Scenic Rusty Korea – Day 7
Seoul
This morning we departed from Daejeon to Seoul. Once we were in Seoul we had to face a lot of traffic congestion here and there. To make the matter worse, there was a protest against the President Park Geun-hye administration’s political scandal. Our bus could not go near Cheong Wa Dae, the stately residence of the Korean President. There were hundred of police buses lining up, getting ready for tonight demonstration. It was pretty scary to me but I felt the Korean demonstration is very well organised.
Since we could not go visit the President Blue House, our tour guide brought us to a ginseng shop nearby.
Ginseng Shopping
There are 2 big jars of ginseng decorated in front of the lobby once we entered. We were guided by a ginseng expect to tell us all about the benefit and history of Ginseng. I did not know there is such thing as male and female ginseng.
One of our tour member bought 2 boxes of Ginseng in capsule. One box can last for 1 year. She spent about 8k USD for the 2 boxes of Ginseng. According to her, she has been consuming ginseng for years and it give her more energy and reduces her cholesterol level.
Lunch : 8-Color Samgyeopsal BBQ Lunch
Our lunch was terrific, it was the 8 colors Samgyeopsal BBQ Lunch. Why it was 8 colors? It is actually marinated in 8 different taste. Original, Miso, Wine, Ginseng, Garlic, Herb, Curry, Red Pepper. I love the Garlic & Miso & Red pepper most. Plenty of meat to eat in BBQ style for lunch today. It was our last meal with Chan Brothers. One thing I love about this trip was the food in Korea. We were given chance to try various type of Korean cuisine throughout our 8D6N tour with Chan Brothers.
Below is the entrance of 8-Color Samgyeopsal BBQ restaurant, it was quite narrow because it is located in Seoul.
Odbo Cosmestic
Today was all about shopping in Seoul. We were here at Odbo Cosmetic. First the cosmetic consultant showed us in a private room how to use their product then everyone rushed to purchase Odbo product. Some tour members came to Korea very often and never miss buying the Odbo simply because it was so much cheaper here, double to triple of the price back home.
Before leaving I also bought few hundred dollars of mask and their skin care products to try.
Kimchi School
We were at the Kimchi School to experience making Kimchi. Kimchi is the Korean National dish, a traditional fermented Korean side dish made of vegetables with many type of seasonings. The most common Kimchi that is made of cabbages but actually there are hundreds of other variety made with other vegetable like cucumber, spinach, spring onion, seafood such as squid, baby crab, little fishes and many others.
The Kimchi School is very big and has many classrooms to facilitate foreigners to enjoy their lesson.
Myeongdong
Coming to Myeongdong was second time for me. I am not a fan of shopping in big city as I do not like crowded area. However, Myeongdong is the paradise to shop for cosmetic and skin care product. Brand like Etude House, The Face Shop, Innisfree can be seen here.
We were not into a lot of shopping because we had done quite a lot of shopping in the Odbo Cosmetic Center. We were looking for the street food instead. I found the street food was quite expensive, still we tried few items. Most tasted so so only.
Bought a huge cotton candy for dessert for the night.
Day 7 – Itinerary ( 10 Dec 2016)
- Seoul city
- Ginseng Shopping
- Lunch : 8-Color Samgyeopsal BBQ Lunch
- The Odbo Cosmestic Center
- Kimchi School – DIY Kimchi
- Myeongdong
- Seoul Best Western Premier Seoul Garden