranger

Stroller

Stroller

Ibu

Ayah

So siapa tangkap paling cantik? 😝

But all in all, we treasure this moment. Luckily my husband pun sama sporting nak pakai hanbok lelaki. dapatla sedondon one family pakai pink on that day. 

Kira apa tu? 

One of my 2019 best moment for sure. Alhamdulillah..

But i got banyak soalan from my friend on IG, bagusnya icha tak cranky. Hehehehe icha cranky gais. Macam ajaib pulak tak cranky.

Masa pi palace ni pun siap nangis lagi sebab cari elsa tak jumpa. 

Ibu membebel part i

Ibu membebel part ii

Cukup la dua keping je ibu tunjuk. Hahah.

Gambar dekat bawah ni berhenti nangis sat and cari port main batu and bukak accessory kepala.

We are totally not the chill parents. 😂 kena jugak marah si kecik ni bila dah pujuk tak layan haha. but we tag team lah. kadang i emo husband pujuk icha or the other way round. not okay untuk dua dua sekali emo, sebab icha akan jadi way wayyyy emo. hehe.

Last emo episode sebab nak pulangkan hanbok. Sedih pulak video ni.

Even round kawasan depan palace je, tapi bila tengok jam eh eh tak lama dah nak pulangkan baju. We decided to cafe hopping sekejap sebelum pulangkan baju then only go to bukchon hanok village for the famous kedai makan.

So... sedap ke kedai makan tu?

Later i share oki! 😍