Let’s just say, I stopped by Seoul this year, because I chose to fly Korean air, and it was stopover to our final destination in Brisbane (Australia). So it was meant to be a quickie few days break in Seoul, with no specific travel plans. The last time I was here, was for work when I was still employed with EMC back in 2009, which I blogged about here.. when I was young and single.. 😉
It’s a different trip this time. With a baby, and limited mobility, we chose a hotel right in the heart of Myeong Dong (‘The Grand Hotel’). It wasn’t 5-star for sure, but the location meant, we just needed to step out the hotel door, to reach the heart of Meyong Dong shopping district..
The best I could summaries Myeong Dong, was that it is really a ‘fashion house’ on open streets, primarily for woman. Prices are pretty reasonable. No doubt, my wife was happy! (She got more than just a ‘few’ ear rings) Me? not so happy, but I’m fine just people watching as the place was really packed just about all day and night, even with freezing temperatures!
It was a short few days, but all of us had a bit of fun and plenty of ‘first time’ for things.We didn’t forget to sample a few different Korean cuisines.. such as fried chicken (at Chir Chir Fusion Chicken Factory)
Nice and healthy porridge (at Bonjuk 본죽)
… and Samgyetang (Ginseng chicken soup) .. and bulgogi, and cold noodles…. the list goes on…
Baby Ethan didn’t miss out either, who had some fun at one of the rather large kid’s playground at Times Square Shopping Centre (Dalki Village). What a nice concept.. where daddy and son can spend all afternoon here, while mummy goes shopping!
Oh.. and perhaps the best part of the trip for me.. was our side trip to Dragon Hill Spa located slightly out of town at Yong San. It’s suppose to be the biggest and the best bath house in Seoul (except the real thing looked a bit old and dilapidated compared to the photos shown on their website). The concept is pretty similar to Japanese onsens, except the primary difference is that there is plenty of open shared space available for both men and women to relax and take a nap, or in this case, play arcade games and eat food. I managed to take baby to have a bath with me as well. Yeap.. just daddy and son.. bonding time. Baby seems to have enjoyed it, even in the 41 degrees water. It must have been really weird for other naked men in the bath seeing me with baby. I was the only one with a baby. It’s probably more common that babies/kids go with mummy to woman’s bath.
No.. I do not have a photo to show for the bath house.. but we did take one at the front door.
Overall, it was a good little refresher trip for me in Korea. That reminds me.. I’ve always wanted to learn the Korean language (only second to Japanese). Maybe I’ll really spend time on it, when I have mastered Japanese.
Anyway.. on to the next leg (we left on the 8th Jan)… BRISBANE.. But before we got there.. here’s a pic of baby Ethan on the Korean air supplied bassinet.. sleeping!
Yeap.. if you ever wanted to fly with your new born.. I highly recommend Korean Air. I was skeptical at first, but they were more than willing to get out of the way to help us make sure we have an enjoyable flight with a newborn. Thank you Korean Air!
