An Nyung Ha Sei Yo! (Seoul-Day 1 & 2)

4 December 2009: We were greeted by Korea's bitter winter cold as we stepped through the automated doors of Incheon Airport around 5:00pm. Although family and friends had fore-warned us, it was still quite a rude shock to the system.. plunging from sunny Singapore's 30C to a freezing temperature of 0C! It was already dusk when we finally boarded the bus headed for Seoul. We alighted after journeying about 1.5 hours and dragged our luggage up the road leading to the Vabien Service Apartment (which certainly felt longer than the 10 mins with the chilly wind blowing against our faces). My sentiments??? Bless the soul who invented the coat.. hat.. gloves.. scarf.. boots.. AND thermal underwear!!!

The next most important thing after check-in was FOOD of course! We ended at a nearby restaurant which served the all time favourite Korean dish (which also happened to be my boys' favourite).. pan-fried sausages, SPAM (or luncheon meat) and ramen.. all done on a hot stove right in front of us! We were also introduced to the fascinating array of kimchi.. made with radish.. lotus.. tofu.. taugeh.. green seaweed.. besides the usual cabbage kimchi we were accustomed to. Back at the apartment, we discovered that heated flooring not only kept our feet warm instead of being icy cold.. it was also handy in drying up damp clothes (especially socks).. and not to mention great fun for the boys to strip.. lie down flat on their backs.. and enjoy their 'sauna' experience.. ha ha ha!

5 December 2009: We stopped by a road-side stall to savour the 'famous' fish-shaped red bean pancake before embarking on our first tour at Changdeokgung Palace which was built as a secondary palace in 1405 under King Taejong's reign. It was apparently destroyed by fire during the Japanese invasion in 1592 and was only restored in 1610. However, I was distracted by Justin's constant whining and found it rather difficult to marvel at the detailed and delicate 600 year old architecture in the midst of his tirade.. WHY did we come to Korea? It's freezing cold here! I want to go home! I can't breathe properly! My thighs are very itchy.. scratch-scratch-scratch.. which only made the hives worse.. *SIGH*

We made our way to the Dongdaemun market and the boys caught their first glimpse of snow.. but somehow I appeared more excited than them? We wandered around aimlessly in a building which only sold textiles.. before finally ending up at the clothing and accessories stores we were looking for. This is definitely NOT the place for non-gung-ho-hate-to-bargain folks to shop.. you HAVE to literally slash the price by HALF! I think some 'chokios' deserved an Oscar for their performance.. they put on a great show of shaking their head with shock, horror, disappointment.. then artfully showering you and your family (especially the kids) with praises (which I'm sure were rehearsed and perfected by many years of practice).. to soften you up so that you will relent! A pair of fleece boots went from 58000 Won -> 53000W after a so-called discount -> 25000W when we turned to walk away -> 20000W if we bought 2 pairs. Hmmm.. we got a good deal right? WRONG! We discovered the exact boots being sold by the roadside for only 7000W! I think I'll stick to the departmental stores from now on...

We were nearly late for the Nanta Cooking Show.. which included a skillful demonstration of rhythmic vegetable-chopping using sharp knives (onions, cucumbers, carrots and cabbages), juggling and catching flying plates and a hilarious display of martial arts with mops and broomsticks. The head chef had the most comical expression during his side-splitting 'Pan..' routine with audience participation! Later, we had a scrumptious Bulgogi (beef) dinner which everyone enjoyed except for Justin.. so what's new?